110 Greatest Baseball Players

106.  RHP Mike Timlin, Toronto Blue Jays

Timlin first gained notice in 1991 when he emerged as a top prospect with the Blue Jays.  He got to the Major Leagues that same year, where he immediately thrived as a setup man and part-time closer.  He won a World Series with the Blue Jays in 1992.  He won a World Series with the Blue Jays in 1993.  He was traded to Seattle in 1997.  He then spent parts of two seasons in Baltimore and parts of three seasons in St. Louis before having a cup of coffee with Philadelphia.  He landed in Boston in 2003.  He won a World Series with Boston in 2004.  He participated in the World Baseball Classic during Spring Training in 2006 where he represented the United States.  He won a World Series with Boston in 2007.  He ended his Major League career with Boston in 2008.  Timlin finished his career with 75 wins, 73 losses, 141 saves, and 872 strikeouts.  His most impressive stat is his longevity, though.  He played 18 seasons in the Majors as a setup man, pitching in 1,058 games along the way and maintaining a 3.63 ERA over that stretch.

Honorable Mention:

1B Mo Vaughn, Boston Red Sox

Vaughn first gained attention in 1989 when he was a first-round draft pick of the Red Sox.  He was named as a top prospect in both 1990 and 1991.  In 1995, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, participated in the Home Run Derby, played in the All-Star Game, won a Silver Slugger Award, and was named the American League Most Valuable Player.  In 1996, he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame for his career at Seton Hall, hit three home runs in a game, won two Player-of-the-Week Awards, a Player-of-the-Month Award, played in the All-Star Game, and finished the season with 44 home runs.  He hit three home runs in a game in 1997.  In 1998, he played in the All-Star Game and finished the season with 40 home runs.  He moved onto Anaheim in 1999 and won a Player-of-the-Week Award that year.  He won a Player-of-the-Week Award in 2000.  He missed the 2001 season due to injury and finished his career with two seasons with the Mets.  He retired with 328 home runs, the most ever by a player from Connecticut.  It was revealed that he'd taken performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career in 2008.  He looks like a Hall of Fame on paper, but his PED use kept him out of Cooperstown.  Without the drugs he probably wouldn't have been considered for this list.

CF Juan Pierre, Florida Marlins

Pierre first gained attention in 1998 when he was named the Sun Belt Conference MVP while attending the University of South Alabama.  He emerged as a top prospect in 2000 in Colorado.  Pierre moved onto the Marlins in 2003 where he won a World Series with them. He spent two more seasons with the Marlins, a season with the Cubs, three seasons with the Dodgers, and has spent the last two seasons with the White Sox.  Pierre has had a Hall of Fame career thus far and he has already stolen 554 bases.  He'll be 34 next season so his best days are probably behind him but he still has a lot of years left.  He isn't good enough to make the list yet, but he may be at that level when he retires.

2B Davey Lopes, Los Angeles Dodgers

Lopes was named to the Topps All-Rookie Team in 1973.  In 1974, he stole five bases in a game, hit three home runs in a game and won a Player-of-the-Week Award.  He finished the season with 77 stolen bases in 1975.  In 1978, he played in the All-Star Game and won a Gold Glove Award.  He played in the All-Star Game in 1979.  He played in the All-Star Game in 1980.  In 1981, he played in the All-Star Game and won a World Series with the Dodgers.  He spent parts of three seasons apiece with Oakland and the Cubs and parts of two seasons with the Astros.  After his playing career ended he became a Major League manager and was suspended for two games in 2001 for inappropriate actions during a game.  Lopes finished his career with 557 stolen bases and probably should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame but was snubbed by the BBWAA.  He wasn't good enough to make this list either.