Vincent Edward Jackson

Storm Shelter
1

So, this is a longtime struggle for me…Bo Jackson.

I’m reading The Last Folk Hero by Jeff Pearlman. His childlike adoration of Bo brings me back to my childhood and makes me want to buy back into the greatness that was Bo Jackson. BUT, I’m always reminded by the fact that his numbers weren’t folk hero status. In fact, his numbers weren’t great, not even good. In interviews dating back to college up to this very day, Bo cannot wait to tell you how great he was and how he never practiced. He never worked hard. It just was.

I’ve been through his injury and it seems nothing could have stopped the freak injury from happening. In fact, his superhuman strength may have contributed to it.

BUT…stats are stats.

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I know…the what ifs
If he chose one sport
If he wasn’t put on an NFL team with a top 15 RB and HOF player
IF, If, if…

I asked ChatGPT to show me comparable players according to his stats and I got Jorge Soler, Eric Davis, Chris Davis, and Yasiel Puig.

While I was furious it would even suggest Bo Jackson played comparable to Eric Davis, one of the greatest Reds to ever play, Soler and Puig seem pretty damn close. I can’t tell you how many PS4 The Show seasons I used to start trading for Puig bc I thought about him the same way i thought about Bo when I was 12. They both were let downs. Even if Bo had lasted and stayed in the MLB, would Bo have ever evolved to even a Chris Davis, Mark Reynolds level? Bo will always be the folk hero. Some of the things he did were just outlandish, but as an all around player on your team - would you really want Bo Jackson over, say…Chris Davis, Puig, Let’s look at his draft class…the final one, not the two before he ignored

Would you take Bo over Jeff King, Gary Sheffield, Todd Zeile, Paul Sorrento, Dean Palmer, Joe Girardi, Hal Morris? The 86’ draft sucked, but still…when you’d take Hal Morris over the player in question, that’s not saying a ton for Bo. I’d easily take Morris or Zeile over Bo at this point, healthy or not.

Thoughts?

2

Just off of raw talent, yes I would. His hip injury robbed us of what could be. I know we can’t live in a world of what ifs, but doggone it, the highlights that we have from just his short stint was awesome and still has replay value. Bo was by far the best athlete I have ever seen.

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Davis is my favorite athlete ever…Funny you brought him up.

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I mean- the guy critically injured himself at 28. If you look at those numbers - he’s 23-28 and making significant progress each year up until the injury.

This also doesn’t capture his strength and speed on defense. The guy was able to bypass the relay and catch you from the warning track on no steps. On a dime.

By the way…. He also was playing football at the most brutal position getting his body massacred each year.

This post borders on sacrilege.

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I was 10 years old in 1986, living in Salina, KS. Baseball cards were lifeblood. Neighborhood sandlot games weren’t just a movie to come out in a few years, they were a daily reality in small town KS. The Sandlot really does play to a lot of reality of that time and in a place like Salina. My stumble through an inside the park HR by accident was on the local news the year before. That’s how small of a town this was. Of all the players in baseball, there was nobody who gave us the excitement of Bo Jackson, and in our own backyard, on our team! I wasn’t a hater. We’d just won the World Series in 85. This is the beginning of my lifelong struggle with the folk hero, Bo Jackson.

Ah, yes - the Harold Reynolds throw, might be the greatest throw in history. Again, he had overwhelming talent, but also was notorious for not working on his craft, not practicing, not lifting, and avoiding any additional effort beyond showing up as the most gifted athlete on the field.

He had 41 outfield assists in 511 games, which is excellent. But, he’s more of a highlight player than a consistent threat. His RF/9 is consistent with other good outfielders, but not exceptional. His .979 fielding % is below average for outfielders of the era. Elite tools, but average metrics overall when played out on the field.

He’s not starting in the NFL until 1990. So, that’s 5 years in MLB where he had the highest strikeout % in the league at 31.8%. He hardly ever walked (7.1%) and had an OBP of .309. Once again, bogged down by poor discipline and poor contact, never working on his craft and just showing up, Bo Jackson was a highlight player. Compare his hitting to a Jose Canseco and he’s left in the dust. Compare his effectiveness on the basepath against Eric Davis and he’s left in the dust.

Bo Jackson is the last folk hero, just like the title of the book I’m reading. But, Bo didn’t know work ethic. Bo didn’t know practice.

He started MLB in 1986 and didn’t start playing football until after the 1990 season. Buy a fucking vowel, dude. How are you always so wrong on every subject with every bit of information in human history at your fingertips, indexed and with a search engine?

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Is this a joke?

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Nope, far worse. Looks like I’m the one with my head up his ass. I’m guilty of the very thing I accused you of.

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Nope, far worse. Looks like I’m the one with my head up his ass. I’m guilty of the very thing I accused you of.

I just skimmed over this

Are you a fucking idiot?

Reel it in…On every topic…Nancy