I was posting in another baseball related thread here and started to think about what I really missed about the game...and it's not pace of play related...it's actually the opposite of that.
I miss having a Rickey Henderson type around. I mean, I miss the Willie Wilson's, Omar Moreno's, Vince Coleman's and Tim Raines too, but Rickey was just another level of entertainment.
Rickey, when he wasn't going through his "I'm bored with the game, or my environment, or my teammates" stretches, was wondrous to watch.
A total disruptor. I remember the first few years of his stretch with the Yankees, and if he came up to bat at the beginning of an inning, he could command that entire inning from beginning to end.
Would he hit a homer? Would he work a 12 pitch walk and turn it into a triple (and he worked a lot of walks)? Would he completely take the pitcher out of their game, daring him to pick him off? Would he get picked off, and beat the throw to 2nd base anyways? Would the catcher be so flustered, he'd throw the ball into center field trying to get Rickey out?
A 6 minute Rickey Henderson at bat, with him playing psychological games with the pitcher, getting in and out of the box, and then daring the pitcher/catcher on the base paths, dragging out the at-bats of the guys hitting behind him in the line-up, was far more exciting then any 1-2-3 quick inning.
Edge of your seat stuff. If there's a talent around today, who could do that on a regular basis...we'd never know it.
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