ARod

[mscott59]

Apr 30, 2015 5:44:07 GMT -5 canefan said:

Apr 29, 2015 9:20:01 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

are rodriguez and bonds my only 2 choices? lol. what's sad to me is that both of them, w/o the pharmaceuticals, would still have been great, potentially hof, ball players. bonds (along w/ken griffey jr) were the best 5 tool ball players i've ever seen in person (my grandpa would have said mays and mantle, but by the time i knew what i was watching both were way beyond their prime), at least prior to barry growing his body expoentially. and rodriguez had star written all over him from the time he came up playing w/junior. yet whether it was insecurities, greed, fear, or some other motivating factor, both decided they needed help. and neither distinguished themselves once it was revealed they'd used. that stains the accomplishment, especially when it's the home run record, and the effect hgh/steroids obviously has on how far a ball goes when it's hit.

I remember watching Mays and Mantle as a kid. Both were amazing. I never saw Mantle before the knee injury took away the elite speed that he had early in his career, but he was an incredible hitter and Mays, geezz, he could do it all. I remember watching live the famous catch he made in Candlestick leaping up against the chain link fence. Now, for me, the best five tool player I ever saw, the guy I saw do things I didn't think possible on a baseball field, was Bo. If he hadn't hurt his hip I truly believe he would have rewritten the record books of MLB. Just saw his 30 30 again the other night and you watch him do things that can't be done. The catch where he ran up and then back down the center field was. The throw, where he took a ball of the left field wall and threw a pellet to the plate to gun down Harold Reynolds, or the one handed home run in Baltimore. I was watching that game and couldn't believe it. He was in the box, turned to ask for time out, was not granted and looked back to the pitcher who was already delivering the pitch. Bo slapped out at it with just his left hand on the bat, like he was going to just flick it away, but hit it about 400 feet for a home run. I saw him hit one over 500 feet to dead center in spring training one year. Also saw him hurdle the chain link fense down the left field line at Baseball City on the dead run. He didn't make the catch but it wasn't for lack of trying. He was just an amazing talent.

good point on jackson, who was in a word superhuman. maybe the most telling aspect of bo is that, when he was up or made plays, other players noticed. they weren't heading back into the locker room or kibitzing w/teammates when he was at the plate, wanting to make sure they saw what he did when he did it. that's the ultimate compliment. i happened to be watching that raiders-bengals game when he got hurt. that was absolutely bizarre... i'd never seen an injury like that before or since. his time on an athletic field was cut way way too short.

comparing him w/the kid, bo exuded power (even though he was obviously fast and agile too), while griff had this graceful, fred astaire-like quality in the field, at bat and running the bases. he made it look almost effortless. man that would be a tough tough choice between those two.

[canefan]

Griffey Jr. was so special too. I do believe he would have had 800 homers had he been healthier through his career. The point you made on Bo about other players, George Brett was on the 30 30 saying if Bo was coming up he would wait and watch, even if he was getting ready to run to the bathroom in the dugout. He didn't want to miss what Bo might do. I was watching the first time he was filmed breaking his bat. I've seen him put it behind his neck and pull it forward breaking it in two and also breaking it over his thigh. Guy was just amazing.

[daleko]

Apr 30, 2015 8:28:33 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

Apr 30, 2015 5:44:07 GMT -5 canefan said:

I remember watching Mays and Mantle as a kid. Both were amazing. I never saw Mantle before the knee injury took away the elite speed that he had early in his career, but he was an incredible hitter and Mays, geezz, he could do it all. I remember watching live the famous catch he made in Candlestick leaping up against the chain link fence. Now, for me, the best five tool player I ever saw, the guy I saw do things I didn't think possible on a baseball field, was Bo. If he hadn't hurt his hip I truly believe he would have rewritten the record books of MLB. Just saw his 30 30 again the other night and you watch him do things that can't be done. The catch where he ran up and then back down the center field was. The throw, where he took a ball of the left field wall and threw a pellet to the plate to gun down Harold Reynolds, or the one handed home run in Baltimore. I was watching that game and couldn't believe it. He was in the box, turned to ask for time out, was not granted and looked back to the pitcher who was already delivering the pitch. Bo slapped out at it with just his left hand on the bat, like he was going to just flick it away, but hit it about 400 feet for a home run. I saw him hit one over 500 feet to dead center in spring training one year. Also saw him hurdle the chain link fense down the left field line at Baseball City on the dead run. He didn't make the catch but it wasn't for lack of trying. He was just an amazing talent.

good point on jackson, who was in a word superhuman. maybe the most telling aspect of bo is that, when he was up or made plays, other players noticed. they weren't heading back into the locker room or kibitzing w/teammates when he was at the plate, wanting to make sure they saw what he did when he did it. that's the ultimate compliment. i happened to be watching that raiders-bengals game when he got hurt. that was absolutely bizarre... i'd never seen an injury like that before or since. his time on an athletic field was cut way way too short.

comparing him w/the kid, bo exuded power (even though he was obviously fast and agile too), while griff had this graceful, fred astaire-like quality in the field, at bat and running the bases. he made it look almost effortless. man that would be a tough tough choice between those two.

Pulled this off of Wiki: While at McAdory High School, Jackson competed as a sprinter, hurdler, jumper, thrower and decathlete. His best 100-meter time in high school was 10.44 seconds, but he would later run a 10.39 at Auburn. He also ran the 100-yard dash in 9.54 seconds. As a hurdler, he recorded times of 7.29 seconds in the 55m hurdles and 13.81 seconds in the 110m hurdles. In decathlon, he reached 8340 points. In the jumping events, he had personal-best jumps of 2.06 meters in the high jump, 7.52 meters in the long jump and 14.85 meters in the triple jump. As a thrower, he got top-throws of 15.27 meters in the shot put and 45.44 meters in the discus throw.[16]

Jackson qualified for the NCAA nationals in the 100-meter dash in his freshman and sophomore years. He considered a career in track and field, but sprinting would not gain him the financial security of the MLB or NFL, nor would he have sufficient time to train, given his other commitments. Going into the 1986 NFL Draft, Jackson ran a 4.12 40-yard dash time. This dash was officially hand timed because the NFL Combine didn't start electronically timing athletes until 2000.

Then there is Bo hitten a golf ball

[canefan]

Just saw this posted on Facebook. Bo climbing the wall after running down a fly ball.