What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Sad and/or strange endings to baseball careers (1 Viewer)

G

guru_007

Footballguy
Last night I was just reading some stats online. I was looking over the 1978 MVP voting, and while going down the line I came across a name I had never heard before.

So I clicked on that name, and was surprised to see only 4 major league seasons, and a seemingly promising young man who's career came to an ubrupt halt.

That man was Lymon Bostock. I was surprised I never heard more about this man before reading up on him, as I was a pretty big baseball fan as a kid and a big baseball card collector, although I was only 7 or so at this time.

It got me thinking about lesser known players who's careers were cut short as they were about to enter their prime.

Another one that I always think of is Nick Esasky. I'm a pretty big Red Sox fan, but I was underwhelmed when they acquired this guy. And then he goes out and has a huge year, 30 homers, 108 rbis...top 20 in mvp voting. I was slightly bummed when they lost out on him in free agency, and I remember he was a hot commodity at my fantasy baseball draft in 1990. And then he plays only 9 more games after suffering from vertigo. That must have been some pretty serious dizziness.

Anyone else remember a guy who left much too young?

 
Brian Cole - farmhand for the Mets was killed in a one-car accident while reporting to his minor league assignment. He was a legitimate top prospect for the Mets and would have been a fan favorite right out of the gate. I believe the club has their minor league player of the year award named in his honor.

 
Back on topic.

First person that came to mind was J.R. Richards. Pitched for the Astros and threw serious HEAT (101-102 mph) then suffered a stroke.

Gooden & Strawberry wasted prime years in their careers on drugs.

 
shadyridr said:
Brien Taylor
Click to expand...
I got to see him pitch before he was hurt. Best left-handed pitcher I have ever seen live. 97-98 with his fastball into the 7th inning wherever he wanted to put it. 77-79 with his curve that was an 11-5 breaker, and a changeup that was mainly a show-me pitch but with good arm action. What could have been......
 
SuperAwesomeDude said:
Knightro said:
shadyridr said:
Brien Taylor
Click to expand...
I got to see him pitch before he was hurt. Best left-handed pitcher I have ever seen live. 97-98 with his fastball into the 7th inning wherever he wanted to put it. 77-79 with his curve that was an 11-5 breaker, and a changeup that was mainly a show-me pitch but with good arm action. What could have been......
Click to expand...
what happened to him?
Click to expand...
He went back home where he went to a party. Someone was messing with his brother and he defended him. They were on a front deck and he was pushed off and landed on his pitching arm. That might not be the exact scenario.....but that's the gist of it.I was going to say Monty Stratton. That one legged pitcher showed guts...but then opposing managers just started bunting against him. BASTARDS!!!!!!
 
David Clyde, posterboy for rushing a young pitcher to the majors.From his Wiki page:

David Eugene Clyde (born April 22, 1955 in Kansas City, Kansas) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played all or part of five seasons for the Texas Rangers (1973 to 1975) and Cleveland Indians (1978 to 1979). His once promising baseball career ended at age 26 because of arm injuries.Clyde had a stellar high school baseball career at Westchester High School in Houston where he finished with a record of 18-0 as a senior and only three earned runs in 148 innings pitched. He was the first person selected in the 1973 MLB Draft. He received a $125,000 signing bonus, the highest bonus ever given to a draft pick at the time.[1]He was quickly promoted to the majors and was the youngest player to play in an MLB game that year. Clyde won his first ever Major League start and pitched in eighteen games (all starts) that season, finishing with a record of 4-8, with a 5.01 ERA.Whitey Herzog, Clyde's manager in 1973, said in his 1986 autobiography White Rat, he regrets going along with Rangers owner Bob Short's desire to rush Clyde to the big leagues. According to Herzog, he was often forced to leave the young pitcher in the game way longer than he should have, because fans wanted to see the 18-year-old "phenom" pitch. This led to Clyde's arm burning out an early age. Herzog also said he regrets letting older players supply Clyde with beer and liquor, as Clyde later developed an alleged problem with alcohol that affected his pitching performance. Herzog said that Clyde was hung over many times to the point that he should not have been pitching, but he was pressured by the front office to pitch him anyway.With a strong desire to not contribute to Clyde's downfall further, Herzog left the Rangers after only one year as manager, moving on to the California Angels in 1974. His regret over his part in Clyde's downfall also led Herzog to take a strong stance against drug and alcohol abuse on his teams. When he first became general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, he traded or released many players who refused to clean up their alcohol and drug habits. Over the next few years, he traded (or had later general manager Dal Maxvill trade) several fan-favorite players--Keith Hernandez, Lonnie Smith, and Joaquín Andújar--who had allegedly been using cocaine (although Herzog and Maxvill didn't disclose these problems to the media when making the trades).In the 1974 season, Clyde played in 28 games (21 starts) and finished with 3-9 record, and a 4.38 ERA. He started one game in the 1975 season (a loss) before developing arm trouble and being demoted to the minor leagues. He stayed in the minors for three seasons before being traded (with Willie Horton) to the Cleveland Indians for Tom Buskey and John Lowenstein prior to the 1978 season.Many of Clyde's troubles are attributed to the rush to get him into the majors before he was ready. This was due, in part, to Texas owner Bob Short wanting to sell tickets. Clyde's first start resulted in a sellout crowd and a win, but that was his career's high point.Clyde started for the Indians for most of that year, playing in 28 games (starting 25) and finished with a record of 8-11, with a 4.28 ERA and 83 strikeouts. Clyde also finished fourth in the American League with 11 wild pitches. He pitched in 9 games (8 starts) with the Indians during the 1979 season (3-4, 5.91 ERA) before being demoted to the minors. He was traded back to the Rangers after the 1979 season, but was released prior to the 1980 season.Clyde tried to restart his career with the Houston Astros for the 1981 season, but never played a game with them.The phrase "I hope they don't pull a David Clyde with him," when referring to a professional sports team taking a very young player (often just out of high school) and rushing him to the major leagues before he is ready, has become a part of baseball's lexicon. [[1]]Clyde recently retired from the lumber business.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Statorama said:
David Clyde, posterboy for rushing a young pitcher to the majors.From his Wiki page:

David Eugene Clyde (born April 22, 1955 in Kansas City, Kansas) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played all or part of five seasons for the Texas Rangers (1973 to 1975) and Cleveland Indians (1978 to 1979). His once promising baseball career ended at age 26 because of arm injuries.Clyde had a stellar high school baseball career at Westchester High School in Houston where he finished with a record of 18-0 as a senior and only three earned runs in 148 innings pitched. He was the first person selected in the 1973 MLB Draft. He received a $125,000 signing bonus, the highest bonus ever given to a draft pick at the time.[1]He was quickly promoted to the majors and was the youngest player to play in an MLB game that year. Clyde won his first ever Major League start and pitched in eighteen games (all starts) that season, finishing with a record of 4-8, with a 5.01 ERA.Whitey Herzog, Clyde's manager in 1973, said in his 1986 autobiography White Rat, he regrets going along with Rangers owner Bob Short's desire to rush Clyde to the big leagues. According to Herzog, he was often forced to leave the young pitcher in the game way longer than he should have, because fans wanted to see the 18-year-old "phenom" pitch. This led to Clyde's arm burning out an early age. Herzog also said he regrets letting older players supply Clyde with beer and liquor, as Clyde later developed an alleged problem with alcohol that affected his pitching performance. Herzog said that Clyde was hung over many times to the point that he should not have been pitching, but he was pressured by the front office to pitch him anyway.With a strong desire to not contribute to Clyde's downfall further, Herzog left the Rangers after only one year as manager, moving on to the California Angels in 1974. His regret over his part in Clyde's downfall also led Herzog to take a strong stance against drug and alcohol abuse on his teams. When he first became general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, he traded or released many players who refused to clean up their alcohol and drug habits. Over the next few years, he traded (or had later general manager Dal Maxvill trade) several fan-favorite players--Keith Hernandez, Lonnie Smith, and Joaquín Andújar--who had allegedly been using cocaine (although Herzog and Maxvill didn't disclose these problems to the media when making the trades).In the 1974 season, Clyde played in 28 games (21 starts) and finished with 3-9 record, and a 4.38 ERA. He started one game in the 1975 season (a loss) before developing arm trouble and being demoted to the minor leagues. He stayed in the minors for three seasons before being traded (with Willie Horton) to the Cleveland Indians for Tom Buskey and John Lowenstein prior to the 1978 season.Many of Clyde's troubles are attributed to the rush to get him into the majors before he was ready. This was due, in part, to Texas owner Bob Short wanting to sell tickets. Clyde's first start resulted in a sellout crowd and a win, but that was his career's high point.Clyde started for the Indians for most of that year, playing in 28 games (starting 25) and finished with a record of 8-11, with a 4.28 ERA and 83 strikeouts. Clyde also finished fourth in the American League with 11 wild pitches. He pitched in 9 games (8 starts) with the Indians during the 1979 season (3-4, 5.91 ERA) before being demoted to the minors. He was traded back to the Rangers after the 1979 season, but was released prior to the 1980 season.Clyde tried to restart his career with the Houston Astros for the 1981 season, but never played a game with them.The phrase "I hope they don't pull a David Clyde with him," when referring to a professional sports team taking a very young player (often just out of high school) and rushing him to the major leagues before he is ready, has become a part of baseball's lexicon. [[1]]Clyde recently retired from the lumber business.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
That doesn't sound very extraordinary.
 
JaxBill said:
Don't forget about Steve Blass disease-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Blass

Although it didn't end his career, Dickie Thon was never the same after being beaned.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/thondi01.shtml
Click to expand...
Though not on his level, the Yanks had a prospect named Sam Militelo who was this 5/8 th throwing righty who blew through their minor leagues in their crappy days. Control wasn't quite pinpoint, but close. He wasn't the highest tier, and he wasn't a "can't miss" but he had success at every level and at 22 made his debut. Throws a 7 inning one hitter against the Sox where Tony Pena picked up a "single" that really should have been an E. After being teased by Wade Taylor and Jeff Johnson, this guy seemed like the goods and did a nice job, starting 3-0 and looking like a piece. Got Steve Blass that next spring and never threw another game in the bigs after 23.
 
No mention of Koufax?

Career was over at 30.

What precipitated the end his career was a simple pick-off throw in the 1965 World series. He was a baserunner and dove back to 1st, awkwardly landing on his elbow.

He played awesomely the next year, but his arm was dead, so that was it.

 
Encyclopedia Brown said:
No mention of Koufax?Career was over at 30.What precipitated the end his career was a simple pick-off throw in the 1965 World series. He was a baserunner and dove back to 1st, awkwardly landing on his elbow.He played awesomely the next year, but his arm was dead, so that was it.
Click to expand...
What makes it worse is that if he played now, he'd have likely been back the very next season as good as new.
 
Michael Brown said:
pantagrapher said:
Zoomanji said:
Tony Saunders

Broke his arm ala Draveky.....Twice
Click to expand...
I've heard that that particular injury only happens to southpaws. That would kind of freak me out if I were a lefty. :loco:
Click to expand...
I could be mistaken, but I believe that happened to Cole Hamels back in high school.
Click to expand...
YupHamels tried to throw a fastball. The ball left his hand and soared straight up, landing on top of the backstop, and a loud crack paralyzed every player, coach and spectator.

It was the humerus — the long bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow — in Hamels' left arm. It sounded like a tree branch had broken.

“Chills,” Blalock said. “You don't ever want to see that.”

Blalock remembered the look on Hamels' face in that instant, his bewildered countenance, his arm dangling at his side, as if Hamels were asking himself, “What just happened to me?''

Eventually, Hamels met with Dr. Jan Fronek, the Padres' team physician. Fronek told him the spiral fracture required an unusual surgery, and even then, Hamels might never pitch again.

To stabilize Hamels' arm, Fronek slid thin metal rods, each the thickness of a coat hanger, into the marrow of the humerus. For eight months, Hamels was not to touch a baseball; that way, the bone could fuse around the rods.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Tonycarpenter
Questions about players Position Eligibility 2025 and beyond specific to my roster
Replies
2
Views
782
FDASv2.0
FDASv2.0
Tonycarpenter
Help! Continued Help w Dynasty Baseball Team 2.0
Replies
6
Views
979
Tonycarpenter
Tonycarpenter
Don Quixote
**** Baseball Hall of Fame Thread **** - Ichiro, Sabathia, and Wagner Elected
2 3
Replies
101
Views
8K
Eephus
Eephus

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top