"Boys, I'm one of those umpires that misses 'em every once in a while so if it's close, you'd better hit it." Cal Hubbard
Look at ED's 1986 and 1987 seasons. Pretty remarkable combination of power and speed. And he accomplished that on some bad teams. Loved that guy. Definitely underappreciated at the time. Compare those numbers to players today.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl...aviser01.shtml
Here's the breakdown on walks by hitter:
Votto 20
Choo 5
Frazier 5
Hanigan 5
Mez 4
Bruce, Heisey, BP, Ludwick - 2 each
Cozart, Hannahan, Izturis, Latos - 1 each
They crucified him early too
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...7445/index.htm
June 20, 1988
Davis, who was hitting a disappointing .247 at week's end, found himself in trouble last week when The Cincinnati Enquirer printed a story in which an unnamed source claimed the centerfielder might be involved in drugs. The next day Davis vehemently denied the report and lashed out at the press. "When other players get off to bad starts, no one says anything," he told the Cincinnati Post . "But when something happens to a black player, it's because of drugs. Last year, I had 19 homers in May and I was the greatest thing since Swiss cheese. No one started any of this stuff then."
The 1986-88 teams were underachieving teams....Saddled with a GM who refused to part with crown jewels for the 1987 run, and then when he did in 1988....no one could pick up the slack that a departed Dave Parker left in the 4th spot.
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