Can a star baseball player get the rest of the team to rise to the occasion? They all act so cool until the pennants/series are decided, but it's good that they don't dance or strut after every play like the football divas.
The Tigers are 16-4 in their last 20 games, and are playing the lowly White Sox in the last two games. Their best hitter is Riley Green, currently at .262. They're in the playoffs without a star player, which as you say is pretty normal in baseball.
"In contrast, baseball is less satisfying to contemporary tastes because one guy can’t dominate Jordan-style."
You put in the word contemporary, otherwise a most prominent example would of course be Babe Ruth. NY had essentially the same roster in 1919, and 1920, his first yr with NY. He carried NY for the redst of the decade and they won 6 Pennants and 3 WS. Just like when Jordan decided he really wanted to play in MLB and abruptly left CHI after the 3 consecutive title, causing the Bulls to not make the NBA finals, when Ruth was out for much of the 1925 season due to an illness, NY finished in 7th place; they wouldn't finish that low again until 1965.
If anything, one single great player (the greatest who ever played in MLB) did carry the team on his back, changed the way the game was played (including how modern ballparks are constructed--making them hitter/HR friendlier as opposed to during the Dead Ball Era). one player directly ushered in an entirely new style, the modern way of playing in MLB.
By Sabermetrics, the 1927 Yankees remains the greatest single season team in MLB history (with perhaps the 1939 NY team in the top five if not top 3 in MLB history due to run differential etc). It reamins the single greatest single season team largely due to its marquee player, Babe Ruth.
Point being, Babe Ruth not only carried NY on his back for much of the 1920's, he turned NY into the dominant AL powerhouse it became for most of the 20th century. He totally revolutionized the way offense in MLB is played, down to this very day.
In the '90's, Michael Jordan was the NBA's version of Babe Ruth. He meant to the NBA what Ruth meant to MLB during the '20's, standing heads and shoulders above the next best player.
"More players are required and the sample sizes are smaller so the results are more random than in basketball."
If anything, the sample sizes would be larger, as MLB's season is twice as long as NBA, unless of course you're referring to the 2 month long post season in the NBA as opposed to the 3 week season of MLB.
> How often do the top two players meet in the World Series? Maybe Willie Mays vs. Mickey Mantle in 1962?
While there is a bias in MVP voting, and the "top two players" is subjective, the last time both MVP's met in the World Series was 2012, when Buster Posey's Giants defeated Miguel Cabrera's Tigers.
Going by pure statistics, I would say the last time was the 1989 Earthquake Series between Rickey Henderson's Athletics and Kevin Mitchell's Giants.
1967 saw Triple Crown winner Carl Yasztremski vs. Bob Gibson, but Gibson didn't become the greatest pitcher in baseball until he peaked in 1968-70, and 1967 was Yaz's first season of his 1967-1970 peak.
1966: Triple Crown Winner Frank Robinson vs. 27-9 Sandy Koufax.
If we get Judge vs. Ohtani in the World Series, those would be two guys who have been the two best players for most of the past few years.
And baseball can disappoint even with a 1962 Mays vs. Mantle World Series: Mays hit .250 with no homers and Mantle hit .120. When Michael Jordan met peak Charles Barkley in the finals, you knew they wouldn't disappear.
1960-Dick Groat (famous for Larry David’s oft used “Groat’s Disease”) of the Pirates was the NL MVP, back when batting average was considered a serious stat, and in spite of the fact that the Pirates had 5 or 6 better players, and Roger Maris of the Yankees, his first to two MVP’s in consecutive years. Groat played the WS hurt, and Maris had a couple of HR’s, as the Pirates upset the Yanks in game 7.
Yes, as I mentioned earlier there is a definite bias towards pennant winners in MVP voting, especially before the LCS was a thing. In 1960 you could argue that the best two players were both in Chicago: Ernie Banks and Luis Aparicio, but with the Cubs finishing a game out of last and the White Sox finishing 10 out of first, they finished 4th and 21st, respectively.
I will say you are underestimating Groat's contribution to those Pirates; the only one who was clearly head-and-shoulders above him that year was Bill Mazeroski.
I became a paid subscriber to your site and bought your book but I am rethinking my decision. I was married for almost 50 years to a black, super athletic basketball player who I did not know was the university’s star player when he asked me out. I get the feeling that perhaps you have no idea how much athletes have to work out to maintain their athleticism. I also think you may never have been part of an athletic team and thus do not know about the teamwork required to be the winning team or the need for thinking strategically. I didn’t realize these things either but my husband and I became good friends first, then married, then raised two high IQ sons and I learned what a good judge of character he was and how political the whole sports field is while learning the rest for myself. Many athletes are like my husband . Maybe you could try to sound a little less petty in some of your articles about blacks, athletes, the common person. I haven’t read this particular piece or comments but needed to comment.
Little-known Tom Brunansky, an outfielder from the late 80s/ early 90s, was notoriously streaky. He could go 0-for-40 with a million errors but then go 40-40 to follow up, along with some highlight-reel catches. At the end of the 1990, while playing for the Red Sox, he was on his upswing and made a spectacular catch in the last game of the season to propel Boston into the playoffs. Unfortunately, he immediately turned cold in the post season (.083, BA in that playoff) and the Red Sox got swept by the A's.
Kyle Schwarber stands out as a very streaky player. Can hit .220 for the year but get 7 game stretches where he can't miss.
"a worthy supporting task"
Tusk? Truss? Cask? Cart?
Can a star baseball player get the rest of the team to rise to the occasion? They all act so cool until the pennants/series are decided, but it's good that they don't dance or strut after every play like the football divas.
"Cast"?
Maybe he's speech-to-texting between stops on his Chicago tour.
The Tigers are 16-4 in their last 20 games, and are playing the lowly White Sox in the last two games. Their best hitter is Riley Green, currently at .262. They're in the playoffs without a star player, which as you say is pretty normal in baseball.
"In contrast, baseball is less satisfying to contemporary tastes because one guy can’t dominate Jordan-style."
You put in the word contemporary, otherwise a most prominent example would of course be Babe Ruth. NY had essentially the same roster in 1919, and 1920, his first yr with NY. He carried NY for the redst of the decade and they won 6 Pennants and 3 WS. Just like when Jordan decided he really wanted to play in MLB and abruptly left CHI after the 3 consecutive title, causing the Bulls to not make the NBA finals, when Ruth was out for much of the 1925 season due to an illness, NY finished in 7th place; they wouldn't finish that low again until 1965.
If anything, one single great player (the greatest who ever played in MLB) did carry the team on his back, changed the way the game was played (including how modern ballparks are constructed--making them hitter/HR friendlier as opposed to during the Dead Ball Era). one player directly ushered in an entirely new style, the modern way of playing in MLB.
By Sabermetrics, the 1927 Yankees remains the greatest single season team in MLB history (with perhaps the 1939 NY team in the top five if not top 3 in MLB history due to run differential etc). It reamins the single greatest single season team largely due to its marquee player, Babe Ruth.
Point being, Babe Ruth not only carried NY on his back for much of the 1920's, he turned NY into the dominant AL powerhouse it became for most of the 20th century. He totally revolutionized the way offense in MLB is played, down to this very day.
In the '90's, Michael Jordan was the NBA's version of Babe Ruth. He meant to the NBA what Ruth meant to MLB during the '20's, standing heads and shoulders above the next best player.
"More players are required and the sample sizes are smaller so the results are more random than in basketball."
If anything, the sample sizes would be larger, as MLB's season is twice as long as NBA, unless of course you're referring to the 2 month long post season in the NBA as opposed to the 3 week season of MLB.
😴
troll
Dodger fans like me are certainly hoping for the Ohtani vs. Judge World Series.
Ohtani pitching the seventh game…too Hollywood?
How often do the top two players meet in the World Series? Maybe Willie Mays vs. Mickey Mantle in 1962?
> How often do the top two players meet in the World Series? Maybe Willie Mays vs. Mickey Mantle in 1962?
While there is a bias in MVP voting, and the "top two players" is subjective, the last time both MVP's met in the World Series was 2012, when Buster Posey's Giants defeated Miguel Cabrera's Tigers.
Going by pure statistics, I would say the last time was the 1989 Earthquake Series between Rickey Henderson's Athletics and Kevin Mitchell's Giants.
1967 saw Triple Crown winner Carl Yasztremski vs. Bob Gibson, but Gibson didn't become the greatest pitcher in baseball until he peaked in 1968-70, and 1967 was Yaz's first season of his 1967-1970 peak.
1966: Triple Crown Winner Frank Robinson vs. 27-9 Sandy Koufax.
If we get Judge vs. Ohtani in the World Series, those would be two guys who have been the two best players for most of the past few years.
And baseball can disappoint even with a 1962 Mays vs. Mantle World Series: Mays hit .250 with no homers and Mantle hit .120. When Michael Jordan met peak Charles Barkley in the finals, you knew they wouldn't disappear.
1960-Dick Groat (famous for Larry David’s oft used “Groat’s Disease”) of the Pirates was the NL MVP, back when batting average was considered a serious stat, and in spite of the fact that the Pirates had 5 or 6 better players, and Roger Maris of the Yankees, his first to two MVP’s in consecutive years. Groat played the WS hurt, and Maris had a couple of HR’s, as the Pirates upset the Yanks in game 7.
Yes, as I mentioned earlier there is a definite bias towards pennant winners in MVP voting, especially before the LCS was a thing. In 1960 you could argue that the best two players were both in Chicago: Ernie Banks and Luis Aparicio, but with the Cubs finishing a game out of last and the White Sox finishing 10 out of first, they finished 4th and 21st, respectively.
I will say you are underestimating Groat's contribution to those Pirates; the only one who was clearly head-and-shoulders above him that year was Bill Mazeroski.
Ty Cobb vs. Honus Wagner in 1909 and Ted Williams vs. Stan Musial in 1946 come to mind.
1926 featured Babe Ruth vs. Rogers Hornsby, but Hornsby had a down year that year.
steve - his wife is 5'11" according to wikipedia - possible future Japanese sports clan family living in SoCal?
Godzilla genes
I became a paid subscriber to your site and bought your book but I am rethinking my decision. I was married for almost 50 years to a black, super athletic basketball player who I did not know was the university’s star player when he asked me out. I get the feeling that perhaps you have no idea how much athletes have to work out to maintain their athleticism. I also think you may never have been part of an athletic team and thus do not know about the teamwork required to be the winning team or the need for thinking strategically. I didn’t realize these things either but my husband and I became good friends first, then married, then raised two high IQ sons and I learned what a good judge of character he was and how political the whole sports field is while learning the rest for myself. Many athletes are like my husband . Maybe you could try to sound a little less petty in some of your articles about blacks, athletes, the common person. I haven’t read this particular piece or comments but needed to comment.
Could you provide an example of Steve being "petty" about blacks?
Being upset or concerned about violent crime is petty to her type, and racist
“Steve, I’m a paid subscriber, but could you tone down the noticing?”
Little-known Tom Brunansky, an outfielder from the late 80s/ early 90s, was notoriously streaky. He could go 0-for-40 with a million errors but then go 40-40 to follow up, along with some highlight-reel catches. At the end of the 1990, while playing for the Red Sox, he was on his upswing and made a spectacular catch in the last game of the season to propel Boston into the playoffs. Unfortunately, he immediately turned cold in the post season (.083, BA in that playoff) and the Red Sox got swept by the A's.
For Brunansky, when it rained, it poured.
😴
Everytime ScarletNumber posts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKjxFJfcrcA
Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan were two era-dominating pitchers who largely toiled in obscurity thanks to being on bad teams most of their careers.
Yes, when I think of obscure pitchers, the first one I think of is Nolan Ryan, who pitched seven no-hitters and is the all-time strike-out king 🙄
lol. Way to lie about what I wrote, pedo.
Now you're a incestuous pedo *and* a liar. How's your sister doing?
Daniel Murphy in the 2015 NLCS, maybe.