Tim McCarver - MLB player and announcer - 81
A stadium in Memphis was named for him - Tim McCarver Memorial Stadium is finally appropriate
There was a highway near me that was named in honor of a retired congressman. The signs they initially put up had “Memorial Highway” after his name. Problem was he hadn’t died yet. A few months later they replaced all the signs. I hope they saved the ones they took down.
RIP, Tim McCarver. I liked him as an announcer.
I also liked McCarver as an announcer. In my younger baseball card days, I remember he was 1 of only a few who played in the 50s/60s/70s/80s. I know Jim Kaat also did.
1 Like
Flop… Dick Fosbury
https://www.usatf.org/news/2023/usatf-mourns-passing-of-high-jump-legend-dick-fosb
From the LA Times:
As a kid, Fosbury threw himself into sports as a way of dealing with grief after his younger brother, Greg, was killed by a drunk driver while the two boys were riding bikes. Unable to stick with the football or basketball teams, Fosbury tried track but struggled there with the preferred jump technique of those days — the straddle.
“He just looked at the thing differently, and it really worked,” said Eric Hintz of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. “And he had the guts and fortitude to stick with it in the face of criticism.”
Fosbury’s biographer, Bob Welch, wrote that Fosbury was fine dealing with people ridiculing his style because, to him, it still wasn’t as painful as the sorrow he felt over the loss of his brother.
1 Like
I was familiar with the Fosbury Flop but not the story about his brother. I lost a younger brother 30 years ago and still think of him every day. RIP Dick Fosbury.
1 Like
Willis Reed 80. A little before my time but his coming out of the tunnel for G7 of the NBA finals after getting injured in G5 is still talked about.
1 Like
Vida Blue - excellent pitcher - better name - age 73
MVP, Cy Young, 6 AS games, 3 championships
1 Like
One of these is Blue, who was eliminated after 4 years HoF voting, the other is a contemporary in the HoF
| SUMMARY | WAR | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | SO | WHIP | CY | MVP | AS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 45.1 | 209 | 161 | 3.27 | 502 | 473 | 2 | 3343.1 | 2175 | 1.233 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Career | 40.9 | 224 | 166 | 3.26 | 500 | 476 | 1 | 3449.1 | 2012 | 1.134 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
RIP Vida Blue. That guy was a legend. Can’t believe he isn’t in the hof.
1 Like
The other one Tom Seaver?
Catfish Hunter
Vida Blue was very underrated. But one was a mild spoken white guy from the south who died tragically young and the other was a black man who had a drug conviction for a tiny amount of cocaine possession.
But im sure that had no impact on hall of fame voting /red
Death had nothing to do with Hunter in HoF, forgot about the coke.
Yeah I realized that after I posted that the LGD of Hunter was revealed after his induction and had no bearing on the vote. Hunter had 2 other things Blue did not, an untelevised perfect game where I believe he drove in 3 runs and the WS titles with a 2nd franchise. But yes their career stats stack up pretty favorably with each other. I do believe that Catfish’s career ERA+ of 104 is one of the lowest among inducted Hall of Fame Members and Vida Blue at 108 wouldn’t compare favorably with most inductees.
That said I think they both had peaks and moments that make them worthy of induction.
Didn’t Jenkins also have a coke conviction? Though he had the counting stats, but I am convinced his one CyY should have gone to Seaver,
Jenkins 6 top 6 in Cy, but only 3 AS games
Hunter’s best years being clustered (as well as high profile free agent) help too
1 Like
Yeah Jenkins had a conviction but got no penalty. The CY young is a good debate that year and I’d probably agree with you that Seaver should have won. That said they finished with 10.1 and 10.2 WAR as Jenkins threw almost 40 more innings than Seaver so I don’t think that was one of the more egregious CY young missed votes. Jenkins also has better career stats than either Hunter or Blue I think.
Seaver ERA a full run lower.
Catfish Hunter > Vida Blue
Catfish Hunter is a marginal HOFer, but played on visible postseason OAK/NYY teams
Ron Guidry was better than both (debatable), though had a later start to his shorter career