December 27, 2013

Former Major Leaguer Paul Blair dies: One of the best baseball players to ever use a glove. Ever.

posted by dyams to baseball at 12:02 PM - 2 comments

As a little kid, my on-going feud with my best friend, who was a huge Orioles fan, secretly developed in me a huge amount of respect for many of their fantastic players. Blair was one of them. Watching him play in the outfield, how he played so shallow, taking away base hits while effortlessly gliding back to track down fly balls, was entertaining to watch. I can't help but think his career would have been one of the all-around greats if it wasn't for the beaning he experienced in 1970, causing him to have problems with inside pitches and an exaggerated stride at the plate where he constantly "stepped in the bucket."

I'll always remember the game where Billy Martin yanked Reggie Jackson from the outfield in the middle of an inning in Boston, replacing him with Blair, and leading to the infamous dugout encounter.

I also never heard anyone say a negative thing about Paul Blair, always saying what a nice man he always was. Truly one of the greats, both on and off the field.

posted by dyams at 12:11 PM on December 27, 2013

I loved watching that guy play.

posted by beaverboard at 05:23 PM on December 27, 2013

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