In other words, who will the future is rookies look up to like today is players and fans look up to the legendary Babe Ruth?

Puljos, Jeter, Arod, Johan, Manny (Todays version of Ted Williams with some stupidity mixed in), Brandon Webb, possibly Peavy and Cliff Lee, Mariano Rivera.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME question!!!

To me, l cannot stand it when people like Manny Ramirez get paid $20 million a year & they walk or SLOWLY jog to first for a hit or pop up. l hope the future stars of America ignore people like him

To me, it is the players that play every at bat or every out as if they were playing only 1 game in the majors & had to prove themselves. The Dustin Pedroia's, Mark Teixeira (As much as l hate the Yankees ha ha), David Wright, CC Sabathia. These r players where u can see their love of the game & devotion to playing 110% every time they r on the spot. To me, that is as u say, an iconic influence

Awesome question again!!

l think the two most obvious choices currently on the offensive side would be A-Rod & Albert Pujols. Among active players, they're the two who l think already r close to ''legendary'' status & will be argued about in the same breath as Ruth & Cobb.

Among pitchers, l think it is a little tougher. Mo Rivera will probably be known by then as the greatest closer in the game is history, but with guys like Clemens & Maddux now gone there r not a lot of pitchers who might attain that same status. A guy like Halladay might be known because of his workhorse ability, but even a stud like Johan Santana might not have enough counting stats to be remembered.

From todays game comparable to Ruth? Maybe Arod and Pujols and say maybe because it is hard to tell how they will come across in this era of juicers and small ballparks. But no one will be of Ruth is stature. The guys who said Webb and Pedroia are talking with their hearts, not their minds. Those guys will be long forgotten in 2050.

l do not think that you will evver see an iconic figure like Ruth or Mantle again. Baseball has lost its innocents and those to guys were looked at like Gods.

Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera

Absolutely no one else.