Unique Visits
Where Have You Gone Scott Brosius?
Brosius was a .257 lifetime hitter. He hit just above a thousand hits (1001) over his career. He wasn’t a homerun king (only hitting above 20 home runs in one season once in his career). Nor was Brosius a base stealer, incredible fielder, or RBI machine. Over his eleven year career he made the All-Star Team once and won one Gold Glove (both with the Yankees). Let’s just say the point is that Brosius is not being considered for the Hall of Fame.
Yet, in his four year career with the Yankees, they never failed to reach the World Series. They won three out of four (the only loss came from a blown save off of the greatest closer of all time). Brosius won the World Series MVP in 1998. In Game 3 of the ’98 World Series he hit two home runs. In Game 5 of the ’01 series he hit a bottom of the ninth two out two run home run to tie the game. Brosius was clutch.
Alex Rodriguez, on the other hand, is a sure fire Hall of Famer. He is a .306 lifetime hitter. He has more hits than Brosius (by over a thousand). He is widely considered a possibility to replace Barry Bonds as the Homerun King. He has won three MVPs. Oh, and he made the All-Star Team 12 times (one more time than the amount of years that Brosius played in his career).
Through A-Rod’s tenure with the Yankees, they have won one playoff series (equaling the number that Brosius lost); they have suffered the monumental collapse to Boston that propelled Beantown towards two World Series titles; and for the first time in about a decade, they missed the playoffs. Every time there is a clutch situation, he seems to buckle. The player who is debatably the best in the big leagues cannot seem to buy a hit.
Who could have imagined that Aaron Boone’s hurting his leg in a pick-up basketball game could be so catastrophic for one team? Sure the argument could be that A-Rod is the Yankee’s best player - just look at the numbers to prove this point. But examine the end results (no World Series, one playoff series win) and listen to the stories that come out of the locker room. Just this spring training alone, fans have been forced to listen to stories about “A-fraud” and steroids while Rodriguez will not even be playing for the first few months of the season.
I imagine the old days. Greats like Paul O’Neil breaking his bat over his leg in frustration, playing with broken ribs; Luis Sojo playing every position imaginable; and Tino Martinez seeming to get a hit every time one was needed. Who could forget Bernie Williams, the Yankee hero who was so callously cast off after the 2006 season? But the Yankees that this generation grew up watching and loving are long gone. Sadly now, for better or worse, we are stuck for the next nine years with the steroid taking pre-Madonna who dates Madonna.
