Dream MLB Match-Ups

Have you ever wondered how some former baseball players would fare if they were playing the game today? Now, thanks to USA Today, you don’t have to! They have created incredible gifs matching players who once played the game with current players, including Yu Darvish vs. Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan vs. Albert Pujols and Bob Gibson vs. Bryce Harper. They matched the resulting gif with clever commentary that explains what would likely happen if the pairing actually occurred. In the gifs, Babe Ruth and Bryce Harper both swung and missed, while Albert Pujols hit a powerful home run.

An interesting match-up I would love to see would be having former Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb face present Tigers power pitcher Justin Verlander. It would certainly be an interesting matchup. But even though Cobb had 4,189 hits over his career and holds the highest batting average of anyone all-time, I think Verlander would be the ultimate victor. Even though Cobb didn’t strike out a lot over his career, I doubt he would be able to properly adjust to Verlander’s 100MPH fastball, so I’m predicting Verlander to only add to his 1,495 strikeouts.

Another match-up that would be incredible to see would be Aroldis Chapman on the mound to face Barry Bonds. Bonds has hit the most home runs of any player in history, with 762. While Bonds would likely swing and miss on any inside pitch, if Chapman left his fastball or his slider anywhere over the plate, Bonds would likely crush it. In either event, it would be incredible to watch.

If given the opportunity, which former and present player would you match up? Comment below.