Post by glasspoet on Nov 28, 2011 0:42:42 GMT -5
Nap Lajoie is possibly baseball's greatest player. He combined grace in the field and power at the plate. In the first year of the AL, he won a triple crown....batting .426 (still the major league modern record), leading the league in homers and RBI. He led the majors in batting average 5 times (would have won more if not for Ty Cobb), doubles 4 times, and RBI 3 times. But he was known just as much (or MORE) for his fielding. He was SO POPULAR that his team changed their name to the Naps in honor of him.
He might be known as the greatest player ever except for a few things: His temper, he was often named player/manager and couldn't handle the pressure (but did have a .550win%)--having sub-par seasons until rebounding after they let him quit managing, he was no leadoff hitter because he didn't take walks (he swung as hard as he could at ANYTHING even close to being a strike, but he didn't strike out either), and most importantly--he never played on a championship team (came oh so close a couple of times). It didn't help that he rightfully vocalized his anger for being left off the original cast into the Baseball Hall of Fame (he highlighted the 2nd class in 1937) and shunned professional baseball thereafter.
Why do I think he might be the most popular player ever? Let me tell you. I found out he, and his forever wife, died in Daytona Beach and went looking for their gravestone. I went to where my grandfather was buried first. I didn't find it, but in the very old (run down) part of the graveyard, I began to see all these grave markers honoring his accomplishments. This happened in graveyard after graveyard (I finally did find his gravestone). The next time I worked in Tallahassee, I went to the most noted graveyard---and in the oldest (and I mean OLDEST) section I found a couple more. Later in trips to Boston and New York City I found more.
Try it sometime for yourself. Go to your local graveyard and look for grave markers in memorial to Nap Lajoie. Hint: you'll need to go into the very OLDEST parts of the graveyard. As great as he was, he might be the most underrated/most forgotten player ever.
He might be known as the greatest player ever except for a few things: His temper, he was often named player/manager and couldn't handle the pressure (but did have a .550win%)--having sub-par seasons until rebounding after they let him quit managing, he was no leadoff hitter because he didn't take walks (he swung as hard as he could at ANYTHING even close to being a strike, but he didn't strike out either), and most importantly--he never played on a championship team (came oh so close a couple of times). It didn't help that he rightfully vocalized his anger for being left off the original cast into the Baseball Hall of Fame (he highlighted the 2nd class in 1937) and shunned professional baseball thereafter.
Why do I think he might be the most popular player ever? Let me tell you. I found out he, and his forever wife, died in Daytona Beach and went looking for their gravestone. I went to where my grandfather was buried first. I didn't find it, but in the very old (run down) part of the graveyard, I began to see all these grave markers honoring his accomplishments. This happened in graveyard after graveyard (I finally did find his gravestone). The next time I worked in Tallahassee, I went to the most noted graveyard---and in the oldest (and I mean OLDEST) section I found a couple more. Later in trips to Boston and New York City I found more.
Try it sometime for yourself. Go to your local graveyard and look for grave markers in memorial to Nap Lajoie. Hint: you'll need to go into the very OLDEST parts of the graveyard. As great as he was, he might be the most underrated/most forgotten player ever.