>>7. Mariano Rivera.
>
>Most likely the first ever player who played for the Yankees that gets respected by all Baseball fans across the globe, regardless of the baseball-team they root on.
>
>In other words, the player you always wanted to be part of the team you are rooting for and not the opposite team.
>
>Truly the best ambassador of baseball the commissioner could wish for, not just for the USA, but also as for the rest of the globe to show that it does not matter where you were born to become (hopefully) a first round HOF'er and also to get unanimous votes for it.
>
>Regards,
>Frank
>
>BTW, this is coming from a long time Red Sox Fan (from the Netherlands)

Mariano will absolutely be elected to the Hall of Fame the first time around. It will be unanimous other than a voter or two who do not vote for anyone the first year they are eligible on principle. (Which is silly IMO).

It's cool that a Dutchman is a Red Sox fan. I grew up a passionate Red Sox fan. Since leaving New England and with the Red Sox becoming an alternate version of the Yankees ($$$) I no longer cheer for them. Instead I cheer for the three local teams, all of whom suck this season, LOL.

The first major league game I saw in person was at Fenway Park against the Senators. Ted Williams, the greatest Red Sock of all time and arguably the greatest player, period, was the manager of the Senators. Before the game my dad took me down to the rail and put his son's paw in Ted's. I would give a lot of money to relive that moment.

Re calling Ted arguably the best player ever, you have to bear in mind that he gave up five of his peak years fighting in WWII and Korea. He was a fighter jock, where his famed 20-10 vision undoubtedly came in handy. He always claimed he could see the rotation on a pitched ball. If anyone disagreed with him they weren't bold enough to say so. He was crusty, to say the least. There was something he liked to say during batting practice when he was lacing balls over the fence and up the gaps. "I'm Ted f*****g Williams and I am the best f*****g hitter in the American f*****g League."

https://www.google.com/search?q=ted+williams+photos&client=firefox-a&hs=Zik&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=s-8FUq_2KobgtQbRmYGoDw&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=1647&bih=1026

(I have no idea who the black dude is in some of the photos).

UPDATE: Ted was the last man to hit .400, over seven decades ago now. Tellingly, he got a hit in his first at-bat of a doubleheader. It would have rounded his batting average up to .400 and his manager wanted to take him out to preserve it. He said hell no. He stayed in and went 5 for 8.

He was also among the few to approach .400 since 1941. He hit .388 in his late 30s. He said that's about half a dozen infield grounders I would have legged out in my younger days.