On this date, 78 years ago, "The Great One" was born...

[MacDice]

If you were to ask people (sports fans and non-sport fans) who the “Great One” is, the overwhelming response is going to be Wayne Gretzky. No question about it.

Now I am going to open up a can of worms and get ripped apart by Pirate, Dodger and Yankee fans. I think how we perceive players is based upon the era we grew up and the geographical location. I did not grow up in the 1960’s nor am I from the Pittsburgh area but to me Roberto Clemente never really did much for me. Yes he was a very, very, good player but I don’t view him in as high of regard as others (I will take Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle over him any day). I often wondered if he would have just retired after getting his 3000 hit or if he would have played a few more years and fans would have seen his skills deteriorate (the way it did with Willie Mays) rather than dying the way he did if the perception of him would be different. Did his tragic death cause his perception level to be taken to the next level?

The same thing goes for Thurman Munson who a lot of people believe should be a Hall of Famer. Had he not died in the plane crash and played his career out would he be regarded in a different light? Would he been seen as the level of a Jason Vartiek or would he have been on a level of Carlton Fisk? If Sandy Koufax had played in the 1980’s and had his career shortened for the same reason, would modern voters for the Hall of Fame say that he had 5 great seasons but did not have the longevity or the “counting” stats to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?