****Remember, try this without research. Release your inner Jim Joyce and show us your stream of consciousness as you decipher the answer. Add to that the teachings of Myagi: patience. If you don’t get the answer right away, give your brain a chance to work if for no other reason than to stay in the discussion. You may not have THE answer, but you might prompt another reader by asking the right question.
You could probably say that I never fully lived up to my potential. I mean, I had a solid career, but maybe not as great as a lot of people thought.
I enjoyed my best years with the team who drafted me, including being a major contributor to the best year in that franchise’s history. We had the best record in baseball, but unfortunately, we have nothing to show for it, and it was through no fault of our own. Seriously, I’m not making excuses.
After that strange season, my team was forced to trade away many of their stars for financial reasons, and I was one of them. Leaving there was probably a blessing, but it would have been nice to bring that team its first taste of World Series glory. After all, given my first name, you might think I was a hometown boy, but I wasn’t. In fact, I was actually traded to my hometown team, and won a World Series with them the following year.
I ended up playing in three consecutive World Series, but the third one was for a different club than the first two. My teams only won that first one, though, but I also played on the losing side in one pretty heartbreaking seven-game series.
Like I said before, I had a pretty decent career: I led the league in stolen bases twice, went to a couple all-star games, won four Gold Gloves (at an up-the-middle position), hit over 200 homers, and accumulated more than 2000 hits, 1000 runs and close to 1000 RBI. But, a lot of folks probably thought I could have been better.
Who Am I?
Nice touch on the “inner Jim Joyce”. Helmet sticker! 🙂
I’m gonna have to get back to this later while pondering. Initial gut instincts tell me it might be a former Seattle Mariner, but will have to think about it. Work beckons!
Thanks for the helmet sticker, Wally.
I have to make a note here that I just made one edit. The fourth paragraph has been changed to:
“I ended up playing in three consecutive World Series, but the third one was for a different club than the first two. My teams only won that first one, though, but I also played on the losing side in one pretty heartbreaking seven-game series.”
The fourth World Series that I thought he played in was some confusion on my part. Sorry about that.
Okay a team that had the best record and didn’t win the World Series through no fault of their own. I think we are talking about the 1994 baseball season when the strike ended the season without the World Series – and screwed the city of Montreal and the Montreal Expos.
As for up the middle players on that team – at first I was thinking Delino DeSheilds, but he was traded to LA in 1993 for Pedro. So I think second base was taken by Mike Lansing. Will Cordero was at 3rd, Larry Walker was in RF and Cliff Floyd was in LF. I believe the centerfielder was Marquis Grissom.
I also think Grissom was traded to the Atlanta Braves and won a World Series with them. They lost the following year to the Yankees, but I have no idea where he went after that.
Marquis sounds French, so while I am not 100% sure – I am going with Marquis Grissom.
Of course I could have the wrong team and we way off base… Who knows.
I know Grissom, along with DeSheilds and
Smitty … nice hunting! You’re goin’ down a path here that I probably wouldn’t have found. I’m gonna stop pondering … I have a hunch you’re gonna close this out. Grissom had a few good years out west … I think Dodgers and Giants … he played a few seasons with Bonds including the year they won the pennant.
You’re the Expos trivia king!
I’m going with Pat Hill based solely on the facial recognition method, although I don’t think he ever won a World Series.
Boog, yes the photo does look like Pat Hill, but in fact, it’s major league umpire Jim Joyce…which, of course, has nothing to do with the question. It’s sort of an inside joke, since Casey has been using photos of the writer James Joyce for these posts. Sorry if it threw you.
1994 was the year that the Montreal Expos had their highest winning percentage ever, but the season was cut short (and the World Series canceled) due to the strike. One of the best players on that version of the Expos was their speedy center fielder and leadoff hitter, who happened to have a French-sounding first name.
Following that season, he was traded to his hometown Atlanta Braves, with whom he won the World Series in 1995. His team failed to repeat, losing to the Yankees in the 1996 Fall Classic.
He was traded to Cleveland in a star-studded deal the following year (with David Justice, in exchange for Alan Embree and Kenny Lofton). So, he was also on the ’97 Indians squad, who lost a heartbreaking 7-game series to the Florida Marlins. He later played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, but arrived to the latter team a year after their World Series loss to the Anaheim Angels (hence my error regarding the 4th World Series).
The player in question, of course, is Marquis Grissom.
Nice job, Smitty. The key clue, of course, was the reference to the strike season and a great team who didn’t win anything through no fault of their own. Maybe I should have said they only deserved 1/28th of the blame.