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Randy Poffo was a prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds in the early 1970s who featured power, a cannon for an arm, and a tenacious style of play. He was a two-time all-star catcher in high school yet did not attract the attention of scouts. His father drove him to an open tryout held by the St. Louis Cardinals, and out of 300 people he was the only person to be offered a contract. Poffo's minor league career was dogged by injuries and bad luck. He hurt his shoulder so much he started throwing with his other arm. He put up impressive numbers in the pitcher-friendly Florida League. As Deadspin reported quote:his home run rate of 2 percent, normally low, was well above the .9 percent league average — he hit homers twice as often as the average player, and he did it at Al Lopez Field, a ballpark that ran 400 feet to dead center and an unreasonable 340 feet down both lines.   As a Cardinal Poffo impressed coaches with his strong arm. He apparently threw the ball back to the pitcher as hard as the pitcher threw it to him. He also impressed teammates by swinging a bat into a hanging car tire to strengthen his hands and focus on his legs during swings. The Cardinals cut Poffo, and he caught on with Cincinnati right about the time the Big Red Machine was poised to torment the majors. Sadly, Poffo had an unlucky final year in the minors, and his career as a baseball player came to an end. But we can imagine what Poffo would have been like had he not injured his shoulder and made it to the majors. Fans would have cheered for Poffo as he accused Pete Rose of looking at his wife, Elizabeth, and Randy would have thrown elbows into second base in an effort to break up a double play.   Randy Poffo died on this date in 2011. 
Rand alPaul fucked around with this message at 09:59 on May 20, 2015 |
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May 20, 2015 09:04
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 23:45 |
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This is a good post and a good thread
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May 20, 2015 09:21
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It's really a shame he never put it all together. I hear he was a tower of power.
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May 20, 2015 16:24
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Ooooooh yeah.
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May 24, 2015 08:32
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I can dig it. Oh yeah.
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May 24, 2015 08:53
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That sliding picture is awesome. I wonder if there are more like it somewhere.
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May 24, 2015 09:21
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Dejan Bimble posted:That sliding picture is awesome. I wonder if there are more like it somewhere. There are plenty of photos of Pete Rose out there for you to Photoshop Macho Man's head onto.
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May 24, 2015 10:37
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Intruder posted:This is a good post and a good thread
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May 24, 2015 12:17
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 23:45 |
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Intruder posted:This is a good post and a good thread
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May 24, 2015 13:44
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