Bad Boys Today, Good Boys Tomorrow?
Posted by Steve L. on January 23rd, 2007 · Comments (8)
Darryl Strawberry and Wade Boggs are among those to “star” in “Pros vs. Joes” on Spike TV this week.
This got me thinking.
No, not about the sad nature of Straw and Boggs to do anything for a buck and/or ten seconds of spotlight. More so, it’s this:
What if I told you now that David Wright (of the Mets) and David Ortiz (of the Red Sox) would help the Yankees win the World Series in the year 2016?
Would that be any different from me telling you in 1986 that Darryl Strawberry and Wade Boggs would help the Yankees win the World Series in 1996?
Not really, right?
Man, as a kid, I couldn’t help but idolize Straw. In his early years, he was, physically at least, as close to a superhero as a mortal human can be. Tall, streamline, with a melifluous swing and a shotgun arm. By the time he became a Yank, he was a shell of his former self, though still a useful player (which shows you how phenomenal he used to be).
Boggs, on the other hand…
By the time he became a Yank, he was a shell of his former self, though still a useful player (which shows you how phenomenal he used to be).
====================
He was amazing. All that he had been through, the drugs, surgery, & suspension, and he still had the bat speed to get around on a ML fastball.
To think, if he kept his head on straight, he would’ve had a phenomenal career…
“The saddest thing in life is wasted talent” – Lorenzo Anello, A Bronx Tale
Boggs was 35 and Straw was 33. Big Papi would 40 in 2016 and I’d have to say no. Let me see more of Wright before I tell you yea or nea on that one.
But, doesn’t Papi have a deal with the devil or something? He should still be Big Papi at 40, right? {wink}
Very recently, like last week, I got to know Darryl over the course of a few days. He’s a genuine, fun guy that worked hard, and continues to work hard, to straighten out a twisted life. Nothing but best wishes for him.
I asked him about the night that Benitez drill Tino between the numbers right after Bernie took Benitez into the upper deck….He said Benitez looked into the Yankee dugout after it happened, indicating he meant to do it and would take on the whole team. Straw stood up for his teammates and planted a fist on Benitez’s jaw as he tried to escape into the Balt. dugout. Current squad could use a little of that type of gonads.
“Current squad could use a little of that type of gonads.”
Totally. Every championship squad needs at least one bruiser who will lay it on the line for his mates, to keep opposing pitchers in check. Sheff was our guy for a while. And this might sound crazy to say, but I don’t really know if Farns has enough character to be a bruiser.
but I don’t really know if Farns has enough character to be a bruiser
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Ask Paul Wilson
Anyway, rouge-ish behavior in baseball is overrated, and isn’t the reason the Yanks haven’t won since 2000. Yanks have lost with Karim Garcia, Jeff Nelson, Tanyon Sturtze & Roger Clemens, to name a few, on the team