I have been watching the Jordan doc and LOVING it. I am not an NBA fan, will maybe perhaps watch one minute of NBA a year (although I love the video game) but this doc is great, and it got me thinking about MLB and SUPER-STARS.
Baseball used to have SUPER stars. One that comes to mind is Reggie Jackson.
There he is on The Love Boat. He’s in The Naked Gun. He had his own candy bar. He hit three home runs in a World Series game. That’s a super star.
These days the Baseball Mafia will point to someone like this.
You know…that guy. I am sure you recognize him.
I think baseball has had a pretty bad 21st Century. If you are a fan of the Cubs or Red Sox you finally got yours…but other than that, it’s been meh.
We had Bonds smashing both home run records…but people didn’t like him and he didn’t play nice with the media, so neither were really celebrated. Compare that to the 90s where baseball had HUGE moments like Ripken breaking the streak record or the whole McGwire/Sosa thing (even if everyone was looking the other way on the Truth).
Big moments this century? Well, George Bush threw a great first strike. Is he baseball’s greatest hero?
This all makes me wonder who baseball’s last superstar was? I think my twitter pal Nick is right – the answer is Derek Jeter. Jeter transcended the sport – pinstripes help, I am not sure there would have been such a thing as Pirates Superstar Derek Jeter. Good looks. Stayed out of trouble. Said the right things. He was a superstar.
Let’s look at the MVP’s this century. There are plenty of nice players, good players, star players. But no SUPERstars. Bonds? Not beloved. He ALMOST makes it, but more disliked than liked….that can’t be a superstar. Albert Pujols? Joey Votto? Buster Posey? All nice players but not SUPERstars.
A-Rod? Might have been…but winds up in that Bonds camp of more disliked than liked…and there’s that whole year long suspension everyone seems to want to ignore because he’s good on TV and wanted to buy the Mets.
Josh Hamilton, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout? Nope. Good players, but you’re not booking then on The Love Boat.
My buddy Matt Harvey might have pulled it off if he had the talent to match the fartboy tendencies. A version of The Dark Knight who was winning 20 games, driving sports cars, banging models and going on late night shows might have made it. Thor has the right mix – but again needs to have JDG’s stats to get there. If we could combine the two of them into one SUPERstar who won back to back CYA while walking around Times Square in a deliberately too small Thor costume….maybe could get there.
Vulgar Pete? Let’s see what happens. Right now he’s in that Early Harvey stage. He’s enjoying the spotlight, and backing it up at the plate. Did the Late Night Thing (although Harvey on Fallon was wayyyyyyyyy funnier than Vulgar Pete on Kimmel). Has a cool nickname. He could maybe get there if he can be Paul Bunyan more than once or twice.
Let me take another approach and work backward through the HOF inductees. Jeter. Larry Walker, SUPERstar. Nope. Baines, Halladay, Edgar, Mussina. Nope.
Mariano? GREAT player. Top star in the sport. SUPERstar you are booking in a movie? Nope.
Cherry-picking some more names: Bagwell, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper…..I’m back to Griffey Jr. before I come to a name I would consider.
Mark McGwire? YEP. The man who saved baseball. Made the country watch baseball all summer. And yet you won’t let him into your museum next to Baines and a full time DH.
Jeter? At least there were occasional “must see” games – his 3000th hit, his final game – the kind of stuff you’d skip out on your own Major League Team That You Are On to go watch. I’m not sure anyone is going out their way to watch Christian Yelich.
The baseball mafia will get mad at me, and you’ll probably comment on the Facebook page…but baseball does not have a SUPERstar and I’m not sure one is coming.
Was Jeter the sport’s last transcendent star? Maybe.
