quote:Originally posted by Prime9:
By the way, I can't think of a right-handed hitter ever that owned a "sweeter swing" than Edgar's! There might be some "pickers" on that comment. lol
Don't get me started on Edgar, I'll never stop! He is, as is almost assured given his quiet, low-key nature, a very underappreciated player! It bugs me every year about this time when HoF voters start saying that Edgar doesn't have the counting stats for Cooperstown (as if "magic numbers" should even really be used), when in fact Edgar is in the Top 100 all-time (currently #80, in fact) in Times on Base (TOB), and #30 all time among RH hitters. And he did that in far fewer PA than almost all of those 100, while making far fewer outs. I did a study of the Top 100 TOB hitters after the 2010 season, and at that time Edgar was 15th in the ratio of TOB/Outs Made (4th RH hitter, behind only Hornsby, Foxx, and Frank Thomas) - to me, kind of a hitter's basic purpose, get on base and avoid making outs - and 26th in the ratio of Total Bases/Outs Made (12th RH hitter). But...I digress.
He did have a sweet swing, and as anybody who watched MLB Networks' 20 Greatest Games series last year, you know how much respect he got from other players and pitchers, because there simply wasn't any one way to get him out - he could hit whatever the pitcher gave him, and if they didn't throw him strikes, he wouldn't swing.
Which reminds me of a story: I have been involved as a minority owner and board member for a small local brewery and brewpub here in Seattle for years, and in Edgar's retirement, we've hosted events for his foundation (which raises money to fund scholarships for disadvantaged kids to become teachers, with incentives to return to disadvantaged areas) and I've gotten to know him a bit.
A couple of years ago, I went in on an auction item with some baseball friends and neighbors for a BP session for our kids with Edgar. Really first class - the kids had their own nameplates in the Safeco locker room, the whole bit. My son was only about a week to ten days out of a cast for a severely broken wrist when this happened, but overall he still swung the bat pretty well, except he was having more trouble than usual getting on top of the high pitch.
Edgar, in that inimitable soft spoken tone and Puerto Rican accent, was advising my son to start with his hands higher if he wants to hit that pitch, but then added, with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye "Or, just don't swing at that pitch."
Easy for you to say, Gar.
quote:"The "nit picking" and arguing about one nuance or the other, intensifies here during the baseball off-season. Boredom sets in, blood pressure rises and tempers flare. Don't take it personal, the pleasantries return in the Spring!
I didn't, and I won't - but I'll add that as about the 1000th item on my list of reasons why I can't wait for Spring!