The interesting, sometimes absurd, always entertaining, “did he really just ask that?”types of questions.
Taking into account team leadership and on-the-field-ability, which city has the better shortstop/linebacker duo?
Both sides have an active and retired player; all have been on the same team their entire career:
1. Baltimore: Ray Lewis and Cal Ripken, Jr.
2. New York: Lawrence Taylor and Derek Jeter
You can’t go wrong with either option here. All of these guys are fan favorites, but here are some slight advantages that each city has over the other.
Baltimore: This duo has not only the best leader in the NFL, but arguably one of the all-time greatest captains any sport has ever seen in Ray Lewis. There really isn’t another athlete who has had the innate ability to come into the league and immediately gain the respect from his entire team, delivering signature spine-chilling pregame speeches and then consistently leading by example. No one can deny the passion that the 13-time Pro Bowler and 2-time Defensive Player of the Year has brought to every game and on every play throughout his career.
When Baltimore fans think Orioles baseball, they think Cal Ripken, Jr. The Iron Man. The man that played in 2,632 consecutive games (and let’s be honest, no one is ever coming close to touching that record). While he doesn’t have the winning percentage or number of World Series rings Jeter has, he has had a larger impact on the game as a whole, helping the all-around shortstop get into the Hall of Fame with the third-highest voting percentage in history.
New York: Considered by many to be the best defensive player in the history of the NFL, Lawrence Taylor made it scary for anyone who tried to pass him on the football field. The fearless, tenacious linebacker was a sack machine, forcing most offensive coordinators to have to repeatedly change their game plans. While he is matched up against Ray Lewis, who has yet to finish his career, Taylor will always be known as the man who revolutionized the linebacker position.
Derek Jeter is the captain of the most storied franchise in all of sports. Even though he is heading into the tail end of his career and cannot cover as much ground on defense as he did in his prime, the Yankee’s all-time hits leader is still playing at a very high level. While he doesn’t have as much power as his opponent (Ripken), Jeter does have better stats in many other aspects of the game, including batting average and stolen bases. He has been a consistent face of the franchise for a long time now, which is hard to do in New York.
My pick: If this was a competition on the city with the most championships, New York would win. However, the two athletes representing Baltimore have my vote. By considering the two aspects (leadership and overall ability), Ray-Ray and the Iron Man have the slight edge for me. It will be interesting to see if this question develops a clear favorite when Lewis and Jeter are both retired. For now, it’s a close battle between the two cities.
Don’t be a GD homer. New York beats Baltimore hands down on this one. As great as Lewis is, Taylor was better all around. Ripken was just an average player with a long playing streak. That’s it. He put the I in team and the I in selfish. Jeter may be a peckerhead but he is a better SS that Ripken ever was even before him and Brady began “working out”.
Reilly is from New York.
Spy told me that Reilly was born in New York but raised in Dundalk so that still makes Reilly a homer.
So what is your opinion on who was the better duo?
Other than the Streak, why is Ripken in the hall?
Nope, Reilly is a Jets fan…been to a game with him.
So what is your opinion on who was the better duo?
I agree with you incher,,,,,,,,,,Ripken played a long , long , long time , other than that , what did he do that was so special…………he was a loner who didn’t travel with the team , he had his own charter plane to use,,,,,,,,,even the streak is tainted , he played on days when he hurt the team and should have set down , he was selfish and now is screwing his hometown out of economic dollars………..Jeter was much better,,,,,,,,as for Ray , also over-rated as he always had plenty of protection in front of him and superior players around him…………..
Spy, you are okay in my book. when are we having lunch? Captain Harvey’s??
Harvey’s ain’t what it used to be,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Still better than Subway and Quizno’s.
Does that mean we are having lunch, just a matter of where…?
To me, it’s comes down to two things. Championships and did each player player play a key role.
Let’s check…
Cal, 1 and yes.
Ray, 1 and yes.
LT, 2 and yes.
Jeter, 5 and yes.
Final score: LT and Jeter 7, Cal and Ray 2
Check these numbers in pleasing the ladies.
9inchnails 9/10
Intimidator 7/10
MGW 8/10
Mystery Man 2/10, if you count his left and right hand.
Spy 9/10 girls and guys…
Funny,,,,,,,,,actually this shows you do have a brain , I guess you choose not to use it most of the time………….
I am 15 yrs old, what do you expect? A grown man with 6 kids? A POlice office for 15 yrs? Someone who has traveled overseas for 6 yrs? Someone who makes alot of money? Nope, just a a5 yr old kid trying to get by in a man’s world. The BSR is my only fun in between hooking school and summer vacation. This is my daily dose of reality.
Ripken was a Prima Donna who was only for himself. He happened to be in the right place at the right time. If Weaver had left him at 3rd base he would not be in the Hall of Fame. He would have been an average 3rd sacker along the lines of a Greg Nettles.
Spy is correct about Ripken. Even his tournaments that he holds for Little leaguers is overly priced.
He wants over $150 for his autograph. Hell, I know a guy who had his Little league team in one of Ripkens tournaments. After the game Ripken was behind the team and my buddy asked him if he would pose with the team for a picture because the kids were happy to see him. Ripken told him he would but told him to tell the kids that Ripken wouldn’t sign anything… You see, 13 year olds don’t have $150 on them to pay Ripken for his autograph.
Now for Ray Lewis… One of the greatest if not the greatest MLB to play in football. Lewis might not have been born with all the skills but he worked his ass off to make himself the best. Lewis makes the Ravens 30% more better than other teams with just his never ending motivation. Just watch. When Lewis retires the Ravens defense will be an average defense. There is no way anyone can say anything bad about Lewis.
Just think what he could do for you Spy. While your giving out hand jobs behind Dunkin Donuts, Lewis could be there motivating you with his speeches…
Right on about Ripken,,,,,,,,,,,wrong about Lewis , for the first five or six years he was the best in the business but he lost his physical skills quickly after the super bowl win,,,,,,,,he then needed protection in front of him and still he got pushed around plenty,,,,,,,,if you watch closely today you can see he is taken out of 80% of the plays and can’t cover any longer,,,,not sure what he will look like without JJ and Suggs next to him but it won’t be pretty,,,,,,,also , I don’t know why you are fixated on hand jobs , you must be spending too much time with Chow and his tummy stick gang……………..
What did Cal do that was special besides play for a long time?
Please.
Cal – 2 American League MVP Awards
Jeter – 0
Also, re: Ray losing his skills –
Smarter folks than you or I ranked him as the 58th best player based on performance in 2011:
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/01/pff-top-101-of-2011-60-to-51/
He’s still got it. Despite missing some time due to injury, Lewis still finished the year with the highest grade of all middle linebackers (playing predominantly in a base 4-3). This was achieved in part by his continued ability to make plays in the run game (+17.7 grade) while also rating positively for his pass rushing and work in coverage. The leader of the Ravens’ defense, his impact on those around him is felt beyond on his numbers on the stat sheet.
Best Performance: Week 4 versus New York Jets (+5.7)
Key Stat: On running plays, turned 13.7% of his snaps into a defensive stop. That’s the fourth-best figure in the league.
NestMinder – All you did by comparing Ripken and his 2 MVP awards to Jeters zero is basically say what alot of people are saying, Ripken was all about himself.
Jeter is more of a team player than Ripken as you can see by his 5 World Series Championships.
Cal won one World Series, his 2nd year in the league then zilch. Cal hurt the team by worrying about his streak, not coming out when he was injured and letting a player who was 100% play. Cal kept the team fractured with his having to have his own room, having to have a plane held up for him, not helping teammates, playing with a bad attitude when his Dad was canned as manager (Which by the way I think they should not have fired him), etc.
I’m an Oriole fan but I would take Jeter and his “team first” mentality over Cal and his “me, me” mentality.
People talk about Bonds and his “me, me” mentality but Ripken was the same way. It just wasn’t magnified because Cal was untouchable.
I do have a question. Why is Spy giving out “Handys”? Spy should be ashamed of giving out “Handys”. It’s not something Spy should be talking about. If Spy enjoys giving out “Handys” behind Dunkin Donuts then he should keep it to himself. Your proud of your deviant acts on cardboard Spy? Do guys you give “Handys” to give you free donuts? What about when the bars close at 2am Spy? Do you hang out around them looking to get lucky? Is there a certain song you rock to when giving out “Handys”? How bout the song “Little Willy”?
You are a sick man,,,,,,,,,,,,,dreaming about hand jobs is you main fixation in life , what a guy………
The post above was NOT sent by MGW
I leave my posts strictly to sports and refrain from personal stuff (especially this crap).
Someone wasn’t man enough to post their own name.