All of whom could be described as useful role players.

Played against Jon Nunnally all through youth baseball and high school. He was pretty legendary as a kid. Rumor was he hit 90 on the gun as a 13 year old, but he only rarely pitched, because his coaches realized that wasn't really fair, and plus he was pretty wild and children may have died. He was a beast in high school too, but when I pitched against him then I didn't have too much problem with him, I think just because I'd been playing against him since we were 10 and wasn't intimidated because I'd seen him so often. So my major athletic claim to fame is that I struck out a future runner-up MLB rookie of the year many times. Of course, he also may have hit a few into the next county...

Played against Eric Owens a tiny bit, in summer leagues. Don't really remember him very well, because he sort of was just really good, but not freakishly athletic or so obviously MLB-bound as a teenager.

In college I ran against John Crotty in pickup games a couple of times, but I was terrible at basketball so not really "played against" but "happened to be on the same court at the same time because one side needed a warm body to occasionally inbound the ball and otherwise stay the hell out the way."

Yet the best player I ever played on the same field with, on the same team for a couple of years, was Al Shirley. He was astonishingly good at baseball as a 14-15 year old. Big, ripped, unbelievably fast, massive power, cannon arm, and a really funny, nice kid. I remember standing in the on-deck circle (he was cleanup, I hit 5th) in some youth league game when he hit a shot to left-center that conservatively went 450. As a 14-year-old. And I remember thinking then, okay, so that's what real major-league talent looks like. And then: man, I don't have anywhere near that talent. Both awe-inspiring and dream-crushing.

But I don't know what happened to him. I know he got a full ride to play linebacker at UVA, but he also got drafted first round by (I think) the Mets, in maybe '92? '93? Can't be bothered to check right now. So he went into the Mets system, and then vanished. Injuries maybe, or just didn't have the focus. I guess raw talent only takes you so far. But he was the single best player I ever played with or against, and certainly a legend in our little hometown.