Perfection
by Tyler Bleszinski on Feb 4, 2008 8:14 AM PST
in News
Email
PrintYesterday was a fascinating day for me. I was watching a game with a quarterback who was Tom Terrific and Mr. Perfect before the big game started. But as the game went on, suddenly his legend was slowly but surely getting tarnished with each passing moment. With every overthrow or missed opportunity, it was becoming clear to me that Tom Brady was going to go from being lauded as one of the best quarterbacks of all time to someone who was going to be referred to as a choker.
I find it absolutely fascinating these pedestals that we place our athletes on. And the more you win, the higher that pedestal gets and the harder these icons fall. Brady was just about on the highest pedestal am athlete could achieve. Especially in the eyes of New England fans. He was their version of Derek Jeter. And we've all seen how Jeter's shine has come off the past few seasons (albeit the convenient presence of A-Rod has made it much easier for New Yorkers to bypass Jeter and blame Rodriguez for the postseason failures.
I've been there myself a few times. Most of us ANers loved Billy Koch and his Metallica's Fuel pumping, 100 plus mph fastball ways. Even if he was shaky at times during the regular season. That went away pretty quickly once he let up that fateful bomb to Pierzynski and the Twins.
Much more famously was Dennis Eckersley's painful moment against Kirk Gibson in the 88 World Series. Would Eck had been remembered so fondly by A's fans had the team not come back and won the 89 World Series? I'm not sure he would've because for sports fans, it isn't always that your team goes 18-0. It's what have you done for me on the biggest stage during the biggest moments.
Never mind the fact that the Patriots offensive line was abysmal yesterday and that Asante Samuel probably should've ended the game with an interception that hit him right in the hands in the waning seconds before the touchdown to Burress. The point is that even though guys like Montana, Jordan and Kobe Bryant are recognized as some of the greatest to ever play their game, it's doubtful that any of them would've won without Roger Craig, Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O'Neal. Despite the fact that fans and media want it to be all about one player, choking a big game away is rarely the fault of one player just like winning it all is.
I've said numerous times that the New Jersey Devils are my favorite hockey team. They probably should've won five Cups instead of three, but they choked away several opportunity in Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup finals and Game 6 at home against the New York Rangers in the 1994 Eastern Conference finals (they likely would've rolled against Vancouver). Martin Brodeur, who will be recognized by many as one of the very best goalies to ever play the game if not the best since he'll likely retire with the most wins and shutouts ever, didn't have his best games in either instance. Yet he still wound up with three championships. He's won three titles and a gold medal and people still remember those failures as his. It's ridiculously unfair.
The team concept gets so very lost in today's media where we love to glamorize one person for being responsible for it all. It's Brady's Patriots against Eli Manning's Giants. Not just the Pats against the Giants. Or probably the worst of all these days, it's always Brady's Pats against Peyton Manning's Colts. I understand how important a QB is to a football team and a goalie is to a hockey team, but these guys don't do it alone.
The pedestal of perfection was unceremoniously knocked out from Tom Terrific yesterday. And in many ways, it wasn't his fault. But we will never accept that. We always need someone to blame to make us feel better. It makes me sad that we can't seem to recognize that some of our biggest sports heroes have flaws too. As someone much wiser than I once said, no one is perfect.
92 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
As I said in a pregame comment yesterday,
I have serious Tom Brady fatigue, so I really got a big kick out of seeing him harassed and flustered. That being said, I wouldn't call him a choker. He got knocked around (not his fault, except for having cement legs), but he didn't make any stupid mistakes -- unlike Eli on a couple of occasions (hello, play clock?).
not a choker
just not as good as everyone thought, and more a product of his incredible (but not yesterday) offensive line than everyone thought.
still damn good though.
i don't know Blez
I think the Patriots grasped the team concept pretty well and the media seemed to recognize it (they made a big deal about the Pats coming out as a team in their first Super Bowl, rather than being announced one at a time).
I do agree that the media gets carried away with headliners sometimes, but that's what grabs the viewers' attention (as if we didn't know that MJ played for the Bulls or Kobe for the Lakers, and so on).
As for this Patriot team, yes Brady got more ink than in season's past: the perfect record, the 50 TD passes, the model gf; he was win game away from Montana-icon status. But the Pats, as a unit were being still being revered, just not on the God-like level that Tom was.
The truth is, the Pats, after running up scores earlier in the season got their come-uppance Sunday, and if you look at their last few games before SB 42, it really wasn't hard to see that this might be coming.
choker?
someone who was going to be referred to as a choker.
i'm the biggest pats/brady h8r out there, and even i wouldn't call him a choker.
Most of us ANers loved Billy Koch and his Metallica's Fuel pumping, 100 plus mph fastball ways.
we did?? koch was a lousy closer with a straight fastball and tons of walks, i was nervous every time he pitched. i don't remember how many of his 11 wins came after blown saves, but it happened at least five times.
Agreed - Tom Terrific is no choker
He is something possibly worse - over-rated. One of his rings is undeserved considering he benefited from the TUCK RULE.
And I can't possibly agree more about Billy Kroch. If he'd doesn't give up the bomb to him-who-can't-be-named-without-massive-profanity-ensuing, then the A's advance to the LCS, thereby giving Joe Morgan a nice warm cup of STFU.
Undeserved? Haha, classic.
Because the refs called a controversial play correctly as it reads in the rule book? Got it. It was the correct call whether you hate the rule or not.
When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body.
It might have been the "correct call"
but it was still one of the weakest things I've ever seen ... and I'm not even a Raiders fan.
It's still a stupid rule
The NFL has had a number of stupid rules over the years ("In the grasp" comes to mind) but have had the sense to correct at least some of them. They could've corrected the TUCK RULE after that season, but didn't (I'm not one of these anti-Raider-conspiracy nutjobs, BTW). Any sensible person would say, well, Player A had the ball in his hand, started to throw it, decided not to, then had it knocked out of his hand - FUMBLE.
Anyway, I'll get over the TUCK RULE someday. It was, as 67MARQUEZ pointed out in the game thread last night, extremely satisfying to see someone named Tuck in Brady's face all night.
I'll never get over the Tuck Rule
That was our year that got robbed from us.
by oaklandSMASH on Feb 4, 2008 12:11 PM PST up reply actions
One aspect not often discussed
You can say it was the right call by the letter, you can say it was wrong because his arm had stopped. But folks forget this was a replay reversal...no matter what you think we saw, endless times, Zapruder-style, it was surely NOT the "overwhelming visual evidence" required for such an overturn.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Feb 4, 2008 7:28 PM PST up reply actions
i loved koch
that 44 save/11 win season gave me a fantasy league championship...blown saves weren't a category ;)
Koch drove me crazy
but I knew a lot of A's fans that loved the guy. I wasn't one of them. Really the only A's closer that I've really liked over the last several years has been Foulke and then we all know what he did to quickly turn my love into genuine dislike.
by Tyler Bleszinski on Feb 4, 2008 10:51 AM PST up reply actions
I liked Koch
for the strange little fibers growing out of him!
by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Feb 4, 2008 11:55 AM PST up reply actions
remember that commercial
with the guys watching from the dugout watching the new closer with gusts of winds blasting through..
I wonder if you can find those old 2003 or earlier commercials on the net somewhere...
Try youtube
Foulke was the first guy since Eck
that didn't make me cringe when he came in. Not saying I grabbed my coat like I did with Dennis, but I didn't buy another beer either.
Does that mean you don't really like Street?
let me clarify
Foulke was the first since Eck, but I had the same confidence in Street. Until he got hurt. I admit he made me cringe a few times last year.
You brought up k.gibson....stomach churned.
the Roger Craig.....who I have never let off the hook for that fumble again the NYG way back.....I remember tossing my beer can at the tube with shouts of profanity.
When I saw the Roger Craig mention
the first thing I thought was "hummmm baby".
I guess I am officially in pitchers and catchers report mode...
I miss Roger Craig...
I've never been a Giants fan, but I always liked Roger Craig. Maybe he was a better pitching coach than a manager, but he did alright.
by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Feb 4, 2008 11:56 AM PST up reply actions
You know what bugs me?
Next year's Patriots will probably be a better team than this year's. (Why? Well, for starters, they have a high draft pick courtesy of the Niners. Whoops.) They will almost certainly go into the year as substantial favorites to win the Super Bowl. The Colts are starting to age, and they're the only team that was really even on the same level this year.
And yet the odds of them actually completing a perfect season are, once more, ridiculously low. (Why? Because it requires insane luck-- like the Baltimore Ravens game, where they got, in a sense, six downs on the final drive-- to pull it off.) If they "only" win the Super Bowl, normally, that's like the worst of all possible outcomes.
I feel like I've been cheated of history without actually getting a ton of satisfaction out of it. I also really, really dislike Tom Coughlin, who will now be lauded as a genius by everyone and their dog.
Coughlin is a douche.
But The Hoodie takes douchery to the level of a martial art.
Way to punctuate a Superbowl by walking across the freaking field while the game is still on, causing a stampede of people who think the game has ended, delaying the final second of play by about five minutes, and then shooting off down the tunnel without congratulating the dude who schooled you in the biggest game of your life.
Hail to the cheat, baby. Hail to the cheat.
Absolutely dead-on Hollywood
BB is one of the biggest,no-class havin' jerks sports has ever seen ... what happened yesterday couldn't have happened to a "nicer guy." Thank you, thank you, thank you NY Giants!!!!
And the best thing about it? Most of Red Sox Nation is in misery today ... YES!!!!!
Well...
everyone went on the field because the clock ran out. The officials put one second back on the clock (I don't know why, and I don't think Joe Buck explained). But while the clock was at zero and everyone thought the game was over, there was a congratulatory meeting of douches at midfield.
Why the hate for Coughlin?
Unlike Belichik (or Parcells for that matter, whom I will always revere for bringing the Giants two SB's), Coughlin's douchiness was largely limited to the locker room. He's always respectful to media, fans, and opponents. He was never my choice to coach the Giants and I thought he should have been fired after last season. But I have to hand it to a guy who, at an advanced age, can look in the mirror (or wallet) and see that he has to change - actually does it, and does it effectively.
Simple answer?
Because the guy is a kiss-up, kick-down "leader," and I have utter contempt for that species. He throws his players under the bus constantly and never accepts responsibility for failure.
Completely disagree
With the changes he's implemented this year, his players have totally come around to him and there is mutual respect. I don't think Coughlin has ever thrown anyone under the bus - would have been hard when Tiki and Shockey were taking turns running the bus over him. The guy stood by Eli after some pretty horrendous starts (3 INTs returned for a TD in the same game!).
The consensus in NY seems to be what you say
Strahan sat out all of training camp over some cockamamie dispute, came back and, IIRC, basically admitted that he just doesn't feel like he needs to be at camp and decided to skip it. Upon which, the team voted him one of their captains.
I think the Coughlin of a few years ago would have exploded over that. But if they had problems getting along this year, they seem to have hidden it pretty well.
In retrospect:
Randy Moss
If Randy Moss leaves via Free Agency (Like I think he will), that leaves a big hole in their WR corps. Moss opened things up for Welker & Stallworth.
by Colorado Fan on Feb 4, 2008 11:01 AM PST up reply actions
He won't
...unless everything he's said about wanting to stay there is false. I suppose anything is possible in this day and age, but it seems highly unlikely that he will leave New England.
$$$$
Well, the only thing Randy Moss likes more than himself, is $$$$ + Himself (Combo). If the Patriots don't put a "Franchise Player Tag" on him, and try getting Moss to sign a "Hometown Discount Contract", aka, Low-Balling Randy Moss... He'll be gone.
I know Randy thinks he's changed... but he hasn't. He's still Randy Moss. And Randy Moss won't deal w/ being the 3rd or 4th highest paid WR in the NFL.
Who's going to pay him?
I don't see any teams that are that eager to make Randy Moss the highest paid WR. Teams know that if the situation he walks into isn't ideal then they might get the Randy Moss we all knew and loved in Oakland. He's a risky signing for anyone other than New England. And if he truely loves himself and wants to definately prove that he is indeed the #1 WR of all time he needs Tom Brady.
by methodrampage on Feb 5, 2008 10:10 AM PST up reply actions
How about these teams?
- Randy Moss has never had the opportunity to pick what team he will play for. He was traded to Oakland and N.E.
- New England expects it's players to take "hometown discounts". Randy Moss and Hometown Discount don't go together.
- Belichik traded Deion Branch to Seattle because of $$$.
We'll see what happens... but remember the rumors ...just 5 months ago that Moss might get cut from the Patriots because he wasn't practicing at training camp? Well, Moss and Belichik are both volitile people with HUGE EGOS.
by Colorado Fan on Feb 5, 2008 10:14 PM PST up reply actions
Might as well post it in this thread.
Here's what I think:
I'm glad the Giants won. I'm not a Giants fan, I'm just glad the Patriots lost. I'm not a Raiders fan, either, so that's not why. However: Fuck the Patriots.
They cheated and got caught. All season they have basically been doing things "the wrong way". Their coach was a complete asshole all season long and ran up the score whenever possible, and then had such a smug "fuck you" attitude about it that it was ridiculous. What I really don't get was how his Golden Boy Tom Brady did the same shit all season long - he was basically Asshole Of The Year - but people LINED UP to jiggle his nutsack because he had a smile on his face the whole time he was talking shit.
Not only that, but when they finally did get beaten up on, half of the fucking team didn't even have the class to wait until the game was over before tearing ass outta there. What a complete lack of class and a show of poor sportsmanship, with :01 left in the game Belichick, Brady, and most of the offense were already in the tunnel leaving the field. Total bullshit that he left his defense out there by themselves to end the game. There are all kinds of stupid sports cliches that apply here, but "Win as a team, lose as a team" comes to mind, along with something along the lines of "Win with class, lose with class".
So yeah, screw the Patriots. I'm glad they lost, because now it'll still be valid for me to tell my son that cheating is not okay. Now I'll sit back and wait for it to be revealed that they cheated in their first Super Bowl win against the Rams in 2002 and the stupid NFL will crumble upon itself.
Agreed, but see above re: clock
(and yes, it was still totally unclassy to not at least go back and stay on the sidelines -- not the tunnel -- when the clock was corrected for the last "play" to be run)
Class is over-rated
I'd rather have Belichick and his classless ways calling games for the Niners than Nolan and his classy losing ways.
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 10:58 AM PST up reply actions
What if Nolan got to videotape opponents calls?
Just sayin...
If he knew what was coming, it would probably be a little easier for him to call plays that would exploit whatever the opposing defense was going to do.
Just win baby!
If Nolan isn't cheating he isn't trying hard enough. On a side note, Nolan doesn't make the offensively awful offensive play calls.
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 11:12 AM PST up reply actions
Oh please...
You honestly think that is why the Patroits and Belichick are good? Give me a break. Nolan wouldnt know what to do witht he tape anyways. He is the worst in-game coach I have ever watched closely...it's disgusting how many strategic mistakes he makes.
I didn't say that's why they are good.
I said it would be easier for him if he knew what the opposition was doing because he was cheating.
Where did I ever say that was why the Patriots and Belichick are good?
Nolan's classy?
Oooookay.
He does wear a suit.
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 11:12 AM PST up reply actions
Only for 8 games, though...
So if those games are also on days when he's not publicly throwing injured, untutored & unprotected 23-year-old QBs under the bus, okay, he's classy then.
Poor Alex Smith
Why should a 3 year veteran QB be exempt from being publicly thrown under the bus when he's historically inept at his position?
Anyways, the point is I'd rather have a classless winning coach who has assembled one of the better dynasties in all of football than a classy losing coach.
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 11:24 AM PST up reply actions
Color me stunned.
I would but I seem to have run out of crayon
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 12:57 PM PST up reply actions
Um.
What?
OK, define "dynasty" for the rest of us. I'd say 3 or more Super Bowl wins in 5 years constitutes a "dynasty," meself.
Alright.
Then they had a "dynasty" from ... what? 2002-2005. I just think we throw that word around a little too loosely. That means the Packers were a dynasty, the Dolphins were a dynasty, the Cowboys, then the Niners, the Cowboys again, then the Broncos.
How bout other sports? The A's definitely, the Yankees, the Marlins, I guess the Sox now. All these teams dynasties?
Um, no.
+1
I would tend to agree with you on this.
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 3:17 PM PST up reply actions
3 Super Bowls wins and one appearance
in 7 years? In the salary cap NFL? Damn right that is a dynasty and they arent done yet I am sure.
Granted, Joe would have made sure to win the game last night! :-)
That's another thing that bugs me ...
when does the "3 wins in X years" thing end? 3 outta 7? How bout 3 outta 12? The A's have won the World Series 4 times outta the last 35 ... does that count?
The Patriots haven't won the Super Bowl in three years ... the Steelers, Colts, and Giants have all won titles since the last time NE did ... but they're a dynasty?! I just thought you had to win the title regularly to earn that designation.
How about any time it's over 50%
3 wins in 5 years
4 appearances in 7 years
It's not that complicated.
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 3:21 PM PST up reply actions
Except you subtely
changed "wins" to "appearances." The Bills went to 4 straight Super Bowls ... not a dynasty.
Touche
It would be hard to be considered a dynasty without actually winning one championship.
So let me make a revision:
3 wins in 5 years
4 appearances, with 3 wins, in 7 years
by methodrampage on Feb 4, 2008 3:37 PM PST up reply actions
nolan treated smith like a man
and smith cried like a baby to the press.
was geren wrong on gaudin for not mentioning his his hip last season?
I'm no fan of Nolan and if you want to say he has no class you shouldn't use that example.
despite all of his bad desciosions last season he never made an excuse, and personaly, I respect that.
The Patriots are not the exception
Everyone cheats in professional football. Repeat: everybody. From "Classiest Man in the Twenty-First Century" Tony Dungy to Douchia Majora Tom Coughlin. Everybody. What's unique about the Patriots is that they pushed it to such an obvious level that they got caught.
Next time ESPN Classic runs the Niners/Packers game where T.O. became T.O. with the Catch II (from '98, I think...). Anyway, watch as Brett Favre breaks down a play for the viewers, and matter-of-factly states "we used a fake audible because San Francisco had stolen our sign during the regular season." No anger, no indignant attitude. Because he knows, as well as everyone else, that everyone in that league is looking for whatever competitive edge is available.
Also, Lord, do I hate New York teams.
Doesn't make it right,
not for a second.
I wasn't offended that the Patriots "cheated" - like you said, "everyone does it."
What offends me, is the way they acted after getting caught. Just admit you did it and move on ... nope, just like the 6 year old who gets mad at mom when she catches him with his hand in the cookie jar ... you get caught, man up and admit it. Instead, they acted offended because they got popped. Whatever .... Lord, do I hate Boston teams.
Legitimate point
I will never defend the way the Patriots carry themselves (just a liiiiiiiittle arrogant). As a matter of fact, I won't do much defending at all, considering I'm a Niners fan. I just don't buy all of this "tainted" talk. What you're talking about, of course, is something else entirely.
Oh, I agree
All these cheating allegations have nothing to do with their titles ... I don't like New England, but they won their championships fair and square.
That's how I feel about
Bonds and Clemens.
And now, sad to say, Cust.
This attitude
is like that of the parole officers who won't parole convicts who don't show "remorse"-- even though the reason some of them don't show remorse is the rather obvious objection that they didn't do the thing that they're supposed to show remorse for.
The result, of course, being that a lot of actual killers get released before people who were wrongfully convicted do.
i'll say it again...
belichick jinxed them with the red sweatshirt instead of the SAME SWEATSHIRT HE'S WORN ALL YEAR. how can you do that to your team?
I think the NFL put pressure on him
because the sleeves were still cut off, but they were cut off fancy. I suspect they were planning a line of "hoodie" gear featuring the red hoodie to hit NFL shops today.
Giselle told him
that he had to change or he'd be kicked off "Project Sideline".
not sure if this is the right place for this
but, I would just like to say 'I HATE THE SUPERBOWL'
I played poker all the way through it...
and right when the Giants got their first field goal, I improved my pocket kings to trips, while my opponents only improved to two pair and one pair, and I milked them like cows. That was fun.
by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Feb 4, 2008 12:00 PM PST up reply actions
I'm with you
I just don't have much tolerance for the unbelievable amount of hype, jingoism, and out-of-control bloviating that is the modern Super Bowl.
But instead of another rant, I'll just say that it's further proof of the Nick Thesis About the NFL as alluded to in FSU's wagerin' diary.
Devils v Avalanche
Devils didn't choke away game 7... the Devils got outscored 7-1 (combined) in games 6 & 7. Raymond Bourque raising the Cup did not suck.
Yeah
but the Devils had two shots at it and if I remember correctly, they were actually up in Game 6, albeit for a brief period.
by Tyler Bleszinski on Feb 4, 2008 12:46 PM PST up reply actions
I just puked in my mouth (a little)
The seventh game of the 2001 Stanley Cup finals remains the most disturbing game of any kind I have ever seen. ALL of the hype before the series and before the game was about Ray Bourque--that he finally was going to get his Stanley Cup--after toiling for the pitiful Bruins for decades. I remember the game way too well.
If you look back at the boxscore you'll see that the Devils had 5 penalties and the Avalanche had 3. But that doesn't tell the story. This game was the only game I've EVER seen in any sport that I was convinced the NHL and its refs made SURE that Bourque got his Cup. In reality--and I invite anyone to watch a tape of the game--the Avalanche had at least 10 flagrant penalties which weren't called. After period 1 I remember walking away from my television in disgust....muttering "they're giving the Cup to Bourque--I don't believe it".
by Steve in Napa on Feb 4, 2008 1:08 PM PST up reply actions
10 Flagrant Penalties not called???
That seems a little ridiculous. Are you sure you're not exagerating just a little bit? I mean, how many "Flagrant Fouls' were called in hockey in 2001?
I watched the entire game in Mexico - Live (I'm a Sharks fan), and it looked like a typical Game 7 Playoff Hockey Game, pre-new rule changes. Lots of holding. Lots of aggressiveness. With the home team getting a couple calls, and finishing when they needed to.
The Devils should have closed out the series at home when they had the chance (Game 6). Instead, they lost on their home ice 0-4.
Northeastern University
sure was a depressing place to be last night.
But hey I won 75 bucks and don't like the Patriots, so alls well for me.
what a relief
people hereabouts would have been insufferable, even more so, for years if they had won
folks have no idea what it's like living among these masshole sport fans
unless, of course, they've seen "I am Legend," in which case they have a pretty good idea
I feel you ...
Most here have never spent any length of time in New England ... I have ... Arak, I completely understand ... New York fans are obnoxious ... Boston fans take it to an entirely different level. They're not even close ... thank you New York for saving us from hell, even if many of us don't understand.
A's fans did stand by Eck
The ovation he received before Game 3 of the WS was Goosebump City.
Eck seemed to be the one guy we stood by no matter what. Even after Alomar got him in the '92 ALCS, it was like "Not again! Not to him!"
I guess it did help that we went all the way in '89 but there was something about Eck (the booze problem? the emotion?) that made us care more.
remember when he kept blowing Stewars
20th victories?
It took Eck, what, 3 tries before Stewart finaly got number 20?
I was always a little uncomfortable when he was closing out Stew.. Otherwise no worries
i do remember
and even then, his teammates felt bad for him, and not necessarily Stew (they figured he'd get to 20 sooner or later)
except Hendu who chirpped this gem, "Dennis is just trying to get to 20 wins before Stew" (Eck ended up "winning" both games that he blew)
Tom Brady might be Mr. Perfect
but Eli Manning was Hulk Hogan.
Everyone knows Hulkamania Rules, brother.
videotaping
Whats the story with the Patriots videotaping the Rams plays before that SuperBowl. I guess they vidotaped a practice session and the tapes were destroyed by the commissioner's office?
Of course they were.
Do you realize how insane the ramifications would be if (when?) the public finds out that the Patriots blatantly cheated in the Super Bowl?
Any sort of cheating conspiracy relating to the Super Bowl would be the absolute worst possible thing that could happen to the NFL.
Perfection: A'S style was Catfish Hunter
During the early years of the Oakland A'S, the future Hall of Famer Jim "Catfish" Hunter throw only perfect game in the Bay Area MLB history. Against the Minnesota Twins plus Marty Lurie replayed the final outs in the radio broadcast once.
yeah but he was a total bust after that
haha
but seriously, in Cat's very next start (against Minnesota), the first four Twins reached base against him (including a leadoff homerun by Rod Carew and a two-run jack by the game's third batter, Tony Oliva). Two batters after Oliva, another homerun. Five runs in the first, three balls left the yard. All told, Hunter surrendered eight runs in six innings...and still WON THE GAME (the A's struck for 13 runs that night).
In 1968?
Wow.
I'm pretty sure that accounted for about 50% of all runs scored that season.
ah yes, the Year of the Pitcher
Bob Gibson gave up 38 earned runs in 34 starts
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
