AND TROUT MIGHT BE THE BEST OF THEM:

I always get a chuckle when I offer my opinion about a player and read that my opinion was wrong. I don't think a person's opinion is ever wrong. In fact, it is an opinion. Not a fact. Be that as it may, I certainly have opinions about baseball players.

I began watching baseball seriously when I was eight years old. I believe by the time I was nine I could distinguish a good player from a bad one. I spent all my waking hours watching baseball when I wasn't in school. Frankly, I even watched baseball when I was in school.

I lived in what many call "The Golden Age of Baseball" of the 1950's and 1960's. I was fortunate to see some of the greatest players of all time. Most of them I saw live and in person.

Decades later I am watching baseball every day-even in the offseason. Baseball lives within my DNA. I don't have veins, I have seams.

Through the years I have established some favorites. I have separated players among the greatest I have ever seen, the very good I have ever seen, the good players I have seen and average players I have ever seen. In my baseball card collecting days my cards were separated by "stars" and "commons."

Today I want to share my list of the greatest players I have ever seen. They are my opinions. Am I wrong? You may think so if they aren't your favorite players.

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