Thank You, James Jerry Hardy

[$Greatness$]

Definitely appreciative of the winning baseball he helped me see in my mid 20s. Fantastic defense and a plus, plus bat. You are the man, J.J Hardy and I thank you.

[TouchemAll]

17 hours ago, OFFNY said:

o

 

Today's contest could very well be the final home game in which J.J. Hardy plays for the Orioles.

In 2009, I was at the game in which Melvin Mora played his last ever for the Orioles. When Dave Trembley removed him from the game for a pinch-hitter in the 6th inning, we gave him a well-deserved standing ovation.

I was not there today, but it was nice to see the Orioles win the game, to see Hardy hit a home run which proved to be the game-winning hit, and to see fans' reaction to the possibility that this could be the end of the line for him with the team. 

 

If this is indeed your final season playing for the Orioles, I will miss you, J.J. ...... and I'm sure that I'm not alone.

 

o

I have a gut feeling we re-sign Hardy to a reduced role contract? If not thanks to Hardy he was a wonderful SS while here and a true O.

[spiritof66]

Let's not forget JJ's baserunning (!) and sliding ability

7 hours ago, foxfield said:

JJ Hardy, the slide at home plate in 2014 was an absolute thing of beauty. . . .

JJ's baserunning (!) and sliding ability helped create my favorite (and probably the loudest) on-the-field Oriole moment of the century so far. I don't mind taking another look:

For reasons I can't recall, I was lukewarm about the trade for JJ. I'm guessing I thought of him as an offense-first SS who had hit with some power but may have lost it.

Wrong again. Thanks, JJ. 

 

[Frobby]

31 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I don't think there's an iota of doubt about that.     The bar for the Orioles HOF isn't very high.

FWIW, Hardy ranks 29th in WAR among Orioles' position players.   Among shortstops:

Ripken 95.5

Belanger 40.9

Tejada 19.5

Aparicio 16.4 

Hardy 16.1

Bordick 14.4

Aparicio and Bordick are both in the Orioles HOF.   Tejada isn't, but I suspect that's due to the PED issues that surrounded him.

 

[Il BuonO]

I'll miss him, especially on the defensive side.

[NashLumber]

14 hours ago, OFFNY said:

o

 

Durham Bulls Athletic Park is one of the few stadiums in which I have been able to get veggie dogs.

 

o

We're a very granola / hippie centric town. As is the school our girls attended (one still there). 

[OFFNY]

15 hours ago, OFFNY said:

o

Durham Bulls Athletic Park is one of the few stadiums in which I have been able to get veggie dogs.

o

 

 

6 hours ago, Tx Oriole said:

 

Veggie dogs?

 

o

 

Vegetarian hot dogs.

 

o

[bobmc]

3 hours ago, NashLumber said:

We're a very granola / hippie centric town. As is the school our girls attended (one still there). 

Frobby spent some time there also...

[OFFNY]

18 hours ago, OFFNY said:

o

Durham Bulls Athletic Park is one of the few stadiums in which I have been able to get veggie dogs.

o

 

 

3 hours ago, NashLumber said:

 

We're a very granola/hippie-centric town. As is the school our girls attended (one still there.)

 

 

 

7 minutes ago, bobmc said:

 

Frobby spent some time there, also ......

 

o

 

 

o

[25 Nuggets]

9 hours ago, Frobby said:

I don't think there's an iota of doubt about that.     The bar for the Orioles HOF isn't very high.

Rich Dauer.

[NashLumber]

6 hours ago, OFFNY said:

 

 

 

 

o

 

 

o

Whoa. I didn't realize Frobby was Jim Spanarkel. That's the era I really followed ACC basketball. 

 

[Frobby]

7 hours ago, NashLumber said:

Whoa. I didn't realize Frobby was Jim Spanarkel. That's the era I really followed ACC basketball. 

 

I'm not Jim Spanarkel, but like him, I graduated from Duke in 1979, so he's certainly a player I identify with.   I transferred to Duke in the Fall of 1977, so I was there to see their magical run to the NCAA finals in '78 (after finishing last in the ACC for four straight years in '74-'77) and their somewhat disappointing '79 season.   All before Coach K arrived, and before Duke became a perennial power that fans love to hate.

[OFFNY]

41 minutes ago, Frobby said:

 

I'm not Jim Spanarkel, but like him. I graduated from Duke in 1979, so he's certainly a player I identify with. I transferred to Duke in the Fall of 1977, so I was there to see their magical run to the NCAA finals in '78 (after finishing last in the ACC for four straight years in '74-'77), and their somewhat disappointing '79 season. All before Coach K arrived, and before Duke became a perennial power that fans love to hate.

 

o

 

I remember that.

I was in 8th grade when Duke was ranked #1 in the preseason polls for the 1978-79 season.

When they lost 2 games on back-to-back days early in the season, I remember reading in the Reporter Dispatch newspaper that coach Bill Foster said that he certainly didn't expect to lose twice in one week.

 

o

[Otter]

JJ has been one of my favorite O's of the past 30 years.  He's a dying breed, both in baseball and society as a whole.  He's the ultimate professional, goes about his business, does his job, treats the game/teammates/opponents with respect, and never draws attention to himself when he succeeds or fails.  Like Palmer said, he never flips his bat or struts when he hits a home run, he just puts his head down and runs the bases.  And he's been a phenomenally consistent defender; I'm always amazed at how accurate his throws are.  That has been even more obvious when watching Beckham scatter balls all over the field.  As O's fans, we've been pretty spoiled with great defense at SS over the years: Aparicio, Belanger, Ripken, Bordick, and JJ.  

I would love to see JJ as an infield instructor next spring training.

[OFFNY]

6 minutes ago, Otter said:

 

J.J. Hardy has been one of my favorite Orioles of the past 30 years. He's a dying breed, both in baseball and society as a whole. He's the ultimate professional, goes about his business, does his job, treats the game/teammates/opponents with respect, and never draws attention to himself when he succeeds or fails. Like Jim Palmer said, he never flips his bat or struts when he hits a home run, he just puts his head down and runs the bases. And he's been a phenomenally consistent defender; I'm always amazed at how accurate his throws are. That has been even more obvious when watching Beckham scatter balls all over the field. As Oriole fans, we've been pretty spoiled with great defense at SS over the years: Aparicio, Belanger, Ripken Jr, Bordick, and J.J.  

I would love to see J.J. as an infield instructor next Spring Training.

 

o

 

That also sounds like the description of Nick Markakis, to a T.

 

o