Comments on: Quote of the Day: Bob Feller

By: planktonDisciple

planktonDisciple — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:55:37 +0000

Yeah I was wrong about Doby and the integration of the AL. Shoot me. So Feller didn’t face blacks for the first 11 years of his career.
Point is the people who have following Strasburg over the past few years, including his Olympic play can see what is is in front of their eyes. K’s w/o walks. His ratio in college varied between 9-11 to one. Of course anyone can get hurt and he has a whole career in front of him. He will pitch well against better teams, you will see.
He has made two bad mistakes and both of them ended up over the fence. But he has 22 Ks and 5 walks and 3 er is 12 1/3.
Well he’s just starting …. that’s the point. It’s an unbelievable start. Next season, it will be, that was just one season, then it will be five seasons, just five seasons. Until he wins his 300th game and gets his 3000th K he can’t measure up.
Just watch him pitch.

By: BobbyJoe47

BobbyJoe47 — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:20:42 +0000

planktonDisciple Larry Doby was the first black to play in the AL but it was 1947 not 1956. There were other's prior to 1956. Check your facts before you speak. This is a list of just the first blacks on each MLB team. I will agree there weren't a great many but you insinuation that Feller did not face blacks is off base. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_black_Major_League_Baseball_players_by_team_and_date

By: scatterbrian

scatterbrian — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:04:51 +0000

And here we go.
It’s fascinating to watch society build people up just to tear them down. Fortunately a lot of us have had the chance to watch both of his starts so far, and it’s clear the kid is special. He’s got four plus pitches to go with command, and the 100 MPH is sort of an “oh by the way” with him. It doesn’t matter who he’s faced so far, he’s probably already one of the best starting pitchers in the league. And hopefully we get to see him for a long time. Just enjoy it.

By: FellerFan

FellerFan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:27:10 +0000

Bob Feller was one of the greatest pitchers of all time and if you ask him, he’ll tell you he was. Sure Rapid Robert can be a pain in the arse at times but his comments about Strasburg are dean on. The kid has made two starts against bad teams. He wasn’t saying the kid wasn’t the real deal just that two starts aren’t enough to judge him. I hope Strasburg has a long and productive career but he could end up getting injured like Herb Score or Mark Prior or turn out to be all hype like David Clyde and Jaret Wright.

By: largebill

largebill — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:45:09 +0000

Plankton,
Your “facts” are a little off. The first black player in the AL was Larry Doby, but he didn’t debut in 1956. He debuted a month or so after Jackie Robinson did for the Dodgers in 1948. When you say Feller pitched in an integrated league I think you were trying to say he pitched in a segregated league. That is true for most of Feller’s career. Does that diminish his accomplishments? Of course not. Many use the segregated past to dismiss stats from prior to 1948. Problem with that theory is the inclusion of black players is not the only change since that time. The NFL and NBA were in their infancy. Now, many young athletes gravitate to those sports rather than baseball. This can be attributed to many reasons (TV coverage, costs associated with youth baseball, Michael Jordan/LeBron James), but regardless of the reason it is true that while baseball was the preeminent sport prior to the 1960′s it is not today. Additionally, Feller never compared himself to Strasburg. He only (correctly) put his early accomplishments in perspective by asserting his team (Indians) are not a great test. It is silly for you to compare Feller’s first so many starts to Strasburg. Feller was pitching in the majors as a 17 years old high school student. Strasburg played college ball and will be 20 in a month.

By: planktonDisciple

planktonDisciple — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:04:00 +0000

Feller. His first 40 starts he was 14-10 with an era of 3.37. He also had 226K and 153 walks. This is the kids second start. It will take him at least 80 starts to have 150 walks, by then he will have over 700Ks.
Feller never pitched against the 27 Yankees either. He also pitched in an integrated league. The first black played in the AL in 1956, the year he retired … and Lary Doby played on the Indians.

By: planktonDisciple

planktonDisciple — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:02:36 +0000

By: Largebill

Largebill — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:55:29 +0000

Feller has a well deserved reputation as a curmudgeon. However, he has never been one of those “today’s players couldn’t have played in my day . . . ” types. His point here is well taken. Strasburg is very good, but he has faced the Pirates and Indians. Neither team is an offensive juggernaut. Beyond that, even if he shut down a strong offensive team we all realize the true test is in facing a team the second and third time when they’ve had a chance to make adjustments. Don’t get me wrong, I think he is going to do great (barring injury), but like all players he will have some bumps in the road to Cooperstown.