knightni Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 15. Jack McDowell (13 of 27 lists - 173 points - highest ranking #1 Middle Buffalo) Bio by Gregory Pratt Jack McDowell was a competitor, a man who wanted to win every game he pitched and wanted to pitch as many innings as he could. In 1993 and 1994, when the Sox had their last legitimate World Series hopes before the 2005 breakthrough, he was the undisputed ace of the staff and one of the very best pitchers in the American League. He was forward with everyone, from the hitters who he dominated in his Cy Young Award winning season to the reporters who covered him. When the White Sox traded him, he had no problem telling the world that they never offered him a multi-year contract; the fans of New York, who he gave the bird after being unfairly booed at Yankee Stadium; in fact, the only time he was anything but forward he was hiding an injury from the Cleveland Indians to keep himself in the games because he wanted to compete and that meant more than his health. He is my favorite pitcher though I never watched him pitch, partly because his hyper-competitive nature resonates with me and partly because he was kind enough to have a catch with me last summer. McDowell was special because he had heat and a split-finger fastball that dropped off the table, but he has a special spot in White Sox fans' hearts for returning to the organization over the years, having nothing but positives to say about the fans and continuing to respect the game of baseball. McDowell never cared for Yankees fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 The insertion of the picture and the caption are not my work. And while I did not ask McDowell if he specifically cared or cared not for Yankee fans he did say that they treated him well after he flipped them off and that it wasn't a big deal, so I don't vouch for the accuracy of the caption either. (McDowell had nary a bad thing to say about anyone in my experience, and I asked him about quite a bit of people/things.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ Aug 29, 2008 -> 10:15 PM) The insertion of the picture and the caption are not my work. And while I did not ask McDowell if he specifically cared or cared not for Yankee fans he did say that they treated him well after he flipped them off and that it wasn't a big deal, so I don't vouch for the accuracy of the caption either. (McDowell had nary a bad thing to say about anyone in my experience, and I asked him about quite a bit of people/things.) It was me. I bold my comments in the threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxbrian Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 BLACKJACK Hopefully he's in the booth full-time with Farmer next year when Stone goes with Hawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Well, okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 BlackJack was one of those pitchers that pitched just well enough to win. In fact, he's the one example I use when I run into that argument that W's is a bad stat to judge a pitcher by. BlackJack was the exception to that rule. He was the type of pitcher that when he didn't have his best stuff and the game was close, he'd battle his ass off. He was also the type that if he had a 5 run lead, he'd come right after a hitter and if that guy hit one out, so be it. ERA be damned, Jack McDowell was a winner in every sense of the word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 QUOTE (YASNY @ Aug 30, 2008 -> 11:46 AM) BlackJack was one of those pitchers that pitched just well enough to win. In fact, he's the one example I use when I run into that argument that W's is a bad stat to judge a pitcher by. BlackJack was the exception to that rule. He was the type of pitcher that when he didn't have his best stuff and the game was close, he'd battle his ass off. He was also the type that if he had a 5 run lead, he'd come right after a hitter and if that guy hit one out, so be it. ERA be damned, Jack McDowell was a winner in every sense of the word. Well, unless you mean a World Series winner, ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 30, 2008 -> 11:38 AM) Well, unless you mean a World Series winner, ha. Touche' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosMediasBlancas Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Of all the former Sox players who never won the WS, Black Jack is the guy I wish would have. He would have been so perfect on the '05 team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Aug 30, 2008 -> 03:11 PM) Of all the former Sox players who never won the WS, Black Jack is the guy I wish would have. He would have been so perfect on the '05 team. I was just thinking that as well, but he's number 2 for me behind Robin Ventura. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middle Buffalo Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 QUOTE (YASNY @ Aug 30, 2008 -> 09:46 AM) BlackJack was one of those pitchers that pitched just well enough to win. In fact, he's the one example I use when I run into that argument that W's is a bad stat to judge a pitcher by. BlackJack was the exception to that rule. He was the type of pitcher that when he didn't have his best stuff and the game was close, he'd battle his ass off. He was also the type that if he had a 5 run lead, he'd come right after a hitter and if that guy hit one out, so be it. ERA be damned, Jack McDowell was a winner in every sense of the word. I can't tell you how many times I've had this exact "discussion" with people. Spot him a five run lead, he'll give up 4 runs and take the win. That's what's so frustrating about guys like Vasquez and Jon Garland (when he was young), they would always follow up a good offensive inning by the Sox by relinquishing the lead. They try (tried) to be too perfect, and they got burned by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 THere aren't many guys in the game today who have the competitive streak that Jack had. Now there is a guy who would make a helluva pitching coach. Could you imagine taking a set of brass balls like Black Jack and an arm like Vazquez and putting them together? Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewashed in '05 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 QUOTE (YASNY @ Aug 30, 2008 -> 10:46 AM) BlackJack was one of those pitchers that pitched just well enough to win. In fact, he's the one example I use when I run into that argument that W's is a bad stat to judge a pitcher by. BlackJack was the exception to that rule. He was the type of pitcher that when he didn't have his best stuff and the game was close, he'd battle his ass off. He was also the type that if he had a 5 run lead, he'd come right after a hitter and if that guy hit one out, so be it. ERA be damned, Jack McDowell was a winner in every sense of the word. So Sweaty Freddy was like Black Jack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Glad to see him on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ Aug 31, 2008 -> 09:53 PM) So Sweaty Freddy was like Black Jack? Garcia was different in the fact that he would step up against good competition and/or big games. Against The KC's of the league, Garcia didn't seem to motivate himself to dominate like he was capable. McDowell was motivated by in game circumstances and Garcia was motivated by the competion level of the opponent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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