I remain uncomfortable with a 13-13 pitcher winning the Cy Young award. About Williams, though, we are in complete agreement. (If you thought I was implying Yaz was better, I wasn't. He was just the one playing when I was a kid). His statistics were awesome and, as you say, that was giving up five years in the heart of his career to fight in WWII and the Korean War. He wasn't on public relations duty, either, as a lot of jocks were. He was a fighter pilot.
You have probably read this article before. My favorite part is about Williams refusing to tip his cap after hitting a home run in his final at-bat. That was Ted. He was treated badly by the Boston sports press, as vicious as any in the business, and some of the fans, and he was not going to kow-tow to them that day or any other. They were lucky enough to witness a legend and if that wasn't enough for them, tough.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/hub_fans_bid_kid_adieu_article.shtmlAnother baseball moment, a classy one that passed somewhat unnoticed in this past postseason -- Giants players applauding Braves manager after defeating the Braves and making it Cox's last game as a manager --
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nickengvall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/giants-tip-their-caps-to-bobby-cox.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nickengvall.com/blog/2010/10/12/my-unspoken-cheers-for-the-san-francisco-giants/&usg=__mk6UZFBNtPp624j3MoKehChuOcQ=&h=361&w=594&sz=86&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=vWvs7TgH9UidyM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=217&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgiants%2Bapplaud%2Bbobby%2Bcox%2Bphoto%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1904%26bih%3D1001%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=133&vpy=204&dur=85&hovh=175&hovw=288&tx=151&ty=105&ei=-kX7TI2ZDsKPnweX_ozICg&oei=-kX7TI2ZDsKPnweX_ozICg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=48&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0(Wow, there's a URL! <g>)
I am still revved by the Giants winning the World Series. It was not the outcome some here wanted but IMO it is unlikely we will see that kind of day after day pitching excellence through September and October again in our lifetimes. As young as the Giants' starters are, even they will probably never be that good again for that long. It was one of those sparkling moments in time, easy to miss or underappreciate.
Less than three months until pitchers and catchers report <g>.
>It depends on how you look at the Cy Young award. Is it for "Best Pitcher", or is it for "Most Valuable Pitcher". If the former, then yes, I think he deserved it. If the latter, then no. The guy had great stats and was arguably the best pitcher in the AL, pitching for a crappy team. As for most valuable pitcher, well... I think they could have finished out of the money just as easily without him. So he wasn't all that valuable to his team - at least not insofar as winning is concerned.
>
>For me, there will never be another ballplayer like Ted Williams. Name anybody you want. I shudder to think what his stats might have looked like if he hadn't been such a patriot in his best years.
>
>
>>>>I agree with everything you'v said.
>>>>
>>>>Or, put another way, I "believe" everything you've said is right. :)
>>>
>>>Oh, oh. Am I in trouble?
>>
>>You certainly are, Alan. Just on general principle.
>>
>>BTW, I get emails from mlb.com and participated in their end of season fan vote yesterday. Best batter, best starting pitcher, best reliever, best rookie, biggest surprise, etc. I voted for Halladay as best starter. (This season <g>). He earned it.
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>>What did you think of the AL Cy Young vote? I know Fernandez had some great stats, and his team was pure crap behind him, but 13-13? David Price and C.C. Sabathia both had more traditional W-L records for Cy Young winners.
>>
>>When I was a kid my favorite baseball players were Carl Yastrzemski and Tom Seaver. The timing of my birth was impeccable because I was 10 when Yaz led the Red Sox to their improbable pennant in 1967 (it seemed like nobody got him out the whole month of September) and was 12 when Seaver led the Mets to their even more improbable World Series win in 1969. Seaver won the Cy Young that year and several others. The one that steamed me was the year he came in second to Ferguson Jenkins of the Cubs. You decide --
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>>Jenkins -- 24-13, 2.77 ERA, 325.0 innings pitched, 263 strikeouts, 1.049 WHIP
>>Seaver -- 20-10, 1.76 ERA, 286.1 innings pitched, 289 strikeouts, 0.946 WHIP
>>
>>It was the best season of Seaver's Hall of Fame career. That 0.946 has to be one of the lowest ever, at least in the modern era. (For those who don't know, it is an abbreviation for Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched and is probably the best measurement of a pitcher's effectiveness). Jenkins had a number of strong seasons in a row and the award was considered in the lifetime achievement category. Seaver had already won a Cy Young, was expected to win some more, which he did, and so that year it went to Jenkins. But I am still steamed about it <g>.
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>>Dramatis personae --
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>>
http://www.picsearch.com/pictures/athletes,%20male/team%20sports/baseball%20legends/tom%20seaver.html>>
http://www.picsearch.com/pictures/athletes,%20male/team%20sports/baseball%20legends/fergie%20jenkins.html>>
http://www.google.com/images?q=carl+yastrzemski+photo&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=e6X3TOerNYH-8AbZs8TrBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQsAQwAA&biw=1904&bih=1001>>
>>If you were a 10 year old sports loving kid in New England in 1967 you wanted to be Carl Yastrzemski.
>>
>>It's funny because many years later, driving to Logan Airport after a family visit, I tuned in a sports talk station on the radio and there was Yaz calling in. "Carl from Lynn, you're on the air." I was told he would call in once in a while and share his thoughts about the events of the day, always amiable.
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>>Red Sox left fielders from 1939 to 1989: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice. When they finally tear down Fenway they should send that turf to the Smithsonian.
