OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 04-11-2023, 08:04 PM

MY LIFE IN 2023
EC's Life's Is Filled with Glee in '23

"Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds"

Well now, just who do you think was the best center fielder in baseball history?... Joe Posnanski makes a good case for Tris Speaker in his book "The Baseball 100"... Speaker was known for playing a very, very shallow center field... in his career he had 6 unassisted double plays, where he would catch a fly ball in short center and step on second base and double up a runner... he played so close to the infield, several times a year Speaker would throw a batter out at first base.

Nope, they didn't hit it over his head either... he would go back and haul it in... a la Willie Mays.

From Posnanski's "The Baseball 100"

"There's a famous Joe DiMaggio story that gets at this point. When DiMaggio came up to the Yankees in 1936, he, too, played an absurdly shallow center field. After one game, pitcher Lefty Gomez heard DiMaggio in the clubhouse bragging about how he would make everyone forget all about Tris Speaker, to which Gomez said, "Yeah, that's great, Joe, but let's not make them forget Lefty Gomez. Play deeper."

04-11-2023, 08:04 PM	#9485
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,917	MY LIFE IN 2023 EC's Life's Is Filled with Glee in '23 "Wit, Quips and Quotes from the Diamond Minds" Well now, just who do you think was the best center fielder in baseball history?... Joe Posnanski makes a good case for Tris Speaker in his book "The Baseball 100"... Speaker was known for playing a very, very shallow center field... in his career he had 6 unassisted double plays, where he would catch a fly ball in short center and step on second base and double up a runner... he played so close to the infield, several times a year Speaker would throw a batter out at first base. Nope, they didn't hit it over his head either... he would go back and haul it in... a la Willie Mays. From Posnanski's "The Baseball 100" "There's a famous Joe DiMaggio story that gets at this point. When DiMaggio came up to the Yankees in 1936, he, too, played an absurdly shallow center field. After one game, pitcher Lefty Gomez heard DiMaggio in the clubhouse bragging about how he would make everyone forget all about Tris Speaker, to which Gomez said, "Yeah, that's great, Joe, but let's not make them forget Lefty Gomez. Play deeper." Last edited by Eugene Church; 04-22-2023 at 01:34 PM.