12/21/24
June 02, 2006
Say it aint so: Jeff Maier may become an Oriole. Nofigginway. If this happens there will be some more O's stuff on Ebay as I turn in my fanclub ID card.
posted by seansterps to baseball at 06:25 PM - 15 comments
This just in: Dusty Baker has been fired. Meet your new Cubs skipper...Steve Bartman.
posted by L.N. Smithee at 06:56 PM on June 02, 2006
Get over it. Life happens. Its ten years on. Put it to bed. Next thing you know johnny damon will join the yankees.
posted by tommybiden at 07:41 PM on June 02, 2006
Pitcher Scott Erickson, who started the game for the Orioles and was in line to get the win before Armando Benitez served up the fateful pitch in the eighth inning to Jeter, said he hopes Maier makes it to the major leagues, "just so I can drill him -- I'd like to get one shot at him." Seeing as how Erickson has a whopping 13 wins this century, I doubt the idea of him plunking Maier has him (Maier) shaking in his cleats.
posted by dyams at 08:10 PM on June 02, 2006
If you are not an O's fan you can't understand the depth of hatred that is felt for this guy. I know, what about Bartman? After this game the kid was given the royal treatment by every New York news outlet. He was a guest on Letterman the next day dammit. He watched the rest of the series from beside King George. It was rubbed in our faces that this kid interfered with a live ball and nothing was done about it. I don't tink that I will get over this until the O's can win the Series, and at the current rate I will be long dead berfore that happens. It still figgin hurts.
posted by seansterps at 08:26 PM on June 02, 2006
Incredible story, thanks for the link.
posted by Bill Lumbergh at 08:37 PM on June 02, 2006
If you are not an O's fan you can't understand the depth of hatred that is felt for this guy. Sweet fancy moses, he was just a kid! It's not like he had planned to interfere in the game. A fly ball comes his way and he tries to grab it. It's what kids do. What's really childish is to hold a grudge for 10 years about something some kid did...
posted by grum@work at 08:37 PM on June 02, 2006
Good point. If you , or me, or any 13 year old kid had a chance of catching a ball like that- they probably would go for the ball. The play is history now, and the guy has a good future in front of himself. I think that it would be really awesome if the Yanks could sign him. The kid would be in his glory- every NY fan would love the kid no matter how bad he plays. That would be the ideal combo.
posted by redsoxrgay at 08:58 PM on June 02, 2006
The story was interesting and well-written, but how is Maier more likely to be drafted by the Orioles than any other team? The fact that some say it's 50-50 whether he'll be drafted at all means that all teams will have plenty of chances to draft him. Me says the story is just grist for the mill.
posted by msacheson at 10:41 PM on June 02, 2006
Next thing you know, danny almonte will have married an older woman.
posted by usfbull at 10:52 PM on June 02, 2006
You know what the funny thing is about all this talk about Maier and Steve Bartman is... It takes a whole team to win or lose a game, but it only takes one fan to single handedly cause a team to lose... Ha Ha Ha... That's B.S. Time to put the past to rest and let these guys try and make a legitimate living for themselves. This Maier guys chances of ever making it to the major leagues is slim and none anyway. There are 100's of guys in the minor leagues that are more tallented than this guy is, and they'll probably never reach the major leagues themselves. Any club that drafts him is only gonna do it for the Media circus that surrounds him. The thing for the major league clubs to remember on draft days is that the Media attention surrounding an individual doesn't make him a good player. Media attention doesn't win you championships... great ball players do... and this guy is obviously not a great ball player. Another thing is... This is America, there are more important things than sports championships to hate someone over. Any fan in those situation would do the same exact thing... try and catch a F*ing Ball !! Get over it and live for today and stop bitching about what happened 10 years ago !!
posted by FUDSTER at 12:35 AM on June 03, 2006
Any fan in those situation would do the same exact thing... try and catch a F*ing Ball !! That's why they build stadiums with seating directly behind the outfield walls. Having fans close to the action sells seats and adds to the environment. It's one more "problem" major league baseball wants to have. Next thing you know, danny almonte will have married an older woman. You'll have to check her birth certificate.
posted by dyams at 07:03 AM on June 03, 2006
Bird fans, I can understand why you wouldn't want him playing for the O's, but the Yanks are interested, too. How will you feel if he ends up with the Yanks and gets several more chances to stick it to you every year? Sign him and shuffle him around the minors for as long as you can. When you can't hold him there any longer, trade him to an NL organization.
posted by ctal1999 at 12:08 PM on June 03, 2006
That Jeffrey Maier still gets torched for that incident is a shame for so many reasons: 1) As has been stated, anybody in Maier's shoes -- in your team's home park with your team at bat -- would have gone for the ball. Anyone. Not just 12 year olds, but especially 12 year olds. This play is 0% Maier's fault and 100% Richie Garcia's fault for blowing the call. 2) The play resulted in one run (tying Game 1 in the eighth inning) in one game of a seven game series. The Orioles won the very next day at Yankee Stadium, then blew the next three in Baltimore. Roughly 200 miles away from Jeffrey Maier. Maybe if Cal Ripken showed up (.250, 0 RBI's) this wouldn't be such a hot point. 3) It's easy to forget that the '96 Yankees -- nearly 20 years removed from their last championship and virtually superstar-less -- were a very likeable team, a better team than the Orioles all-around, and at the time the Maier thing played like the kind of moment that defines a team of destiny. What the Yankees have built in the 10 years since has soured history's treatment of that team. They were likeable underdogs. 4) It bears repeating -- it was 10 years ago. Move on, already. Sign Maier. Or don't. But don't make more of it than it is -- prospect, good hit, good glove, went to a game once. "I could still be in Baltimore if that didn't happen," said Davey Johnson. Davey, nobody has hired you to manage their club for six years. If you had a baker's dozen Maier plays in your favor that series, it still wouldn't mask the fact that you are one awful, awful manager. You're a living testament to how good the mid-80's Mets really were.
posted by BullpenPro at 01:01 AM on June 06, 2006
Damn, BallPeen, you might just make Davey cry. Good call.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:58 PM on June 06, 2006
I'm a Yankees fan, and I also say "Nofigginway!"