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Brian Cole: "The Best Player You Never Saw"
Posted on 4/4/13 at 3:59 pm
Posted on 4/4/13 at 3:59 pm
We had a short thread about him before the article came out, but here is the full article. LINK
Brian Cole was a Mets minor leaguer who died in a car wreck. Multiple Big Leaguers including Pujols, Heath Bell, and Brad Hawpe are quoted in the article saying he was the best player they ever played with.
I wish we could have seen this dude play.
Brian Cole was a Mets minor leaguer who died in a car wreck. Multiple Big Leaguers including Pujols, Heath Bell, and Brad Hawpe are quoted in the article saying he was the best player they ever played with.
I wish we could have seen this dude play.
8
Posted on 4/4/13 at 4:13 pm to LST
Thanks, for sharing.
I'd never heard of him - wish I had seen him play.
I'd never heard of him - wish I had seen him play.
Posted on 4/4/13 at 4:24 pm to LST
He really sounded like an incredible player. Sad story. 
Posted on 4/4/13 at 4:28 pm to LST
Thanks for posting. Never heard about this.
Posted on 4/4/13 at 4:36 pm to LST
Read the whole article. I've never heard of him and I teared up at the end with the closing of his poem. Sounded like a great guy and an amazing player.
Posted on 4/4/13 at 4:37 pm to LST
No doubt he was good. But typical over glorification of a dead person
Posted on 4/4/13 at 4:37 pm to Lester Earl
Did you ever see him play, Les?
Posted on 4/4/13 at 4:41 pm to Lester Earl
quote:Did you read the article? Did you see his stats?
No doubt he was good. But typical over glorification of a dead person
Posted on 4/4/13 at 5:01 pm to genro
Glad i read the entire article esp. the poem at the end. Wished he would have made it to the bigs, sounded like a great player!
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:28 pm to genro
I only read the first two pages but it did seem a little over the top.
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:29 pm to bbap
It seems over the top because that's how good he was.
I was the one who started that first post when I first got that SI. Such a great and well written article.
I was the one who started that first post when I first got that SI. Such a great and well written article.
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:32 pm to RummelTiger
Nope but I read the article the other day. There were something's mentioned that were not humanly possible
I did study his numbers though. Good but did not scream greatness
I did study his numbers though. Good but did not scream greatness
This post was edited on 4/4/13 at 6:33 pm
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:33 pm to GeauxAggie972
I saw him play in HS and he was an incredible athlete. I played at the same high school a couple of years ahead of him. His older brother could play also. He is now the head baseball coach at the high school
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:34 pm to Lester Earl
Hit for average and had good HR and RBI numbers with not a ton of strikeouts. Better than just good
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:41 pm to TH03
his AA numbers
.278 avg
4 HR
25RBI
46 games
326 OBP 420 SLG
a career minor league 850 OPS is good. It was pretty much spent in A ball
the article kind of alludes that he was better than Mike Trout because of his HR/ RBI/ AVG.
well he had about 1k more plate appearances in the minor leagues.
if you want to see great numbers, look at Mike Trouts.
He dominated EVERY level(played RK ball through AAA). a career 941 OPS in the minors.
Trout made it to the MLB at 20.
Brian Cole was struggling in AA at 21.
just some perspective.
this guy was clearly not a once in a generation player.
.278 avg
4 HR
25RBI
46 games
326 OBP 420 SLG
a career minor league 850 OPS is good. It was pretty much spent in A ball
the article kind of alludes that he was better than Mike Trout because of his HR/ RBI/ AVG.
quote:
Cole played outfield in the Mets' system from 1998 through 2000. He hit .306 with 42 home runs, 90 doubles, 193 RBIs and 135 stolen bases, numbers that might remind you of the ones Angels phenom Mike Trout put up in three-plus years in the minors—except that Cole had a lot more homers, doubles and RBIs and was 50 pounds lighter and five inches shorter than last year's American League Rookie of the Year.
well he had about 1k more plate appearances in the minor leagues.
if you want to see great numbers, look at Mike Trouts.
He dominated EVERY level(played RK ball through AAA). a career 941 OPS in the minors.
Trout made it to the MLB at 20.
Brian Cole was struggling in AA at 21.
just some perspective.
this guy was clearly not a once in a generation player.
This post was edited on 4/4/13 at 6:43 pm
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:44 pm to Lester Earl
Yeah I'm gonna have to side with you on this.
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:50 pm to Lester Earl
He was solid in A and high A though.
A 18 HR, 71 RBI, .316 avg in 125 games
A+ 15 HR and 67 RBI, .312 avg in 91 games
I'm not saying he's once in a generation like Trout, but he was more than just good.
A 18 HR, 71 RBI, .316 avg in 125 games
A+ 15 HR and 67 RBI, .312 avg in 91 games
I'm not saying he's once in a generation like Trout, but he was more than just good.
This post was edited on 4/4/13 at 6:51 pm
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:54 pm to TH03
Im not saying he wasn't good. No doubt he was very talented. It's hard to discount some of those first hand accoun ts.
Im just saying, once people die, legends grow.
Im sure his size also had a lot to do with his legend, too.
Look, 5'4" 130 lb 15 year olds do not hit 500' HR's with a wooden bat.
Nor was he 10 steps faster than Jason Tyner(who had a pretty long MLB career mainly because of his speed). There is a story they raced 60 yards and 50 yards in, Cole ran backwards and still won. lol
There are a ton of MiLB players that put up similar numbers in A ball, and many many many pro players that were equally as successful.
Im just saying, once people die, legends grow.
Im sure his size also had a lot to do with his legend, too.
Look, 5'4" 130 lb 15 year olds do not hit 500' HR's with a wooden bat.
Nor was he 10 steps faster than Jason Tyner(who had a pretty long MLB career mainly because of his speed). There is a story they raced 60 yards and 50 yards in, Cole ran backwards and still won. lol
There are a ton of MiLB players that put up similar numbers in A ball, and many many many pro players that were equally as successful.
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:55 pm to LST
If a guy like Albert Pujols is saying he was that great I think I'll take his word for it
Posted on 4/4/13 at 6:57 pm to Lester Earl
quote:
Im not saying he wasn't good. No doubt he was very talented. It's hard to discount some of those first hand accoun ts.
Im just saying, once people die, legends grow.
Im sure his size also had a lot to do with his legend, too
No I absolutely agree with you, but I think there's truth to some of the stories about him. Although they may be embellished because people tend to remember the good about someone who dies tragically, I'm sure people thought they were seeing a very special player when watching him play, especially when those people are allstars in the MLB.
This post was edited on 4/4/13 at 6:59 pm
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