Hey, I actually saw him pitch! September 1976, against the Indians at Cleveland Stadium. I believe he won that game. I remember it because it was just before my family left for a three-year assignment in Germany.
To my knowledge the only pro baseball player to make the cover of Rolling Stone.
In 1999 Dimitrius Underwood signed a five-year, $5.3 million contract with the Vikings, showed up to training camp in fatigues and then walked out the next day saying that he had no more desire to play football. He was later acquired by the Dolphins and soon after that was found wandering the streets of Lansing, MI with a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck. Last I heard he was with the Cowboys (natch), but he may have been jettisoned.
Terrible analogy. Not even close to analogous.
I never said Walton is a bust because his team did not win a single championship or playoff series that most thought his team should have won. I would have thought anyone would interpret my comments to refer to Walton’s career, which is the generally accepted metric for measuring a bust. No one is judged a bust for not winning a single golf tournament.
Here’s a better analogy: if tomorrow Tiger decided to join a new “movement,” at least philosophically, while remaining a pro golfer, but his new beliefs required him to adopt a diet that caused him numerous, recurring injuries, a shortened career and an inability to return to his former championship form and potential, does that make Tiger a bust? By my definition of “bust,” I would say yes.
Hideki Irabu
How can somebody who was elected to the Hall of Fame for their play during thier career, a bust?
How can you say Walton’s Hall of Fame career is the generally accepted metric for measuring a bust?
Did I mention Bill Walton is in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his play during his career?
People who are busts, are not generally regarded Hall of Fame material.
And your definition of bust, is your definition, and not everyones definition.
At least not all the sane people.
My head hurts.
I should mention Joe Barry Carroll, not only a huge bust but one with an entertaining nickname: Joe Barely Cares.
Anyone heard of LaRue Martin? He was the first pick in the NBA draft in 1972 ahead of Bob McAdoo. The Trailblazers were really embarassed on that one. The headline on the day of the draft was “LaRue who???”
Herschel Walker.
Man, it took years for the Vikings to get over that trade…but it sure made the Cowboys happy, darn 'em.
Len Bias, he had a good chance at having the world alas.
I’d put Andre Ware on the list. He was a heisman winner, came to the lion’s and actually found a way to defy common sense and do less than nothing in his years here. Oh, and while he’s certainly not there yet, I predict that Michael Vick will end up a huge bust for the Falcons.
“At least not all the sane people.” ???
Insanity is a pretty serious innuendo, Mr. imthjckaz. Just because you disagree with someone else does not justify namecalling. Criticise my spelling, my lack of logic, my factual inaccuracies, my misuse of the plus-perfect subjunctive, my misuse of the comma and lack of use of the apostrophe but don’t make it personal and suggest a sane person would not agree with one of my definitions. Let me remind you that this is not the pit and your comment is innapropriate for this venue. I accept your apology in advance, turn the other cheek and move on.
I do have a slight bias against Bill Walton.
Walton was coached by those among the best, John Wooden and Jack Ramsey, won championships at UCLA, was surrounded by excellent players at Portland who played “team” basketball years before it became fashionable, yet won only one championship with Portland and that in the merger year with the ABA.
Tired of his fragility caused in great part by Walton’s strict vegetarian diet lacking in protein, the Blazers dealt Walton to the lowly Clippers where he dropped off the radar entirely, missing two complete seasons and numerous other games in six forgettable seasons.
Walton finished his career with Boston as a 3rd/4th string center, a caricature of himself in his prime. When asked of Walton’s contributions to the Celtics, Larry Bird replied that the Celtics won their games DESPITE Walton being on the team.
I would surmise that Walton is in the HOF primarily for his college heorics and '74-77 with the Blazers. The guy is probably the most intelligent center in the history of the game, blessed with size, talent and ability, great coaching and yet amounts to only one NBA chamionship to his credit in a year diluted by the merger plus only four remarkable seasons. IMHO, with a better diet, he could have, would have and should have been so much better.
imthjckaz’s argument is limited to Walton’s inclusion in the HOF and the NBA Top 50 at 50. Recalling that the BB HOF includes college, NBA, and Women’s BB, I’ll repeat that it is most likely that Walton made the HOF based on his UCLA career and his first four years at Portland.
How does a guy with only four really good seasons make the NBA top 50? I have no idea. Based on his NBA career alone, I’d say Walton was a very marginal choice as NBA Top 50 and would not have been inducted into the BB HOF without his play at UCLA.
Certainly, Bill Walton is not a bust in the sense of a top-hyped collegiate lottery pick who signs for millions and never scores a point.
I’d just say he could have done a lot better, come closer to achieving his potential and been a dominant center for a much longer time if he had adpted a better diet, not unlike Daryl Strawberry whose career was significantly diminished by his alleged problems with drugs and John Daly whose career was significantly diminished by his alleged problems with alcohol.
“I would have thought anyone would interpret my comments to refer to Walton’s career, which is the generally accepted metric for measuring a bust.” Admittedly, a terrible sentence.
Should have written: “I would have thought anyone would interpret my comments to refer to a “career”, which is the generally accepted metric for measuring a bust.”
Minor Nitpick: Todd Van Poppel was the first pick of the draft for the Oakland A’s in 1990, not the Yankees.
Perhaps you’re thinking of Brien Taylor (the #1 pick for the Yankees in 1991)? He busted up his arm in a barroom brawl and became only the second #1 draft pick to never make the majors.
Zev Steinhardt
[inevitable question]
Who was the other #1 draft pick never to play?
[/inevitable question]
Steve Chilcott, a catcher. Drafted by the Mets in 1966. The A’s had the number two pick. They took some guy named Reggie Jackson.
Zev Steinhardt
If you want to go a bit further back, there’s the infamous Ron Neccai.
Ron was a pitcher in the Pirates farm system in the early 50s. On May 13, 1952, he wowed everyone by striking out 27 batters in a minor-league game, including four in one inning (a batter in the ninth struck out but reached first when the ball got away from the catcher).
The Pirates called him up and he made his debut on Aug 10 of that same year. He finished the year with a record of 1-6 and an ERA of 7.08. In 54 innings, he walked 32 batters (31 Ks). He never pitched in the majors again.
Zev Steinhardt
Alleged??!!??!!
Alleged???
If you fail at least 8 drug tests like Strawberry did, that is more then alleged, that is proof, plain and simple.
Gee, I guess John Daly checked into the Betty Ford Center 'cause he wanted to hang with Robert Downey Jr., right?
And Daryl Strawberry is in prison because he wants to be there, right?
Try not to display your ignorance of the facts for one and all to see, OK?
Would it be okay, then, to display my ignorance of the facts for only a few to see?
Allege: to affirm without necessarily being able to prove.
As a matter of principle, I don’t state that anyone has a problem with alcohol or drugs without having personally witnessed it. That’s my preference, not ignorance of the facts.
I am INSANE, and I agree with everything you say!
Okay, for the 3 people who care, busts of the horse racing world:
Arazi … was supposed to be the second coming of Secretariat. Ran a helluva BC Juvenile, then ran like a fat pony in the Kentucky Derby.
Seattle Dancer … bought for $13.1 million as a yearling. Made $200,000 on the tracks. Yowsa.
Add to these the 22 favorites (and 2-year-old champions) that have flopped in the Kentucky Derby since 1979.
Now, back to the football and baseball talk.