Baseball Genius (Revised Edition)
by rodcarew on Jan 17, 2009 3:01 PM CST
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They say that Mozart was making music at 2 years of age. Leonardo da Vinci had the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. That's true genius. But brilliance exists in baseball too. I became acutely aware of that last night while watching the MLB Network. What follows is my somewhat biased list of the top 25 geniuses in baseball:
25. Female Form -- Morganna The Kissing Bandit (60-23-39)
24. Pitching Coach -- Roger Craig
23. Writer -- Roger Angell
22. Character -- Casey Stengel
21. Creative Owner -- Bill Veeck
20. Best 5 Tools -- Willie Mays
19. Comedy -- Max Patkin (Clown Prince of Baseball)
18. Announcer -- Vin Scully
17. Manager -- Billy Martin
16. Courage -- Jackie Robinson
15. Win at all cost player -- Ty Cobb
14. Greatest moment -- Bobby Thomson
13. Owner who demanded wins -- George Steinbrenner
12. Power Maven -- Kenesaw Mountain Landis
11. Best Game Ever -- Game 6, 1975 World Series
10. Control Pitcher -- Greg Maddux
9. .400+ Hitter -- Ted Williams
8. Book -- Ball Four by Jim Bouton
7. Stats and Research -- Bill James
6. Negotiator -- Marvin Miller
5. Run scoring machine -- Ricky Henderson
4. Coach who knows how to win -- Cliff Gustafson
3. Homerun hitter -- Babe Ruth
2. Defensive Wizard -- Ozzie Smith
1. 3-d Spatial Memory -- The Batting Stance Guy
I have to add one honorable mention for the Real Men of Genius Ads by Bud Light, but those commercials were only loosely tied to baseball. If I had to put a Ranger in there, well, I guess it would be Julio Franco for longevity. My hope for the future is that I'll be able to add this listing: Best GM -- JD.
So, who did I miss?
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heh, the batting coach guy
that was.. interesting.. to see him get on national tv from his youtube vid for a pretty lengthy segment.
the preceding post was a great success.
Nope
No current announcer in any sport gets the nod over Vin.
I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.
Especially Joe Morgan's cronie.
That Gold Glove for Young was the worst thing that could have happened to Texas - now the guy really believes he's good at short. - Keith Law
Miller's good. It's not his fault the world's third biggest idiot sits next to him on national telecasts.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I hate Michael Young.
"There are no weak opinions with the dirkatron, it’s all scream-across-the-parking-lot echelon." -hightowersmith
by thedirkatron on Jan 17, 2009 5:28 PM CST up reply actions
Maybe
I’ve never liked him, but that could be due to “the Joe affect”. They’re still breaking those two up, right? I’ll have to make a point of listening to Miller without the Morgan this year.
That Gold Glove for Young was the worst thing that could have happened to Texas - now the guy really believes he's good at short. - Keith Law
All due respect, Jon has a spark in his voice Vinny's doesn't.
Scully’s delivery is just a little too lethargic for my tastes.
by oc on Jan 17, 2009 6:17 PM CST up reply actions
I really enjoy Miller...
but I’d take Scully and Uecker over him.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
go listen to a brooklyn game from the 50's
the guy is the baseball voice for all eternity…
love Vin.
mormons stole me and held me against my will with Oklahoma beer and 12+ hour work days.
were you listening to brooklyn games in the 50's?
"To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant."
I listened to Vin Scully’s wrap-up of Sal Maglie no-hitter in 1956.
(5:10 – 7:50)
It has a timeless quality to it. Everything is articulated very well. But it’s like the sound of his voice stays on the same wavelength. It dips and rises ever so slightly at times, but not enough to stop that same monotone frequency from repeating in my head.
Jon Miller has better range. His home run calls build until he’s practically shouting. And then he knows when to nose dive if a big pitch goes foul. It makes me want to go… “Aw shucks.”
I like Jon Miller
but Scully is (or maybe was, given his age) better.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Used to live in SF
and Miller did the radio for the Giants. He is very good. However, Vin Scully beats him by a nose. Scully is a great story teller, and he was born to call baseball.
Your 2009 Snow Monkey Ambassador
This is the kind of discussion I was looking for
when I posted the article. Here’s my take on Costas vs. Scully. Vin has a slightly better voice but it’s a very close call. Scully has a better delivery and vocabulary. Costas is smarter and has more baseball savvy. I’ll take substance over style any day. Costas however is a Yankee fan. I deduct points for that. Costas has branched out to football and the olympics, whereas Scully is more pure baseball. So it’s close no matter how you look at it. It’s my article and I’m free to change my mind.
Scully > Costas
"Evolution happened, now get over it." Michael Shermer
Mike Marshall should probably be included on this list
anyone that zany has to be some sort of prodigy
"To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant."
I thought John Olerud's was pretty sweet
Guy couldn’t do a pullup but he could jack them out with pure mechanics.
I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.
by WyoRanger on Jan 17, 2009 5:24 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
LAST SEASON, I led this team in ninth-inning doubles in the month of August!
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I hate Michael Young.
"There are no weak opinions with the dirkatron, it’s all scream-across-the-parking-lot echelon." -hightowersmith
by thedirkatron on Jan 17, 2009 5:32 PM CST up reply actions
I have seen 'free moustache rides' offered on t-shirts in America... Always by guys you would not want to ride with.
by oc on Jan 17, 2009 6:19 PM CST up reply actions
what kind of guys would you want to ride with?
"To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant."
got em'
"My mother always taught me that if the only thing you have to say is,
‘(Expletive) Dave Samson,’ then don’t say anything at all.
So I’m not going to say anything at all.
Is my mother the greatest or what?"
- Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, after signing Ichiro to a $90 million contract
When it is over, a fat lady will sing to us.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I hate Michael Young.
"There are no weak opinions with the dirkatron, it’s all scream-across-the-parking-lot echelon." -hightowersmith
by thedirkatron on Jan 17, 2009 8:26 PM CST up reply actions
I hate to admit this
but I love that movie.
It combines my love of baseball with my fascination with Japan.
Plus the chick is hot. That always helps.
Grieve: The Yanks have struggled so far. - Lewin: Yeah, cry me a bag of money.
ElectricOkra.com
+1
Plus Tom Selleck and Dennis Haysbert are two of my favorite actors. Not their best roles, but still entertaining.
That Gold Glove for Young was the worst thing that could have happened to Texas - now the guy really believes he's good at short. - Keith Law
Wow...
Plus Tom Selleck and Dennis Haysbert are two of my favorite actors.
I prefer Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, and Edward Norton, but heh, that’s just me.
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
Favorite, not best.
I love Haysbert, too.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I hate Michael Young.
"There are no weak opinions with the dirkatron, it’s all scream-across-the-parking-lot echelon." -hightowersmith
by thedirkatron on Jan 18, 2009 4:02 PM CST up reply actions
The Unit rules.
"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
Yes we can! November 04, 2008
All I've seen him in...
is Major League (even if it is my favorite movie ever), Mr. Baseball and Allstate commercials.
What else has the guy done?
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
And, as mentioned above, The Unit
That Gold Glove for Young was the worst thing that could have happened to Texas - now the guy really believes he's good at short. - Keith Law
And does anyone else think it's coincidental that 24 jumped the shark with a vengeance right after he left?
Cause I don’t.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I hate Michael Young.
"There are no weak opinions with the dirkatron, it’s all scream-across-the-parking-lot echelon." -hightowersmith
by thedirkatron on Jan 19, 2009 6:46 AM CST up reply actions
24 jumped the shark in the first season
when Jack’s wife got amnesia and then the writers realized how stupid that was and just pretty much ignored it the rest of the way.
By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw
Yah, but they sort of un-jumped it when they realized her character licked wrinkled scrotum skin and suddenly killed her off.
Unfortunately that also made them think that killing off characters was something that had to be done all the time so now they just kill off everyone.
Though I should say for the record I haven’t watched for a long time now.
They nuked the fridge over and over until I just couldn’t take it anymore.
That show is just cheesedick daytime TV with better sfx.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
I hate Michael Young.
"There are no weak opinions with the dirkatron, it’s all scream-across-the-parking-lot echelon." -hightowersmith
by thedirkatron on Jan 19, 2009 1:46 PM CST up reply actions
Posting thousands of blog comments
without meaningfully adding anything to the universe, me.
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Your 'kick-the-dirt' self-depreciation is adorable.
by oc on Jan 17, 2009 6:20 PM CST up reply actions
Well, I could have been more inclusive
since none of us have really added anything.
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The last time my car was in a body shop, I wrecked my rental.
Now I’m scared to drive anywhere.
by oc on Jan 17, 2009 7:57 PM CST up reply actions
Unbelievably, the car that was being worked on was also the victim of a hit-and-run.
Except they found him.
When Arlington Police notified me of this good news, I decided to celebrate by going Christmas shopping and t-boning my rental in the Parks Mall parking lot.
Is that irony?
"My mother always taught me that if the only thing you have to say is,
‘(Expletive) Dave Samson,’ then don’t say anything at all.
So I’m not going to say anything at all.
Is my mother the greatest or what?"
- Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, after signing Ichiro to a $90 million contract
I would like to hear the story behind the rental wreck..
"My mother always taught me that if the only thing you have to say is,
‘(Expletive) Dave Samson,’ then don’t say anything at all.
So I’m not going to say anything at all.
Is my mother the greatest or what?"
- Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, after signing Ichiro to a $90 million contract
Being able to post rational thoughts
If you squint real hard, and fill in some missing letters, and ignore the odd punctuation in the middle of words: HH
.
.
.
.
.
.
I apologize, that’s complete bullshit.
"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
Yes we can! November 04, 2008
Nicest ass.......
I mean wait no never mind.
uh…uh…uh…good list.
You dick that was uncalled for - male cheerleader
David Halberstam
for best writer. October 1964, The Summer of ’49, and The Teammates are all fantastic.
Best facial hair...
Rollie Fingers
The great thing about baseball is that there's a crisis every day. ~Gabe Paul
Well, you'd have to qualify that
by saying “of modern era” because there were innumerable guys with spectacular facial hair in the 1800s.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
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