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110%er [6982]
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The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 11:34 AM
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Baseball season is winding down, at least for college, and it's made me feel a little bit nostalgic. I wanted to share a story about the best baseball player I ever faced. For sake of privacy let's call him Charles. Charles and I grew up in adjacent towns, and we met each other on the diamond many times. He never really stood out until we reached high school, and then suddenly Charles became a man while the rest of us were boys. When Charles came to the plate, opposing pictures would simply stare at the ground. He would hit line drives they would hit the wall on the fly. His pop flies landed in the parking lot. On top of that you couldn't walk him because he was so fast, if second was open, he steal it automatically. So you're giving up a double. Charles was a legend in my high school, as I went to a consolidated high school and we played on the same team. He's the best player I ever saw and led us to runner-up in the state. I recall he once hit a ball over the stands at the back of our high school ballpark and across the highway annd into a neighborhood. Charles was also a star running back on the football team and had multiple thousand yard rushing seasons. He turned down a scholarship at a HBU to play pro ball for the Cincinnati Reds organization. Sadly, he played two seasons of AA ball and then washed out. I don't know what became of Charles, but if he couldn't make it in the major leagues, I just cannot imagine how good those guys are. I was told that I had a future in baseball as a young teen, and I wasn't even in the same universe as Charles. I have great respect for major league players, because they are absolute masters of their craft.
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All-In [27187]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 11:37 AM
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This is cringeworthy.
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110%er [6982]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 11:54 AM
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Then don't read it!
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Commissioner [939]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 11:40 AM
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I played against Roscoe Crosby in high school. He was the best I've ever played against.
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Orange Blooded [4684]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 12:01 PM
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The best all around athlete I ever played against was Jack Anderson from Travelers Rest HS. We played against him in HS and then I played with him at Clemson where he was a star WR/RB. 6'2" 210 pounds, run like a deer and could jump through the roof. At TR, he was unstoppable in every sport, football, baseball, basketball and track. In the summers we played American Legion baseball against Jack and luckily he played for Greer in a different conference. However, we played that Greer team in an exhibition game prior to the season in 1967 and Jack was unbelievable. I pitched the first 3 innings that night and witnessed the hardest hit baseball I ever saw. Jack hit a liner right back over my head that I jumped up and almost grabbed. As the ball went toward centerfield, it looked like a Tiger Woods "stinger" as it started low and just kept rising. It went over the fence, barely missing the old football press box at PHS, which was about 420 feet from home plate. Never seen anything like it! Later in that game, our middle 3-inning pitcher got into trouble and Greer loaded the bases. Our coach, the late Sack Bagley, brought in Richard Crenshaw to pitch, handed him the ball and said: "get us out of the jam." Richard threw one pitch, which Jack Anderson hit over the left field screen for a grand slam. As he came to the bench, Richard told Sack: "You told me to get us out of the jam, so I did." Thank goodness it was just an exhibition game! Richard, Sack and Jack are no longer with us, all having passed in the past couple of years but their memories still burn brightly.
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All-In [27187]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 12:04 PM
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Orange Blooded [4562]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 12:11 PM
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Y’all are forgetting Al Bundy!
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All-American [557]
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Orange Blooded [2347]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 2:49 PM
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I played against MLB all star Dickie Dietz but the best I played against was a little known player from Pelzer who never went far ,Baxter Rumsey. He could do it all. Sadly He is deceased.
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CU Guru [1574]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 3:15 PM
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I played baseball against Jim Rice. He’s from Anderson and we went to their field with a D1 committed pitcher who could throw in the 90’s consistently. Our coach refused to walk him intentionally and Jim Rice hit 4 home runs in our game. We got hammered! He skipped college as well and achieved some pretty big things in the Majors. Even in defeat it was a great memory. Go Tigers!
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Team Captain [485]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
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May 22, 2023, 3:28 PM
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I played against a pitcher named Don Hood in little league, pony league and high school. We called him cry baby because he was the coach's spoiled son. He eventually pitched for the N Y Yankees in the '70's. Best all around player was Wilber Cole who played 1 season in AAA ball but quit over nit picking stuff like a 10 pm curfew. Go figure.
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Legend [17778]
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Your post makes me think of a voice over to a movie
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May 22, 2023, 3:38 PM
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Not necessarily The Sandlot (as that dude went on to MLB). But nevertheless, a voice over.
And let me share that I think you sound a lot like Morgan Freeman. So yeah, when reading your post I'm hearing Morgan Freeman.
Good job Morgan
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CU Guru [1553]
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I went to school with Monte Lee
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May 22, 2023, 3:42 PM
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He was a year ahead of me, I think. We played Dixie Youth and Pony league together, but I wasn't good enough or dedicated enough to play High school ball. Probably the former. Interestingly, I never thought he was the best that I'd played against or with...it was a pitcher named Jamie Poston. He had a curve ball in Pony league that would make you run out of the batters box because it looked like it was a jaw breaker. But, it would drop across the strike zone every time. He went on to play at USC but never made it to the big leagues. I have no idea how he didn't make it.
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All-In [38592]
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That would be the
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May 22, 2023, 3:44 PM
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time I played Kermit and FM
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All-TigerNet [13038]
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I played against a 12 year old Drew Meyer in
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May 22, 2023, 3:55 PM
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little league all Stars. He went on to play for the Coot team that knocked us out of the CWS in 2002 (I think), was a 1st round draft pick, and played a few games in the majors before flaming out.
He was already ridiculously good at 12.
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CU Guru [1921]
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Re: I played against a 12 year old Drew Meyer in
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May 22, 2023, 4:05 PM
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Best player I ever played against was Jim Rice---Baseball HOF
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Legend [19694]
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I played with a guy at Wade Hampton, Doug Strange
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May 22, 2023, 4:23 PM
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who wound up playing in the majors for 5-6 years. My HS coach tried to get Wilhelm to recruit him but he wouldn't, so he went to Nancy St and became All-ACC. He signed one free agent contract, 3 years, 9 mil. Right after signing the deal his wife became pregnant with Sextuplets. Pretty good timing.
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110%er [6010]
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Re: Tried out for Spartanburg High school as a sophomore but got cut. That team had...
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May 22, 2023, 4:43 PM
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Steve Fuller, Rick Adair and others that played college ball. Ricky Pearson played center field. I don't feel so bad for not making the team when I look back. They were loaded.
Steve Fuller, Clemson, NFL
Rick Adair MLB pitcher and later pitching coach in the Majors.
Ricky Pearson, NASCAR Pit crew chief.
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Orange Blooded [3397]
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Re: I played with a guy at Wade Hampton, Doug Strange
May 22, 2023, 11:36 PM
[ in reply to I played with a guy at Wade Hampton, Doug Strange ] |
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Was Bill Phillips the coach then? He left GHS a year or two after I graduated, don't recall specifically.
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CU Guru [1747]
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Re: The best baseball player I ever played against
May 22, 2023, 11:59 PM
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I pitched to Tommy Dunbar in high school in 1978. He played for the Graniteville Rocks(now Midland Valley).
He hit a line drive at the shortstop so hard, the ball knocked the shortstop’s glove off his hand and dribbled into the outfield.
Dunbar played for the Texas Rangers later on
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110%er [7583]
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I faced Billy Wagner in High School
May 23, 2023, 6:18 AM
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He went to Tazewell High in SW Virginia.
My claim to fame is that I fouled a pitch off during the at bat! He was small in stature, so he didn’t get looks from big colleges.
He turned out pretty good though!
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Legend [18790]
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I went to high school with this running back...
May 23, 2023, 6:46 AM
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..that was the best athlete I had ever seen. He was big guy and super fast. For reference, I used to hang around a bit with Greg Hill who was a scat back for Clemson and on the track team back in the 90s and this dude was faster than him (played pick-up games with both). Except this dude was about 220 pounds in high school.
Not to brag, but I wasn't a slouch in high school either. I was generally one of the faster kids in my neighborhood and kids I hung out with growing up.
One day me and this running back I am talking about got lunch detention for something stupid and our coach made us run around the football field for punishment. What started as a light jog became an all out race because we were both competitive. Soon we are flying around the field fence which was on grass. Once I hit my top speed, this dude looked at me, smiled, and took off like I was standing still.
Never in my life had I seen anyone pull away from me like that, and this dude was smiling the whole time.
I will never forget that day. This guy ended up as a running back for East Carolina and even scored a TD against FSU when they were good.
I often wondered why he wasn't offered by better schools.
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Oculus Spirit [93668]
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I might not have been complete honest with my 8-10 yr/o...
May 23, 2023, 12:33 PM
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team.
I told them that if they wanted to play in the pros they would have to get college training and experience and training. My goal wasn't to promote their baseball aspirations but to make my instructions to obey their parents and do their work during practice as well as in school.
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