The brightest stars burn the fastest | Page 5 | The Boneyard

The brightest stars burn the fastest

Aaron Hernandez is #1 for me in terms of wasted talent and it goes so far beyond sports. He had Hall of Fame talent and it simply turned into a nightmare which ended up with people losing their lives and so many other lives destroyed.

He was destroying himself and others while still balling out on the football field in only 38 NFL games and it was all over at 23 years old.



 
Last edited:
Deepster said:
How about Josh Hamilton? Granted it was due to addiction, but he won an MVP and had that iconic HR Derby performance. Looked like the next Mickey Mantle.
Expand ...

This is a good one. He was basically The Natural. The promise, the career derailed, and then the emergence. HR Derbies are dumb but not that one. That one was a hyper-talented player at his peak performance.

God knows what his career stats would have looked like if he didn't have devils on both shoulders.
 
superjohn said:
Aaron Hernandez is #1 for me in terms of wasted talent and it goes so far beyond sports. He had Hall of Fame talent and it simply turned into a nightmare which ended up with people losing their lives and so many other lives destroyed.

He was destroying himself and others while still balling out on the football field in only 38 NFL games and it was all over at 23 years old.



Expand ...


Thought about adding him. I remember Bristol Central came to my school (I'm a teacher) to play us in FB, and just the way Hernandez carried his pads proved he was a man against boys. His aura, even as a high schooler, was next level.
 
nomar said:
This is a good one. He was basically The Natural. The promise, the career derailed, and then the emergence. HR Derbies are dumb but not that one. That one was a hyper-talented player at his peak performance.

God knows what his career stats would have looked like if he didn't have devils on both shoulders.
Expand ...
I am not a very empathetic guy (I know, shocker) but it made me feel really bad for him when he'd talk about how much he hated his tattoos because they reminded him of his times of drug use. He used to wear wrist bands to cover them up.

250px-Josh_Hamilton_on_May_10%2C_2012.jpg
 
Deepster said:
I am not a very empathetic guy (I know, shocker) but it made me feel really bad for him when he'd talk about how much he hated his tattoos because they reminded him of his times of drug use. He used to wear wrist bands to cover them up.

250px-Josh_Hamilton_on_May_10%2C_2012.jpg
Expand ...
He really went downhill again after he tossed that ball into the stands and the kids dad fell over the railing trying to make the grab. I do feel very bad for him. He had it rough.
 
.-.
I think Lin is the best example (someone referred to him as David Lin lol), but he actually was a pretty good player - injuries really screwed him. I remember when he hung like 40 on us, and dunked on someone.

What about Kerry Wood. I still remember that 20 strikeout game. Granted, he was actually pretty good for a few years, but the guy was the next coming of Clemens.
 
Nick Kingham was the 67th rated top prospect in MLB entering the 2018 season. He was called up at the end of April. In his first start, he threw 6.2 perfect innings vs the Cards, being removed after the 7th. His line was one hit, no walks, nine Ks. We Pirates fans were ecstatic.

His MLB career lasted 43 games. He ended up with a record of 9-9, an ERA of 6.08, and a career bWAR of -1.5.
 
Palatine said:
Roy Batty, the Nexus-6 combat model replicant, was superior to humans in almost every way but only had a life span of four years.
Expand ...

But he performed consistently over those 4 years; from Orion to Tannhauser Gate to the Tyrell Building he never lost a step.
 
Jaydumo20 said:
Not that this guy was in that league but:

Yasiel Puig.

That dude took l.a. by storm for a week
Expand ...

On that vibe, you could throw Nomo in there. He was enormous in his first couple of years before becoming just a "regular" pitcher. Still one of the few to ever throw two no-hitters, including one in Coors.

And my memory is that Jose Contreras and Hideki Irabu were hugely popular debuts and actually pretty good before the reality of both became pretty apparent.
 
boog204 said:
On that vibe, you could throw Nomo in there. He was enormous in his first couple of years before becoming just a "regular" pitcher. Still one of the few to ever throw two no-hitters, including one in Coors.

And my memory is that Jose Contreras and Hideki Irabu were hugely popular debuts and actually pretty good before the reality of both became pretty apparent.
Expand ...
Good call. Irabu especially. I felt so bad for the guy. He felt the full force of that fanbase. He ended it all shortly after that. Actually really tragic. Not to make light of if at all, but being a yankee and not succeeding is the MLB's version of CTE. They all won't bounce back like sonny grey
 
.-.
boog204 said:
On that vibe, you could throw Nomo in there. He was enormous in his first couple of years before becoming just a "regular" pitcher. Still one of the few to ever throw two no-hitters, including one in Coors.

And my memory is that Jose Contreras and Hideki Irabu were hugely popular debuts and actually pretty good before the reality of both became pretty apparent.
Expand ...
I was at Nomo's MLB debut at Candlestick. There was so much hype for it and it turned out to be a crazy game. Sadaharu Oh was there and we were in the bleachers between Deion Sanders in centerfield and Barry Bonds in left. Nomo left the game in something like the 6th inning with a 1 hitter. The game went on forever into extra innings.
 
Jaydumo20 said:
Not that this guy was in that league but:

Yasiel Puig.

That dude took l.a. by storm for a week
Expand ...
PuigMania.

I almost wrote him down but his career was long and pretty decent.
 
Jaydumo20 said:
Good call. Irabu especially. I felt so bad for the guy. He felt the full force of that fanbase. He ended it all shortly after that. Actually really tragic. Not to make light of if at all, but being a yankee and not succeeding is the MLB's version of CTE. They all won't bounce back like sonny grey
Expand ...
I was at one of Irabu's games for the Norwich Navigators. Can't remember if it was his debut or not but it was an event, there were so many Japanese press/photographers there.
 
knicksin7 said:
I think Lin is the best example (someone referred to him as David Lin lol), but he actually was a pretty good player - injuries really screwed him. I remember when he hung like 40 on us, and dunked on someone.

What about Kerry Wood. I still remember that 20 strikeout game. Granted, he was actually pretty good for a few years, but the guy was the next coming of Clemens.
Expand ...

Wood is a good one! He was electric as any pitcher I'd ever seen in the early Cubs days. Ended up being a decent reliever and was awesome in his brief Yankee stint.

Can't remember his name, but didn't the Cardinals have a rookie throw a no-no in like his 2nd or 3rd start and then never do much again? Bud Smith, maybe?
 
Dove said:
PuigMania.

I almost wrote him down but his career was long and pretty decent.
Expand ...
Yeah. He played for awhile but didn't even touch the hype. Kinda like Yoenis Cespedes, who was better than Puig but never fulfilled his destiny. some of YCs throws to the plate from the outfield I still watch when I'm drunk at 2am
 
boog204 said:
Can't remember his name, but didn't the Cardinals have a rookie throw a no-no in like his 2nd or 3rd start and then never do much again? Bud Smith, maybe?
Expand ...
Wow, that's an obscure one. Actually it was his 11th start of his rookie year. As the story goes, pitching coach Dave Duncan was hoping someone would break up the no-no as Smith was throwing a ton of pitches. But the Cards left him in and he threw 134 pitches that night.

His career was over after the following season.
 
.-.
JB75 said:
Oh yeah. Chris Johnson. Titans rb. Believe he played at east Carolina. WTH happened to him. Totally forgot about him
Expand ...
He had a fine career. A slight build for the workload he had. And most every RB that goes for 2,000 yds burns up a lot of mileage to do it and has an effect from that.
 
Kolumbo said:
James Bouknight certainly captivated UConn Country for a couple covid years. Lots of kids leave early though and it doesn't pan out.

Victor Page from Georgetown left after his sophomore year and didn't even get drafted.
Expand ...

Victor Page good one. How about Toby Bailey UCLA probably a career game against our Huskies in 95 or JC may have won his first earlier than 99.

In a way, at least for power year, Brady Anderson. I mean the kid had nothing close to his 50HR year he stabbed himself in the butt.
 
.-.
superjohn said:
I was at Nomo's MLB debut at Candlestick. There was so much hype for it and it turned out to be a crazy game. Sadaharu Oh was there and we were in the bleachers between Deion Sanders in centerfield and Barry Bonds in left. Nomo left the game in something like the 6th inning with a 1 hitter. The game went on forever into extra innings.
Expand ...
He was a trailblazer! I remember that crazy windup. Nuts how good Japanese players are today now!
 
Jaydumo20 said:
Good call. Irabu especially. I felt so bad for the guy. He felt the full force of that fanbase. He ended it all shortly after that. Actually really tragic. Not to make light of if at all, but being a yankee and not succeeding is the MLB's version of CTE. They all won't bounce back like sonny grey
Expand ...

I remember watching Irabu's debut live on TV, and his stuff was killer. He was the Japanese Nolan Ryan, and he was pretty nasty that first start. His second year (98), he was a borderline all-star at the break and had a pretty good year before Big Stein decided to ruin him.
 
jake14mw said:
Also, for the few older CT people that follow bass fishing, Bryan Kerchal. A young CT guy who won the world series of bass fishing, the Bassmasters Classic, out of nowhere. Four months later, he tragically died in a plane crash.
Expand ...

The Cast: B.A.S.S. Superstar Bryan Kerchal - Bassmaster

Bryan Kerchal is the only amateur angler to win the Bassmaster Classic. See the heartwarming story of his career on The Cast presented by Bass Pro Shops.
www.bassmaster.com www.bassmaster.com
 
HuskyHawk said:
Perhaps the saddest case is Tony Conigliaro.

Didn't even get much chance: Reggie Lewis, Len Bias.
Expand ...

I was 15 when Len Bias died and his death made me never touch or associate with cocaine. Scared the out of me when my parents gave us all a two hour lecture about how it was the first time he tried it.

Thank God he didn't die from weed because that's all I got keeping me sane at this point.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,465
Messages
4,575,264
Members
10,482
Latest member
Husgu


Top Bottom