Quote:
Originally Posted by mogwai316
I wouldn't say they are "forgotten" but I don't think most people remember just how good Will Clark and Eric Davis were. If you told 10year old me in 1990 that neither of them would be in the hall of fame, I would've thought you were kidding.
Clark had the sweetest swing we had ever seen, if you were playing little league in the late 80's he was the guy that you watched and tried to copy his swing. He had something crazy like 20/12 vision and always seemed to know what pitch was coming. I don't remember ever hearing anything bad about him, seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Absolutely one of the best hitters in all of baseball at his peak. Injuries just piled up and he could never make it through a full season though. I just checked his bbref and the second half of his career was actually much better than I thought! He just kind of got overshadowed and forgotten about as baseball went into the steroid era with people putting up ridiculous numbers.
Davis was like a version of Rickey with just a little less speed / baserunning ability but a little more power. He was a genuine "5 tool player" ahead of his time. Definitely was considered one of the best all-around players in baseball in the late 80's but even at his peak he was never healthy for a full year (career high 135 G) and the injuries quickly got to be more severe. But the man had a 27 HR 80 SB season and followed it up next year with 37 HR and 50 SB, just an absurd combination of speed and power. Sadly diagnosed with colon cancer, but not only survived it but came back and played at a very high level after that but again just couldn't stay on the field due to more injuries. Feels like he is hardly remembered these days though.
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+1 for Eric the Red and Will The Thrill. Really fun players to watch, and I don't think many people under 30-35 know who they are.