The "feels like" thing reminds me of a line of thinking I was running through the other night..."when a player becomes a Hall of Famer in most folks mind". We all know about guys who "felt like a hall of famer" in their 20's but then faded...the two big examples often given are Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy.
But some guys have weird paths (like Schilling). The guy I was thinking about specifically was Adrian Beltre. He's pretty much a consensus "yes" these days, maybe a first ballot guy.
But man, was he a LOT of "things" in his long career.
- A young phenom (in majors @ 19)
- A solid if unspectacular young player
- A guy who had a monster year
- A big free agent signing
- A disappointment (LA years)
- A guy who signed a one-year "pillow contract"
- A guy who put on a great run in his 30's
- A 3,000 hit sure thing Hall of Famer