Posted on 06/19/2009 7:05:41 PM PDT by Artemis Webb
It’s time to retire Cy Young. I’m all for tradition, but baseball has more important people to remember than a man who began his career in the horse-and-buggy age. He’s had his name on the award for the game’s best pitcher for over half a century, plenty long to honor his place in the game. See ya, Cy.
Let’s rename the award after a man who won more games than Young, struck out more batters than Nolan Ryan, pitched in at least twice as many games as anyone else, and had a persona that rivaled Babe Ruth’s.
The name is Leroy “Satchel” Paige, and it deserves to be etched on a trophy that would guarantee he will not be forgotten.
(snip)
Paige, as Tye notes, began his career when Calvin Coolidge was in the White House and ended it when Lyndon Johnson was president.
“If Randy Johnson(notes) was a force of nature when he signed on with the 2009 San Francisco Giants at age 45, and Nolan Ryan a medical marvel still pitching in the pros at 46, what are we to make of Satchel suiting up for three innings with the Kansas City A’s at 59?” Tye writes. “His durability was more astounding considering that, for most of his career, he twirled nearly every day on unmanicured fields, without the doctors, trainers and other pampering enjoyed by Johnson, Ryan and other major league pitchers.”
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
Start a new award for Paige if necessary...but don't screw with 50yrs of tradition.
Call it the Ty Cobb award.
You can’t re-write history. There is no way to know how good he was because he didn’t play against the best. It wasn’t his fault but it is still true.
No way, Satchel Paige was NOT better than Nolan Ryan!
It’s an absolute travesty that the era that Paige played in didn’t allow him to dominate the MLB like he dominated the negro leagues.
That said, why rename something from a truly dominant pitcher to another? While we’re at it, why not rename it the Nolan Ryan award.....
I’ve never heard of this writer so I couldn’t tell you who he is. this might have meant something if it came from someone like Buster Olney or Peter Gammons, this Yahoo Sports writer is a nobody.
I don’t pay attention to ESPN anymore unless there’s a ball game on, like right now with the CWS. Their Obama worship is just over the top.
What the hell is wrong with people these days?
"I will let you draw your own conclusion from all of this. However, I will say that while the MLB might have had more depth than the Negro Leagues, it seems obvious that the stars in the Negro Leagues would have been stars in MLB.
Joe DiMaggio called Paige the best pitcher he ever faced (you would think he would know). Was Satchel the best pitcher ever? Was Josh Gibson the best home run hitter ever? Was James "Cool Papa" Bell (great nickname) the fastest player and the best base stealer to ever play baseball? How great an all-around hitter was Buck Leonard?
I do not have a definitive answer to any of these questions and, sadly, neither does anyone else."
I haven’t been paying attention to ESPN since college basketball ended. They don’t carry the NHL.
I personally prefer The Greg Maddux award...but I digress. :)
nah - if we’re going to go there, it should be the Vida Blue award :)
Actually, he did. Satch pitched for the 1948 world champion Cleveland Indians and, even as a 41 year old rookie, he posted a 6-1 record and a 2.48 E.R.A. Describing Paige as awesome would be like describing Ronald Reagan as an above average president.
I’m tired of this PC crap.
I’m just always against renaming ANYTHING. As others have suggested, name a new award after him, but don’t mess with the ones that already exist.
Cy Young holds what IMO is the most unbreakable record in baseball, and it’s not the most wins. It’s the most complete games: 749. In the present relief-pitcher era of baseball it’s rare to see a pitcher break into double figures for complete games in a season.
This is NOT really about baseball...
I’m not familiar with the author either but it just sounds possibly like maybe more ‘white guilt’ type crap to me, if the writer is white. hope he feels better now. yep, put a named for a whitey award back in his/it’s place and substitute a black man’s name. right on brother. now if Paige’s name is desired to be involved with an award of some kind it should be a new one award and not by removing Cy Young’s name from his. Paige was a hell of a hurler and I would not have a problem whatsoever with his name on a premier MLB yearly award. (I just finished up rereading an early ‘50’s ‘Sport Magazine’ interview discussing and speaking with Paige, great read.) as you say, Gammons or Onley would def. be two to start the conversation going regarding a Paige award.
Like the founding Fathers. Let's just forget anything that happened more than 50 years ago.
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