section314 Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 "Mr.Tiger" passed away today at 85. Am lucky to say I was able to see him play for many years. What a great ballplayer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crimson King Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Great player indeed. True two way player. Conjures up images of Willie Horton, Bill Freehan and Hank Aquirre, among others He was so good that they named batteries after him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsfan80 Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 I had the good fortune to meet Al years back in Cooperstown. Super nice guy, and though I never saw him play, it seems he was one of the more underrated players ever. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section314 Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 19 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said: I had the good fortune to meet Al years back in Cooperstown. Super nice guy, and though I never saw him play, it seems he was one of the more underrated players ever. Absolutely. He played in the same era with Willie, Mickey,Duke, Roberto and Frank Robinson, and Yaz just coming off the Triple Crown in 67. That's what made Kaline's great WS in 1968 so tremendous, that everyone was finally able to see just how great he was. Ironically, it took the 1971 WS, which was Clemente being unveiled to the majority of folks , to accomplish the same thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crimson King Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 1 hour ago, section314 said: Absolutely. He played in the same era with Willie, Mickey,Duke, Roberto and Frank Robinson, and Yaz just coming off the Triple Crown in 67. That's what made Kaline's great WS in 1968 so tremendous, that everyone was finally able to see just how great he was. Ironically, it took the 1971 WS, which was Clemente being unveiled to the majority of folks , to accomplish the same thing. Also don't forget that he still has the record for youngest to win a batting title, .340 at age 20 in '55. That's impressive 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section314 Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 1 minute ago, The Crimson King said: Also don't forget that he still has the record for youngest to win a batting title, .340 at age 20 in '55. That's impressive That is still incredible. I was reading an article this AM on MLB.com about the most hyped prospects for all MLB teams, and how they eventually fared. The Mets was Gregg Jefferies, and we know how that turned out. The Pirates was Cris Benson, and they mentioned he was later traded to the Mets. I am sure you know this as a master of baseball trivia, but Jose Bautista was in in that deal, going from the Mets. I had forgotten that. Hope we won't be lamenting that about Kalenic 15 years from now.? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crimson King Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 1 hour ago, section314 said: That is still incredible. I was reading an article this AM on MLB.com about the most hyped prospects for all MLB teams, and how they eventually fared. The Mets was Gregg Jefferies, and we know how that turned out. The Pirates was Cris Benson, and they mentioned he was later traded to the Mets. I am sure you know this as a master of baseball trivia, but Jose Bautista was in in that deal, going from the Mets. I had forgotten that. Hope we won't be lamenting that about Kalenic 15 years from now.? Wasn't Jefferies Baseball America's #1 prospect two years running? His failure to be a star was the beginning of the end of the Golden Era As for Benson, he did bring an entertaining wife and later got the club John Maine who pitched one of the Mets most clutch games at the end of '07 I think Kalenic has a good chance to be a star and the Brodie will go down as the one who ruined the team for a decade. Yeesh, now I am sounding like a Jets fan ,,, oh wait, I am, nevermind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirorob Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 4 hours ago, section314 said: Absolutely. He played in the same era with Willie, Mickey,Duke, Roberto and Frank Robinson, and Yaz just coming off the Triple Crown in 67. That's what made Kaline's great WS in 1968 so tremendous, that everyone was finally able to see just how great he was. Ironically, it took the 1971 WS, which was Clemente being unveiled to the majority of folks , to accomplish the same thing. Different media back then. Most people only saw the local teams, if you were an NL team there was no cross over, you may have never seen him play at all. World Series, everyone would see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section314 Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 47 minutes ago, chirorob said: Different media back then. Most people only saw the local teams, if you were an NL team there was no cross over, you may have never seen him play at all. World Series, everyone would see. Great point. As NY fans, we always had both Yanks and Mets to watch. Other than LA , Chicago and SF/Oakland, it was almost impossible, except for the old "game of the week" on NBC on saturdays. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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