Juan Samuel: Wall of Fame Worthy?

I heard the announcement today that Juan Samuel would be the 2008 inductee to the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Yes, THAT Juan Samuel.

I was a big fan of Juan Samuel in his heyday. He was a graceful, energetic guy, and who could forget the Jheri curls? But let's be real here... does a guy that played only 4 years in Philly count as a Wall of Famer? What if I tallied off these stats as a Philly:

-Samuel hit .263
-He averaged about 150 strikeouts per year (he led the league from 1984-1987 in this category)
-He was perennially at the top or near the top of the NL in outs

Ok, perhaps I'm being a little harsh and I don't mean this to be a bash session, but my point is, does Samuel belong up there with the likes of:

Mike Schmidt (Hall of Famer)
Robin Roberts (Hall of Famer)
Steve Carlton (Hall of Famer)

???

I humbly submit that he does not. Samuel had two stellar seasons (1984 and 1987) in which he earned a few votes for having MVP-type numbers, but he's not Wall of Fame material in my personal opinion.

That said, he was a solid all around second baseman and, from what I hear, a good all around guy.

So since the decision is already made, I'll say Congrats Juan Samuel... thanks for your contributions in Philly and best of luck with your coaching career.

DUI Reprise: Jevon Kearse

Just a few days ago I ranted about the disappointing tendency for pro athletes to party on the town and then head home by driving under the influence, aka DUI.

Sadly, a former Eagle has failed the sobriety test in the past 24 hours. Jevon Kearse, a defensive end for the Iggles for the past four years tippled excessively on the bottle then decided he was Superman and put his SUV on the road, according to this Associated Press article.

Here's a guy worth over $70 million. Let me repeat. $70 BIG BIG FREAK-ISHLY BIG BUCKS. And he chose to pinch pennies by not paying a few bones for an alternative way to get home.

I don't know about you but I'm getting increasingly tired of paying good money to see these types of guys play sports and then risk their lives, and, more importantly, the lives of others by driving drunk. Doesn't this anger anybody else?

With all due respect, Jevon "The Freak" Kearse does seem like a decent guy based on his image that I saw in Philly. But this DUI is a major setback on that otherwise good image. Unfortunately, in all likelihood, this will quickly be forgotten, put to bed, and set the example for other players to do the same egregious decision-making. Of course he'll have a press conference or media interview and say that he's sorry to the fans for making a poor decision, yadda yadda yadda.

Well anyway, cheers to the players, coaches, and teams that are smarter than Jevon Kearse was last night...

A Non-Philly Oriented Rant: End Pros' DUIs ASAP

I would just like to take a moment to rant about something that has bugged me for a long time.

With the recent report on Lofa Tatupu's DUI (driving under the influence) charge, I just can't understand why it is that these pro athletes can't get their, shall we say, "stuff" together.

Almost on a monthly basis, reports surface about another athlete driving while intoxicated or something of a similar nature. It's a plain and simple formula to me:

drinking during a night out on the town + earning multi-millions of dollars per year = GET A CHAUFFEUR!!! For a relatively small amount of money, you can hire a limo driver, call a cab, or have a good old fashioned designated driver take you back to your crib. There are no excuses!!!

These are young guys at the prime of their lives earning big bucks, and they want to risk it by driving home in a two ton machine that could easily squash them (or somebody else) with one poor mental lapse.

With all of the people around these guys, you'd think somebody would help them make smarter decisions in times like these. Coaches, teammates, management, agents, not to mention family should all be available to help straighten them out, but apparently there's a major link that is weak in this chain.

Shame... I just hope we don't have to see another Josh Hancock catastrophe.

I Like the Phillies

FYI...

I Like the Phillies

Thank you.

Glenn "The Gunn" Wilson

Ok, so I made up the nickname there. But anybody who remembers the Phillies in the mid-80s remembers Glenn Wilson's gun of an arm in right field. Shane Victorino certainly has a cannon in the outfield today, but Glenn Wilson always sticks out as having the best arm of any outfielder the Phils have had in the past couple of decades. In fact, Wilson chalked up 20 assists in 1986 for his career high, while Victorino's career high is 11 in 2006. Wilson's "gun" came to mind after Victorino iced the Phils' victory over the Braves this past weekend by gunning out a runner on a play at the plate.

If I remember correctly, Wilson may have gunned down a runner or two at first base on hard singles, but I could be thinking of somebody else. At any rate, it was a pleasure watching him launch the ball. And let's not forget his one inning of pitching in 1987 where he shut down whoever it was in mop-up duty, and actually struck somebody out. Good times.

Today, Glenn Wilson helps future prospects get recruited, according to his website glennwilsonbaseball.com.