Can you really hate Kent Hrbek?
At a party this past weekend and I was asked if I think Bert Blyleven should be in the Hall of Fame. When I answered "Yes" two party guests openly guffawed and mocked me (more on that in another post.) They then asked if I "liked Kent Hrbek" to which I replied "Of course" - again I was mocked for liking Hrbek. Mind you that the two party guests are Minnesotans, huge Twins fans, and consider themselves to be "baseball savvy."
As the discussion of Hrbek ensued, both people said that Hrbie was a 'dick' - one cited his "Hrbek Outdoors" show as being lame (that argument is lamer) and another said that as a child they saw Hrbie in restaurant and he was aloof and self-centered (maybe he wanted to have dinner and not be pestered?) They also said he wasn't a great player and that his grad slam in 1987 & pulling Ron Gant off of first in 1991 were his only redeeming qualities in his post-season with the Twins. I am not going to argue about his post-season stats as he was terrible (he hit .154 in 4 postseason series) but what I will argue is that he played 14 seasons for the Twins, hit .282, drove in 1,086 runs, had 293 HRs, with an OBP of .367 and a SLG of .481. On a more sentimental side, having him at first base for my formative years made him (along with Randy Bush, Greg Gagne, Kirby Puckett, Gene Larkin, Dan Gladden etc.) a childhood hero. I never met the man but "being a dick" doesn't limit how much I like a guy who puts on the TC hat and steps on the field and wins 2 rings - if that was the case then I'd have to hate Kirby.
5 Comments:
Wait, what?? Really? I thought Hrbek was universally loved, because he:
1) Grew up in MN, which generally means Minnesotans love you unconditionally
2) Hunted and fished in his spare time, appealing to the "outstate" demographic
3) Won two rings and seemed relatively humble about it all.
If I hadn't known better, I'd say these dudes strike me as the type of guys who grew up in Milwaukee or Chicago, but you say they are natives? Hmmmm, very puzzling.
Did they offer up any of their picks for "favorite" Twins? Maybe we were just too young to know any better, but I thought all those guys were pretty "good" guys relative to other spoiled athletes. Just because Hrbie wouldn't sign an autrograph doesn't mean he's a "dick."
June 2, 2008 at 3:41 PM
sounds like you need to start going to different parties. these "locals" suck... and clearly don't understand the value that Hrbek brought to that team. While he might not have excelled in the post-season, he was a major reason that those teams made it to the post season.
June 2, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Hrbek is a meathead. Meatheads in your group are fun guys. Meatheads that are not in your group are jerks. I can see how Hrbek could be loved and hated. However, these locals should consider Hrbek in their group and therefore think he is a fun loveable guy.
June 3, 2008 at 7:22 AM
Agreed. This is ridiculous. No real Twins fan has anything below neutral feelings about Hrbek. None. I'm sure the one guy's childhood impression of a near-meeting with Hrbie is valid. I'm willing, on the basis of his father's impression amplified in his own mind over the course of 25 years, to toss aside the hundreds of stories we've all heard through the years about what a standup guy Hrbek is.
I might have punched in the face any Twins face that laughed at me for believing Blyleven should be in the Hall of Fame.
June 3, 2008 at 6:11 PM
OK. Since i am one of the two people that made it very clear i do not like Hrbek i have to clarify a few things and pose a question to the group.
1. I NEVER stated i didn't appreciate the way in which Hrbek played on the field. I loved him when i was young. There is no argument that the guy played the game the right way. FACT
2.Saying you don't like a person doesn't mean that you don't appreciate the way he plays or contributes/contributed to the team.
Is it possible that a person that you really like on the field is maybe not the same person you would like off the field? Some examples: Pete Rose, Ray Lewis, OJ Simpson, and Barry Bonds. Now i clearly understand that these examples are extreme but is it not possible that our heros growing up are not all great people?
The argument i made is i can't stand Hrbek based on an interview that he had with one of the local news stations when he was asked to comment on the passing of Kirby. The guy had very little to say about Kirby and spoke almost the entire interview about himself the only mention of Puckett was when he spoke about all the Hrby and Kirby fans in the 80's and 90's. The guy is one of the biggest self promoters and is infact totally obnoxious and quite frankly myself and many people that are legit Twins fans are tired of him.
"Circle me Bert" also fits into that same category. BTW i'm also tired of hearing about his CA math and how many days till his birthday!
June 11, 2008 at 3:52 PM
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