quote:
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.

That's heavy stuff right there......

BUT IMO Len Bias in the nba would have been a treat to watch on those mid 80's Celtic teams............ Hank Gathers would have been an awesome pro as well...........

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Posted by TH03

Mogadishu

Member since Dec 2008

171035 posts

Posted on 4/4/13 at 7:03 pm to dukke v

You're comparing different sports, pj

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Posted by Lester Earl

Member since Nov 2003

278154 posts

Posted on 4/4/13 at 7:04 pm to dukke v

but would they be saying that if he were still alive!!!

NO!

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Posted by John McClane

Member since Apr 2010

36666 posts

Posted on 4/4/13 at 7:05 pm to LST

Sad. Wish I could have seen him play.

Thanks for the article

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Posted by dukke v

PLUTO

Member since Jul 2006

202612 posts

Posted on 4/4/13 at 7:06 pm to TH03

quote:
You're comparing different sports, pj

I know this...... Ok Lyman Bostock was an up and coming great player with the Angels back in 1977 and was gunned down one night. He was Rod Carew like........

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Posted by TH03

Mogadishu

Member since Dec 2008

171035 posts

Posted on 4/4/13 at 7:06 pm to Lester Earl

I just don't think there's a reason that they'd go as far as to say he was the best they played with. Yea, people may embellish about him, but why would Pujols feel the need to say he was the best he played with?

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Posted by Lester Earl

Member since Nov 2003

278154 posts

Posted on 4/4/13 at 7:10 pm to TH03

quote:
Yea, people may embellish about him, but why would Pujols feel the need to say he was the best he played with?

because a reporter came to him telling him they were writing a story about him? It's not like it was an unsolicited opinion.

Im sure Cole was a memorable player & stood out in Pujols' mind. Small guy with great power and speed.

Maybe he was the best, i have doubts though.

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Posted by TH03

Mogadishu

Member since Dec 2008

171035 posts

Posted on 4/4/13 at 7:17 pm to Lester Earl

I have my doubts too, but you can't doubt this:

quote:
He hit .349 over the final 30 games of 2000—his final season, as it turned out—including a 10-game hitting streak that featured four home runs. Binghamton went 26--4 during Cole's tear and came from eight games back to win the division. The resurgence

After struggling the start of double A, he dominated basically. Just looking at the yearly stats doesn't tell the whole story.

quote:
When Binghamton's season ended, Cole was honored in a pregame ceremony at Shea Stadium as the player of the year in the Mets' organization. He was sent to the Arizona Fall League to play against the cream of the minor league crop, including a promising third baseman the Cardinals had picked in the 13th round. "When I got there I heard [Cole] was a big prospect, and it was plain to see why," Albert Pujols says. "Amazing speed. Amazing power. People talk about five-tool players, but this was a six-tool player because he was such a competitor. I thought, Man, I'm in a special group here if there are players like this around me."

He was considered to be in Pujols' class while he was alive and playing, not just after he died

This post was edited on 4/4/13 at 7:19 pm

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Posted by LST

Member since Jan 2007

16316 posts

Posted on 4/8/13 at 9:04 am to Lester Earl

I agree that some of these stories were probably embellished because of his passing, but the fact that these guys think so highly of him he was still a great player.

There is no way of telling how he would have turned out in the major leagues. It seems like the potential was there though.

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