(no subject)
Rickey Henderson: New Mets Hitting Coach
This is obviously a big deal, and would have been so even if it had been announced on a day with real news happening on it. I don't know why I like Rickey. He only played for the Mets one full year (he was pretty good that year though), the Red Sox for less than one, and, most famously, he's kind of an ass. But he's an amusing ass, and for that, I enjoy Rickey.
But can he make the Mets better? And by 'better' I don't mean 'start referring to themselves in the third person', unless that in itself makes them better. For all the obvious attention he got as a leadoff hitter and base-stealer, Henderson was an extremely well-rounded hitter. He didn't have a particularly pretty swing though, for whatever that's worth. Having never played Baseball myself, I'll just take a wild stab at what that's worth - without a 'natural' swing, Rickey had to figure out how to become an effective hitter through sheer force, perhaps that's useful experience to have to be a hitting instructor. And there's always Howard Johnson in the first base coach's box to provide some further guidance. (HoJo: Wait 'til you see the ball go straight, then smack it as hard as you can. Those squiggly pitches are just practice balls, don't swing at those.)
Plus, if Rickey's return means we all get to share our favorite Rickey moments, well it can't be all bad, right?
This is obviously a big deal, and would have been so even if it had been announced on a day with real news happening on it. I don't know why I like Rickey. He only played for the Mets one full year (he was pretty good that year though), the Red Sox for less than one, and, most famously, he's kind of an ass. But he's an amusing ass, and for that, I enjoy Rickey.
But can he make the Mets better? And by 'better' I don't mean 'start referring to themselves in the third person', unless that in itself makes them better. For all the obvious attention he got as a leadoff hitter and base-stealer, Henderson was an extremely well-rounded hitter. He didn't have a particularly pretty swing though, for whatever that's worth. Having never played Baseball myself, I'll just take a wild stab at what that's worth - without a 'natural' swing, Rickey had to figure out how to become an effective hitter through sheer force, perhaps that's useful experience to have to be a hitting instructor. And there's always Howard Johnson in the first base coach's box to provide some further guidance. (HoJo: Wait 'til you see the ball go straight, then smack it as hard as you can. Those squiggly pitches are just practice balls, don't swing at those.)
Plus, if Rickey's return means we all get to share our favorite Rickey moments, well it can't be all bad, right?