Aaron
Rowand stopped playing baseball at age 34, which may be why he had time on his
hands to attend SoxFest over the weekend.
Rowand took a break from appearances and autographs to tell the
Sun-Times “I have faith in” beleaguered Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler. Rowand said he knows what it’s like to deal
with the expectations of a big contract.
I’m not sure he does, entirely.
Rowand
was, without a doubt, the best Sox centerfielder in since
Ken Berry in 1970 or thereabouts. If
only he hit like he fielded. Alas,
Rowand never saw a pitch too far outside to try and pull down the leftfield
line. How do you say, “6-4-3, over and
out” again and again? There had to be a
whole bunch of hitting coaches who begged Rowand to change his approach, but
why should he if the Giants are going to sign him to a $60 million contract,
which they did much to their regret?
Joining
Rowand at SoxFest was former teammate Jon Garland, a right-handed starter with
uncommon control. Garland won 136 games
while losing 125 with a 4.37 ERA before retiring at age 33.
Garland made $52 million, enough to muffle the message of pitching coaches
trying to get through to him. So much talent,
so little seeming interest in developing it.
Jack
McDowell retired Garland’s rookie season.
If Garland was laidback to a fault, “Black Jack” was all fire all the
time. He feuded with White Sox management
and got shipped to New York, where he gained notoriety as the “Yankee Flipper”
for a certain hand gesture to the fans at Yankee Stadium. McDowell retired at age 33 with 127
wins. The $28 million he earned made it
possible for McDowell to play in a rock-and-roll band without starving.
In the time before
free agency, lowball contracts probably would have made Rowand, Garland and
McDowell a whole lot hungrier. It’s
awfully hard to “chuck it” when you’re not rich. Garland and Rowand are still in their 30s, so
it will be interesting to see where their wealth leads them. McDowell is 49 and managing a rookie league
team for the Dodgers. Here’s hoping Black Jack
can teach his players good habits strong enough to withstand big contracts.
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