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Think back to 2003. Mark Prior, a former top 5 pick from USC and Kerry Wood, a former top 10 pick from Spring, Texas formed one of the most feared 1-2 punches in the Major Leagues. Both power pitchers, they featured a vast array of pitches. But what separated them from the rest was their ability to strikeout anyone. The K's they produced were sickening. Kerry Wood was being thought of as the next Nolan Ryan, Mark Prior, maybe even better than Kerry Wood was labeled as a potential HoF after winning his first Cy Young award, and all seemed well for the Cubs, them being ahead in the 8th inning of Game 6 of the NLCS against the Florida Marlins.
Then Bartman.
Fast forward 5 years, and Kerry Wood is struggling mightily in the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs, and Mark Prior, latching on with the Padres after the Cubs gave up on him, remains on the DL for the 50th time (or so it would seem), without knowing when he'll be coming off.
Actually, Kerry Wood is from Grand Prairie, TX, near where I live (Josh Beckett is from Spring). But it is sad for both Wood and Mark Prior that they could not stay healthy for their entire careers, and they could have had something huge to give to the game of baseball. It's also possible that both of them could have competed with one another for the strikeout title each year. And because it is the franchise called the Cubs, forever cursed with one thing or another, those two would have been better off pitching elsewhere.
This happens more frequently than many folks may realize.
Back in the mid 1990's, the Mets had a group of kids coming up who were very well regarded, Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen and Mark Pulsipher. As we know today, this didn't work out very well.
Likewise, the A's had a group in the 1990 draft who were referred to as the Four Aces, Todd Van Poppel, Don Peters, Dave Zancanaro and Kirk Dressendorfer. This didn't quite materialize either.
Pitching is always tough to evaluate in the minors, and many of the most heralded flamethrowers seem to end up with marginal careers.
Even very recently, the highly regarded group that came out of Rice, Phil Humber, Wade Townsend and Jeff Niemann all look like marginal pitchers.
Prior finished third in the Cy Young balloting, at the age of 23 years old. Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters as a 21 year old, his Rookie season, when he won Rookie of the Year honors. He did this against the Astros - just think about what the fans must've been feeling! (He could've had at least 20 years to dominate them ) They were both nearly established in their early 20's, the backbone of a rotation that was destined to be a mainstay on top of the National League central for many years to come.
Wilson was just a highly touted top-5 pick from Florida State, but he did jack (literally jack) in the Majors. Pulsipher, like Isringhausen were both injured basically every time they threw fastballs. Luckily for Izzy, he made it as a one inning specialist, while Pulsipher bounced. They did nothing for the Mets, didn't lead them to any notable playoff appearances, never really even pitched in the starting rotation together since they were all injured at the same time, or at varying intervals.
Not as familiar with the A's (before my time), but I know they weren't established either. They were lucky to be on a team featuring the Bash Brothers, but they weren't an integral part of team, as much as Wood and Prior, considered the #1 and #2 starters of a contending team.
From that perspective, if you take a look at the 1985 Mets you have a good match. Gooden and Darling were two young studs, considered to be potential Hall of Fame type pitchers, and both fell significantly short of this potential fairly rapidly.
Think back to 2003. Mark Prior, a former top 5 pick from USC and Kerry Wood, a former top 10 pick from Spring, Texas formed one of the most feared 1-2 punches in the Major Leagues. Both power pitchers, they featured a vast array of pitches. But what separated them from the rest was their ability to strikeout anyone. The K's they produced were sickening. Kerry Wood was being thought of as the next Nolan Ryan, Mark Prior, maybe even better than Kerry Wood was labeled as a potential HoF after winning his first Cy Young award, and all seemed well for the Cubs, them being ahead in the 8th inning of Game 6 of the NLCS against the Florida Marlins.
Then Bartman.
Fast forward 5 years, and Kerry Wood is struggling mightily in the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs, and Mark Prior, latching on with the Padres after the Cubs gave up on him, remains on the DL for the 50th time (or so it would seem), without knowing when he'll be coming off.
Very sad...
Not sure I understand the Bartman reference. Moises Alou has publicly stated that he never would have been able to catch that foul ball. And last I checked, Bartman didn't kick the ball at shortstop either.
Many other teams have had big time prospects that didn't pan out due to injury or ineffective play. Happens all the time all around the league.
Not sure I understand the Bartman reference. Moises Alou has publicly stated that he never would have been able to catch that foul ball. And last I checked, Bartman didn't kick the ball at shortstop either.
Many other teams have had big time prospects that didn't pan out due to injury or ineffective play. Happens all the time all around the league.
And, Mark Prior has never won a Cy Young Award.
Don't underestimate the Steve Bartman incident. Talk about a crazed fan who wasn't thinking! That was one of the biggest legends in Flubs history. I happened to be watching the game when it happened, and I was laughing like you would not believe. Since my Astros weren't in the playoffs that season, I needed some form of entertainment. I still remember the result, too. That was the turnaround for the Marlins, and you know the rest of the story. The curse lives on.
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) They were both nearly established in their early 20's, the backbone of a rotation that was destined to be a mainstay on top of the National League central for many years to come.
