Hating Kent Hrbek - Part Deux
After posting about being at a party and having two people say they hate Kent Hrbek, I forwarded the post to one of those people to gauge his reaction (and drive some traffic to our site.)
Well, he has responded on our blog and we now have the official first comment by a non-founding member of FTLOSBW. Very exciting. I wanted to make sure people saw it as the original Hrbek story is quickly becoming an item of the past and moving off the front page of the blog, so you can check it out on that string or it is below. I stand somewhat corrected in my calling him out, probably had to do with the alcohol that night and I welcome the new contribution.
From "BertHater"
"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!"
4 Comments:
I am just going to throw out some names: Fran Tarkenton, Chuck Foreman, Warren Moon, Tommy Kramer, Keith Millard, Kirby Puckett, Randy Moss, 1/2 of the Vikings from a 2 or 3 years ago, Dino Ciccerelli and Buster Rhymes (my personal favorite). What do all of these guys have in common? They all were nailed doing something illegal or involved in an incident(s) that fell in the gray area. How gray? Charcoal. With so many fallen stars, it is hard for me to write off a guy just for being obnoxious, unless he was in Jeff George's league of self centered prick.
I should point out that I am insulated from current goings on of Hrbek and Bert as I no longer live in state.
June 12, 2008 at 7:23 AM
One more thing, hasn't Kent always had a bit too much of self importance? I remember one year he was snubbed from the All-Star team and he said he would not ever play in the All-Star game if asked, like somehow the nation would miss Kent Hrbek from the summer classic.
Now, if he hits his wife/girlfriend with a phone book (Courtney James) or shoots at someone deliberately while hunting (Bobby Knight, not that he was ever an idol) then I will change my view, no problem.
June 12, 2008 at 7:38 AM
I think the way the argument was put to this crew by jan was maybe a little stronger than our guest's actual position.
I'm willing to be convinced that perhaps Hrbek's off-the-field personality was thoroughly at odds with his playing personality. It seemed to me growing up, though, that he was a genial guy who did not love being in the media spotlight, and would rather be out fishing. He never sold out on the Twins, played his entire career in the HumpDome and if I'm not mistaken never seemed to be longing to go somewhere else to make more money. That's something Minnesotans typically appreciate, and ascribe as a local virtue. Plus one in Hrbie's column for that, at least.
If there's a transcript or video of this interview regarding Puckett's death, I'd like to see/read it. Am I remembering incorrectly, or wasn't Hrbek one of Puck's best friends? I'm more inclined to interpret his public displays regarding Kirby dying charitably, given that, but I'd like to see what we're talking about.
I'm sure we could dig up some sourcing, but I always had the impression Hrbek was a pretty good citizen off the field, with charity support and all those things athletes are sort of expected to do in the community. I don't recall him having a reputation as brusque and arrogant, but rather aw-shucks and a regular Minnesotan who could hit a baseball a long way.
On the postseason performance stuff, who cares? The Twins never lost a postseason series with Kent Hrbek at first base. He also had a grand total of 24 postseason games. That's less than one month of a regular season. Bad month, certainly, but not a statistically significant sample. I put a lot more stock in a pitcher's postseason performance over a limited number of appearances than a batter's, I guess.
Finally, let's discuss the "Nooooooooooo smoking" finger wag of Hrbek. I'm on the side of calling it a signature move which endeared him to thousands of fans. Perhaps some feel it was annoying and unhip (not saying our guest does, of course). I would submit that's applying a retrospective adult view to something intended to make kids laugh.
June 13, 2008 at 10:23 AM
RTS and MCA - valid points both and I hope our guest returns to chime in.
Let me set the record straight (or at least back on track) - our guest's post may make it seem like I blew this out of proportion but I have witnesses that will state that "Berthater" and the other guy made no mention of what Hrbek meant to them as a fan or that they appreciated him on the field. I actually confronted them with questions like "how can you hate him? He is the epitome of Minnesota Twins baseball. He put up solid numbers for 14 years and was integral to our championships?" Which they dismissed and continued to throw him under the bus for being a 'dickhead' and for crappy post-season numbers. It was for that very reason I became enraged and made the post on this blog.
June 13, 2008 at 11:14 AM
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