FIRE JOE MORGAN: I Once Worked With A Guy Named Ray

FIRE JOE MORGAN

Where Bad Sports Journalism Came To Die

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Tuesday, January 02, 2007

 

I Once Worked With A Guy Named Ray

Ray was a Yankees fan, and a solid dude. Took care of himself. Worked out. Looked you in the eye when he talked to you, that kind of thing. I liked Ray. Sometimes we would talk about baseball. Then, when Scott Brosius retired, he told me that one day -- mark his words -- Scott Brosius would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

That's when Ray and I basically stopped talking.

Ray, if you're out there, I'd like you to meet Chris Girandola of MLB.com. Chris, Ray. Ray, Chris.

Chris would like to make a HoF case for Mr. Brosius. And because of this, my right arm is trying to stop my left arm from typing a series of sentences following the form of: "Saying Scott Brosius should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame is like saying X should be in the Y Hall of Fame." (Send your entries to dak@firejoemorgan.com.)

For Yankees fans looking back during these Alex Rodriguez days, Scott Brosius might be considered as the antithesis of A-Rod.

Well, more or less. Compared to other major league players, Brosius was not that great at hitting the baseball. Alex Rodriguez is very very good at hitting the baseball. He likes to hit it far.

A-Rod has had his troubles at third base, defensively, but at other times in his career, he has been well above the defensive average by most accounts. Brosius was known as an excellent defensive third baseman. I have to speculate, however, that this reputation was built a little too heavily on his famous "barehanded roller" plays, at which he was said to be the best ever. You know, that play that comes up maybe once a month for every baseball team, where a dude has to barehand a ball with his hand. Torre and McCarver would have you believe that Brosius is basically the only 3B in the history of baseball who was able to make that play.

Of course, what the author is undoubtedly referring to in this whole "A-Rod antithesis" thing is their differences in performance in high-pressure situations. Critical junctures. What's that word? Ah, yes.

"Clurtch."

For the amound [sic] of pressure that goes along with playing in New York, Brosius had a knack for timely hits, including his game-tying two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series.

In addition to the above described tater, his most Leyritzian of accomplishments, Brosius also single-handedly won game 3 of the 1998 WS by hitting two bombs against the San Diego Dads. In Game 3, he had a key RBI double that proved to be the game winner. That series was a lopsided sweep; in 2001, of course, the Yanks went on to lose to the D-Backs.

You might remember the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 in 2001. Jay Bell laid down a shitty bunt, picked up by Mo Rivera, who quickly tossed to get the force out at third. Replays showed that Brosius had plenty of time to get Bell at first on a double play, but instead, he held the ball. Jay Bell would go on to score the winning World Series run. In other words, the last time Scott Brosius was involved in a professional baseball play, he basically choked on the biggest stage possible. He also didn't fare too well in game 2 of that World Series: see "GOAT."

As far as the postseason in general, well, you be the judge:
196 AB: .245 / .278 / .418

It is his clutch hitting in the postseason, as well as his solid and, often times, spectacular defensive play, which may give members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America enough impetus to consider him for Hall of Fame induction in 2007.


It is his career .323 OBP, 95 OPS+, as well as his career total of 1,001 hits, which will cause such low voting totals that he will / should be left off all future ballots.

STATFLASH!

Scott Brosius finished in the top 10 in his league 3 times in his career: twice in Sacrifice Flies, and once in HBP!

When Brosius -- who is now coaching at his alma mater, Lindale College, in his home state of Oregon -- reflects on the championship years, he is more humbled than anything else, which speaks volumes about what type of character he brought to the table.

"There was no one guy who carried the load," said Brosius. "There were 25 important players on the team. Still, when I look back on it, I'm awed by the fact I was a part of that team. It was an amazing team and an amazing group of guys to be a part of. I'm glad that I was able to contribute and help them achieve as much as we did."


Listen, dudes. You do not get bonus points for giving credit to your teammates when, in fact, you were one of the lesser players on that team.

Remember, when it comes to HoF voting, the character issue is relevant. The rules for election clearly state: "Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, contributions to the team(s) on which the player played, and the player's ability to field slow-rolling ground balls with one's bare hand and then quickly throw to first base while still running." So we are supposed to look at a player's character -- and Chris wants us to believe that Brosius shows great character and humility by pointing out that the 1996-2001 Yankees were not just a One Brosius Wrecking Crew?

Again, just to review: this dude on MLB.com is saying that Scott Brosius should be in the Hall of Fame, in part because he acknowledges that there were 25 players -- not just him -- on the Yankees. For those of you who may not be familiar with baseball, this is more or less the equivalent of claiming that Anthony Anderson is one of the greatest actors of all time because he once said that "The Departed" featured a "wonderful ensemble cast."

Considering that since his retirement, the Yankees have reached the World Series only once, losing in six games to the Florida Marlins in 2003, it would seem logical that a strong case could be made for Brosius to fill one of the seats in the Hall of Fame.

There you go. Because the Yanks have only been to the World Series once since 2001, Scott Brosius should be in the Hall of Fame.

"It would seem logical."

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posted by dak  # 4:02 PM
Comments:
"It would seem logical."

Holy shit.
 
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