Jump to content

The guy I keep waiting for: Schoop


Frobby

Recommended Posts

How do you pull this kind of stuff out? This is amazingly detailed, and reaching back 40 years. Positively Drungo-esqe.

Photographic memory.

I specifically remember reading about LeFlore being force-fed as the Tigers' centerfielder from a 1977 book that my older brother had bought at the time called, "Xander Hollander's Complete Handbook of Baseball."

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91CqTVKYDPL.jpg

I also remember seeing a television movie starring LeVar Burton called "One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story" when I was in 8th grade, in the fall of 1978.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 199
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Photographic memory.

I specifically remember reading about LeFlore being force-fed as the Tigers' centerfielder from a 1977 book that my older brother had bought at the time called, "Xander Hollander's Complete Handbook of Baseball."

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91CqTVKYDPL.jpg

I also remember seeing a television movie starring LeVar Burton called "One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story" when I was in 8th grade, in the fall of 1978.

Please stop. You're giving me an inferiority complex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Photographic memory.

I specifically remember reading about LeFlore being force-fed as the Tigers' centerfielder from a 1977 book that my older brother had bought at the time called, "Xander Hollander's Complete Handbook of Baseball."

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91CqTVKYDPL.jpg

I also remember seeing a television movie starring LeVar Burton called "One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story" when I was in 8th grade, in the fall of 1978.

I don't know what was worse, Levar Burton playing baseball or Billy Martin trying to act. Norm Cash and Al Kaline trading quips around the batting cage was Oscar worthy though.:slytf:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

o

The route that the Orioles are taking with Schoop is somewhat similar to the route that the Tigers took with Ron LeFlore back in 1974, 1975, and 1976.

Like Schoop, LeFlore was "force fed" as a starting position player. LeFlore had hit well at the minor league A-level in '74, but they skipped him over the AA-level, and he only played 9 GAMES at the AAA-level before being promoted to the Tigers that same year ...... as their starting centerfielder.

In that 1974 season, LeFlore was pretty bad offensively. His batting average was decent, but his OBP was only .302, and he struck out a lot.

More of the same occurred in 1975 (decent batting average, but a low OBP, and he struck out a lot.)

In 1976, LeFlore finally broke through, batting .316 with an OBP of .376, stealing 58 bases, and having a memorable 30-game hitting streak.

Additionally, LeFlore cut down on his strikeouts somewhat in 1976, but more significantly, his walk rate improved considerably.

Now ...... I'm not saying that Schoop will necessarily prosper offensively like LeFlore did in his 7-year prime from 1976-1982. And I understand that with LeFlore, the circumstances were different for 2 reasons:

A) Those 1974 and 1975 Tigers teams were awful, so the Tigers really didn't have a lot to lose by continually sending LeFlore out there over and over again until he succeeded. The 2014 Orioles, on the other hand, are in 1st place, and have a lot more at stake than did those Tigers teams that LeFlore played on in the mid-1970's.

AND

B) Leflore had spent several years in prison, and was already 26 years-old when the Tigers promoted him and plugged him into their starting lineup in 1974. Schoop, on the other hand, is only 21 years-old, and he also had a much more extensive minor league career than did LeFlore.

But ......... the force-feeding into the starting lineup of a player that had not hit well at the highest levels of the minors (LeFlore in fact, had virtually no career above the A-level in the minors) is what is similar, and why I find it interesting.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lefloro01.shtml

Thanks for bearing with me. :o

How do you pull this kind of stuff out? This is amazingly detailed, and reaching back 40 years. Positively Drungo-esqe.
Photographic memory.

I specifically remember reading about LeFlore being force-fed as the Tigers' centerfielder from a 1977 book that my older brother had bought at the time called, "Xander Hollander's Complete Handbook of Baseball."

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91CqTVKYDPL.jpg

I also remember seeing a television movie starring LeVar Burton called "One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story" when I was in 8th grade, in the fall of 1978.

A home run and a double that just being another home run today.

Perhaps there will be a movie someday called, "One in Ten Thousand: The Jonathan Schoop Story."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ode to Levar Burton:

Read a book

It's in my visor

My name is not Toby

I'm Ron LeFlore

Did you see the movie? He was about the furthest thing from the real guy they could have found. Horrible job of casting. It's like they said let's we'll find anyone and surround him with these real baseball players and it will work.

Bad, bad idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you see the movie? He was about the furthest thing from the real guy they could have found. Horrible job of casting. It's like they said let's we'll find anyone and surround him with these real baseball players and it will work.

Bad, bad idea.

I saw the movie, and I liked it a lot.

I agree with most of what was written here:

http://blog.detroitathletic.com/2013/12/23/one-in-a-million-the-ron-leflore-story-is-an-underrated-baseball-movie/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the movie, and I liked it a lot.

I agree with most of what was written here:

http://blog.detroitathletic.com/2013/12/23/one-in-a-million-the-ron-leflore-story-is-an-underrated-baseball-movie/

I do agree with what they said about Martin. Billy wasn't half bad in his scenes. I guess I was a bit harsh on Burton for his baseball playing ability as opposed to his acting. Actually he's a fine actor, but whenever I watch a baseball movie it instantly loses any credibility with me if I don't believe the main character played any baseball.

Burton looks like he had just taken a crash course in baseball before walking on the set. After that, I'm done. I'd rather read about the man's life especially after having watched the real LeFlore play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...