Speaking of KC, when Lofton was an Astros minor leaguer I guess the Royals were on the verge of acquiring Lofton for C Brent Mayne before they balked on getting Dave Rohde as the pitcher in return, so the Astros dealt him to Cleveland for Eddie Taubensee instead. Urge to kill....rising....

was it rohde (a stat-y minor league fave of mine who never got more than a cup of coffee in the bigs) or a pitcher? not trying to be nitpicky - i'd never heard of this and am curious as to the particulars.

i remember lofton the basketball player - nice rotation guy, blinding speed, very good defense, could hit from outside and adequately run an offense. here's some stats.

eh, i'll just post them here:



based solely on numbers, i may have underrated him in my memory as a playmaker

as it rohde (a stat-y minor league fave of mine who never got more than a cup of coffee in the bigs) or a pitcher?

Sorry, I should have said they balked at getting Rohde, instead wanting a pitcher in return (I forget who).

based solely on numbers, i may have underrated him in my memory as a playmaker

But I think you over-rated him as somebody who could hit from the outside. I am assuming a guy that fast would get to the rim a lot for lay-ups, and his steals are good (which also can support break-away aly-ups), and his shooting percentage was not so good.

Shooting 37% from the 3-point line is really good.

I actually remembered Lofton as being a better player than that; I would have guessed he was close to double digits in points. He stood out for a rotation player even before he made MLB because he was a smart, interesting player to watch. I hate Arizona with a passion but he was one of my favorite of the million guards Lute collected in his career.

From TFA:

With four seconds to play in their back-and-forth Sweet 16 contest, Lofton was knocked to the floor trying to guard freshman Anderson Hunt, who calmly nailed an open three-pointer to give the Running Rebels a 68-67 victory. The defeat clearly burns Lofton up to this day. "When I lost I got very upset," he says. "You just have to live with it, pretty much."

Actually, it was Hunt who knocked down Lofton. When I saw Lofton a few years later, then playing for Astros' AAA team, I yelled out to him, "THAT WAS A CHARGE!" He immediately dropped his head.

I hate Arizona with a passion but he was one of my favorite of the million guards Lute collected in his career.

The talent, in breadth and depth, Lute brought to Tucson was amazing. My favorite was Damon Stoudamire; even as a freshman, he was a fearless gunner.

I actually remembered Lofton as being a better player than that; I would have guessed he was close to double digits in points.

Per 48 minutes, he averaged about 12 points, 12 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds in 88-89. That's pretty good.