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re: Bo Jackson vs Prime who is better athlete?
Posted on 6/23/23 at 3:17 pm to meansonny
Posted on 6/23/23 at 3:17 pm to meansonny
I would argue that Deion is only in “the greatest “ conversation because of his self promotion and the fact he did choose to play in the majors . But there are many better athletes than him that could have played multiple sports but chose to focus on one. Off the top of my head:
Kirk gibson was a much better baseball player than Deion and is in the college football hof .
As mentioned before, Dave Winfield was drafted in all 3 sports.
Danny Ainge was a high school all American in 3 sports and made the pros in 2. Also a scratch golfer.
Jim brown was possibly the best football AND lacrosse player of all time.
Jackie Robinson was a 4 sport star at ucla and baseball was possibly his worst sport.
Wilt chamberlain was a great volleyball and track star
Kirk gibson was a much better baseball player than Deion and is in the college football hof .
As mentioned before, Dave Winfield was drafted in all 3 sports.
Danny Ainge was a high school all American in 3 sports and made the pros in 2. Also a scratch golfer.
Jim brown was possibly the best football AND lacrosse player of all time.
Jackie Robinson was a 4 sport star at ucla and baseball was possibly his worst sport.
Wilt chamberlain was a great volleyball and track star
This post was edited on 6/23/23 at 3:26 pm
4
Posted on 6/23/23 at 3:29 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
It is a fair discussion.
But to give deion credit, he is in the debate for best cornerback ever.
This is subjective, but I've always held that shutdown corner is the hardest thing to do in all of sports. And I can probably do 20 posts as to why.
Deion is in the conversation because he was a freak.
11 year baseball career.
53 interceptions when no one targets him.
10 defensive TDs.
9 kick and punt return TDs.
2 way NFL player (3 receiving TDs. 36 catches in 1996)
8 time pro bowler
6 time all pro
His NFL highlight reels are more impressive than Bo (9 punt/kick returns and 10 defensive scores will do that).
His on field speed was unmatched at his best.
But to give deion credit, he is in the debate for best cornerback ever.
This is subjective, but I've always held that shutdown corner is the hardest thing to do in all of sports. And I can probably do 20 posts as to why.
Deion is in the conversation because he was a freak.
11 year baseball career.
53 interceptions when no one targets him.
10 defensive TDs.
9 kick and punt return TDs.
2 way NFL player (3 receiving TDs. 36 catches in 1996)
8 time pro bowler
6 time all pro
His NFL highlight reels are more impressive than Bo (9 punt/kick returns and 10 defensive scores will do that).
His on field speed was unmatched at his best.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 3:50 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
quote:
Jim brown was possibly the best football AND lacrosse player of all time.
Traditionally, Jim Thorpe and Jim Brown garner the most talk about best athlete of all time.
It is the multi-sport stardom which weights that argument.
Bo Jackson was a healthy Marcus Allen's backup for 4 years with the Raiders.
In MLB, Bo was a pure power hitter. And not a great one at that (.363 SLG). George Brett and Danny Tartabull were better offensive players on his same team (OPS and WAR).
Despite his limited number of games, Bo Jackson led the team in strikeouts in '87, '88, '89, & '90.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 3:52 pm to meansonny
See I think he’s in the best cornerback debate because of his self promotion. Best cover corner-probably . Best corner-probably not. The avoidance of contact was a glaring hole in his game. It’d be like saying Cris Carter is the best WR ever because he had the best hands.
Now Deion’s punt returning and highlights along with a decent baseball career are impressive. He was a great athlete for sure. Best ever gets thrown around too casually, not just for Deion.
Now Deion’s punt returning and highlights along with a decent baseball career are impressive. He was a great athlete for sure. Best ever gets thrown around too casually, not just for Deion.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 3:57 pm to meansonny
As for Bo’s numbers, I think most would agree he never really reached his peak in either sport because of the injury. Maybe that makes him seem better than he really was. Along with all the highlights.
I still put him over Deion but maybe not over Winfield because Winfield was a basketball player and much better at baseball .
Also in Deion’s 11 year baseball career, I only remember him for about a 3-4 year stretch. Most of it was pretty underwhelming other than the fact that he was only doing it in his spare time.
To me if I’m saying best athlete I want to see success in multiple sports but also sports that aren’t similar. That’s the knock on Deion, he was a one trick pony-speed. Baseball is probably the hardest sport to pick up on athleticism alone. So I’d give a nod to guys that played both baseball and fast action sports.
I still put him over Deion but maybe not over Winfield because Winfield was a basketball player and much better at baseball .
Also in Deion’s 11 year baseball career, I only remember him for about a 3-4 year stretch. Most of it was pretty underwhelming other than the fact that he was only doing it in his spare time.
To me if I’m saying best athlete I want to see success in multiple sports but also sports that aren’t similar. That’s the knock on Deion, he was a one trick pony-speed. Baseball is probably the hardest sport to pick up on athleticism alone. So I’d give a nod to guys that played both baseball and fast action sports.
This post was edited on 6/23/23 at 4:06 pm
Posted on 6/23/23 at 4:08 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
quote:
See I think he’s in the best cornerback debate because of his self promotion. Best cover corner-probably
You think the best cornerback should not be the best cover corner?
I don't mind agreeing to disagree.
And I'm not saying deion is the greatest.
I'm saying that he has an excellent argument.
Deion has the most All Pro years of any cornerback ever (9).
Only 4 CBs have more Pro Bowls (including Rod Woodson and Charles Woodson).
Bo is in the argument for greatest media campaign.
Best backup running back ever.
He may be one of the nicest professional athletes ever.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 4:11 pm to meansonny
Yeah I’m not really arguing, just having a discussion while I sit in a boring lecture, lol.
I think the 2 cbs you named were better all around corners. Maybe champ Bailey as well.
It is interesting to note that even though teams knew Deion didn’t like to tackle, they really weren’t able to take advantage of it. Seems like there would be a way to expose that weakness in the modern game.
I think the 2 cbs you named were better all around corners. Maybe champ Bailey as well.
It is interesting to note that even though teams knew Deion didn’t like to tackle, they really weren’t able to take advantage of it. Seems like there would be a way to expose that weakness in the modern game.
This post was edited on 6/23/23 at 4:14 pm
Posted on 6/23/23 at 4:16 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
Deion played MLB for 9 seasons.
You don't do that off of self promotion.
He was a decent leadoff hitter (didn't walk enough, but didn't strike out a ton).
He stole a ton of bases. But he took his lumps too (lots of caught stealing).
Deion's WAR is 5.5
It isn't that far removed from Bo at 8.3 (Bo had 300 more plate appearances to get there).
As I said... it isn't like Bo Jackson was a HOF or the best offensive player on his team.
You don't do that off of self promotion.
He was a decent leadoff hitter (didn't walk enough, but didn't strike out a ton).
He stole a ton of bases. But he took his lumps too (lots of caught stealing).
Deion's WAR is 5.5
It isn't that far removed from Bo at 8.3 (Bo had 300 more plate appearances to get there).
As I said... it isn't like Bo Jackson was a HOF or the best offensive player on his team.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 4:18 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
quote:
It is interesting to note that even though teams knew Deion didn’t like to tackle, they really weren’t able to take advantage of it. Seems like there would be a way to expose that weakness in the modern game.
By the 2nd half of his nfl career, Deion knew to go low on everyone.
If they are already too tight on him to go low, he got them out of bounds.
It was soft. But it really did get the job done. There may have been +1 or +2 yards on the play. But it wasn't a missed tackle. He did his job (which was important to him. He demanded excellence of his teammates).
Posted on 6/23/23 at 4:22 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
quote:
That’s the knock on Deion, he was a one trick pony-speed.
Lol
It is kind of the most important aspect to being a cover corner (recovery).
And the primary marker of why cover corner is the hardest thing to do in sports (the WR knows where he is going and should be an equal athlete).
And it is pretty important on kickoff/punt return when the coverage unit doesn't stay disciplined in their lanes.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 5:07 pm to meansonny
That was my point. Deion was great at everything that required speed. But not great at things that don’t require speed like Tackling and hitting a baseball
Posted on 6/23/23 at 5:15 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
Tremendous post my man
Posted on 6/23/23 at 5:44 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
quote:
But not great at things that don’t require speed like Tackling and hitting a baseball
He had a higher batting average and on base percentage than Bo Jackson.
Deion had as many triples in one season than Bo had in his career.
Deion struck out in 15% of his plate appearances. Bo struck out in 32%.
He had twice as many stolen bases despite 300 fewer plate appearances.
To say that Deion is not great at hitting also says that Bo Jackson was not great at hitting a baseball.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 5:55 pm to johnboyjax
Bo. He didn't have to run his mouth and dress flashy with big gold chains to let everyone know he was great.
Prime was good but some of the hype around him was because he was a narcissist
Prime was good but some of the hype around him was because he was a narcissist
Posted on 6/23/23 at 6:57 pm to johnboyjax
Bo could have been an Olympic level athlete if he wanted to
Posted on 6/23/23 at 7:10 pm to meansonny
quote:
Bo Jackson was a healthy Marcus Allen's backup for 4 years with the Raiders.
In MLB, Bo was a pure power hitter. And not a great one at that (.363 SLG). George Brett and Danny Tartabull were better offensive players on his same team (OPS and WAR).
Bo had a career slugging % of .470+, if you are going to make claims at least don't straight up lie. In his last year before injury he was your claim that Tartabull was better is laughable, and no shite that Bo wasn't as good as HOF 3b George Brett. The fact of the matter is Bo put up an .866 OPS/142 wRC his final year healthy, he was just hitting his stride in MLB before the injury. Bo likely was never going to be some HOF OF, but he easily could have had another 4-6 years like 1990 and ended in the 350-400 HR range with around 300ish steals by the time he was done.
Your comments that he wasn't the starter with Marcus Allen are pretty funny as well considering Bo didn't play football until October each year and Allen was a pro bowler/all pro raiders legend himself. Despite that Bo averaged more yards per game and a far better yards per attempt all 4 years they played together. And the last two years Bo had more yards period.
I'd go with Jim Thorpe or Jim Brown for the greatest overall athletes as well, but Bo was definitely greater than Sanders in terms of pure athletes and overall performance for both sports combined. Bo was playing at an all-star/pro bowl level in both sports right before injury, Deion never came close to all star type level in MLB, though he was a solid player.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 7:15 pm to WG_Dawg
quote:
Herschel walker was a better football palyer than both, better track star than both, was a 7th degree black belt, olympic bobsledder, and undefeeated professional fighter.
While I agree Hersch is a freak
Man…..you UGA fans are a thirsty bunch
Posted on 6/23/23 at 8:31 pm to EvrybodysAllAmerican
Seems like you borrowed your opinions and didn’t actually watch either players career.
This post was edited on 6/23/23 at 8:33 pm
Posted on 6/23/23 at 8:36 pm to Hester Carries
The real answer to this question is Elly De La Cruz.
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