i remember in 1986 in spring training when Inky hit a ball THROUGH a wall +/- 360 feet from home plate. i loved the guy. as i recall he came straight from OSU to the pros (Rangers); never played in the minors.
even though the dood struck out a lot, he did manage to post an OPS that was +/- 15% better than the league average until he wrecked his back in the mid-1990s. and he had his best year in 1993 when he slugged .530 and helped lead a surprising Phillies team (remember those guys; Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton, Inky, John Kruk, Dave Hollins, Curt Shilling, Wild Thing; what a bunch of dirt-balls) to the World Series.
Inky came up at the same time (1986) as a very special class of sluggers: Bonds, Canseco, McGwire, Inky, Bo Jackson, Wally Joyner (remmber him; 100 RBI his rookie year in 1986 and 117 in 1987 and never 100 again), Kevin Mitchell, Ruben Sierra, Eric Davis, Cory Snyder. I loved ALL those guys, though interestingly the least heralded of the bunch then (Bonds) has turned out to be the best.
Cheers |
