Which athlete do you feel sorriest for?
Here’s one. Who in sports history was the greatest athlete stuck on the worst team for his/her career?
This is mostly a pre-free agency question, since free agency allowed great players to escape bad franchises after a few years. A couple examples spring to mind. First was Archie Manning, a fantastic quarterback who could probably have won some championships had he been fortunate enough to play for somebody other than the Saints, who only managed a .500 record once while he was there. Another great example, suggested by sirpaulsbuddy, was Ernie Banks. HoFer, never won a pennant or even a division (divisional play didn’t begin until near the end of his career).
Note: this question isn’t asking for great players who never won a title – Ted Williams never won a title but played on some pretty good teams, as did Dan Marino. It’s also not asking about guys in the free agency era who could have left but chose to stay – somebody like Todd Helton, for instance, who could be out of Colorado by now if he wanted to be. This questions is about the helpless, hopeless, stranded in Hell without a prayer types.
Nominees?
lullaby pit 
I also feel the sorriest for Ernie Banks because he never went to a series but the Cubs did activate him when they won the pennant for 1 game, I also feel sorry for Moses Fleetwood Walker because he never gets credit for being the first black ballplayer in the major leagues a full 70 years before Jackie Robinson….(no, not the Negro Leagues either).
I feel sorry for The Mick.
Aloha,
Jeff
I also feel the sorriest for Ernie Banks because he never went to a series but the Cubs did activate him when they won the pennant for 1 game, I also feel sorry for Moses Fleetwood Walker because he never gets credit for being the first black ballplayer in the major leagues a full 70 years before Jackie Robinson….(no, not the Negro Leagues either).
I feel sorry for The Mick.
Aloha,
Jeff
i’d be curious to see a list of players in the major sports broken down by stats. who played the most games having never won the prize? who had the best batting average, etc.? but more than that, who played the best but retired a year or so before his team went the distance? a bad example is Dale Hunter, who took his last shot with the Avalanche in 1999. he wasn’t the most talented or even most liked, and only went to the Avalanche as a sort of last ditch attempt at getting his name on the cup. it’s still a little sad considering Colorado won just two years later, and he was the only one of the Hunter brothers not to have his name on the cup.
i’d like to see a list of talented players who retired just a year or two before his team won it all. those are probably the players i feel sorriest for.
i’d be curious to see a list of players in the major sports broken down by stats. who played the most games having never won the prize? who had the best batting average, etc.? but more than that, who played the best but retired a year or so before his team went the distance? a bad example is Dale Hunter, who took his last shot with the Avalanche in 1999. he wasn’t the most talented or even most liked, and only went to the Avalanche as a sort of last ditch attempt at getting his name on the cup. it’s still a little sad considering Colorado won just two years later, and he was the only one of the Hunter brothers not to have his name on the cup.
i’d like to see a list of talented players who retired just a year or two before his team won it all. those are probably the players i feel sorriest for.
Indeed. Donnie Baseball, anyone?
Indeed. Donnie Baseball, anyone?