"Bo Jackson was arguably the best player in baseball when he got injured..."

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Blount made this comment on an ILM thread (context unimportant). I think that's seriously pushing it re: Bo's greatness, but, man, what if? The leaps made between '89 and '90 = whoa. (And, wow, baseball card kids were real easy to please once upon a time.)

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:00 (twenty years ago)

Picture of Bo in pads w/ a bat behind his back to thread.

Thread filed under "Players: The Rest". :(

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:02 (twenty years ago)

For pure athletic talent, I don't know that there have been many players that compared to Bo Jackson. The guy was a good enough athlete to make it back to the bigs with a plastic hip, essentially swinging just with his arms.

I don't know if he would have had enough to be a hall of fame kind of player, but Brian Jordan has had a nice career and I think Bo Jackson had more upside potential of the baseball/football players of that time.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Monday, 22 August 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

He woulda been Adam Dunn before Adam Dunn was Adam Dunn.

― disco violence (disco violence), Monday, 22 August 2005 13:51 (twenty years ago)

Minus the walks, of course.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

And the, um, speed. And the, um, defensive prowess. And the, um, Bo-ness.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

So yeah really only the strikeouts are the same. And the power, I guess.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

Adam Dunn : Bo Jackson :: Barry Bonds : Vladimir Guerrero

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:25 (twenty years ago)

yeah aside from potential 40 HR power i don't know wtf anyone's talking about here. make a case blount.

― John (jdahlem), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

Dave totally lost me with that last comparison.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

Case = Bo made great strides between '89 and '90 and, if he focused on baseball primarily, could've been the yin to Canseco's yang. Of course, he made those strides circa year-27, so that might've been just a natural spike instead of an actual progression. But, yeah, that growth + flashbacks of him climbing the wall + flashbacks of that 600-ft homer + the stories and all that = dreams of what if.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

Alex, my comparison was merely a "walk / homer types" :: "free-swinging athletic homer types" thing.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

And I should put 'athletic' in quotes, as it's supposed to mean 'well-rounded five-tools guy'.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

And of course I'm talking about Mr. Potato Head Bonds, not the old-school run-free Bonds.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

And of course analogies suck, which is why they're not on the SATs anymore.

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

What are these "great strides" he made between 1989 and 1990? I see 60 pts of OPS, a reduction in speed, nowhere near the top 10 in any major offensive category besides homers. And he was already 28.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

HE MADE THOSE STRIDES RIGHT WHEN HE STARTED TAKING STEROIDS AND JUST BEFORE HE BLEW OUT HIS HIP BECAUSE OF THOSE STEROIDS

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

Well, yeah, he's not gonna be top ten in anything in only 111 games. But: more power, more walks (and, most importantly, a LOT fewer Ks) = the "great strides".

Was the 1990 league average in slugging really .384?

― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 22 August 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

the best player in baseball in '90 was most defintely rickey

― gear (gear), Monday, 22 August 2005 17:05 (twenty years ago)

hence my throwing in that escape clause (rickey's definitely tops)

someone on the kanye thread said something to the effect of 'so what if kanye can't rap? he's a great producer, noone ever blasted bo jackson for being an awful baseball player cuz he was a great football player', like bo was michael jordan or something. in 89-90 i can't remember any other players that provoked nearly the same sort of awe offensively or defensively among me and my friends. i can remember standing in line for 'ghostbusters ii' with some friends and s4m bur3r showing up and telling us about some bo jackson shot and us reacting in a way only player's wives can summon now. and i remember 'ghostbusters ii' sucking hard, like kanye west's rapping. also.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 22 August 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)

it's funny how i think it's really really cool when the superathletic guys do awesome (see j. francoeur) yet one of my fav things about baseball is that you can be a chainsmoking alcoholic fatass and still be a good player - and the superathletic guys often don't do well at all, since pitch recognition, plate discipline etc has nothing to do w/ athletic ability.

downside is the good superathletic guys inevitably end up overrated, sometimes painfully so.

― John (jdahlem), Monday, 22 August 2005 17:46 (twenty years ago)

"Arguably" for sure!

I'd take Bonds' 1989 and 1990 seasons over Jackson.

And for #2, even as great as Jackson's 1989-1990 was, Kevin Mitchell's was even better (god I hated that guy).

Van Slyke and Griffey were pretty dominant in that era as well.

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 22 August 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

That climbing the wall catch is one of the coolest highlights ever. Bo breaking the baseball bat over his knee and his helmet was also pretty cool, even if they were shaved down.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Monday, 22 August 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

seven years pass...

Bo's Five-Hour Energy spot is hauntingly existential

― Pope Rusty I (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 17 April 2013 00:13 (thirteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.