Non-Tiger Favorites | Friday Five #1

The baseball aspect of this blog is a whole lot of Tigers and, well, that's about it. You, my dear readers, may be surprised to discover that I do, in fact, have favorite players in MLB on teams that are not located in Detroit. Did I just blow all of your minds? The following five are players that I - in no particular order - admire for a variety of different reasons, even if their team may not be my cup of tea.


Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins
Like Giancarlo wouldn't be on this list. Talent aside, he is extremely charismatic and fun to watch. Whether he is on vacation with best friend AJ Ramos or judging a beauty pageant, G almost always has a smile on his face. It is obvious that the slugger is doing what he loves to do. Unfortunately, DL stints the past couple of seasons have kept Stanton from doing what everyone knows he can do. Hopefully, this season will have a better outcome.


Josh Donaldson, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
Josh is going to be on an episode of Vikings, for God's sake! Of course he is going to be a favorite of mine, right? It's true that I used to dislike the 2015 MVP, for reasons I'm not quite sure of, but now, that could not be further from the truth. An absolute joy to follow on Twitter, Donaldson has just enough personality to balance out his talent. While I don't know if I want Josh to win the MVP title again this year (let's be real, I want a Tiger to take that honor if at all possible), I'm sure that he has insane production and value for a long time coming.


Joc Pederson, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
All I have to say, really, is #JocLove. While Pederson may not be the most talented or the biggest name, he is so fun to watch - but maybe that's just me. He has a pretty cool name, even though it took me a while to warm up to it, and his love for his family is something that is really endearing to me. Like with a lot of the players on this list, Joc's social media presence is part of the reason why I love him so much; since I don't watch a lot of Dodgers games (even though, if given the chance, I do), I need some other way to gauge his personality, right?
Sean Doolittle, RP, Oakland Athletics
While I am not a particularly huge fan of Sean's team, I am a fan of him. He seems like an all-around great person, and I am constantly impressed by his activism and personality. Doolittle and his girlfriend, Eireann, are a great couple, and I love seeing their love and passion for the baseball community (and other things) on social media. The past year has been rough for Sean, but I'm hoping that he has a healthy and strong 2016 campaign.

Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
Is there a list like this without Cutch on it?! I don't think so. Talented, charismatic, opinionated - Cutch is the whole package. I really enjoy the Pirates as a club and I think that having a face like Andrew as the leader of that club is really, really impressive. Yes, I was heartbroken when he cut his hair and, yes, I was enraged when he kept getting thrown at last season. Cutch is, without a doubt, one of the biggest names in MLB and being apart of that group is readily deserved. When I watch Andrew play, I'm watching someone who is doing what he loves and, really, there is nothing better than that.