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Jim Henneman: Newfangled Analytics Prove Earl Weaver Was Right All Along

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Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

Tony-OH

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5 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I'd love to see some measurements on how shallow Blair played when he was with the O's.    Regardless of Weaver's opinions, Blair played very shallow.    He was a pleasure to watch.    

But from all accounts, Blair was special out there in center field which means he probably got away with more. I've always been a fan of outfielders playing deeper, particularly in CF.

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Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

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7 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

But from all accounts, Blair was special out there in center field which means he probably got away with more. I've always been a fan of outfielders playing deeper, particularly in CF.

Blair was very, very special.   As good a CF as I have ever seen in terms of range.   Granted, I'm not quite old enough to have seen Willie Mays in his prime.    Blair was one of those guys who could turn his back on the ball, run back towards the fence, and just go to where the ball was going to be, without having to constantly look back to see where the ball was.   

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OFFNY Hangout Grand Counsel

OFFNY

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On 4/25/2017 at 4:49 PM, Frobby said:

o

I'd love to see some measurements on how shallow Blair played when he was with the O's. Regardless of Weaver's opinions, Blair played very shallow. He was a pleasure to watch.

   o

o

 

In May of 2011, Paul Blair was being interviewed on the YES network.

One time when he was playing for the Orioles, a ball got over Blair's head, and Earl Weaver chewed him out like a maniac in the dugout for playing too shallow. Keep in mind, it was PAUL BLAIR that Weaver was yelling at in front of the entire team. The next inning, Blair went out to field his position ....... on the warning track !!! Everybody in the dugout was frantically waving and screaming him for him to come in. Blair wouldn't do it. He stayed on the warning track for the whole inning. When Blair came back to the dugout, Weaver apologized to Blair (8-time Gold Glove winner.)

 

o

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weams Hangout Grand Counsel

weams

Posted
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49 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Blair was very, very special.   As good a CF as I have ever seen in terms of range.   Granted, I'm not quite old enough to have seen Willie Mays in his prime.    Blair was one of those guys who could turn his back on the ball, run back towards the fence, and just go to where the ball was going to be, without having to constantly look back to see where the ball was.   

Blair said one time that he never wanted to dive under any circumstance. He needed to get to his spot and catch the ball with his body under control. He said that if you dove, you miscalculated your route. 

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Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

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13 minutes ago, weams said:

Blair said one time that he never wanted to dive under any circumstance. He needed to get to his spot and catch the ball with his body under control. He said that if you dove, you miscalculated your route. 

I heard him say that during the Gold Glove awards show a few years back.  

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