I'm just wondering. Does anyone really care to stack up Mickey Mantle's integrity and character...

I'm just wondering. Does anyone really care to stack up Mickey Mantle's integrity and character next to, say, Jeff Bagwell's? Or for that matter, Mark McGwire's? Or Rafael Palmeiro's? Baseball players have been exhibiting monumental deficiencies of integrity and character for well more than a century, and it's just now that Hall of Fame voters are going to take those words seriously?

Hey, While We're At It, Can We Kick Mickey Mantle Out Of Cooperstown? - Baseball Nation

It suddenly strikes me that Rob Neyer is both the hero we deserve, AND the hero we want.

4 months ago Justin Bopp 5 comments 0 recs |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

The hero we "need," not the hero we "want"

I don’t know if I can write for a site that isn’t 100% spot-on with its Batman references. I’ll let this one slide, but nobody better misquote Watchmen.

Contributor @ Beyond the Box Score. Editor @ Wahoo's on First. Sophomore @ Brown University. Twitter: @LewsOnFirst
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona."—George Will

by Lewie Pollis on Jan 12, 2012 11:57 AM EST reply actions

And I said NO.

by Justin Bopp on Jan 12, 2012 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

But yeah, hard to take the character clause seriously with so many bad people already in. My favorite example is Ty Cobb:

A racist, Cobb once slapped a black elevator operator for being "uppity." When a black night watchman intervened, Cobb pulled out a knife and stabbed him.

Source.

by Lewie Pollis on Jan 12, 2012 11:59 AM EST reply actions

What's worse is he just received a fine for disorderly conduct.

He also used to sharpen his cleats for his feet first slide in to second base. There was some exhibition game against a Negro team where he Shelly Duncan’d the player covering second.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into Swansons. ~ Ron Swanson

by BigBabyBruce on Jan 13, 2012 1:11 PM EST up reply actions