Iconic Player?

[KCRfan1]

Originally Posted by ls7plus

McGwire certainly was--he bolstered attendance ON THE ROAD to an incomparable, unfathomable degree, unmatched by anyone else since, except possibly Kershaw. Large portions of the crowd would even arrive early to watch him take batting practice (including me, in 1999 at old Tiger Stadium, where I saw him park four over the left field roof, which only Frank Howard, Harmon Killebrew and Cecil Fielder had ever done in a game. One of them cleared the roof not anywhere near down the line, BUT OVER LEFT CENTER! We were sitting in the left field upper deck, and while the long blasts of his teammates were landing rather softly in the upper deck, his were still coming with the velocity of cannon shots! No one hit them as far and as often as Big Mac! I still remember him parking one high off the scoreboard well beyond the right centerfield fence in old Shea Stadium). He was truly "Bunyonesque." Then of course, as we all know, he fell out of favor.

But it appears the younger generation simply doesn't care much about the steroid revelations--don't look now, but his '85 Topps PSA 10's and 9's have virtually doubled in the last year! And there are over 260 PSA "10's" and 5,000 "9's!" Now either that is speculation running rampant, or one h_ll of a tidal wave in demand!

Best to all,

Larry

I love watching the home run contest he was in at Fenway! McGwire was a beast.

Just remember to turn down the sound so you don't have to listen to Chris Behrman.

[SAllen2556]

the definition:
a : widely recognized and well-established
b : widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence

I think a big part of being an iconic baseball player is that player's relationship with the public. Babe Ruth is the most iconic baseball player ever because his fame transcended the sport even beyond his talent. He was great with the press, the fans. He was in the public eye through movies, advertisements, and personal appearances.

Here in Detroit we have Miguel Cabrera who is the best baseball player I have ever seen - bar none. Al Kaline recently called him the best Detroit Tiger player he's ever seen - and he's seen them since the early 50's. I swear, when he's hitting, it looks like he's playing softball and everyone else is playing hardball - he's that good.

But is he iconic? He rarely gives interviews. His English is still horrible. He rarely does personal appearances. He does no ads, even locally. In short, we as fans, don't really know him. Would a soccer mom in California know his name or recognize his face? I doubt it. In my opinion, he's not an iconic player - not because his talent is lacking, but because he's never made any effort to be in the public eye. As a fan, I wish he did more because next to Ty Cobb, he's the best Detroit Tiger of all time.

I do wonder if the influx of Spanish speaking players, who seemingly make no effort to learn English, will sadly prevent some great players from ever becoming iconic.

[KCRfan1]

That's a very interesting take Scott. One I never thought of.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

I love watching the home run contest he was in at Fenway! McGwire was a beast.

Just remember to turn down the sound so you don't have to listen to Chris Behrman.

But Griffey won. McGwire burned himself out in the first round.