Most waste of talent!

[cards05]

I respectfully disagree regarding both Ankiel and Patterson. I feel that their failures are not (at least primarily) a result of physical injury. No undetected elbow injury caused Ankiel to toss those balls all over the place in the playoffs. Since the collapse, he has been very injury prone though.

If your argument is that mental issues are akin to physical injuries, then you have made an argument and it has merit (especially within the psychological field). However, most head cases are weeded out at the minor leage level. Let's remember that almost all players in any professional sport have been injured at some point...

[Havok1517]

I'm not saying that these injuries are the total cause of their inability to recapture their game back. I'm saying that they contribute to them. But both mental issues could have made them adapt their bodies to make minor adjustments that and just just didn't feel comfortable doing what was once so easy for them. Adjustments and adaptatons can make players feel foreign. Like adjusting a swing because of a hand injury or and elbow strain that influences arm angles. Stuff like that. Didn't Ankiel also have Tommy John?

[acsguitar]

Brian Taylor

[Deuce]

Pedro Feliz
Edgardo Alfonzo

All mental

[Pacman]

Strawberry, Doc Gooden, and Mo Vaughn. Coincidentally, all Mets at some point.

I was just thinking about Mo when I was reading this thread. He had several very good years for the Sox, but after leaving, injuries and weight gain just stopped him in his tracks.

[tuckerman85]

as a boston fan, one of the guys that sticks out in my mind is Trot Nixon... First round draft pick in 93 thats been with the sox forever.. there were some big expectations but he never broke out. Instead he's spending a lot of his time as a platoon player in RF or on the DL.

I dont think this is in the same league as some of the other players mentioned above, but certainly for a diehard sox fan one that comes to mind.

[decoy562]

What about Adam Hzydu? Wasn't he the #1 draft pick of the Giants in 1990 who never materialized?

He's not the worst waste of talent, but I know he was hyped for many years.

[Havok1517]

ala Todd Van Poppel!

[DK]

Nobody's mentioned Billy Beane solely as a player?

He was on a whole other level athletically, almost fantasy-like. A 6'4" muscular guy who outran sprinters, who totally bombed in the majors.

GM, sure, great. Ballplayer? HUGE waste of talent.

[aardvarks]

Kirby Puckett, had he not had the eye trouble, he could have gone another 5+ seasons and possibly help the Twins to another pennant.