Just a few days ago I commented on A-Rod's stellar performance against the KC Royals (3 HR) and his stellar career (1803 RBI). I made a few perfunctory observations about age, projected numbers, and performance in the twilight of a career. And I cautioned that such projections are precarious. Father time always has the first say.
Remember when Ken Griffey Jr. was the odds-on favorite to win the race to Henry Aaron's 755? Henry himself thought so. Griff was looked upon ahead of Barry, A-Rod, and everybody else. His youth, natural power swing, and limber, non-musclebound body were seen as plusses on the road to longevity. Then Junior seemingly grew old overnight. He was allowed to become a Cincinnati Red. Instead of chasing Aaron, Griffey seemed to be channeling Mantle, an oft-injured star whose second half career ruptured like a torn achilles. Junior bravely played on, but his legacy went from young superstar to aging 'what-might-have-been' seemingly over night. It was sad to watch, not only because the injuries robbed Griffey of time and ability, but also a certain palpable joy he had brought to the ballyard ever since he started robbing major-league hitters of homers as a teenager.
(By the way, the late, great Yankee PA announcer Bob Shepard, who was meticulous at his job, asked Junior if he wanted to be announced as 'Ken Griffey', once Junior's Dad had finally retired. Junior said no, that he would always be Ken Griffey Junior. That's why I rooted for Junior ever since, and still do.)
Now Junior's teammate, Alex Rodriguez, has pulled up lame. His calf injury is turning into a cow. A-Rod is 35. Teddy Ballgame said that if you're in the game past 35 "You're in on a pass..." And there's the rub. Some go quickly. Some go slower. But we all go. Almost always before we're ready, and usually a lot earlier than we realize.
A-Rod will soon discover... maybe he already has... that his competition on the all-time MLB home run and RBI lists are not names like Aaron, Ruth and Ramirez, but rather Mother Nature, Father Time and Alex Rodriguez. Will his body betray him before he gets to pass any more greats?
Projections are fun, but they are also folly. A-Rod hit 3 the other day in KC; two of the homers were monster shots. Babe Ruth hit three at Forbes Field, numbers 712, 713, and 714. The 714th cleared the roof in distant right field. And of course, the Babe never hit another. It's not the skill or the will that leaves first. It's the ability. The ability to recover, bounce back, tell your body... actually you don't tell your body anything, it tells you. Just because A-Rod has has such mind-numbing success at an early age does not mean he is destined to climb to the top of the statistical charts. And it should not, and will not diminish his status as an all-time great.
I am in the middle of using a game simulator to, well, simulate baseball games. In the process of doing so I constantly discover and rediscover things about the all-time greats of baseball. I just finished one season involving the 1932 Yankees. This was the squad that produced Babe Ruth's final World Series appearance. You know, the one with the 'called shot', right? Anyway, the Babe was in his decline phase. Boys and girls, the Babe's decline phase was pretty good! In the field he slowed up dramatically. He was 37. You will often read that his decline was due to years of hard partying, neglect and dissipation.
Hogwash! Balderdash! Bull!
Ruth was still the most dominating force of every game he was in. Problem was, his game time was diminishing. The Babe drove in 137 runs in 1932, with 41 HRs and a .341 batting average. Problem was, he only played 133 games. He came out of some of those in the late innings. He only had 13 doubles all year long. Wanna bet some of them singles were long drives off the right field fences?
But look at the productivity! 137 RBI and 120 runs scored in 133 games! Ruth was still every bit as dangerous when he got on the field. The hard part was saddling it up day after day.
My game simulations take place in a utopian environment. Every player is healthy, every day. That goes for both sides, so what you get is peak performance out of everybody. That's fine with me. I want to see Willie take on the Babe at their respective bests. I'm not interested in watching 1973 Willie Mays of the New York Mets taking on the 1935 Babe Ruth of the Boston Braves. I wanna see Willie go back on a long one in the Polo Grounds off the bat of the Babe in his prime! Anyway, without giving too much away, I played Ruth's 1932 Yankees a season or two. And he gets to play the full schedule, as does everyone else. Guess what. The man can still hit!
Ruth took care of himself! He worked out every winter from 1926 onward. He eased up on the partying somewhat. He lasted until 40, and it wasn't just on sheer talent. Wanna have some fun sometimes, compare the Babe's career over 30... and over 35... with anybody elses...EVERYBODY elses. That is where Ruth gets them all... even all of the so called fitness fanatics. Ruth didn't just overpower everyone, he outlasted them too. He didn't just drive in 140-160 runs a year. He drove in 2200. Henry Aaron drove in 2300, minus three. That doesn't come from a hot streak. That comes from will AND skill... lots of liniment, conditioning, and the burning desire to get out on that field just one more time.
And A-Rod, like all others, is finding out how tough a task that is going to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment