The Body Fails Us

The Fan has a bum knee. It hurts so badly that the simple act of kicking off a pair of slip-on shoes sends shards of pain throughout the body. The situation has led to reflections of athletes who prematurely faced the breakdown of their bodies. There is an appreciation for the desire to at least attempt what is now beyond reach. The reflection gives new appreciation for why Jeff Bagwell is in Spring Training.

Jeff Bagwell has hit 959 extra base hits in his career. 449 of them were homers. Remember that most of his career was played in the Astrodome...one of the worst hitting parks ever. He has a lifetime on base percentage of .408. Between runs scored and runs batted in, Bagwell has contributed to 3046 runs for the Houston Astros.

He has been an All Star and a heralded player for a dozen years. He is the worst front office mistake made by the Boston Red Sox since Babe Ruth.

But several years ago, Bagwell's shoulder deteriorated to the point where he couldn't even throw the ball. Remember that Bagwell is not old by baseball standards. He is only 36 and it is certainly understandable that Bagwell wants to do what he's done his whole life.

The Fan's reflection led to memories of other players over the years who struggled the same way with youthful desires to do things their bodies no longer had the ability to fulfill. Some had some success in the attempt. Others tried and couldn't make it happen. Here are a few of those memories:

Rico Carty
Rico Carty came up as an outfielder with the (then) Milwaukee Braves and hit well over .300 for five of his first six years with the team. Carty's last two years with the (now) Atlanta Braves were spectacular with batting averages of .342 and .366.

Carty then began a series of lost years as chronic injuries derailed his promising career. The advent of the designated hitter in the American League allowed Carty to hit, and though it was painful to watch him limp around the bases, he did some damage for the Indians, A's and Blue Jays. Although Carty had some good batting years, particularly for the Indians, he was never the player he could have been.

Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly had a four year run rarely seen in the history of MLB. Besides being a perennial gold glove first baseman, Mattingly averaged 46 doubles, 30 homers, 121 RBI, and 210 hits. His batting average during those years: .343, .324, .355 and .327. He was widely held to be the best player in the game. He was the Pujols of his time.

Back problems short circuited his career and he couldn't muster 20 home runs for the last six years in his career. He finally retired after only 13 years.

Tony Conigliaro
Tony Conigliaro, or "Tony C" as his passionate fans used to call him, led the American League in homers at the age of 20. Two years later, after 95 games, Conigliaro was beaned by a Jack Hamilton fastball and never fully regained the full vision in his damaged eye.

Tony C missed all of 1968 but returned in 1969 and received the Comeback Player of the Year award as he came back to hit 20 homers. He hit 36 the following year, but his vision plagued him and, at the age of 27, was finished as a ball player. Tragically, he had a major heart attack ten years later and died at the age of 55.

Tony Oliva
The same year that Tony Conigliaro hit the scene in 1964, he battled another Tony for Rookie of the Year and might have won if he hadn't broken his arm in August. The other Tony...Tony Oliva, ended up winning the award as he hit 32 homers and batted .323.

For the next eight years, Oliva was one of the most exciting players in baseball. But Oliva blew out his knee and lost all of 1972. The injury was so severe that Oliva's career would have been over. But he also benefited from the new designated hitter rule and was able to prolong his career as a DH for three more years, but never to the effect of his earlier years.

He played long enough for the Fan to remember his limp, even more pronounced than Carty's.

Frank Tanana
Frank Tanana could throw the ball through a wall when he first came up for the California Angels in 1974. He struck out 269 batters in his second year (in 257 innings!) and in the following year, struck out 262 while winning 19 games. He also led the league in E.R.A. that season.

But after a few years, Frank Tanana blew out his arm. The story is similar to dozens of other players over the year. But Tanana loved baseball and adapted to become one of the best and most crafty pitchers for another 15 years. Tanana won 158 more games after blowing his arm out and ended up with 240 career wins.

Frank Tanana is a good place to end this retrospective. His win for the Tigers on the final day of 1987 put them in the playoffs. Tanana's unique tenacity makes him overlooked for the Hall of Fame, where he belongs.

With this throbbing knee, the Fan is rooting for Jeff Bagwell.