Ken Griffey Jr. is now in-between Frank Robinson and Mark McGwire in terms of career home runs. Frank Robinson is ahead of him with 586 dingers, while Junior has 584, and McGwire finished with 583.
Looking at the careers of these three, it is amazing to me how many big seasons McGwire had bunched into his relatively shorter career. It's like he was really primed for fewer seasons. This compares with Griffey, who had more seasons that were the best in the league (though not 70 and 65 homer seasons).
Finally, it is really instructive to see Frank Robinson's career. Wow. The length, the productivity, the fact that he was in the top 10 of his league in homers in 15 seasons, and that he hit over 39 homers only in his Triple Crown year of 1966.
With Junior going to pass Robinson ... maybe this week, this is a good time to sit back and really take stock of Frank Robinson's career. He certainly may be the most underappreciated great player of all time.
thankyouverymuch,
OldCleat
Monday, June 25, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Terry Hoeppner: Great Man, Great Coach
Terry Hoeppner died Tuesday of complications from a brain tumor.
Months after Randy Walker, former Miami player and head football coach, died unexpectedly at a very young age, his assistant, Hoeppner, died at the age of 59.
Hoeppner was what you want a coach and a man to be. He was optimistic without being unrealistic and confident without being cocky. He knew how to handle the good times and more importantly the bad times. He was one of my favorite coaches of all time (as was Walker).
Like the time that Miami lost a very tough, very close game against Marshall at Marshall in the last seconds. Things got out of hand after the game. One Miami assistant coach was led off the field in handcuffs, while another basically trashed the visiting coaches booth. Hoeppner handled the situation with grace and humility. He apologized for the actions of the staff. And he said that Miami had had a streak of 70 straight years of acting with class that was broken, and that the'll just have to start another streak starting today.
As the coach of the mid-major Miami (my alma mater), he had a saying that he would meet anybody, any place, any time. The RedHawks were not afraid to play any team.
It of course helped to have Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback during the 13-1 season of 2003. But those teams were stacked with good players who played the game tough and right. It was Hoeppner who got those players and had them playing well.
Hep had the Hoosiers on the right track. They were going to be pretty good pretty soon. It may be a tough road to win consistently at Indiana. But they are on the right track.
OldCleat
Months after Randy Walker, former Miami player and head football coach, died unexpectedly at a very young age, his assistant, Hoeppner, died at the age of 59.
Hoeppner was what you want a coach and a man to be. He was optimistic without being unrealistic and confident without being cocky. He knew how to handle the good times and more importantly the bad times. He was one of my favorite coaches of all time (as was Walker).
Like the time that Miami lost a very tough, very close game against Marshall at Marshall in the last seconds. Things got out of hand after the game. One Miami assistant coach was led off the field in handcuffs, while another basically trashed the visiting coaches booth. Hoeppner handled the situation with grace and humility. He apologized for the actions of the staff. And he said that Miami had had a streak of 70 straight years of acting with class that was broken, and that the'll just have to start another streak starting today.
As the coach of the mid-major Miami (my alma mater), he had a saying that he would meet anybody, any place, any time. The RedHawks were not afraid to play any team.
It of course helped to have Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback during the 13-1 season of 2003. But those teams were stacked with good players who played the game tough and right. It was Hoeppner who got those players and had them playing well.
Hep had the Hoosiers on the right track. They were going to be pretty good pretty soon. It may be a tough road to win consistently at Indiana. But they are on the right track.
OldCleat
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