By Chas
****Remember, try this without research. That is, make like James Joyce and release your inner Wally. Show us your stream of consciousness as you try to decipher the answer.
If I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder, it would have been understandable. First of all, weighing in at 160 lbs, I was always one of the smallest players in the game. Making matters worse, if you were to google my name, the first result you would get is a female actress. I also own the dubious distinction of being the all-time leader in caught stealing among non Hall of Famers. Considering the only two guys who top me in this category both stole at least 380 more bases than I did in my career, the SABR geeks would probably say my 68% success rate hurt my team more than it helped it.
I played for five different teams in my career, and made it to the postseason with three of them, but never won a World Series. I got there once, though, but my team lost to its closest neighbor in a Fall Classic that is known more for what happened off the field than on it.
If I had a chip on my shoulder, I didn’t show it. I always persevered, especially when I was almost 40 and was diagnosed with cancer. Everyone assumed, of course, that I would never play again, but I was back on the field five months later, and played in over 100 games the following season before retiring.
It wasn’t all bad, though. I did finish in the top 10 in MVP voting one year, leading the league in walks and, of course, caught stealing. I was also named to my only all-star team that year. You would have thought I would have received that recognition more than once, as I did bat over .300 five times and was considered to be a pretty good defender at an “up the middle” position, and one of the better leadoff hitters in the game, but you know how us little guys never get our due.
Who Am I?
Played for the Giants or A’s I think referring to the earthquake in San Fran…”up the middle”=shortstop or 2nd baseman…not sure if I can go further than that…
Evan Longoria! I kid. I have no clue as usual.
Could “up the middle” also be center field, though? If this guy got caught stealing so much, I just imagine a guy who thinks he’s fast and may not be.
I am with Dan and the 89 World Series. Much to my chagrin, Oakland won. Let’s see Will Clark played. I know that is not up the middle defense, but I figure if I get going, I might recall things. Robbie Thompson played second. That is up the middle defense. He was small, but would I get a female actress if I googled his name? I don’t remember him having cancer. Isn’t he a first base coach in the majors right now? Matt Williams played third. Kurt “What is that” Manwaring was behind the dish. That’s up the middle. Again, not fitting the rest of the description. Johnnie LeMaster at short? No, wait he was late 70s early 80s. Who played center for that team?
Whoa … this is a surprise. Everyone trying to catch Wally off guard, huh? Good start Dan and gang on getting us to the ’89 World Series teams. Center fielder is the key here. That’s where little Brett Butler played for SF for a few seasons between teams. He must be one of the career leader in CS, cuz he certainly tried it alot. Butler had a bout with throat cancer, I believe , and was successful in fighting it so it fits with Chas’s clues. Brett Butler !!
Brett Butler? Wasn’t he Scarlet O’Hara’s flame in Gone With The Wind? Oh, that was RHETT Butler. Good going Wally, I think. I had it to SF-Oak WS (didn’t even know what year) but had NO players come to mind!
Who was the shortstop on that team?
Casey … I think it was Jose Uribe. Wonder if any relation to Juan Uribe?
Yes, the late Jose Uribe was the SS on the ’89 Giants. He and Juan are second-cousins. And, of course, Wally is correct with his Brett Butler answer. Nice job. I wondered if that one would be too hard, but not for Wally, I guess.
Still in my “wheelhouse period”, Chas. Gotta go earlier or later. Why later? When all the kids started arriving in early ’90s, I got A LOT busier with family … and work, too … so wasn’t paying as close attention. (Although we did find time to be partial White Sox season ticket holders … hmmm … must’ve had a reliable sitter) 🙂
Yeah well Todd Helton wasn’t actually in your defined “wheel house.” 🙂
YOU DA MAN!!!!
But don’t let it go your head.
Not looking at additional comments yet, but Butler is not a female actress. Roberts is. Is there a Roberts in that 1989 series? Now to look at the new comments/guesses.
Rhett Butler is not a female actress.
I know that, but your clue says the first google result would be a female actress.
So apparently my “tongue-in-cheek” is not visible through cyberspace. Nevertheless, I had to google the correct answer to see why you had that actress line in the clue. I didn’t know the answer, but at least recogniezd HIS name. Her name is totally unknown to me, or at least I forgot that I knew it, as my wife has trained me to say.
So anyway, Bip (Julia) Roberts is NOT the answer!
Yes Pete, many things do get lost in translation on the internet. I’m still a little confused, though. When you googled Brett Butler (and let me remind you all that Google is a search engine, not the generic name for searching Bing, Yahoo, etc.), was your first result this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Butler_%28comedian%29
Yep, that’s what I get, but I only googled AFTER all of our discussion. My first THOUGHTS said no actress named Butler, so I began thinking of actresses who would come up with a google search before a ball player; hence Julia Roberts. As to Rhett Butler, that was the only name I COULD remember, and that was where my tongue was in my cheek. Don’t mind me Chas, I’m just a doddery old man rambling on incoherently. And I do know Brett Butler the actress after all; Grace Under Fire. Probably watched it all of once, but I do remember it and her face.
The really sad part (for me) and where I should have had my tongue in my cheek was that I doubted Wally’s answer. Oh, the folly in THAT thinking!
I’m not even gonna address that, Pete. You are appropriately repentant.