It was a privilege to see Pudge play so many times in person. I think we sometimes fail to fully recognize greatness when it's right in front of us and only after it's gone do we appreciate it. Such is the case with Pudge.
I loved watching him gun down runners and pick guys off first. His arm was like a cannon, always loaded and ready to fire to any base. His 13 Gold Gloves, including 10 consecutive awards between 1992 and 2001, are 3 more than any other catcher earned.
Pudge was no slouch at the plate. Rodriguez's best season was in 1999, when he hit .332 with 35 homers and 113 RBIs as the Rangers won their third AL West crown in four years. He will retire with 2,844 hits, 311 homers and a .296 average.
Pudge will appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2017.
So, is Pudge a first ballot Hall of Famer? I hope so.
Pudge, thanks for the memories!
I think he is a first ballot HOFer (hopefully the Conseco shenanigans won't affect his status). It was cool to see him in Pinstripes for a short time. He was dreadful, but it's cool to have a few Yankees cards of him.
ReplyDelete(Lifetimetopps)
ReplyDeleteHe will be an interesting case. There's no way he'll make it in on the first ballot - if you add up the people who just don't vote for guys in the first ballot plus the guys who won't vote anyone with any type of steroid association - no way.
I sort of agree with lost collector - but at the same time, I have a hard time calling Canseco's book shenanigans. He's been proven right in so many cases that it's hard to discount. I've never heard Pudge strongly come out against the Canseco allegation, but I think it would help him to do so. Plus, if someone slandered your name like that, and you were completely guilt-free - why wouldn't you sue him?
I personally don't care - I think it was baseball's problem, not the problem of individual folks. But I'm in the minority.