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Posted By: Hankron

Personally, I'm not for the common practice of projecting a career after a player got killed, injured, lost at sea or incarcerated .... The great football phrase being 'Woulda, coulda, shoulda,' which simply translating to "Didn't" .... Having said that, and not having a bias for or against Mattingly's induction, Puckett's playing career did end in an entirely different manner than Mattingly's. If you look at Puckett's last three years, and in particular his last year, he was playing as a legitimate All-Star. Mattingly, on the other hand, was sputtering like an old Jalopy in desparate need of the nearest gas station. If one were to project their careers past their retirement date, it would reasonable to predict different paths.