Swinging in at #33 is “the Kid” Ken Griffey Jr. At 19 years old in the spring of 1989, Griffey was arguably baseball’s most hyped phenom ever. By the summer, he was a superstar. In just 455 at-bats, Griffey produced the first and only 60-RBI, 60-run, 15-home run, and 15 stolen base-season by a teenager. In 1993, he produced the first and only 45-home run, 100-RBI, 100-run, and 17 SB-season by a 23-year-old. Griffey would be robbed of full seasons in 1994 and 1995 by a strike and injuries but his per-game averages remained elite setting up a 1996 season that would be the start of a stretch unparalleled in baseball history. From 1996 to 1998, Griffey became the first and only player in history with three consecutive seasons of 120 runs, 49 home runs, and 140 RBIs. From 1996 to 1999, he became the only player in history with four consecutive seasons of 120 runs, 48 home runs, and 134 RBIs. There have only been nine seasons in history with 48 home runs, 134 RBIs, 120 runs, and 15 stolen bases, and Griffey has four of them. By the age of 30, Griffey was well on his way to breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record. Unfortunately, Griffey’s 30s would be plagued by injuries as he only managed to reach 600 plate appearances just once in his final 10 seasons. As disappointing as it was for fans to see injuries prevent Griffey from making a run at Aaron’s record, his career production is still among the most impressive in history. He’s 7th all-time in home runs and 8th all-time in extra-base hits and intentional walks.    

Coming in at #35 is Red Sox extra-base machine, David Ortiz. Given that Big Papi didn’t reach 600 plate appearances in a season until he was 28, it’s astonishing that he was able to put together a hall of fame regular-season resume while also becoming a postseason legend. Ortiz’s production per plate appearance was always impressive but it wasn’t until 2004 that he put together a full season’s worth of at-bats, and the results were stellar. His first three seasons with 600+ plate appearances produced at least 41 home runs and 137 RBIs, joining Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr as the only four players in history to hit those totals in three consecutive seasons. In 2005 he started a streak of three consecutive seasons with at least 115 runs, 115 RBIs and, 85 extra-base hits, becoming the first player to do so since 1932.  Ortiz joins Lou Gehrig and Sammy Sosa as the only players in history with four consecutive seasons of at least 85 extra-base hits. He joins Albert Pujols as the only two players in history with 540 career home runs and 630 doubles, and he’s 8th all-time in extra-base hits. Ortiz’s regular-season dominance continued until the day he retired as he became the first player in his 40s to lead the league in doubles. His 48 doubles were 13 more than any other player in their 40s. He also became the first player in his 40s to lead the league in RBIs. His 127 RBIs were 19 more than any other player in their 40s. He also holds the record for most home runs by a 40-year-old with 38. Of course, Ortiz is most known for being one of the greatest postseason players in MLB history. He’s in the top ten in the postseason in hits, runs, RBIs, home runs, doubles, extra-base hits, and walks, and he’s #1 all time in win probability added. He was named the 2004 ALCS MVP and the 2013 World Series MVP, leading the red sox to three World Series titles.