The pansy era?

[AcidRock23]

I just thought of Herb Score as another oldie who'd gone down, but his was more of a trauma than a wear and tear type of issue.

Perhaps there's something to be said for Chesterfields and Johnnie Walker. Maybe they'd pickle your ligaments and tendons or something?

[jonnyblack]

Thanks, buddy. I grew up in Hartford and was oh so sad/pissed when the Whale moved down south. Now we have no professional sports teams!

I mean, it's not like they were a great team but they were OUR team and I sure loved watching them beat up on the Bruins. Plus, the the Whale did have their moments:

Can anyone say Gordie Howe--Mr. Hockey-- who at the age of 51 played a full 80 game season for the Hartford Whalers?

Ron Francis, Kevin Dineen(sp?), Mike Liut, Ulf Samuelson, etc... these guys weren't half bad.

Speaking of the "pansy era", I challenge any MLB or NBA player to lace-up at age 51 for even part of a season, let alone a full one!

I won't extend the same challenge to NFL players. Getting on the field at that age could cut ones life extremely short

Bob Marley and the............

[stomperrob]

Sometimes it seems like they sit out for the most minor things; not like hockey where you have Rob Blake playing on a broken leg who finally decides to take a couple weeks off 'cause it's not healing; or football where you have a Chris Spielman a few years ago who plays a game and a half with a broken neck before taking time off. I'm sure it may be painful, but I gotta laugh when I hear baseball players complaining about their fingernails (remember Ronnie Lott getting the team doctor to cut the end off his injured finger so he wouldn't miss any playing time).

[ukrneal]

I think the assertion that today's players get more injured or don;t last as long is just plain bunk.

Some examples of older players today:
Moyer
Martinez (edgar!)
Franco (2 of them - Atl and NYM)
Orosco (retired at 47 last year if I remember correctly)
Bonds (I can't think of many players who have had his success at his age)
Palmiero

SOme examples of good/great short careers from the past
The Quis! (Dan Quisenberry) saved 160+ games over 4 years,
Ron LeFlore (5 great years, then pffhet)
Mark Fidrych (what a year that was!)
Koufax - definitely should have pitched longer, but couldn;t due to injury
Butch Metzger (Rookie of the Year in 1976 and then a Met!)
Ken Hubbs (ROY in 62 as well as won GOlden Glove, died in plane crash)
JR Richard (done with the game by age 30)

Anyway, I'm sure there are more/better examples on both sides.

[LCBOY]

Is it just me, or are the star players of Major League Baseball getting hurt far to often that past few years? I don't remember seeing this many stars come on and off the DL so many times when I was younger. Players claim to be more stronger, when to me it seems they are more brittle. I believe I'm gonna start calling all seasons 2000-2010 the era of the pansy. What do you guys think?

Please give statistical data to support your assertion that players today spend more time on the DL.

[LCBOY]

Guys just used to be tougher. Back in the day, winning for the team was more important than protecting your health.

Money is a big motivator though. It's easy for me to say that when someone isn't offering me 100 million for 8 years.

Its definitely a money thing. These guys are trying to extend their careers. I just read "The Teammates" by David Halberstam about the Red Sox of the 40's and Yogi Berra's new book. These guys played for the love of the game. They weren't making money. Berra led his team in RBI's and still had to work at a restaurant during the offseason. They'd play hurt because winning for the team was more important than the individual's wallet.

Do I blame the modern day players? No. I'd be just as cautious.
On the other hand there are some guys who are definitely milking it for all it's worth...

Oh please! The old "players back then played for the love of the game" is all hogwash. Joe DiMaggio went through a famous holdout in 1940. When the Federal League was formed many players jumped their contracts because they were offered more money. Players have always wanted to get paid!

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

Oh please! The old "players back then played for the love of the game" is all hogwash. Joe DiMaggio went through a famous holdout in 1940. When the Federal League was formed many players jumped their contracts because they were offered more money. Players have always wanted to get paid!

Of course they wanted to get paid. Joe was an exception he was making 100,000 when most of the guys on his team were making 15,000. The owners were definitely taking advantage of the players then. Why shouldn't they hold out to make what was fair. But they weren't raking it in. A lot of them could've been making more at a regular job, which is why I assume they played because they loved baseball.

[Mookie4ever]

I will say it's unlikely we'll ever see another "Iron Man."

If Bonds puts another piece of protective armor on I will be prepared to call him an "Iron Man" or maybe "Kevlar Man"

[Mookie4ever]

Thanks, buddy. I grew up in Hartford and was oh so sad/pissed when the Whale moved down south. Now we have no professional sports teams!

I mean, it's not like they were a great team but they were OUR team and I sure loved watching them beat up on the Bruins. Plus, the the Whale did have their moments:

Can anyone say Gordie Howe--Mr. Hockey-- who at the age of 51 played a full 80 game season for the Hartford Whalers?

Ron Francis, Kevin Dineen(sp?), Mike Liut, Ulf Samuelson, etc... these guys weren't half bad.

The Whale was a professional sports team?

All kidding aside - I saw them play a 7 game playoff series in Montreal way back when - I remember skipping an exam and getting standing room tickets, awesome! (Habs won of course, don't think that the whale ever made it past round 2)

I have in my office 3 hockey cards framed together: Gordie, Mark and Marty Howe all in Whalers uniforms. Many people have offered to buy it from me but I'm not selling.

[Grouperman941]

From yesterday's timely Kurkjian article:

"Even though there are record numbers of players on the disabled list these days (the influence of agents at work), it's more a function of the difficulty of the game, and skill involved, than the toughness of the players. They're tough, and they play a tough game that cannot be played well when you're hurt. "

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring200 ... id=1761591

He sure knows how to kiss player-butt.