Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
U-G-G-L-A, You Ain't Got No Alibi.
So we all presumably have seen this guy's line by now:
0-4 3K's, GIDP, 3 ERR. He also left a whopping 6(!!) men on base, most in the game, and double what anyone else in the NL did.
His 3 K's put him in good company: other members of the Silver Sombrero club in the summer classic are Johnny Bench, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle (whose only other plate appearance was a HR) and Willie McCovey, among others. The closest of those to Uggla's performance is probably Gehrig, who also committed an error, but he at least scored a run.
Roberto Clemente had the only Golden Sombrero in the history of the game (but it happened in the other 15 inning game in 1967, and he played the whole game [6 AB's, 1 hit, so really, it's only a technical Golden Sombrero]— while Uggla came in in the 6th)
But none of those guys completely booted every ball that was hit their way. Between he and Hanley Ramirez I'm surprised they both remembered to bring their gloves.
Is that the worst night ever? Yeah. It is. It's the worst for a position player, anyway. In fairness, that last error was borderline (but I think Utley makes that play)
This fella here:
Gave up 7 earned runs in the Year of Our Lord 1983 (in one inning of work, no less), but that's deceptive because he was also victimized by the first Grand Slam in the history of the game, and he didn't even get the loss (Mario Soto). I'm curious how he stays in the game for long enough to give it up, frankly.
Truthfully, I was worried everyone was going to be talking about the bloop homer Voltron gave up, but Wagner and Uggla took care of that. A ball was bound to leave, it just so happened that he was the unlucky guy and grooved the wrong pitch.
Show of hands, who among you were actually awake when Justin Morneaughxbdfn crossed the plate?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
A New Asterisks for MLB
The Josh Hamilton fairy-tale is obviously one of the most talked about stories of the first half of this MLB season. A former first pick that was out of the game for 3 years taking the American League and Major League Baseball by storm in his first full season back in the Majors has to make sports writers everywhere giddy with the possibilities. And on top of the incredible RBI pace, and the all-star selection, the 28 home runs traveling an average of over 450 feet in 1 round of the Derby is just another chapter in this amazing story. When the capacity crowd at Yankee stadium started to cheer his name I literally got chills. But is he really a positive role model?
Hamilton missed three years not because he was serving our country like the greats of WWII and the Korean War, not because he was coming back from some horrific injury or disease like paralysis or cancer, and not because of some injustice from the league or the government, but because he was a drug addict. I know when he was out of the game he had no formal training regiment, and the only batting practice he did was by feeding quarters into a cage at the local sports club, and I am not trying to diminish his accomplishment, it is amazing, but that doesn’t make him a role model for everyone. And his recovery and return to grace is a great story, and must be written and told throughout the US and the world as an example of what perseverance can do, and that no matter what your current situation, you have the ability to be great.
However, the way in which this story is told is just as important as the story itself. The important lesson is that he came back and became what he should have been all along, and if he hadn’t succumbed to addiction just imagine what he could have accomplished. Many of the stories and broadcasts from the past months are ready to coronate Hamilton as the next face of MLB. But many of them fall short of explaining the full lesson here.
It is not okay to lose 3 years of your life to drugs and alcohol.
We cannot teach our children that being a druggie and a slacker is ok as long as you eventually come out of it. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with Josh Hamilton, I think he is a great example of what a person should do if they find themselves overcome with drugs and alcohol. My problem is with the media who is so ready for a positive role model to take over from the steroids era that they will take anyone who comes along. What about the real winner last night Justin Morneau, or David Wright, or Chase Utley, or any other guy who has done it the right way?
Every person, young or old, who has or will ever suffer from addiction problems, can use Hamilton as a positive example of what can happen when you commit yourself to sobriety. It proves the resiliency of the human spirit that you can come back from the depths and achieve your greatest potential. I sincerely hope that this is not an anomaly, and that Josh Hamilton will continue to become one the great ball players of this generation, but we must be careful to put these lessons in the proper context. I never want my child to grow up like Josh Hamilton.
Hamilton missed three years not because he was serving our country like the greats of WWII and the Korean War, not because he was coming back from some horrific injury or disease like paralysis or cancer, and not because of some injustice from the league or the government, but because he was a drug addict. I know when he was out of the game he had no formal training regiment, and the only batting practice he did was by feeding quarters into a cage at the local sports club, and I am not trying to diminish his accomplishment, it is amazing, but that doesn’t make him a role model for everyone. And his recovery and return to grace is a great story, and must be written and told throughout the US and the world as an example of what perseverance can do, and that no matter what your current situation, you have the ability to be great.
However, the way in which this story is told is just as important as the story itself. The important lesson is that he came back and became what he should have been all along, and if he hadn’t succumbed to addiction just imagine what he could have accomplished. Many of the stories and broadcasts from the past months are ready to coronate Hamilton as the next face of MLB. But many of them fall short of explaining the full lesson here.
It is not okay to lose 3 years of your life to drugs and alcohol.
We cannot teach our children that being a druggie and a slacker is ok as long as you eventually come out of it. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with Josh Hamilton, I think he is a great example of what a person should do if they find themselves overcome with drugs and alcohol. My problem is with the media who is so ready for a positive role model to take over from the steroids era that they will take anyone who comes along. What about the real winner last night Justin Morneau, or David Wright, or Chase Utley, or any other guy who has done it the right way?
Every person, young or old, who has or will ever suffer from addiction problems, can use Hamilton as a positive example of what can happen when you commit yourself to sobriety. It proves the resiliency of the human spirit that you can come back from the depths and achieve your greatest potential. I sincerely hope that this is not an anomaly, and that Josh Hamilton will continue to become one the great ball players of this generation, but we must be careful to put these lessons in the proper context. I never want my child to grow up like Josh Hamilton.
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