OC Top 5 – All-Time Greatest Prep Baseball Players

1 Kirk Gibson (Waterford Kettering) – The definition of clutch and gritty as a pro in the 1980s when he was a two-time World Series Champ with the Detroit Tigers and L.A. Dodgers (National League MVP Award winner in 1988)

2 Bill Freehan (Royal Oak) – One of the best MLB catchers of the 1960s and early-70s who played his entire 15 year career with the Tigers and helped the franchise win the World Series in 1968 while expertly managing a pitching staff headlined by Denny McClain(an eye-popping 31 wins that year) and Mickey Lolich

3 Ted Simmons (Southfield) – One of the best hitting MLB catchers of the last half of the 20^th Century, compiling a career .285 batting average – he hit over .300 seven times and made 8 All-Star games – in over two decades in the pros

4 Steve Howe (Clarkston) – MLB Rookie of The Year (Dodgers) and World Series Champion (Dodgers) plagued by drug and alcohol issues from early on in his multi-season pro career, which saw him rack up a total win-loss record of 48-41, with 91 saves and a 3.03 ERA

5 Bob Welch (Hazel Park) – CY Young Award winner and multiple World Series winner for the L.A. Dodgers and Oakland A's in the 1980s as well as the only MLB pitcher over the past 38 years to top the 25-victory plateau when he won 27 games for the A's in 1990.