Quote:
Originally Posted by pstrickert
I'm curious. What position(s) did Rose play?
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Pete played almost every position on the field except pitcher at some point during his career. He spent time at first base, second base, third base, all three outfield positions and even caught an inning for the Athletics in 1978. He spent more time at second and in the outfield than anywhere else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jpotapoff
Lou Gerhig
Paul Molitor
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Lou Gerhig: Gehrig was an excellent player for almost all of his 16 year career with the Philadelphia Athletics. After being drafted first overall in 1922, he debuted with Philly in 1924, smacking 11 home runs and driving in 75 men. After an average 1925, he exploded in 1926, drilling 33 homers to go along with 157 RBI and 127 runs scored. That was enough to get Philadelphia to the World Series and win Lou his first MVP award. Despite his great regular season numbers, Lou could not replicate them in the World Series, and Philadelphia fell in seven games. His poor performance in the playoffs ran over into the next season, and all of his numbers dropped excessively. He came back in 1928 with a great season and followed that up by hitting .394 in 1929. He won his second MVP in 1930, hitting .373 with 39 home runs. Even though the Athletics were going nowhere, Gehrig was giving the fans a reason to come to the ballpark, and he kept it up through the rest of the decade, winning four more MVPs in 1933, 1935, 1936 and 1937. Never once in his career did he hit fewer than 10 home runs in a season and he hit under .300 just four times. He retired after the 1939 season with 466 home runs, 1,695 RBI, 2,819 hits and a career .326 average, which ranks 13th all time.
Paul Molitor: Paul started his career in the Big Apple after he was drafted by the Mets in 1976. He came up one year later and showed his skills, hitting .311 with 82 runs scored. His batting average slipped the next year all the way down to .253, but he was able to get it back up to .292 the next year. He never seemed to fit in with the spotlight on him in New York, and when his contract expired, he left the Mets to sign with the California Angels in 1983. He had his best success in California, scoring 101 runs his first season there and rediscovering the stroke that made him such a vaunted prospect early in his career. However, injuries began to catch up with him, including a fractured elbow in 1988 that cost him the entire season and a torn PCL that knocked him out in 1991 and cost him a chance at 3,000 hits. He actually played better after the PCL injury, hitting .314 in 1992, but he would never reach that mark again. The Angels let him go after the 1994 season and he signed with the Reds. He lasted two average seasons there, then went to Houston for the 1997 season and finished his career, ironically enough, with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1998. He retired that year with 2,943 hits, 1,303 RBI, 1,470 runs scored and a career .277 batting average.