Sports Illustrated named Kirby Puckett and Bert Blyleven the best baseball players to wear their respective numbers.

Puckett, No. 34, was in a class with the likes of David Ortiz (who wears the number as a tribute to Puck), Rollie Fingers, Nolan Ryan, Fernando Valenzuela. 

Blyleven, No. 28, was in a class with Sparky Lyle, Steve Blass, Tom Herr, Al Leiter, and Randy Myers. 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0804/mlb.best....

Flipping through channels while doing the elliptical this morning at the gym, I happened upon the opening-day baseball game.

And my favorite player, David Ortiz, was up to bat. What luck! 

It was a nice surprise, since I hadn't remembered that today was opening day for the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics in Japan. Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox were losing 2-0 to Joe Blanton and the A's when I was off to do sit-ups and wrist curls.

... intense workout today, huh? Well, I have lost 10 pounds or so in the last month.

As if we needed another reason to lament the loss of David Ortiz to the Boston Red Sox, the Star Tribune printed a short story last week about Ortiz being the perfect player.

Baker, Ponson, Ortiz, Perkins, Bonser, Durbin, Garza, Silva -- who do you like here?

Did you see that home run tonight?!?

That's why we shouldn't have given the big boy away. David Ortiz, my favorite player on a team that isn't a favorite of mine, is a heck of an MVP candidate.