Milestones
I am not going to talk about Barry Bonds. My feelings on the subject don’t really need a lot of discussion at this point. They’ve been said better by more knowledgeable people already. I will say I applaud Commissioner Selig’s decision not to be at last night’s game and that Henry Aaron showed true graciousness throughout the chase. I will also not go into my “Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver were banned from the sport for life for doing less” rant. But I will say this: As far as I’m concerned, there was only one true and honest numerical achievement of note this week and it didn’t happen in San Francisco. I am, of course, talking about the 300th win that Mets pitcher Tom Glavine (he’ll always wear a Braves uniform in my eyes) recorded this weekend.
Glavine has played clean, honest baseball since 1987 - most of it with the Atlanta Braves, including their 1995 World Series victory. In those 20 years he has never been on the disabled list once, which is a feat in and of itself for a pitcher considering the high rate of repetitive motion injuries they suffer. He doesn’t have the fastest fast ball in the Bigs, but he’s never really needed to be the fastest. Glavine knows how to work a batter and how to work a count and that’s a hell of a lot more valuable than being able to throw a ball 95 miles an hour.
Even the experts say it will be very unlikely that this milestone is achieved again; the current reliance on the five-man rotation means less starts per pitcher, and managers are less likely to let their starters go too deep into a game anymore. The only other pitcher currently close to the magic 300 is Randy Johnson and he is out for the rest of the year, at least, due to back surgery. He’s also got a 44-year-old pitching arm.
The 300 mark will most likely ensure that Glavine will follow the footsteps of the 23 other 300-winners (at least those that are yet eligible) into the Hall of Fame. I personally think he was destined for that all along, however. Glavine’s legacy as a pitcher won’t be a three-digit number in a stats sheet or his name on the roster of a World Series-winning ball club, but a long-standing career of consistency, humility, honesty, and fair play. In the end, those qualities are far more important than the speed of his fast ball.
If you really want to see me go off, though, ask me about that Joe Jackson rant. And then ask me what I think about Bonds being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Glavine has played clean, honest baseball since 1987 - most of it with the Atlanta Braves, including their 1995 World Series victory. In those 20 years he has never been on the disabled list once, which is a feat in and of itself for a pitcher considering the high rate of repetitive motion injuries they suffer. He doesn’t have the fastest fast ball in the Bigs, but he’s never really needed to be the fastest. Glavine knows how to work a batter and how to work a count and that’s a hell of a lot more valuable than being able to throw a ball 95 miles an hour.
Even the experts say it will be very unlikely that this milestone is achieved again; the current reliance on the five-man rotation means less starts per pitcher, and managers are less likely to let their starters go too deep into a game anymore. The only other pitcher currently close to the magic 300 is Randy Johnson and he is out for the rest of the year, at least, due to back surgery. He’s also got a 44-year-old pitching arm.
The 300 mark will most likely ensure that Glavine will follow the footsteps of the 23 other 300-winners (at least those that are yet eligible) into the Hall of Fame. I personally think he was destined for that all along, however. Glavine’s legacy as a pitcher won’t be a three-digit number in a stats sheet or his name on the roster of a World Series-winning ball club, but a long-standing career of consistency, humility, honesty, and fair play. In the end, those qualities are far more important than the speed of his fast ball.
If you really want to see me go off, though, ask me about that Joe Jackson rant. And then ask me what I think about Bonds being inducted into the Hall of Fame.