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Posted on 4/14/25 at 5:11 pm to lsuson
He's on the cusp.... if you include him you'd have to include Keith Hernandez & John Olerud.
I'm still shocked at how god like Mattingly from 1984-89 where he racked up 33 of his 42.4 WAR but he was so oppressively mediocre the other 8 seasons.
I'm still shocked at how god like Mattingly from 1984-89 where he racked up 33 of his 42.4 WAR but he was so oppressively mediocre the other 8 seasons.
Posted on 4/14/25 at 6:03 pm to lsuson
Like many others, in the Hall of Very Good.
Posted on 4/14/25 at 8:15 pm to Henry Jones Jr
quote:
Polk not winning a national title when he had Clark and Palmeiro is insane
And Polk had two other players on that team who were MLB All-Stars, Brantley and Thigpen. Thigpen held the MLB season saves record for several years.
My friend at State and I beat Thigpen and Gator Theisen (second baseman) in pool one night. My claim to fame.
Posted on 4/14/25 at 8:23 pm to MedDawg
Bullpen and shitty fielding fricked you in the game vs Texas. I don't know the details on how y'all lost to Miami but you did at least lose to the two teams in the finals.
Posted on 4/14/25 at 8:54 pm to Henry Jones Jr
Quote
“Polk not winning a national title when he had Clark and Palmero is insane”
A bit of bad luck cost State the NC in 1985.
We won the first two games of the CWS and Gene Morgan was sailing along with a 4-1 lead against Texas when a line drive hit his ankle. The whole momentum of the game shifted when he was unable to continue.
We eventually lost that game.
Then lost to MIA 5-4 on a walk off the next day.
Had we beat TX, I believe we would have won the NC has Jeff Brantley would have been fresh for the championship game.
That team had four future MLB all stars on it.
Clark, Palmeiro, Brantley and Thigpen.
“Polk not winning a national title when he had Clark and Palmero is insane”
A bit of bad luck cost State the NC in 1985.
We won the first two games of the CWS and Gene Morgan was sailing along with a 4-1 lead against Texas when a line drive hit his ankle. The whole momentum of the game shifted when he was unable to continue.
We eventually lost that game.
Then lost to MIA 5-4 on a walk off the next day.
Had we beat TX, I believe we would have won the NC has Jeff Brantley would have been fresh for the championship game.
That team had four future MLB all stars on it.
Clark, Palmeiro, Brantley and Thigpen.
Posted on 4/14/25 at 9:08 pm to labamafan
Quote
“It’s funny how seemingly insignificant actions can affect history. Skip obviously resurrected college baseball in the sec when he went to LSU and I think the focus on baseball in this conference is a direct result of him prioritizing it at LsU and LdU administration for taking it seriously.”
This is laughable. Polk created the interest in SEC baseball. The very first ESPN College Baseball game televised was at State at Dudy Noble Field.
It is incredibly hard to win a NC in baseball.
Polk was not a choke artist.
State had teams in 1979, 84, 85, 89, 90, 92, 97 and 2007 under Polk that could have won a NC. State did not but it was not because Polk choked. It takes a great team, being hot at the right time and some luck to win it all.
Lots of credit to Skip and LSU for their great success in the 1990’s. But that in no way diminishes Polk and State from what we did in the 1970’s and 1980’s. That actually set the stage for what LSU did later.
“It’s funny how seemingly insignificant actions can affect history. Skip obviously resurrected college baseball in the sec when he went to LSU and I think the focus on baseball in this conference is a direct result of him prioritizing it at LsU and LdU administration for taking it seriously.”
This is laughable. Polk created the interest in SEC baseball. The very first ESPN College Baseball game televised was at State at Dudy Noble Field.
It is incredibly hard to win a NC in baseball.
Polk was not a choke artist.
State had teams in 1979, 84, 85, 89, 90, 92, 97 and 2007 under Polk that could have won a NC. State did not but it was not because Polk choked. It takes a great team, being hot at the right time and some luck to win it all.
Lots of credit to Skip and LSU for their great success in the 1990’s. But that in no way diminishes Polk and State from what we did in the 1970’s and 1980’s. That actually set the stage for what LSU did later.
Posted on 4/14/25 at 10:20 pm to DawgsLife
quote:
Do you know nothing about baseball?
Do you? What are your credentials?
Posted on 4/14/25 at 11:19 pm to captdalton
Helton has the Coors Field advantage.
Posted on 4/14/25 at 11:21 pm to Pimphand
Mattingly's back problems destroyed the latter part of his career.
In his prime, he was a hitting machine.
In his prime, he was a hitting machine.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 5:00 am to lsuson
Yes! The only guy i saw destroy Nolan Ryan fastballs many times he faced him in the majors.
This post was edited on 4/15/25 at 5:02 am
Posted on 4/15/25 at 7:23 am to FLObserver
As a State alum/fan who saw Clark in college and the MLB, he had a good career but I am not quite sure that it is HofF worthy. Close but not quite enough. I know he retired prematurely to spend more time with his son. Had he played another 3-4 years, I think it would have been a no brainer.
I am one that believes Palmeiro belongs in the HofF. Yes he failed one test but you can look at his body through the years and tell he was not regular user of steroids. I honestly believe he was purposefully setup after his testimony before Congress. Otherwise he was at the end of his career and he would have not jeopardized his whole career by knowingly using steroids.
I am one that believes Palmeiro belongs in the HofF. Yes he failed one test but you can look at his body through the years and tell he was not regular user of steroids. I honestly believe he was purposefully setup after his testimony before Congress. Otherwise he was at the end of his career and he would have not jeopardized his whole career by knowingly using steroids.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 7:38 am to lsuson
No
Posted on 4/15/25 at 7:58 am to lsuson
Why did Will go to Miss State instead of LSU?
Posted on 4/15/25 at 8:10 am to FightinTigersDammit
Donnie Ball YES
Grace YES
Clark YES
Hernandez YES
Defense is part of the game and those 4 won all the gold gloves when they played.
Will Clark was also a team leader and great teammate too...
It's BS, that defense is not regarded as really important.
Grace YES
Clark YES
Hernandez YES
Defense is part of the game and those 4 won all the gold gloves when they played.
Will Clark was also a team leader and great teammate too...
It's BS, that defense is not regarded as really important.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 8:19 am to TDFreak
Quote
“Why did Will go to Miss State instead of LSU?”
When Clark was being recruited, Polk had already been at State for 5-6 years with two CWS appearances (1979-1981). State cared about baseball and we regularly led the nation in attendance.
Baseball at LSU was an afterthought until Bertman was hired in 1984. Polk’s time at State started in 1976 so he was already established as the HC and had the program going well at that point.
Plus Clark enjoyed his time at State, he was a hunter and fisherman so there were ample opportunities for him to do those outside of school. And in fact he still has deer hunting property not far from State’s campus(Noxubee County) even in the present day.
“Why did Will go to Miss State instead of LSU?”
When Clark was being recruited, Polk had already been at State for 5-6 years with two CWS appearances (1979-1981). State cared about baseball and we regularly led the nation in attendance.
Baseball at LSU was an afterthought until Bertman was hired in 1984. Polk’s time at State started in 1976 so he was already established as the HC and had the program going well at that point.
Plus Clark enjoyed his time at State, he was a hunter and fisherman so there were ample opportunities for him to do those outside of school. And in fact he still has deer hunting property not far from State’s campus(Noxubee County) even in the present day.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 8:22 am to Godawgs4
Thank you, Mr. AI.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 8:29 am to lsuson
I'm a big hall advocate ... some fans think you need to be the reincarnation of Willie Mays or Walter Johnson to get in ... so I'd vote for him, but he probably is on the borderline, lower top 20 among first basemen all time.
And before you scream about that, stop and think about all the great first basemen in history. First base has always been a loaded position, especially when it comes to hitting, ATG first basemen is a tough crowd.
I think Clark was way better than Grace, I would not vote for Grace.
But here's The Thrill's problem: There are several people recently retired or still playing who IMO are going to push him down the list: Pujols who is arguably the best player at the position in the post WWII/modern era, Miggy Cabrera, Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman.
There's also Keith Hernandez who's going to get in someday just to shut people up, sort of like Gil Hodges, and John Olerud who is very close to Clark and is a contender.
Bottom line, I think he should be in but he's got a tough road. The fact that he had a relatively short career because of injuries and didn't really reach any of the counting benchmarks is also going to work against him.
And before you scream about that, stop and think about all the great first basemen in history. First base has always been a loaded position, especially when it comes to hitting, ATG first basemen is a tough crowd.
I think Clark was way better than Grace, I would not vote for Grace.
But here's The Thrill's problem: There are several people recently retired or still playing who IMO are going to push him down the list: Pujols who is arguably the best player at the position in the post WWII/modern era, Miggy Cabrera, Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman.
There's also Keith Hernandez who's going to get in someday just to shut people up, sort of like Gil Hodges, and John Olerud who is very close to Clark and is a contender.
Bottom line, I think he should be in but he's got a tough road. The fact that he had a relatively short career because of injuries and didn't really reach any of the counting benchmarks is also going to work against him.
This post was edited on 4/15/25 at 8:50 am
Posted on 4/15/25 at 8:48 am to Serraneaux
If the writers could keep someone out for being snotty to them, why did they vote in Steve Carlton, Eddie Murray and Jim Rice?
Schilling was a different story, I used to be a writer and actually have cast Hall of Fame votes in the past and I would've voted for him.
IMO, though, he wasn't punished for his conservative beliefs. Mariano Rivera is equally and openly as conservative as Schilling and he was the first human being in history to get 100% of the votes from the writers.
Schilling has been punished because he went after the voters WHILE THEY WERE CONSIDERING HIS CASE and has continued to have diarrhea of the mouth in the years since.
He's not learned that freedom of speech doesn't mean you can say whatever pops into your mind anytime you want to say it without consequences (it actually means the federal government of the US can't put you in jail for what you say, nothing more or less), there's a time and a place.
Oh, the last veterans committee that considered his case? There were only three writers among the 16 members. A bunch of the members were former players: Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Frank Thomas and Alan Trammell, and Chipper Jones was supposed to be there but was sick and couldn't make it.
If Chipper had made it, it wouldn't have made any difference, though, because Schilling didn't come close. IMO, people are more worried about what he'll say if he's given the microphone at the induction ceremony than they are about his politics.
Schilling was a different story, I used to be a writer and actually have cast Hall of Fame votes in the past and I would've voted for him.
IMO, though, he wasn't punished for his conservative beliefs. Mariano Rivera is equally and openly as conservative as Schilling and he was the first human being in history to get 100% of the votes from the writers.
Schilling has been punished because he went after the voters WHILE THEY WERE CONSIDERING HIS CASE and has continued to have diarrhea of the mouth in the years since.
He's not learned that freedom of speech doesn't mean you can say whatever pops into your mind anytime you want to say it without consequences (it actually means the federal government of the US can't put you in jail for what you say, nothing more or less), there's a time and a place.
Oh, the last veterans committee that considered his case? There were only three writers among the 16 members. A bunch of the members were former players: Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Frank Thomas and Alan Trammell, and Chipper Jones was supposed to be there but was sick and couldn't make it.
If Chipper had made it, it wouldn't have made any difference, though, because Schilling didn't come close. IMO, people are more worried about what he'll say if he's given the microphone at the induction ceremony than they are about his politics.
Posted on 4/15/25 at 8:49 am to lsuson
quote:
Should Will Clark be in the HOF
No. He ain't got the stats.
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