Players aren't always so candid, or verbose, with their feelings about opposing players. But they're willing to share their opinions under the veil of anonymity, which is what 473 of them (261 voters in the N.L., 212 in the A.L.) were provided in return for their answers in a survey conducted by The Sports Xchange. Then we turned to big league scouts to give us the lowdown on the top guys.
1. Josh Hamilton, Rangers, 39 votes
2. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 36 votes
3. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox, 5 votes
4. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, 3 votes
5. Grady Sizemore, Indians, 2 votes
6. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, 2 votes
Scout's take on Hamilton: "Right now, Hamilton is the best player in the league. He can do everything. He has tremendous bat speed, and he can absolutely fly. He's got above-average power; it wouldn't matter if he was playing in Texas or any other place. The ball just jumps off his bat."
Best player, N.L.
1. Chase Utley, Phillies, 37 votes
2. Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 23 votes
3. Lance Berkman, Astros, 13 votes
4. Chipper Jones, Braves, 10 votes
5. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins, 6 votes
Scout's take on Utley: "He's a tremendous competitor. He has kind of an unusual swing, but he's got very good power. He runs every ball out, and he's a leader by example on the field. He's not the most polished second baseman in the league, but he's athletic and he makes adjustments."
Best pitcher, A.L.
1. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays, 28 votes
2. CC Sabathia*, Brewers, 13 votes
3. Cliff Lee, Indians, 13 votes
4. Josh Beckett, Red Sox, 11 votes
5. Mariano Rivera, Yankees, 5 votes
*Now with the Brewers
Scout's take on Halladay: "It's his control. His ability to go deep into games. Above-average fastball. Above-average curveball. Ability to use both sides of the plate and command both pitches."
Best pitcher, N.L.
1. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks, 36 votes
2. Edinson Volquez, Reds, 19 votes
3. Jake Peavy, Padres, 12 votes
4. Ben Sheets, Brewers, 8 votes
5. Johan Santana, Mets, 8 votes
Scout's take on Webb: "It's his sinker and his changeup. He has an exceptional sinker, and he can pitch with that one pitch, but he's really developed a very good changeup."
Best manager, A.L.
1. Mike Scioscia, Angels, 31 votes
2. Terry Francona, Red Sox, 16 votes
3. Joe Maddon, Rays, 13 votes
4. Jim Leyland, Tigers, 12 votes
5. Ron Gardenhire, Twins, 4 votes
Scout's take on Scioscia: "I'll tell you who the best manager in the American League is before you tell me who won -- Mike Scioscia. He uses his 25-man roster. He keeps his players fresh. He makes solid decisions. He supports his players, and he runs his pitching staff well. I don't think there's much else to be said."
Best manager, N.L.
1. Bobby Cox, Braves, 36 votes
2. Tony La Russa, Cardinals, 18 votes
3. Lou Piniella, Cubs, 18 votes
4. Fredi Gonzalez, Marlins, 5 votes
5. Joe Torre, Dodgers, 5 votes
Scout's take on Cox: "He's not flashy. He just day in and day out makes great decisions. He handles his bullpen well, and like Mike Scioscia, he uses his roster well. The testament to Bobby is that he has been there so long."
Toughest hitter with two outs, A.L.
1. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox, 26 votes
2. Placido Polanco, Tigers, 11 votes
3. Derek Jeter, Yankees, 9 votes
4. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, 8 votes
5. Michael Young, Rangers, 6 votes
Scout's take on Ramirez: "Manny fouls off everyone's best pitches, and he hits the best pitchers' best pitches."
Toughest hitter with two outs, N.L.
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 28 votes
2. Chase Utley, Phillies, 17 votes
3. Chipper Jones, Braves, 15 votes
4. Lance Berkman, Astros, 13 votes
5. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs, 3 votes
Scout's take on Pujols: "He keeps his at-bats alive. He's got very good plate coverage, and he just seems to rise to the occasion. Because he's a good breaking ball hitter, he uses the whole field."
Toughest pitcher with two outs, A.L.
1. Mariano Rivera, Yankees, 29 votes
2. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays, 16 votes
3. CC Sabathia*, Indians, 7 votes
4. Josh Beckett, Red Sox, 7 votes
5. Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox, 7 votes
*Now with the Brewers
Scout's take on Rivera: "Obviously, he has the cut fastball and the ability to locate it to both sides of the plate. He's consistent from the first out to the last out. He's really effective jamming lefthanded hitters with his cut fastball, and he throws so easy, he's very deceptive."
Toughest pitcher with two outs, N.L.
1. Brad Lidge, Phillies, 13 votes
2. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks, 11 votes
3. Jake Peavy, Padres, 9 votes
4. Johan Santana, Mets, 7 votes
5. Billy Wagner, Mets, 7 votes
Scout's take on Lidge: "Lidge is having a great year. He puts you away quick. Surprised? Yes. People thought he was soft because of Pujols' home run in the (2005) playoffs. I didn't think that. His stuff just wasn't as sharp. Whether there was a mental component to that, I don't know. His stuff now is back as good as it has ever been, and pitching in Philly is tough. The fans let you know when you're not good."
Best defensive infielder, A.L.
1. Orlando Cabrera, White Sox, 16 votes
2. Yuniesky Betancourt, Mariners, 16 votes
3. John McDonald, Blue Jays, 10 votes
4. Placido Polanco, Tigers, 8 votes
5. Adrian Beltre, Mariners, 6 votes
Scout's take: "When I think of gloves, I think of shortstops. Cabrera is good, but I like John McDonald, too."
Best defensive infielder, N.L.
1. Omar Vizquel, Giants, 28 votes
2. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies, 12 votes
3. Jose Reyes, Mets, 9 votes
4. David Wright, Mets, 7 votes
5. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins, 6 votes
Scout's take on Vizquel: "He's an acrobat as far as his footwork goes. He's got great hands, but he's got great hands because of his footwork."
Best outfield arm, A.L.
1. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, 37 votes
2. Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, 19 votes
3. Jose Guillen, Royals, 19 votes
4. B.J. Upton, Rays, 3 votes
5. Josh Hamilton, Rangers, 3 votes
Scout's take on Suzuki: "He can throw from just about any position in the outfield, going left or going right or charging the ball. The ball has exceptional carry, and he's very accurate."
Best outfield arm, N.L.
1. Jeff Francoeur, Braves, 37 votes
2. Shane Victorino, Phillies, 16 votes
3. Rick Ankiel, Cardinals, 15 votes
4. Brad Hawpe, Rockies, 6 votes
5. Elijah Dukes, Nationals, 4 votes
Scout's take on Francoeur: "He has great life off the ground; when he throws the ball, it really takes off for him. Victorino is accurate but doesn't have quite the strength of Francoeur (whose hitting slump has resulted in what is expected to be a brief tuneup session in the minors)."
Most underrated player, A.L.
1. Michael Young, Rangers, 8 votes
2. Raul Ibanez, Mariners, 8 votes
3. Chone Figgins, Angels, 7 votes
4. Grady Sizemore, Indians, 6 votes
5. Placido Polanco, Tigers, 4 votes
Scout's take: "When I started scouting in Arizona for spring training after being based in Florida, there were two players I wanted to see, Ichiro and Young, because I heard such great things about them. That's right on with Ibanez, too. Nobody knows him because he's in Seattle, but he goes out and does it every day."
Most underrated player, N.L.
1. Dan Uggla, Marlins 13 votes
2. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres 10 votes
3. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins 9 votes
4. Chase Utley, Phillies 4 votes
5. Russell Martin, Dodgers 4 votes
Scout's take on Uggla: "He plays hard, very workmanlike -- not great at second base. There are 29 clubs that would take him in a heartbeat. Nice short stroke. You could see that swing playing in the major leagues. Finding guys like that (in the Rule 5 draft) is what the Marlins are about."
Dirtiest player, A.L.
1. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox, 13 votes
2. Coco Crisp, Red Sox, 12 votes
3. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 9 votes
4. Vicente Padilla, Rangers, 8 votes
5. Jonny Gomes, Rays, 6 votes
Scout's take on Pierzynski: "A.J. makes everybody mad at him, but he always seems to play on winners. You hate him when you play against him and sort of like him when he's on your team. I'll take him."
Dirtiest player, N.L.
1. Chase Utley, Phillies, 8 votes
2. Pedro Martinez, Mets, 5 votes
3. Prince Fielder, Brewers, 4 votes
4. Ty Wigginton, Astros, 4 votes
5. Michael Barrett, Padres, 3 votes
6. Jeff Kent, Dodgers, 3 votes
7. Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 3 votes
Scout's take on Utley: "If you mean dirty like he wants to kick your butt every second he's on the field, I can understand that. Dirty the way the other guy (Pierzynski) is, I just don't see it."
Best balls-and-strikes umpire
1. Tim McClelland, 22 votes
2. Jim Joyce, 7 votes
3. Ed Rapuano, 4 votes
4. Ted Barrett, 4 votes
5. Jim Wolf, 3 votes
6. Tim Welke, 3 votes
Scout's take: "That's a good question because I don't think the ball-and-strike umpiring is very good. It's too inconsistent. Players want to know what the strike zone is and they adjust. But too often a pitch is a strike one time but the same pitch is a ball the next. I'm not a Tim McClelland fan. I've seen him stick it to guys, and he makes it personal. I like Jim Joyce, along with Rapuano and Welke."
1.Utley is the best player in the NL.
2.Utley is the 4th most underrated player in the NL.
3.Utley is the 2nd best hitter in the NL with 2 strikes.
4.his either has to do with how he slides (and he is a very aggressive runner) or he's doing something dirty in the field when he's turning a double play. I watch him play all the time- never saw him do anything defensively that would be remotely close to being dirty. Sliding? Unless he cleated someone, I'm not sure where this comes from. Since baseball players are typically dumb as rocks maybe the NL guys thought it had to do with getting the uniform dirty. Chase is very much a dirtball like Lenny.