Quote:
Originally Posted by Snapolit1
Soto is the best player on the team and one of the slowest.
Him busting ass up the line like a madman so he can beat one maybe two throws a year makes no sense.
Rickey was likewise criticized. He didn’t give a shit. He refused to walk through airports. Always took the moving walkways and escalators. Said he would only use his legs when he had to.
(Rickey was moody and lazy too, if you are keeping count. Him, Mays, Aaron, Allen, Winfield, Gibson, Clemente, Reggie, etc.)
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That's the great thing about baseball -- each of us can choose which players to support and which narratives resonate most strongly. I personally appreciate players who hustle down the line to first on routine ground balls.
I didn't like Rickey Henderson. I thought he was a showboat who liked to show people up. I preferred watching Tim Raines and Vince Coleman, if I wanted to see speed on the basepaths. You might think that Rickey's accolades made him worth watching even though he didn't give a sh*t. Same with Juan Soto, perhaps. I prefer to watch guys who do give a sh*t, especially when those guys are on a $765mm guaranteed contract.
I'm not sure the racial overtones of your comments are fair. No one said that Juan Soto is slow or lazy because of his race or ethnic background. It shouldn't be the case that if you say that a non-white player looks slow or lazy that you're some sort of bigot.
And finally, Lindor is the best player on the Mets. Maybe he doesn't have Soto's stats, but when Soto was having his billionaire baby mood swings back in May and June, it was Lindor who was out there in public defending him -- and it was his leadership that seemed to be keeping the Mets competitive.