BBTF.org/m/expos : Tom Brady a Montreal Expo: What might have been

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Eric Knott: Surviving Professional Baseball in the Steroid Era

(www.baseballprospectus.com)

posted on February 26, 2013 at 11:07 PM by Der_K to diamondbacks, expos, minor leagues, peds, writing worth reading | 114 comment(s)

At Hardball Talk, Calcaterra said of this B-Pro guest piece by former journeyman pitcher Eric Knott:

We should spill way less ink about who we think “the real Home Run King” is — as if that matters — and think way harder about those frequent minor league suspensions and what they mean to the people who are faced with the choice to take dangerous drugs or wind up out of baseball.

Against that backdrop is this excellent column from Eric Knott. Knott pitched 11 years in the minors and ...

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1. Darren

posted on February 01, 2012 at 11:00 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

-Joe Mauer plays professional football.
-Gerald Ford signed with Detroit Lions, never entered politics.
-Nyjer Morgan is currently active in the NHL.
-The Graduate is a cult classic starring Doris Day and Burt Ward.
-Tom Selleck was Indiana Jones. Eric Stoltz was Marty Mcfly.
-Al Gore won Florida.
-The greatest band of all time is the Quarrymen, AKA John, Paul, George and Pete.

One of these happened in this universe.

2. Jick posted on February 01, 2012 at 11:11 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

-The greatest band of all time is the Quarrymen, AKA John, Paul, George and Pete.

Reminds me of Alan Partridge's reply to the kid who hadn't heard of Wings. "Why, they're just the band The Beatles could have been!"

3. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) posted on February 01, 2012 at 11:14 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Also in that alternate universe:

I play QB for the Patriots and have sex with Gisele Bundchen.

4. Champions Table posted on February 01, 2012 at 11:15 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

-Les Claypool replaces Cliff Burton in Metallica.

5. Drew (Primakov, Gungho Iguanas) posted on February 01, 2012 at 11:53 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

-Lars Ulrich goes into professional tennis.

6. Steve Balboni's Personal Trainer posted on February 02, 2012 at 12:05 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

- Carl Crawford doesn't pull eveyrthing on the ground to the first baseman.

7. Dan posted on February 02, 2012 at 12:24 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

This thread seemed plausible until post 6. That one's just a little too incredible to believe.

8. Bob Evans posted on February 02, 2012 at 12:44 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

- My #### doesn't get nannied.

9. tfbg9 posted on February 02, 2012 at 12:56 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

One of these happened in this universe.

Snicker.
Been hangin' out with Biff or something?

10. Jick posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:19 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

-Lars Ulrich goes into professional tennis.

Alternate-Universe James Hetfield Named Taco Bell Employee of the Month

11. Neutral Milk Dotel (Dan Lee) posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:49 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

- George Steinbrenner is successful in his attempt to purchase the Cleveland Indians.

12. Greg (U)K posted on February 02, 2012 at 05:56 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

- Brad Pitt stars in "Duets"!

13. OsunaSakata posted on February 02, 2012 at 06:14 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

I frequently wonder what would have happened if the Federal League had won their Supreme Court lawsuit. Maybe one of both leagues would have expanded. Maybe professional baseball would have been more like college football. Maybe nothing would have changed.

14. AROM posted on February 02, 2012 at 08:57 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

"“Whenever he would take an infield before a game, that’s when they really took notice,” said Brady’s high school baseball coach Pete Jensen, who was also a scout for the Seattle Mariners at the time. “Scouts would see him throw from behind the plate and say, ‘Wow,’ because he really had an outstanding arm.”

Pete Jensen?

I'm sure he's no more a primate than I am a Dolphins CB. But it got my attention.

15. McCoy posted on February 02, 2012 at 09:20 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

- Brad Pitt stars in "Duets"!

I always wonder about stars and what roles in their early years they didn't get and how that would have changed things for them.

For instance if a young Tom Cruise got the Alex P Keaton role would he have really turned it down and if he took it what would have happened to his career?

16. TerpNats posted on February 02, 2012 at 09:40 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Instead of giving the Pacific Coast League "open" classification, major league baseball assimilates the PCL into its leagues for a multimillion-dollar price in 1950, with Seattle, San Francisco, Sacramento and Hollywood joining the National League and Portland, Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego joining the American. Leagues play 12-team, 154-game schedules (14 x 11), no divisions.

The American League allows Bob Hope to buy the Washington Senators after the 1968 season -- or the San Diego Padres do indeed move to D.C. in 1974, with Bill Giles leaving the Phillies to become the new NL Senators' general manager.

Atlantic Records gets a $35,000 loan in 1955 and signs Elvis Presley from Sun.

17. Gotham Dave posted on February 02, 2012 at 09:52 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

For instance if a young Tom Cruise got the Alex P Keaton role would he have really turned it down and if he took it what would have happened to his career?

Hey, this alternate universe already took Back to the Future away from Michael J. Fox. No need to take "Family Ties", too.

18. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) posted on February 02, 2012 at 10:11 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

What if the A's move to Dallas in 1967?

What if the Expos move to Buffalo before they ever play a game?

What if the Giants move to Toronto?

What if the Mariners move to Tampa? (or the Giants? or the Mariners?)

What if the Twins move to Carolina?

19. OsunaSakata posted on February 02, 2012 at 10:28 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

The American League allows Bob Hope to buy the Washington Senators after the 1968 season

The preface to that would have been Humphrey beating Nixon in 1968. Bob Short was a Minnesotan and a huge Humphrey fundraiser. He would have gotten some cabinet appointment, making him too busy to buy the Senators.

20. Don't want the truth; just wanna see some dingers posted on February 02, 2012 at 10:40 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

-Spielberg is seen as a hack for using a clunky robotic shark.

21. Matthew E posted on February 02, 2012 at 10:52 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Also in that alternate universe:
-Joe Mauer plays professional football.
-Gerald Ford signed with Detroit Lions, never entered politics.
-Nyjer Morgan is currently active in the NHL.
-The Graduate is a cult classic starring Doris Day and Burt Ward.
-Tom Selleck was Indiana Jones. Eric Stoltz was Marty Mcfly.
-Al Gore won Florida.
-The greatest band of all time is the Quarrymen, AKA John, Paul, George and Pete.

-Fidel Castro signs with the Dodgers
-Danny Ainge and Jay Schroeder lead the 1983 Blue Jays to the World Series

22. OsunaSakata posted on February 02, 2012 at 10:59 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison are doing nostalgia tours with Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.

23. Forsch 10 From Navarone (Dayn)

posted on February 02, 2012 at 11:02 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Deion Sanders confronts Carlton Fisk for disrespecting the game.

24. Swedish Chef posted on February 02, 2012 at 11:26 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

- Commodore PET becomes the standard cool computer among early microcomputer hackers. Failed entrepreneur Steve Jobs takes up yoga coaching instead.

25. YR Misses Reggie Bars posted on February 02, 2012 at 11:55 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

A young Cassius Clay uses a bicycle lock and never takes up boxing. Sonny Liston has 16 successful defenses of his heavyweight title until losing to George Foreman, then hospitalizes Don King for trying to pass off a briefcase full of shredded newspaper as the loser's purse.

26. Random Transaction Generator posted on February 02, 2012 at 12:11 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Wayne Gretzky is correctly assessed an automatic 5-minute major penalty for high-sticking (and drawing blood) by Kerry Fraser in Game 6 of the 1993 Western Conference finals. Wendel Clark scores on the power play during overtime (his 4th goal of the night), setting up the dream Stanley Cup final, Toronto vs Montreal.

27. Neutral Milk Dotel (Dan Lee) posted on February 02, 2012 at 01:11 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

The Mets don't understand all the fuss over Steve Chilcott, and instead use the first pick of the 1966 draft to take Reggie Jackson.

28. TerpNats posted on February 02, 2012 at 01:25 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

The American League allows Bob Hope to buy the Washington Senators after the 1968 season

The preface to that would have been Humphrey beating Nixon in 1968. Bob Short was a Minnesotan and a huge Humphrey fundraiser. He would have gotten some cabinet appointment, making him too busy to buy the Senators.

This may explain why Nixon, alleged devoted baseball fan, never lifted a finger to stop the second Senators from moving.

29. Guapo posted on February 02, 2012 at 01:34 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

-The American people realize that the great McGwire/Sosa HR record chase of 1998 never would have happened without steroids, and embrace PEDs as an cherished part of the National Pastime.

30. Infinite Joost (Voxter)

posted on February 02, 2012 at 01:46 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

- Jack Lemmon plays Butch Cassidy and Paul Newman plays Sundance.

31. winnipegwhip posted on February 02, 2012 at 01:56 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Michael Gobuty agrees to play Nelson Skalbania in backgammon. The wager is winner gets the Winnipeg Jets and Wayne Gretzky.

Buddy Holly loses the coin flip.

Burt Reynolds plays Sonny Corleone. Ernest Borgine or Laurence Olivier as Vito.

32. winnipegwhip posted on February 02, 2012 at 01:58 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

What if the A's move to Dallas in 1967?

What if the Expos move to Buffalo before they ever play a game?

What if the Giants move to Toronto?

What if the Mariners move to Tampa? (or the Giants? or the Mariners?)

What if the Twins move to Carolina?

The Pilots never move to Milwaukee and Satan never gets his foot in the door as an owner.

33. cardsfanboy

posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:03 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

The Pilots never move to Milwaukee and Satan never gets his foot in the door as an owner.

I'm thinking in this fictitional universe that the powers that be don't realize how to make the game popular, don't expand, don't have interleague play, don't have wild cards, and routinely compete with Soccer as America's fifth most popular sport.

34. Gamingboy posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:06 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

-The Kennedy Family owns the Washington Redskins. (Apparently JFK was interested in buying it at one point to have as a hobby after his presidency was over, but then he got distracted by the small matter of the Cuban Missile Crisis).
-William Randolph Hearst just ignored Citizen Kane instead of starting a vendetta against it. As a result, it won a then-record nine Academy Awards in 1941.
-Jeffrey Maier stays home to do some homework. Orioles win- or at least extend- 1996 ALCS.
-In the 80s, Alan Moore wrote a ground-breaking comic book series using characters DC had recently acquired from Charlton Comics instead of reimagining them.

35. cardsfanboy

posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:11 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

In the 80s, Alan Moore wrote a ground-breaking comic book series using characters DC had recently acquired from Charlton Comics instead of reimagining them.

I doubt it becomes as ground breaking if he is allowed to use the Charlton characters. (and I would have missed out on DC's Blue Beetle which was a fun series if not appreciated at the time)

36. Adam M

posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:17 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Steve Bartman comes down with the flu and misses Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. Moises Alou makes a great foul-ball catch to record the second out of the eighth inning, and the Cubs get to within four outs of the World Series before completely self-destructing.

37. cardsfanboy

posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:22 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Steve Bartman comes down with the flu and misses Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. Moises Alou makes a great foul-ball catch to record the second out of the eighth inning, and the Cubs get to within four outs of the World Series before completely self-destructing.

Love that, even in the alternate world they can't catch a break. Of course with Theo running the show now, it's only a matter of time.

38. TerpNats posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:48 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Love that, even in the alternate world they can't catch a break. Of course with Theo running the show now, it's only a matter of time.

Maybe not...

...Dave Roberts gets a bad start, is thrown out at second, and the Yankees complete a four-game sweep of the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS.

Buddy Holly loses the coin flip.

In this universe, can we have Carole Lombard lose her coin flip, too, and have to take the train back from the Indianapolis war bond rally?

39. winnipegwhip posted on February 02, 2012 at 02:53 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Maybe not...

...Dave Roberts gets a bad start, is thrown out at second, and the Yankees complete a four-game sweep of the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS.

Or in game 5 Tony Clark's ball short hops the wall in right (instead of a ground rule double) and Jeter running from first base scores and the Yanks take the lead. (I can't remember if it is the ninth or extra innings)

40. SoSHially Unacceptable posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:00 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

...Dave Roberts gets a bad start, is thrown out at second, and the Yankees complete a four-game sweep of the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS.

Made palatable, however, by the fact that the Sox rode Grady Little's confident and brilliant use of his bullpen to a 2003 World Series championship.

41. PreservedFish posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:07 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Made palatable, however, by the fact that the Sox rode Grady Little's confident and brilliant use of his bullpen to a 2003 World Series championship.

These are just getting stupid.

42. AROM posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:28 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Made palatable, however, by the fact that the Sox rode Grady Little's confident and brilliant use of his bullpen to a 2003 World Series championship.

Josh Beckett would have had something to say about that. 2003 Marlins were not the pushovers that the 2004 Cardinals were.

43. Blackadder posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:35 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison are doing nostalgia tours with Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.

Interesting factoid: all five of those people (along with Brian Jones, and possibly a few other I've forgotten) died at 27.

44. Every Inge Counts posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:41 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Will Smith as Neo in the Matrix....

Stonewall Jackson isn't accidently shot and killed...

45. Jacob posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:55 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Interesting factoid: all five of those people (along with Brian Jones, and possibly a few other I've forgotten) died at 27.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Club

46. Swedish Chef posted on February 02, 2012 at 03:56 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

- Thomas Edison takes delivery of an Analytical Engine from Babbage and repurposes his telegraph autorepeater to hook it up to the telegraph network, other hackers follow, creating an internet. Early newsgroups feature vicious flamewars between Tesla and Edison and much snark against Cap Anson.

47. TerpNats posted on February 02, 2012 at 04:19 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Warners overlooks the ears, signs Gable, and he and James Cagney make a memorable series of gangster pictures.

Dybzinski doesn't stumble on the bases, the Chisox beat Baltimore in five games in the 1983 ALCS, followed by beating the Phillies in the World Series, and Tony La Russa signs a 10-year extension and ultimately manages on the South Side for the next 28 seasons.

48. Walt Davis posted on February 02, 2012 at 04:21 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

have sex with Gisele Bundchen.

Meh, you're not missing anything.

49. winnipegwhip posted on February 02, 2012 at 04:40 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

The Pilots never move to Milwaukee and Satan never gets his foot in the door as an owner.

I'm thinking in this fictitional universe that the powers that be don't realize how to make the game popular, don't expand, don't have interleague play, don't have wild cards, and routinely compete with Soccer as America's fifth most popular sport.

So it is marketing and not the game itself and its history which helps the game retain its status?

50. Blubaldo Jimenez (OMJ) posted on February 02, 2012 at 05:04 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

-Jeter never makes it over to make the "flip", Giambi out at home anyway due to it being totally unnecessary.

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Eric Knott: Surviving Professional Baseball in the Steroid Era

Reader Comments and Retorts

Expos Think Factory