So here we go with tournament semifinal #1. Each of these cards has been assigned to a reader. If you need a reminder, here is the list.
I don't have a lot to say about these players--I wrote everything I had to say on their original posts earlier on this blog.
There are just two rules for voting:
1) Please make sure you are a follower of this blog (see sidebar) before voting, otherwise your vote will not count.
2) Vote using whatever criteria you wish, such as best player, best photos, best-looking cards, nicest guy, etc. The poll is below.
went with Winfield. Rookie threats was tempting, but I couldn't overlook the coolness the Dave is.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you start with the awesomeness of the Keith Hernandez card? Keith's in his final year with the Indians, but it's spring a new season, and there's no acknowledgement that this will be his last. He's in the cage, like you'd imagine one of the best hitters of the '80s would be, hitting in front of mostly empty aluminum stands and two guys waiting to take their turn and, literally and figuratively, replace Hernandez. The one guy we can see, Turner Ward, had a decent career as a journeyman OF, and you wonder what Keith would have taught those cats?
ReplyDeleteThe back of the card provides something of an answer. Again, we have the spring training aluminum stands, which remind us this is a meaningless game preceding a long season in the sun. But Keith, hellbent from first base, is off his feet, crashing into the wire fence that protects folks in the first row of seats. The old lady in the derby hat jerks back to protect herself from the impact, as if expecting Keith hit with such force he'll bring down the fence down on top of her and everyone else. Even when it means nothing, that's how you play the game of baseball. That's what I remember of Keith when I was a kid, and I'm sure that's what sustained Turner Ward on those long trips back and forth between the Majors and the Minors. It isn't where you play or when you play but how. And in 1998 Ward, then with Pittsburg, ran through the right field wall at Three Rivers Stadium making a catch. I hope both Keith and the old lady got to appreciate that.
Rookie threats was tempting, but I couldn't overlook the coolness the Dave is...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this........
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This is Mark Langston, the high leg kick sells everything. Here was a man, a player, that said, hey Montreal Expos, lets trade our number one can't miss pitching prospect for him. By the way who was the prospect...The Great Randino himself...the big unit. Three words: HIGH LEG KICK - just look it at! Vote for a real mean... Vote Mark Lnagston!!!
ReplyDeleteFor a couple years after that trade, it wasn't clear that the Expos had made such a bad trade. Johnson walked a ton of batters and while many thought he's turn into the next Nolan Ryan (which he absolutely did) many others thought he'd be out of the league within a couple of years.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like the Expos had a bad history of making trades or developing players. I don't fault them for the trade.