Jim Rice was a great ball player and belongs in the HOF. Thank God the fools responding here don’t get a vote. Rice’s teammates all thought he was a great teammate.

Really?

You’re that illiterate that you failed to grasp that the contract was THE OTHER thing he bitched/whined/overlooked his own career about?

Ok Cur so I’ll just like to confirm that you all consider Miggy to be lacking in fundamentals as well.

yes. Yes I do consider Miggy as one lacking some fundamental skillz. This is especially true of for a guy playing the hot corner. Otherwise this might not have happened:

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/miguel-cabrera-gushes-blood-taking-grounder-off-face-190817986.html

1 Cal Ripken, Jr.
2 Ivan Rodriguez
3 Hank Aaron
5 Carl Yastrzemski
6 Dave Winfield
7 Eddie Murray
8 Jim Rice”

Hmm…
Ripken: 12,883 PAs
Rodriguez: 10,270 PAs
Hank Aaron: 13,941 PAs
Carl Yastrzemski: 13,992 PAs
Dave Winfield: 12,358 PAs
Eddie Murray: 12,817 PAs
Jim Rice: 9,058 PAs

Do you see the problem with your argument?

The point of the article is not that Jim Rice is right or wrong.

The point of the article is not that Jim Rice was a good or bad player.

The point of the article is that Jim Rice made intellectually disjointed statements.

He claimed players have no motivation to “do the right thing” because they have 7 and 10 year contracts. He himself had a 7 year contract.

AND YOUR STUPID LIST OF ALL TIME GIDP IS MADDENINGLY STUPID.

YOU LEAD THE UNIVERSE IN CAREER GIDP BY PLAYING FOR A MILLION YEARS.

YOU PLAY FOR A MILLION YEARS BECAUSE YOU’RE GOOD.

Jesus H. Christ.

What, all old people don’t yell that? That’s simply the thing people from the most selfish and self absorbed generation ever say when they want to dismiss an older person’s opinion?

I guess that goes to show how “Valuable” GDP really is in the grand game of baseball.

I’ll include a list of players who show never dare to speak of fundamentals, because it’s established that not grounding into DP’s often is a requirement.

ALL TIME LEADERS IN GDP

1 Cal Ripken, Jr.
2 Ivan Rodriguez
3 Hank Aaron
5 Carl Yastrzemski
6 Dave Winfield
7 Eddie Murray
8 Jim Rice

No need to grasp at the GDP% in an attempt to prove his hypocrisy about fundamentals. You could have keep it at his foolish yammerings contracts and you would have nailed it.

If someone tried to tell you Cal Ripken was lacking in fundamentals in some way and used GDP% an an argument, I’d like to think you would be among those who would squash that lickity-split. The mind boggles at how subjective and minor a stat like GDP% is in all honesty.

The fact that there is an interview is separate.

This is simple, you stated that a high GDP% = Poor Fundamentals
I’m stating that your statement is wrong, and is the direct result of you not liking the player in the first place.

And the award for “Completely Misunderstanding Data Right In Front Of His Face” goes to…

Well, they sure as hell grounded into double plays at a much lower rate than Jim Rice.

Percent of times they came up with men on and grounded into a double play

Jim Rice: 6.8%
Eddie Murray: 5.0%
Mike Schmidt: 3.2%
Dave Winfield: 5.3%
Cal Ripken: 5.8 %

People who harp on fundamentals like Rice does will tell you that when a runner is on a righty like him should try to hit the ball the other way rather than pull things to short. Not saying I think that’s the best strategy, especially for a power hitter, but that’s the accepted “fundamentals first” advice, and he obviously didn’t take it. Or couldn’t.

“While you’re at it, explain to me how signing a big contract is a lack of fundamentals.”

It’s not. But claiming that today’s players are unmotivated and accountable because they signed “five, six, seven” year contracts (as Rice did here) when you yourself signed a seven year contract (as Rice did in 1979, when it was far less common) is hypocritical in the extreme.