Before I get to the prompt, I think your premise today is bolstered by the sound the announcer makes when Ohtani connects. He knows _exactly_ what he just saw and he cannot even form a word in English. His first impulse is the laugh of the impossible, a "that did not just happen" moment and I love it.
Shawn Hunwick is 5'7" and 165 pounds. He was a walk-on goaltender at Michigan in part, people think, because his older brother Matt (now with the Sabres), was on the team and you can always use a solid backup goalie, even if he won't play much.
He played three minutes his freshman year, he redshirted his sophomore year (which is somewhat uncommon in hockey) and was on his way to another season of not much action when Bryan Hogan got hurt against Notre Dame. He played 48:49 in relief and made 14 saves for a combined shutout. OK, that happens. Except Michigan proceeded to go on a tear. They won seven straight with "Tiny Jesus" in the net. They won the CCHA tournament and Hunwick was named tournament MVP, the first Michigan goalie to be so honored. They would have been in the Frozen Four in Detroit that year if not for a quick whistle in overtime in Fort Wayne.
By every right, Shawn Hunwick should not have been that good. The next year, he backstopped Michigan to the NCAA title game. His senior year, he was a Hobey Baker Award finalist. At some point, Shawn Hunwick was as good as advertised and better. He got one game in the NHL when the Blue Jackets had a spate of injured goalies and played for 2:33 of a 7-3 win. He's now a player agent. But for two and a half magic years, he was Tiny Jesus.
To an extent, reading about this phenomenon reminds me of when Linsanity happened with Jeremy Lin on the Knicks. It was when I was still living in New York and I remember a buzz like I'd never experienced in the city. Getting out of a cab where the driver's listening to the game, and seeing packed bars with the audio on, all watching. Front-page headlines for 2-3 weeks. He never matched it again, but it really was magic.
How you could mention the man without the great nickname??? Hard Hittin' Mark Whiten just flows so nicely.
The guy I'll always remember as awesome, despite the numbers suggesting otherwise, is Herbert Perry. When I was a kid, my parents got us tickets to a game to see beloved Cleveland play the despicable Yankees. On a Saturday in June, we drove up I-71, getting to the ballpark early enough to get some autographs from players around BP and warmups, and I remember this guy being quite nice and seeming impossibly huge up close(of course, I was 10, so that skews the memory).
Anyway, Perry signs the baseball I have, my dad says "hey, watch out for him, he's a new young guy who could be really good," and then in the game, he goes 3 for 4 with not one, but two home runs, and I was convinced he was the greatest, the second coming of Babe Ruth.
[Herbert Perry hit a total of 55 HR in a career that lasted another 9 years, with an overall OPS+ of 96(just a bit below league average) and 5.1 WAR over the course of his time in the bigs.]
In the spirit of mid-late-'90s Cleveland Guys, I remember being at a game at the Jake in '97ish and they put up a minor-league highlight reel on the scoreboard showing a couple massive home runs Russell Branyan had down in A ball at Kinston. I was absolutely sure he was the next 50-home-run guy. Just in awe.
He did hit 194 big-league homers, but also batted .232 in his career.
Part of Cleveland's core of '90s Guys Who Weren't Bad But I Thought Were Better Than They Were along with Richie Sexson, Brian Giles and Jeromy Burnitz. (Although Giles had a pretty decent stretch with the Pirates, looking back now.)
"Chad Ogea, Jaret Wright, Albie Lopez, Brian Anderson, Tim Drew, Steve Woodard, Ryan Drese...surely some of these guys will develop into good starters to give the team a postseason edge!"
In the deep and rich history of Cleveland sports regrets, one of the hardest for me to get over is the failed chance to trade for Pedro Martinez that hinged on an unwillingness to give up Jaret Wright. We could've taken one of the best lineups of the decade and paired them with one of the greatest five-year stretches a pitcher has ever had.
Let us not forget Brandon Phillips, the original centerpiece of the Bartolo Colon trade who would later become an all-star in Cincinnati after Cleveland traded him for a player to be named later, batting .208/.246/.310 in his 135 games over four years for Cleveland.
My large adult son Kenny Pickett will always be one of these for me. He hurdled into the end zone in the upset of Miami in 2017. He was a freshman. It was his first start. I was there and it happened in front of me. He’ll always be a legend to me. (The Pitt special helps too but I wasn’t there for that one.)
There are actually a number of Pitt players that fall into this category; Ryan Lewis, the hero of the 2016 Penn State game (he made the end zone pick that clinched the win for Pitt, 42-39). Big play Ray Vinopal made a pick to win it against Notre dame in 2013. I was there for those too. Pitt: home of That Guy.
You knew it was coming eventually, so here it is: Jeff Francoeur. It’s mainly a sentimental thing for me. My dad watched the Braves religiously and I happened to be at home for dinner the night when Frenchie made his debut and he hit a homer in his first at-bat. I ended up watching the rest of the game with my dad and then started following the Braves along with him because I wanted to see what else this kid would do. It introduced me to so many other l players I enjoyed watching like Brian McCann and then Jason Hayward. I don’t think Frenchie ever outdid his first season but he will be a fan favorite for much of the Southeast forever.
He seemed like he was going to be huge! He had that “can anyone be this good?” SI cover.
Also this is kinda amazing, as I just looked up his Baseball Reference page: after 3 seasons, he had 6.9 career WAR. After 12 seasons, he had 6.8. Managed to hang around for nine years wherein, by one statistical measure, he was a net-negative on the field.
My then 9 year old son was watching Louisville basketball get eaten alive by a mediocre Miami team - or more accurately, a single freshman named Lonnie Walker. To this day, his Lego AT-ST pilot is named in his honor. That's immortality for you.
Scott, you also reminded me of another fun thing: Name Games. Wherein a player has a singular, transcendent performance that if you say to a fan of the team the {First Name} {Last Name} Game, they very well would know which one you meant.
Absolutely loved this The Bay Area has been absolutely blessed with a smattering of these types in the last two decades. Bonds, Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Crawford's defense and a few relievers for the Giants who gave you heart palpitations. Steph and Klay for the Warriors in a way I can't really describe without just throwing my hands up. Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, George Kittle and a few other guys for the 49ers of recent success. Just a thrilling time to be a fan and appreciate guys who did so many incredible things.
Back in 1998, the Brazilian Soccer League (Brasileirão) still had best-of-3 playoff series and my team (Corinthians) was in the finals against Cruzeiro. Our team was loaded but every single goal (I checked just now to make sure my (late-)childhood memories weren't wrong) was either scored or assisted by a player who came off the bench called Dinei (remember: in soccer, teams were limited do 3 substitutions/game). After that, I was pretty sure Corinthians would be undefeated as long as we had Dinei. Turns out he was pretty inconsistent, if talented, and had issues with drug addiction, which gives these memories a dark hue, unfortunately.
My bachelor party was a sedate affair because I was a 30 year old. So we went to a Tigers game.
Michael "Clete" Thomas pinch hit for a still in his prime Miguel Cabrera and proceeded to hit his only career grand slam to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 8th. It was a beauty and I wish I could find video to share with you.
He was sent down to Toledo four days later. He only hit 13 home runs in his major league career. As always, Auburn causes chaos.
Adam Dunn hit the loudest home run I've ever experienced in person. June 12, 2011 against Oakland. It was the season that put his career on the massive downturn he would never quite pull out of but I can still hear that dinger when I close my eyes. I have never witnessed a stadium get so quiet so fast as it did watching that ball sail into deep right field.
Keith Olbermann is a piece of shit who shames animal shelters for having to euthanize pets and goddamn do I hate that man.
Richard Hidalgo of the Astros is one of those guys for me. Dude hit for power and also had "Who Let the Dogs out" as his walk up song which as a kid is the greatest. I just remember being at a game when I had to be like 10, we were down a few runs and he just destroyed a baseball and eventually the Astros came back in the late innings. I still have the popcorn tin that I keep sports memorabilia in.
I could play remember that guy about so many Rockets and Stros from the late 90s and early 2000s.
This post is actually about the time I thought trot nixon was a god because he hit a homer into the delaware river when he played for the trenton thunder
I distinctly remember being at Yankee Stadium for Don Mattingly's 200th career home run. That day they beat the aforementioned Angels 12-1. Of all the baseball games I've been to in my life it's the only game where I can instantly recall the score of because it was tied to Mattingly.
I was a stupid kid and thought the ticket stub to that game would be worth something someday - even more so I wasn't developed enough in my fandom yet to know that players can be on the downslope of their careers when you see them. Dumb Yankee fans, of which there are many, like to argue if he should be in the Hall (I'm of the belief he shouldn't). But he will always be the legend in my mind.
I'm definitely one of those "dumb" Yankee fans who believes Mattingly is an edge-case HOFer. He's by far the highlight of my childhood fandom - I'm turning 40 this year, so my Yankee childhood aligns perfectly with a) his career and b) a decade and a half of utter and complete futility.
Dumb might be a little harsh on my end. I love the guy - I just never thought he was a sure fire HoFer like some do. I've also been lucky enough to carry the early 90's Yankee futility with me long after their dim flame extinguished.
Mattingly and Nomar Garciaparra are a perfect binary of guys like this for the Yanks-Sox rivalry. (Also, extremely close in career WAR.)
I was talking with Matt Brown (extrapointsmb.com) about this the other day, and I was shocked years later as a Cleveland fan to realize how thin Sandy Alomar Jr.'s actual stats are compared to how I view his career, and maybe that's just on account of him hitting a HR in the All-Star Game at home in 1997, thus elevating him to legend status.
Hmmm, as a Maryland fan who was in school in the early 2010s, I'd have to say Cliff Tucker (RIP). He was a bench player who hit a 25-foot buzzer beater against Georgia Tech in 2010 to keep Maryland's hopes for an ACC regular season title alive. There were bigger stars on that team, but that shot cemented him as a Maryland legend in my book.
I'd probably say the 2009-2010 Maryland basketball team in general. It was Gary Williams's last tournament team and they won a share of an ACC regular season title, but that was probably the funnest Maryland team I'd seen.
Before I get to the prompt, I think your premise today is bolstered by the sound the announcer makes when Ohtani connects. He knows _exactly_ what he just saw and he cannot even form a word in English. His first impulse is the laugh of the impossible, a "that did not just happen" moment and I love it.
Shawn Hunwick is 5'7" and 165 pounds. He was a walk-on goaltender at Michigan in part, people think, because his older brother Matt (now with the Sabres), was on the team and you can always use a solid backup goalie, even if he won't play much.
He played three minutes his freshman year, he redshirted his sophomore year (which is somewhat uncommon in hockey) and was on his way to another season of not much action when Bryan Hogan got hurt against Notre Dame. He played 48:49 in relief and made 14 saves for a combined shutout. OK, that happens. Except Michigan proceeded to go on a tear. They won seven straight with "Tiny Jesus" in the net. They won the CCHA tournament and Hunwick was named tournament MVP, the first Michigan goalie to be so honored. They would have been in the Frozen Four in Detroit that year if not for a quick whistle in overtime in Fort Wayne.
By every right, Shawn Hunwick should not have been that good. The next year, he backstopped Michigan to the NCAA title game. His senior year, he was a Hobey Baker Award finalist. At some point, Shawn Hunwick was as good as advertised and better. He got one game in the NHL when the Blue Jackets had a spate of injured goalies and played for 2:33 of a 7-3 win. He's now a player agent. But for two and a half magic years, he was Tiny Jesus.
This is magnificent.
To an extent, reading about this phenomenon reminds me of when Linsanity happened with Jeremy Lin on the Knicks. It was when I was still living in New York and I remember a buzz like I'd never experienced in the city. Getting out of a cab where the driver's listening to the game, and seeing packed bars with the audio on, all watching. Front-page headlines for 2-3 weeks. He never matched it again, but it really was magic.
How you could mention the man without the great nickname??? Hard Hittin' Mark Whiten just flows so nicely.
The guy I'll always remember as awesome, despite the numbers suggesting otherwise, is Herbert Perry. When I was a kid, my parents got us tickets to a game to see beloved Cleveland play the despicable Yankees. On a Saturday in June, we drove up I-71, getting to the ballpark early enough to get some autographs from players around BP and warmups, and I remember this guy being quite nice and seeming impossibly huge up close(of course, I was 10, so that skews the memory).
Anyway, Perry signs the baseball I have, my dad says "hey, watch out for him, he's a new young guy who could be really good," and then in the game, he goes 3 for 4 with not one, but two home runs, and I was convinced he was the greatest, the second coming of Babe Ruth.
[Herbert Perry hit a total of 55 HR in a career that lasted another 9 years, with an overall OPS+ of 96(just a bit below league average) and 5.1 WAR over the course of his time in the bigs.]
I remember Herb Perry! Always liked him.
In the spirit of mid-late-'90s Cleveland Guys, I remember being at a game at the Jake in '97ish and they put up a minor-league highlight reel on the scoreboard showing a couple massive home runs Russell Branyan had down in A ball at Kinston. I was absolutely sure he was the next 50-home-run guy. Just in awe.
He did hit 194 big-league homers, but also batted .232 in his career.
Me every year, reading Sheldon Ocker and Terry Pluto's reports from spring training: THIS is the year Branyan puts it together!
Part of Cleveland's core of '90s Guys Who Weren't Bad But I Thought Were Better Than They Were along with Richie Sexson, Brian Giles and Jeromy Burnitz. (Although Giles had a pretty decent stretch with the Pirates, looking back now.)
"Chad Ogea, Jaret Wright, Albie Lopez, Brian Anderson, Tim Drew, Steve Woodard, Ryan Drese...surely some of these guys will develop into good starters to give the team a postseason edge!"
In the deep and rich history of Cleveland sports regrets, one of the hardest for me to get over is the failed chance to trade for Pedro Martinez that hinged on an unwillingness to give up Jaret Wright. We could've taken one of the best lineups of the decade and paired them with one of the greatest five-year stretches a pitcher has ever had.
(I made sure I didn't imagine this, and I didn't: https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/19980930/news/309309953)
Let us not forget Brandon Phillips, the original centerpiece of the Bartolo Colon trade who would later become an all-star in Cincinnati after Cleveland traded him for a player to be named later, batting .208/.246/.310 in his 135 games over four years for Cleveland.
Stopping by to tip my hat to Glenallen Hill, who hit a baseball farther than any man alive one time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NiSpQPfmI4
I knew what this was before I even clicked. Just an amazing blast.
My favorite thing about this one is he doesn't even look like he's giving it 100% on the swing
My large adult son Kenny Pickett will always be one of these for me. He hurdled into the end zone in the upset of Miami in 2017. He was a freshman. It was his first start. I was there and it happened in front of me. He’ll always be a legend to me. (The Pitt special helps too but I wasn’t there for that one.)
There are actually a number of Pitt players that fall into this category; Ryan Lewis, the hero of the 2016 Penn State game (he made the end zone pick that clinched the win for Pitt, 42-39). Big play Ray Vinopal made a pick to win it against Notre dame in 2013. I was there for those too. Pitt: home of That Guy.
Even as an outsider, Pitt really does have a lot of Guys.
It is a damned shame Kenny Pickett isn't a defensive back.
Ahh, Ray Vinopal. Michigan transfer.
You knew it was coming eventually, so here it is: Jeff Francoeur. It’s mainly a sentimental thing for me. My dad watched the Braves religiously and I happened to be at home for dinner the night when Frenchie made his debut and he hit a homer in his first at-bat. I ended up watching the rest of the game with my dad and then started following the Braves along with him because I wanted to see what else this kid would do. It introduced me to so many other l players I enjoyed watching like Brian McCann and then Jason Hayward. I don’t think Frenchie ever outdid his first season but he will be a fan favorite for much of the Southeast forever.
He seemed like he was going to be huge! He had that “can anyone be this good?” SI cover.
Also this is kinda amazing, as I just looked up his Baseball Reference page: after 3 seasons, he had 6.9 career WAR. After 12 seasons, he had 6.8. Managed to hang around for nine years wherein, by one statistical measure, he was a net-negative on the field.
My then 9 year old son was watching Louisville basketball get eaten alive by a mediocre Miami team - or more accurately, a single freshman named Lonnie Walker. To this day, his Lego AT-ST pilot is named in his honor. That's immortality for you.
Hard-Hittin' Mark Whiten!
Scott, you also reminded me of another fun thing: Name Games. Wherein a player has a singular, transcendent performance that if you say to a fan of the team the {First Name} {Last Name} Game, they very well would know which one you meant.
I wrote about some Michigan football ones.
https://hooverstreetrag.blogspot.com/2016/03/name-games.html
Absolutely loved this The Bay Area has been absolutely blessed with a smattering of these types in the last two decades. Bonds, Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Crawford's defense and a few relievers for the Giants who gave you heart palpitations. Steph and Klay for the Warriors in a way I can't really describe without just throwing my hands up. Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman, George Kittle and a few other guys for the 49ers of recent success. Just a thrilling time to be a fan and appreciate guys who did so many incredible things.
You said “Bay Area” and before my eyes went any further I thought “Pablo Sandoval”
(I have more complicated feelings on Steph and Klay as a Cavs fan but I’ll always have ‘16)
Back in 1998, the Brazilian Soccer League (Brasileirão) still had best-of-3 playoff series and my team (Corinthians) was in the finals against Cruzeiro. Our team was loaded but every single goal (I checked just now to make sure my (late-)childhood memories weren't wrong) was either scored or assisted by a player who came off the bench called Dinei (remember: in soccer, teams were limited do 3 substitutions/game). After that, I was pretty sure Corinthians would be undefeated as long as we had Dinei. Turns out he was pretty inconsistent, if talented, and had issues with drug addiction, which gives these memories a dark hue, unfortunately.
A baseball one:
My bachelor party was a sedate affair because I was a 30 year old. So we went to a Tigers game.
Michael "Clete" Thomas pinch hit for a still in his prime Miguel Cabrera and proceeded to hit his only career grand slam to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 8th. It was a beauty and I wish I could find video to share with you.
He was sent down to Toledo four days later. He only hit 13 home runs in his major league career. As always, Auburn causes chaos.
Adam Dunn hit the loudest home run I've ever experienced in person. June 12, 2011 against Oakland. It was the season that put his career on the massive downturn he would never quite pull out of but I can still hear that dinger when I close my eyes. I have never witnessed a stadium get so quiet so fast as it did watching that ball sail into deep right field.
Keith Olbermann is a piece of shit who shames animal shelters for having to euthanize pets and goddamn do I hate that man.
Richard Hidalgo of the Astros is one of those guys for me. Dude hit for power and also had "Who Let the Dogs out" as his walk up song which as a kid is the greatest. I just remember being at a game when I had to be like 10, we were down a few runs and he just destroyed a baseball and eventually the Astros came back in the late innings. I still have the popcorn tin that I keep sports memorabilia in.
I could play remember that guy about so many Rockets and Stros from the late 90s and early 2000s.
This post is actually about the time I thought trot nixon was a god because he hit a homer into the delaware river when he played for the trenton thunder
I distinctly remember being at Yankee Stadium for Don Mattingly's 200th career home run. That day they beat the aforementioned Angels 12-1. Of all the baseball games I've been to in my life it's the only game where I can instantly recall the score of because it was tied to Mattingly.
I was a stupid kid and thought the ticket stub to that game would be worth something someday - even more so I wasn't developed enough in my fandom yet to know that players can be on the downslope of their careers when you see them. Dumb Yankee fans, of which there are many, like to argue if he should be in the Hall (I'm of the belief he shouldn't). But he will always be the legend in my mind.
I'm definitely one of those "dumb" Yankee fans who believes Mattingly is an edge-case HOFer. He's by far the highlight of my childhood fandom - I'm turning 40 this year, so my Yankee childhood aligns perfectly with a) his career and b) a decade and a half of utter and complete futility.
Dumb might be a little harsh on my end. I love the guy - I just never thought he was a sure fire HoFer like some do. I've also been lucky enough to carry the early 90's Yankee futility with me long after their dim flame extinguished.
Mattingly and Nomar Garciaparra are a perfect binary of guys like this for the Yanks-Sox rivalry. (Also, extremely close in career WAR.)
I was talking with Matt Brown (extrapointsmb.com) about this the other day, and I was shocked years later as a Cleveland fan to realize how thin Sandy Alomar Jr.'s actual stats are compared to how I view his career, and maybe that's just on account of him hitting a HR in the All-Star Game at home in 1997, thus elevating him to legend status.
Hmmm, as a Maryland fan who was in school in the early 2010s, I'd have to say Cliff Tucker (RIP). He was a bench player who hit a 25-foot buzzer beater against Georgia Tech in 2010 to keep Maryland's hopes for an ACC regular season title alive. There were bigger stars on that team, but that shot cemented him as a Maryland legend in my book.
I'd probably say the 2009-2010 Maryland basketball team in general. It was Gary Williams's last tournament team and they won a share of an ACC regular season title, but that was probably the funnest Maryland team I'd seen.