Harry “Roy” Halladay III (born May 14, 1977), nicknamed “Doc”, is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. His nickname, coined by the late Toronto Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, is a reference to Wild West gunslinger “Doc” Holliday. He was the Blue Jays’ first draft selection in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft, the 17th pick overall, and played for the team from 1998 through 2009, after which he was traded to Philadelphia. Halladay is known for his ability to effectively pitch deep into games, and is currently the active major league leader in complete games with 62, including 19 shutouts.

Clifton “Cliff” Lee was born on August 30, 1978, and is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee has also played for the Cleveland Indians, the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. Lee’s repertoire features a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, a cut fastball as well as a circle changeup and a knuckle curve. Lee won the American League Cy Young Award in 2008.

Joseph Mauer was born on April 19, 1983, and is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Minnesota Twins. Mauer is regarded as one of the best defensive and offensive catchers in baseball. He is the only catcher in Major League history to win three batting titles. He has also won three consecutive Gold Glove awards (2008–2010), and the 2009 AL MVP award. In December 2009, Sports Illustrated magazine included Mauer in its article on ten “signature” moments in U.S. high-school sports in the 2000–2009 decade, referring to his selection by the Minnesota Twins as the first pick in the 2001 amateur draft.

Josh Hamilton (born May 21, 1981, in Raleigh, North Carolina) is a Major League Baseball All Star outfielder for the Texas Rangers. He was the first overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was considered a blue chip prospect until injuries and a drug addiction derailed his career in 2001. Prior to the 2007 season, Hamilton was selected by the Chicago Cubs (picking for the Cincinnati Reds) in the Rule 5 Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2007 with the Reds and had a successful rookie season. During the off-season he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Daniel Ray Herrera.

As the starting 3rd baseman for the New York Mets, David Wright plays one of the most important positions for one of the most talked about teams in the U.S. Born in 1982, Wright was drafted by the Mets in 2001 and made his Major League debut in 2004. Since then Wright has excelled, being a 5-time All Star selection, 2-time Gold Glove winner, and 2-time Silver Slugger. He’s won multiple player of the month awards, and participated in the MLB’s Home Run Hitting Contest. The Mets have been a disappointing franchise for some time, but many of their fans in the New York area look to Wright to lead the team back to the playoffs, and the World Series.

Nicknamed “Big Papi”, David Ortiz is one of the more feared hitters in the American League. Ortiz is a six-time all-star, and is known for coming through in clutch situations time and time again. Born on November 18, 1975, Ortiz made his professional debut in September of 1997 for the Minnesota Twins. He had a rarely spectacular few years for the Twins before being traded the the Red Sox and having his career take off. After his exploits as the DH for the Red Sox he won numerous awards, including DH of the Decade, ALCS MVP (in 2004), 4-time Silver Slugger winner, 2005 Hank Aaron Award winner, and many others. He’s truly an impressive hitter.

Ichiro is a God among men. While mere mortals play baseball, Ichiro is baseball, and baseball is Ichiro. Both an incredible hitter and peerless defender, Ichiro’s skill on the field is unmatched. His legendary bat control gives him the ability to hit balls from anywhere to anywhere, seemingly at will. When he makes an out, it almost seems like he wanted to make an out, like it’s a setup for later. As a fielder, his arm is like a laser cannon, capable of pinpoint accuracy from anywhere to wherever he choose. As fans, we should all be thankful that we’ve been given the opportunity to bear witness to his majesty.

He’s also my favorite player.

Ryan Howard is a 6’4″, 260 pound mammoth of a first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. A prodigious power hitter, Howard has won the MVP award, Silver Sluggers, and been the home run leader and RBI leader for the Phillies. He has also made several All Star appearances, and is always an entertaining entrant in the Home Run Contest. Howard is also the quickest player to hit 250 home runs in league history, and hopefully will hit many more home runs before his career is over.

Chase Utley is the 2nd baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, and is a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger award winner. In his debut at-bat with the Phillies in 2003, Utley gave fans a taste of what was to come with a Grand Slam, and he became a full-time starter in 2005. Since 2005 Utley has demonstrated excellent hitting ability, both for a high average and with surprising power. He’s also an excellent defender, capable of playing several positions and winning several defensive awards through his career.

It’s hard to make the argument that Albert Pujols isn’t the greatest player in baseball today. A fearsome slugger, Pujols routinely is near the top of the league in home runs, RBIs and batting average. His fearsome skills as a batter makes it easily to overlook that he’s also an excellent defender. Since breaking out with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001, he’s won the league MVP award 3 times, been an all-star 9 times, won the Hank Aaron award twice, plus several other awards. He’s truly a great player.

As the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia is one of the most popular MLB players in the game today. He has won several awards in his short career, including Rookie of the Year in 2007, the 2008 AL MVP award, a Silver Slugger as a second baseman, and a Gold Glove in 2008. His skill is even more amazing considering he’s only 5’8″ and 180 pounds. Hopefully his small body can take the pounding of everyday baseball and he can stay as a great member of the Red Sox.

As the current shortstop for the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter is one of the most over-hyped and over-rated players in the MLB. He continually ranks near or at the bottom of defensive rankings, and it’s his lack of range that continually costs the Yankees runs and wins.

That being said, Jeter is an incredible hitter, a sure Hall of Famer, and one of the key cogs in the Yankees hitting machine over the past ten years.

Born July 20, 1988 in San Diego, California, Steven Strasburg is a pitcher for the Washington Nationals in the MLB. He was the #1 pick of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft, and signed a $15.1 million contract 77 before the draft deadline in 2009. He was called the “most-hyped pick in draft history” by ESPN, and pitched less than a full season in the minor leagues before making his major-league debut on June 8, 2010, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his debut he picked up the win and struck out 14 in seven innings, a Nationals record. Unfortunately, on August 21 he tore his UCL ligament, which requires Tommy John surgery. He will hopefully be playing again in 2012.

Nicknamed “The Freak”, Tim Lincecum is an unusual MLB pitcher both for his stature and for his style. Lincecum is only 5’1″ 175 lbs, which is quite small for an MLB pitcher, but due to his unorthodox throwing style, he gets tremendous velocity and movement on the ball. He’s only been in the league a few years (since being drafted out of the University of Washington), but he’s already won two Cy Young Awards (given to the top pitcher in each league) and been an All-Star three times. The sky is truly the limit for Lincecum, hopefully his body can hold up to the rigors of pitching for the San Francisco Giants.