20 Questions every baseball fan wants answered. (Part 1)

I was looking through a back issue of ESPN the mag and I found something pretty interesting. They asked 100 MLB players 20 questions that every fan wants to know the answer too. And it's pretty amazing what they had to say...

(*this is a condensed version of the survey, for full article

1. WHO IS THE MLB'S BEST PLAYER?
Albert Pujols overwhelming wins this one with 58%
Joe Mauer comes in second at 21%
No one else broke 5%

2. WHO IS THE MOST OVERRATED PLAYER?
The biggest vote grabbers in this category were both Yankees... anyone else surprised?
Joba Chamberlain grabs 17% of the vote ... A-Rod picks up 9%

3. WHICH CITY HAS THE BEST BASEBALL GROUPIES?
While most players refused to answer this question. Those who did... named Chicago (with 21%). "It doesn't matter if you're playing the Cubs or the White Sox... it's all good in Chicago" says an NL pitcher who has been a foe of both teams.


4. WORST GROUPIES?
Oakland 14%
Cleveland 11%

5. HOW MANY GAMES SHOULD TEAMS PLAY?
57% of players are happy with the 162 game schedule.
However, the average suggestion for those who wanted a change in their work load was 152 games. 10% of the guys wanting shorter seasons wanted 120 or fewer.

6. WHO WILL WIN THE WORLD SERIES?
I like the ESPN verbatim response to this one best... so here it is.
"The usual suspects hog the conversation. Phillies? Check. Cardinals? Check. But in the end, a strong plurality (38%) saw more cheers in the Bronx. 'I hate to say it',says one 10-year vet, 'but the Yankees are unbeatable.' "

7. ON A TYPICAL 20 MAN ROSTER, HOW MANY PLAYERS DO YOU THINK ARE TAKING PEDs?"
Fourteen of the 100 declined to answer this question. However those who did respond had some pretty shocking answers. According to the poll, the average players per dugout would be 1.2, equating to 5% of Major League players. One AL starter added "I'd say not a single player is taking steroids... but there are guys who use HGH because there's no blood test.

8. WHICH PITCHER HAS THE NASTIEST STUFF?
Phillies ace Roy Halladay took 40% of the votes on this one. But Tim "The Freak" Lincecum had a solid 21% showing. Also in the conversation, Mariano Rivera. "When you can throw one pitch and have the career he's had, that's nasty stuff", says a fellow AL reliever.

9. WHAT IS THE BEST FRANCHISE?
With a majority of votes, 52% to be exact, the Yankees are the favorite MLB franchise. "You gotta go with the obvious: That's a lot of championships" says one AL all-star. Boston finished second with 16%. The Cardinals and the Phillies were also received their "smattering of respect".

10. WHAT'S THE WORST FRANCHISE?
This distinguished honor went to the Pirates (23%)... any surprise there? The Bucs have the honor of the owning the longest streak of consecutive losing seasons in American professional sports.