Quote:
Originally Posted by Syd Thrift
Right, although as mancandy noted, Oyler didn’t actually get the job back once he finally lost it for good in August. Stanley started the World Series and then Oyler was drafted by the expansion Pilots, who also played him for around half a season (and where he became a local fan favorite, to the point that after his baseball career ended he moved back to Seattle and lived there the rest of his life…. but I digress). To me it’s actually more damning that Oyler’s replacements hit so bad but the Tigers still weren’t willing to give him that job back, to the extent that they decided they’d rather take their chances with Mickey Stanley (and even there, they only went with him until July of the following season when they traded for Tom Tresh) than go with the guy who hit almost as badly as a pitcher but knew how to play it.
And I’m just saying, that’s a world of difference from Bill Bergen, who played in the majors for 11 seasons, in many of them being his team’s primary catcher, and who literally did not hit as well as the average pitcher did over the course of his career. Even then, Bergen was a bit of a unicorn, and he wasn’t truly terrible until the second half of it, but I have to admit that it drives me a little crazy when people bring up these supposed counter examples of guys who washed out of the league within 2 or 3 seasons (the other one I see a bit is Rey Ordonez, who still OPSed around 200 points higher than pitchers did in his worst season, and who at that put up the kind of horrible OPS that potentially keeps you in jobs, that is the “empty batting average” style - he hit .246 for his career but never walked and, during an era known for power, was good for around 2 dingers a year).
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And once again just to clarify, I'm pretty sure you and I are essentially on the same page regarding the over-arching issue being addressed in this thread.
But here's the thing- and I say this as respectfully and kindly as I can and certainly don't mean to single you or anyone else out on this count (truth be told, you are one of the people here I probably most consistently agree with)- in my experience this community/ these forums can veer into some intellectual bullying/big brains on display behavior. There are many smart people here, I have no doubt. Although there are some people here who I consistently disagree with (and whose world views I suspect are radically different than my own) I find it hard to believe that anyone who isn't pretty darn smart/knowledgeable would spend much time trying to play a game like OOTP. So intelligence that is at least above average is what I consider the baseline for this community.
But my nature is that on occasions where it feels to me like someone might be getting a bit beat up intellectually here (and hey, I don't mean to suggest that this is how that person feels- just my perception), I will likely at times rush in to provide some support and a bit of counter-action.