Monday, May 26, 2008
Joe and KG
I did want to post one other thing quickly and
encourage comments below on a topic that has bothered me for years. I heard
someone on the radio talking about it again today and it annoys me more than
just about any topic in the world, I think!
I don’t understand some things, I guess. How is it that other team’s star players are unbelievable and
can do no wrong while Minnesota sports stars seem to get little respect. I
think that Joe Mauer and Kevin Garnett are so similar
in that way. Each is one of the top players at his position in his respective
sport.
Kevin Garnett starred in Minnesota for the
Timberwolves for a dozen years. He was far and away the best player that
Minnesota basketball fans have ever seen. He did everything. He was a top
defensive player every year. He played with energy and heart and left
everything on the floor. He averaged over 20 points per game. He frequently led
the NBA in rebounds and was a good offensive rebounder. He could shoot from
outside and had enough inside game too. For a seven
footer, he was a decent ball handler and the best passing big man I’ve ever
seen in basketball. In an era where many people complain aloud about how the
NBA was too much of an individual game and full of selfishness, Kevin Garnett
was always incredibly unselfish. Remember when Latrell
Sprewell and Sam Cassell came to the team and Sports
Illustrated wanted him on their cover. He said he wouldn’t do it without the
other two players. He did a lot in the community. He was just as good a
basketball player as there has been.
Joe Mauer is a Minnesota kid
whose prep career in baseball, football and basketball was well chronicled. He
was the #1 overall pick in the 2001 draft, ahead of Mark Prior. He played less
than 250 minor league games before coming up to the Twins. He hit over .300 in
limited playing time due to injury in that rookie year. In 2006, he won the
batting title, the first catcher in major league history to lead the entire
major leagues in batting average. In 2007, he didn’t hit as well, but he
continued to take walks, hit doubles and get on base. He is generally
considered one of the top catchers in the league. He definitely takes care of
the opposition’s running game while calling a great game. He is quiet. I’ve
been told that he is ‘genuinely a great guy.’ He has done everything that a
Minnesota fan should look for in a player, especially one who is still just 25
years old.
But each has his fault in the eyes of some Minnesota
sports fans. Really, in each case, it isn’t so much a fault as it is a lesser
part of his game.
As unselfish as Kevin Garnett is, some say he is too
unselfish. Sure, he scores over 20 points a game, but people say that he can’t
and doesn’t try to take over a game late in games. Not the way that Michael
Jordan did, or the way Lebron James or Kobe Bryant
does. And yet, part of what makes those guys able to do that is that they are
not seven footers. They have much better ability to control the ball with the
dribble than a guy KG’s height. Secondly, I have always admired the confidence
he has shown in teammates and I can’t help but think that over a season, that
means a lot. A player should not change his game regardless. Kobe Bryant is a
scorer, no doubt, but he can’t do all of the things Garnett does, but people
don’t notice. Lebron doesn’t play defense or do some
other things as well as Garnett. Kevin Garnett is the most unselfish, most
complete player in the NBA, and people need to realize that. Yes, he has shown
that he needs his teammates around him many games. That’s ok. Would the Lakers
be where they are right now without Lamar Odom, Pao Gasol and others? Who is the Pistons’ go-to guy? People
just don’t understand that Garnett is one of the best all-around players to
play the game of basketball. The fact that he’s a great
teammate and unselfish should not be considered a negative.
Joe Mauer doesn’t hit home
runs. That’s it. He hits for average. Hits doubles. Gets on base. Takes pitches. Uses the whole field. But he doesn’t hit the ball over the
fence. That’s his thing. He is brutally criticized by the local media and many
fans who don’t look at the big picture. He doesn’t drive
in enough runs. He is too nice. Why isn’t hitting .330 and getting on base 44%
of the time enough? Why doesn’t playing great defense and handling a pitching
staff enough? Why does he have to hit for power? Because he
is the #3 hitter in the Twins lineup? Does he write the lineup? Who
would be a better option? Who is the Twins best hitter? In a ‘clutch’
situation, down by one run with runners on second and third and two outs, which
Twins hitter do you want at bat? Joe Mauer is one of
the top three or four all-around catchers in baseball, and again, he’s just 25.
I just don’t understand the venom with which some people are so against Mauer.
To the credit of each, they have not given in to the media and (some) fan backlash. They have done what coaches always tell players, stay within yourself, know your strengths and accentuate them. I admire that in each of them, and I think each should be credited. If Joe Mauer swung the bat differently and tried to hit more home runs, what would it do to his overall play? Would the batting average drop? Would he get on base less? Would he be a better catcher? Would the Twins win more games? Kevin Garnett could take every last shot, or all of his team’s shots in the final quarter. He could throw up 25 shots every game. But at what cost? Would he still be able to play good defense and get as many rebounds? Would he be able to play as many minutes? What would his field goal percentage be? If it drops below what he normally shoots, does it really make sense for him to keep hoisting up shots, especially when he’s got four other guys on the court, likely one much more open?
No, I think that both should be liked and admired for
what they are, not for what they aren’t. I am certain there are plenty of
examples of players who tried to do too much and failed. Both are All-Stars in
their sport. Kevin Garnett is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. If Mauer can stay healthy, maybe he gets into Cooperstown. Who
knows? But for my money, I enjoy watching both of them play their game and
really don’t want to see them change their games.
But maybe you know more than me… tell me why that is
so wrong?