Sunday, July 13, 2008

I think one of the cool things about being a Yankees fan, is that we are willing to think highly of those that were not just the biggest stars in the franchise history but also those that played the game "the right way". And I think that is the case with Bobby Murcer.

I was too young to appreciate his body of work as a player. About the only memory I do have from his playing days didn't really have anything to do with him playing. Back when I collected cards it seemed the only Yankee that showed up in a single pack of Tops more than Rick Cerone was this guy Bobby Murcer. .

I liked him the booth. Did not realize that he was this close to the end. He'll be missed.

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Back to the Yanks during the break.

3 comments:

The Scooter said...

Bobby was a Yankee through and through. A very good hitter and a sneaky good outfielder.

His worth could be measured in his heart though.

Case in point. Hours after delivering a tearful and touching eulogy for his great friend Thurman Munson, he goes out and accounts for all five RBI including the game winner in the ninth to give the Bombers one of their most emotional wins of all time.

His work in the booth with the real Scooter was legendary. They had a chemistry that I have never seen duplicated.

He will be sorely missed and prayers go out to his family.

old professor said...

It was sad to hear about Murcer. He was a class act that kept his battle with cancer as privately as he could.

It was really unfortunate that he was billed as the next Mickey Mantle when he came up. Heavy expectations for a young player to have to live up to. The Shea Stadium experience was his bus ride out of town. Being traded was heart breaking to him. His arrival back to the Bronx was one of the best days of his career.

Don Mattingly summed it up when he reminded people that Murcer stepped aside so Mattingly could have a roster spot. He stepped aside with class and quietly and without animosity.

On a brighter note, I had a chance to watch some of the homerun derby competition last night. Hamilton appears to have all the tools to be a superstar if he can stay clean. Playing in Texas could be a benefit to his career in that it will keep some of the limelight and pressure off of him that could come while playing for a big market team. Can you imagine if Tampa Bay had not given up on him what kind of lineup they would have with him hitting cleanup in that little bandbox of a stadium.

The Scooter said...

http://msn.foxsports.com
/mlb/story/8347236/
Matsui-rehab-hits-snag;
-Yanks-may-look-at-Bonds

What do you guys think? I say go for it. He could hit 30 HR into the short porch in the second half of the year.

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