The soccer legend said in a 2017 interview: “You see, whoever I played against I had the best defender marking me, but the best were Bobby Moore and Franz Beckenbauer. Beckenbauer was fantastic – very intelligent, very tough to beat. And Bob was the best centre-back I’ve seen – so quick up here [points to his head].”

Pele on the toughest defender he faced, his 1,000th goal and more — FourFourTwo

My toughest opponent "It's hard to say. You see, whoever I played against I had the best defender marking me, but the best were Bobby Moore and Franz Beckenbauer. Beckenbauer was fantastic - very intelligent, very tough to beat. And Bob was the best centre-back I've seen - so quick up here [ points to his head]."

Ryan Howard is a power-hitting first baseman best known for his stellar 12 season tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Ryan Howard with the sour I got the Phillies with me

• Chiddy Bang – “Get Up In The Morning”

You just a lyin' coward, I’m rap’s Ryan Howard
Swingin' bats for the raps for ten violent hours

• Planetary – “When You Need Me” by Vinnie Paz

Don Mattingly spent his entire fourteen-year career with the New York Yankees, during which time he won the 1985 American League MVP, three Silver Sluggers and more Gold Gloves than any American League first baseman in history.

This is Don Mattingly, Don Baylor, Don King or Don anything

• Ghostface Killah – in “Guerilla Hood” by Theodore Unit

I’m like a ‘88 classic, Apathy goes back
To Filas with straps and Don Mattingly throwbacks

• Apathy – “Can’t Leave Rap Alone”

Don Mattingly mustache

• Aesop Rock – in “Pins and Needles” by Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman

On the even of his 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame induction, Bagwell said “[Greg] Maddux was the best pitcher I ever played against by far but [Kevin] Brown was the toughest guy for me. He had great stuff.“

Jeff Bagwell: Consistency, durability key to Hall of Fame ticket — USA TODAY

CLOSE Powered by players whose names started with the second letter of the alphabet, the Houston Astros reached postseason play six times during Jeff Bagwell's 15-year tenure with the team. Nicknamed the Killer B's by outfielder Derek Bell, the group included Craig Biggio, outfielder Lance Berkman and Bagwell, among others.

A 2017 ESPN article mentioned that the then-44-year-old pitcher and 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner had said that A-Rod, a one-season teammate, was the toughest hitter he ever faced.

After 20 years, what keeps Bartolo Colón coming back for more? — ESPN.com

On his 44th birthday, Bartolo Colón says no one is more surprised than he is that he's still pitching. But he's driven by a love for the game, an appreciation for his experiences -- and maybe a chance at another home run.

The 1960 American League Cy Young Award winner told the Urbana Citizen in 2017 that Willie Mays was the toughest to pitch to.

Willie Mays had no holes in his swing. He could handle the whole strike zone. Above all, you didn’t walk him or he would steal bases and you better not knock him down.

Vern Law remembers facing all-time greats — Urbana Daily Citizen

Vern Law was one of the best right-handed starting pitchers in the National League in the 1950s and '60s. He won 162 games for Pittsburgh in a career that spanned from 1950-67, and he claimed the NL Cy Young Award in 1960 after winning 20 games for the World Champion Pirates.

Ferrell, one of the best starting pitchers not in the Hall of Fame, wrote in 1975 that Gehringer was tougher than Gehrig, Ruth, Simmons and Foxx because he would never swing at the first pitch.

Baseball when the Grass was Real — Google Books

Donald Honig crossed the country to meet and interview former big-league ball players. They shared their memories with him and the result is a book packed with nostalgia, statistics, action, revelations?an extraordinary oral history of baseball in the halcyon days beween the two world wars.

The Hebrew Hammer, a two-time MVP and 1956 Hall of Fame inductee, wrote in his 1989 autobiography that “Newsom, Mel Harder, Bob Feller, Johny Allen, Red Ruffing, and, at times, Lefty Gomez were the toughest pitchers in the league for” him.

Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life — Google Books

Once in a great while there appears a baseball player who transcends the game and earns universal admiration from his fellow players, from fans, and from the American people. Such a man was Hank Greenberg, whose dynamic life and legendary career are among baseball's most inspiring stories.

The 1949 Hall of Fame inductee and Detroit Tigers legend named Grove and Feller in a 1981 UPI newspaper interview.

Darryl Strawberry is a former MLB outfielder. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s he was one of the most feared sluggers in the game, known for his prodigious home runs and his intimidating presence in the batter’s box with his 6'6" frame and his long, looping swing. Strawberry’s career was eventually derailed by drug and alcohol addiction.

Won’t throw my life away on coke like Darryl Strawberry

• Chino XL – “Deliver”

We walk around a little edgy, all ready and steady
Withdrawal like Darryl Strawberry, it figures

• Black Thought – in “Quills” by The Roots

We don’t call paint shiny, we call paint wet
A Darryl Strawberry colored Coupe, call that a Met

• Nelly – “Cut it Out”