@MarkKnudson41
Strike One: Jerry Reuss had one helluva major league baseball career. The lanky lefthander pitched in four decades (only 29 guys have done that, ever) won 220 games, was a two-time All-Star, a World Series champ, and threw a no-hitter.
Jerry was a big deal. I certainly wasn’t.
I was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1989 when we acquired Reuss from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline. I was having a decent season and was part of the Brewers starting rotation at that point. Jerry was not brought in to replace me, but he did want my uniform number. Number 41.
Jerry had worn that number for most of his stellar career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, LA Dodgers and most recently, the White Sox. Baseball clubhouse etiquette would have had me, the wet behind the ears ordinary Joe right hander, relinquishing the number to the established veteran standout. That’s what you did if asked. Often times there’s some sort of payment involved – I don’t recall if Jerry offered me anything in return, but he probably did – but nevertheless, that’s how it is supposed to be done.
But I didn’t do it. I refused to give my new, far more accomplished veteran teammate the uniform number he had every right to ask for and continue to wear proudly. He had earned that.
I did consider the request. Briefly. But I couldn’t do it. Because I would not have been giving Jerry MY number. I’d be giving him Tom Seaver’s number. That I just could not do.
We lost the great Tom Seaver the past week, complications from his on-going battle with dementia and COVID-19. He’d been ill for more than a year, so it was akin to losing a relative you know has limited days left. Doesn’t make it any easier.
I had the great fortune of meeting and befriending my boyhood idol. I began wearing #41 in the minor leagues in Tom’s honor and wore it all throughout my professional baseball career. I still wear it as a high school coach. Tom and I shared the field once, in 1986 in Boston when he was a member of the Red Sox and I was in the other dugout. But we didn’t meet until he moved into the Yankees broadcast booth. Former CU football and baseball star John Stearns introduced us in Milwaukee one day before a game. The first thing Tom did was point at my number. He knew.
I tried to emulate everything Tom Seaver did, including his famous drop and drive delivery. He told me I was too tall to do it that way, and of course he was right. He also called me aside the day after I had shut out the Yankees for seven innings in New York and told me I’d been tipping a pitch the night before. He hadn’t mentioned it on the air but wanted me to know. Think about that for a moment: A Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever take the mound, going out of his way to help out an ordinary Joe like me…when he had nothing to gain from doing so.
Later, he left an autographed copy of his book, “The Art of Pitching” in my locker. I cherish it to this day.
I’m certain there were young lefthanders who choose #41 to honor Jerry Reuss, and rightfully so. He was a tremendous big league pitcher and a great teammate. After my wife and I got engaged, Jerry sent us a crystal Christmas tree ornament with both our names engraved on it. He’s a class act too. I regret not being able to honor him by giving him the number he wanted and deserved.
I have ‘41’ in my email address and my Twitter handle. It’s not my number, it’s Tom Seaver’s, and it always will be.
Rest in Peace my friend.
Strike Two: I had become a Milwaukee Brewer after being traded from the Houston Astros in mid-August of 1986. I was the proverbial “Player to be Named Later” in a deal that sent Don August (and me) to the Brewers for veteran righthander Danny Darwin. (Incidentally, while Darwin did win five starts for the Astros down the stretch, he didn’t throw a post-season pitch in that famous Astros – Mets 1986 NLCS. I remain convinced I could have done that.)
When the deal was announced, Don left immediately for his new organization. But we didn’t know who the PTBNL was going to be at the time. Because the deal came after the non-waiver trade deadline, I (still not knowing for sure) had to be sent down to clear waivers and spend two weeks in the minor leagues before I could join the Brewers big league team at the start of September.
Being in limbo like that, even for a short period of time, throws you off a bit, as you can imagine. Regardless of the circumstances, finally being traded is a strange experience if it’s your first time. Part of you is disappointed that the organization that you’ve been with doesn’t want you anymore, and part of you is excited for a new opportunity.
My wait time was about two weeks. This season, the wait could be a much longer one for some young Colorado Rockies prospect. Colorado made one of those deals with the Boston Red Sox at this season’s deadline, bringing in veteran centerfielder Kevin Pillar in exchange for a PTBNL.
Who will it be?
Fortunately for Rockies fans, probably NOT anyone you know about or have high hopes for at this moment.
This year’s rules are a bit different when it comes to PTBNL. With no minor league ball being played, the vast majority of every team’s prospects are sitting at home. And the rules state that for this season, no player who is currently among the 60 active players in any organization can be that PTBNL. So…someone who is currently sitting a home is most likely going to be the one.
That means Ryan Rolison, Michael Toglia, Colton Welker…you can rest easy. You’re in Rockies satellite camp, which means you aren’t going to be sent to Boston. At least not this season.
It looks like the Rockies got Pillar as part of a salary dump by the filthy rich Boston Red Sox. (Perhaps we have a new definition of irony.) But for whatever reason, finally landing Pillar (I’ve been clamoring for this move for three years now) is a great get for the Rockies. He’s a badly needed major upgrade in an area that has been a profound weakness. And it looks like the Rockies were able to make this upgrade without giving up one of the few top prospects they have.
Now if they can just make the “starting at DH, Charlie Blackmon” thing permanent, we’ll have something.
Strike Three: If his performance in Game Two of the NBA play-off second round series against the LA Clippers was any indication, perhaps Michael Porter Jr. IS ready to start to help the Denver Nuggets take the proverbial next step. If not now, then when?
At this point, MPJ is a rookie in name only. It’s been a full calendar year since he began his rookie season. A lot has happened, good and bad. He should have learned from all of it. It’s time for him to begin to step up and make the Nuggets more than just a “two man game.”
Porter Jr has a skill set unlike any other Nugget. Sometimes he makes you think you’re watching the next Kevin Durant. Other times he vanishes…or just stands around watching Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic pass back and forth. His defense can be abysmal at times…and other times he can be a solid shot blocker.
Consistency. It comes with experience to be sure. And it’s very fair to note that other highly touted prospects have taken more than a single season to blossom. That’s especially true for a young player like MPJ, who had almost no playing experience in college due to injuries.
There were many of us who complained openly that Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was stunting Porter’s development early in the season by sticking him on the end of the bench. Malone’s reasoning was his desire to win now: His team had been within a couple of games of the top seed in the NBA’s Western Conference the prior season, and that the same group, which didn’t include Porter, would pick up where they left off the season before. The other argument was that those Nuggets – who bowed out in the second round in 2019 – had reached their ceiling, and that MPJ’s development represented a chance to dramatically improve the on-floor product for the long term.
Both arguments were and are true. But it’s all water under the bridge now. The onus has left the coach and landed squarely on the player. We’re past the time to be asking for playing time for Porter just so he can develop. We’ve reached the point when the Nuggets need MPJ to step up, grow up fast, and make the Denver Nuggets a three-headed monster, instead of a “two man game.”