As part of our celebration of America 250, MLB's content team has created 25 top 10 lists that capture the plays, people, rituals and moments that made baseball America’s game. We’ll be revealing five lists per week over the course of five weeks.
1. Gary Sheffield
The look that dominated backyard games for a generation. Sheffield's stance itself wasn't unusual. But his bat? Oh, did it wiggle. As he stared down pitchers while awaiting their delivery, he kept the bat in motion, wiggling back and forth, like it was revving up for action. When he got the pitch he wanted, the wiggling stopped, the swing commenced and the ball soared to the tune of 509 homers.
2. Ichiro
This isn't so much a stance as a routine, a process: Step in the box. Hold the bat in your right hand and slowly wave it like a windmill. Extend the right arm and hold the bat straight up, as if taking a measurement. Adjust the sleeve near your right shoulder. Turn slightly inward. Unleash a swing that seems to give you a head start to first base. Collect 3,089 hits and a ticket to Cooperstown.
3. Craig Counsell
Counsell's unique stance first turned heads in 1997 during the Marlins' championship run. It didn't seem very conducive to hits, but it worked. With his hands high above his head, the bat nearly parallel to the ground and his front leg seemingly already on its way to first base, Counsell used a leg kick to stay balanced, allowing him to whip the bat through the zone -- resulting in 1,208 hits.
4. Julio Franco
Franco's stance was another that didn't seem like it would produce many hits, but his 2,586 career knocks tell the story. He stood in a slight crouch, with the bat high above his head and pointed toward the pitcher, and his knees and midsection turned inward. Despite the complex setup, his swing was simple -- and productive. Franco drove the ball to all fields, collecting 634 extra-base hits.
5. Tony Batista
As MLB.com's Matt Monagan once comically wrote of Batista's approach, "This guy isn't ready to hit a baseball -- he's stretching. He forgot something in the dugout and needs to run back and get it." That describes it well. Batista literally faced the pitcher and held the bat out front in a way that looked both odd and uncomfortable. Yet he hit 221 homers, including a career high 41 in 2000.
6. Jeff Bagwell
Bagwell's famous batting crouch evolved as his career progressed. From a mild crouch as a rookie to appearing to squat on an invisible bench at other times, the future Hall of Famer was able to mash 449 homers despite looking uncomfortable with his legs spread wide and his rear end just hovering in mid-air. Kids tried to imitate it, but they soon learned that only Bagwell could pull it off.
7. Oscar Gamble
Gamble's entire look was one of the most iconic of the '70s and '80s, and his batting stance was a big part of it, though it's perhaps best described as a batting hunch. A lefty hitter, Gamble leaned in low and close to the plate, as if he were trying to study the ball as it entered the zone. Using his legs as a strong foundation, he unfurled a swing that produced 200 homers and an .811 OPS.
8. Sadaharu Oh
Oh's batting stance was distinctive because he incorporated a big leg kick that was more akin to a balancing act. The lefty got locked and loaded early, raising his front leg with his knee near his waist and holding it there as the pitcher delivered. This kept his weight on his back foot and allowed him uncoil to produce massive power. Unconventional, but it's hard to argue with 868 homers.
9. Kevin Youkilis
Youkilis didn't so much hold the bat as display it, placing it over his head and pointing it toward the pitcher like some sort of obscure ancient weapon. The weirdest part was that his top hand didn't grip the bat. It just kind of ... touched it. The three-time All-Star did this while standing deep in the back corner of the box with both feet pigeon-toed. Weird. The result? A career .861 OPS.
10. Eric Davis
Davis was another who kids tried to imitate because he made everything look cool. The slender righty stood upright yet relaxed in the box, held the bat loosely just above his waist, often with a mild wiggle. But when the pitch came, he unleashed a swing that often did damage. One of the more feared hitters of the late '80s, the two-time All-Star averaged 32 homers and a .918 OPS from 1987-89.
Honorable Mentions
• Joe Morgan is, perhaps, best known for being the best 2B in MLB history and as a broadcaster, but his batting stance was also unforgettable: Watch >
• Rod Carew was known for his crouched stance while holding the bat horizontally, and he did it because of another Hall of Famer: Watch >
• Pete Rose became MLB's all-time hits leader with one of the most unorthodox stances ... as a switch-hitter: Watch >
• Chuck Knoblauch was an unsung hero on four World Series-winning teams with his memorable stance: Watch >
• Brian Downing was known for his wide-open stance and it helped him have a 20-year career in the Majors: Watch >
• Phil Plantier didn't have as long of a career as the others on this list, but his stance got him a remarkable rookie baseball card: Read more >
• Mickey Rivers had a hunched-over stance that was memorable from the Yankees' World Series teams from the late 1970s: Watch >
• Mickey Tettleton held his bat much like Carew, but he would stand tall, creating a unique look at the plate: Watch >