I know my ass is getting old when I start seeing my childhood heroes voted into the various Halls of Fame. The MLB Hall Of Fame has selected two of my favorite players to be inducted during this year’s ceremony.
JIM RICE – The quintessential slugger and Boston Red Sox outfielder. Think of ALBERT BELLE, before ALBERT BELLE. The Boston press corps hated RICE like he had broken into their house and stole their Christmas presents. All RICE did was hit the ball. Far, and a lot. RICE was part of the great hittting outfielders of this era who could hit for power and placement. He didn’t simply slug home runs but he hit singles, doubles and the rarest triples all with aplomb.
Way before steroids had infiltrated baseball you would find that the best hitters were multi-dimensional. VLAD GUERRERO is a throwback to JIM RICE, ANDRE DAWSON, DALE MURPHY and DAVE PARKER. I wonder what these players numbers might have been if they had access to the cream and the clear?
RICKEY HENDERSON – This man needs no introduction whatsoever. If you were making an all-time fantasy league team you would definitely have to select RICKEY HENDERSON without reservation. His numbers are undeniable. He ranks first in stolen bases, first in runs scored, second overall in walks and fourth all time in games played. HENDERSON did log in 25 seasons.
HENDERSON was so fun to watch early in his career with Oakland. He definitely is the O.G. baseball player with swagger. HENDERSON knew that he pwned the game back then. Some of RICKEY’s reported antics have tarnished his legacy among a few of his fans, but for the rest of us I think we can separate the player from the propaganda of the press. What I respect about RICKEY and JIM RICE is that they played the game of baseball with no apologies despite how poorly they may have been described by the sportswriters.
Now let’s see if these sphincter hat sportswriters can get the big homey Hawk in next year…
Rickey, Rice, and Hawk?
All played for the BoSox.
Real glad to see both of these dudes get in. I have a feeling Rice finally made good with some of the sportswriters during his past several years as a post-game analyst for local Sox broadcasts. The fact that it took this long for homie to get in just goes to show how petty and vindictive the HOF voting system can be.
Hawk needs to get in sooner than later. Also nice to see that McGwire lost 10 votes this year as compared to last.
Enjoy 25 Rickey quotes because Rickey was Rickey before Manny was Manny.
http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=160837
How 28 people neglected Rickey on their ballots mind boggles me. Dude was the man- no doubt about it. And true story on the fantasy front. Take him in the first round and half your stats are set for the season. Dude did so much for baseball especially when the flair and excitement wasn’t where it is now. Those 25 Rickey quotes are incredible. The story about him and John Olerud is a classic even though it’s been deemed false.
Jim Rice had some great stats but being on the Sox puts me at a bias. He was borderline but I have no issues with him in it. The Hawk definitely deserves it, as does Jack Morris and Blyleven. Jim Kaat too. Speaking of Rice- great story at the Stadium. Mid to late 80’s Yankees-Sox day game. I’m sitting in box between first base and right. Foul ball on the 3rd base side heading toward left. Rice approaches the seats to catch the ball. Ball goes foul and as he heads back to left a fan snatches his hat and runs up the aisle. This dude jumped in the crowd and ran after the fan. No punches were thrown if I recall but he definitely got his hat back. True OG right there.
Fuck the Red Sox.
Don’t think it’s Hawk’s turn yet. Hope he gets in period…these writers are a fickle bunch ; )