As painful as it is to admit sometimes, I am a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. I grew up with the Pirates memorizing their starting lineups, numbers and positions included.
My favorite Pirate as a kid was center fielder Andy Van Slyke. Andy was hard-nosed 'average Joe' who often sold out to make incredible and ridiculous catches. Today, Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore plays with a similar recklessness that mirrors Van Slyke in his prime, although Sizemore’s got a better stick.
Recently, Van Slyke has reappeared on the baseball landscape teaming up again with manager Jim Leyland and coaching first base for the Detroit Tigers. Yahoo Sport’s David Brown caught up with Andy, who can still spew out quotes like a machine.
If you're looking to kill a few minutes then check this awesome interview with Andy, the man who had the audacity to punch Barry Bonds.
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Q: There's an urban legend in Pittsburgh that, from center field, you tried to wave Barry in to play more shallow in left before Francisco Cabrera's famous game-winning hit in the 1992 NLCS.
AVS: That's not a legend, that is not a rumor, that is an absolute, 100-percent, truth that I did. (Continue reading)
3 comments:
Hahah! I love the Van Slyke comment at the bottom of the article. Now I fully understand your disdane for Barry.
I'm going to go ahead and have a giant issue with this comment from AVS:
AVS: He's certainly in the top five of all time in my opinion. Maybe in the top ... I never saw Willie Mays play in his prime. Never saw Henry Aaron. Babe Ruth. Without even thinking about it, he's in the top five.
Barry Bonds is a toolbag. Top 5 all time, hah! Get real. No "lunchpail" player like Andy should ever give someone who cheats to inflate his stats the benefit of the doubt - even if they were friends and teammates.
I compare good ole Bondsie to Carl Lewis. Sure, he was a fast fast runner before cheating, but it was the cheating that put him over the top. Barry Bonds deserves what he's getting, just like Carl did.
Without even realizing it, this is a very fitting 100th post. Yes, it does shed light on my disdain for Barry Bonds. But my despise stems from a lot factors, not just the Van Slyke comment. Bonds’ last play with the Pirates was an errant throw that allowed the Braves to slide into the World Series. He also had a classic blowup during spring training (1991) and batted a pathetic .191 in the postseason as a Pirate with only one homer. I see Bonds career as poetic justice; he owns the greatest single-player record in the sport but has no rings to show for his work. Glad you liked it.
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