Scott Podsednik

[Carolina Speed]

We've been discussing Mike Trout and Trea Turner and stolen bases somewhat here on the baseball forum and just wanted to mention Scott Podsednik. Does anyone remember him? Podsednik had what I would call a brief career in Major League Baseball. Podsednik was drafted out of high school and had great speed. He was also a 100/200 m track star, however, for some reason he didn't play a full MLB schedule until he was 27 years old in 2003. That year he scored 100 runs, batted .314 and stole 43 bases. the next season, 2004, at age 28, he led the league in stolen bases with 70, I believe the most by a white player since Ty Cobb in 1909. Unless you consider Jacoby Ellsbury, who had 70 in 2009. Is Ellsbury white? I think some have questioned his race. He, Podsednik, stole 59 bases in 2005, made the ALL-Star team, and hit a walk-off HR in game 2 of the WS with the Chicago White Sox and won the WS. Anyway, Podsednik went on to play about 6 full seasons in MLB, stealing 277 bases in that span. An average of 46 SB/season!
Just thought I would mention Podsednik and just seems a little weird that it took almost 100 years for a white player to still that many bases. What do ya'll think?
We've had plenty of white players to steal bases with high success rates, but it seems strange that they just don't take off as much. Why? Thoughts?

 

[Leonardfan]

We've been discussing Mike Trout and Trea Turner and stolen bases somewhat here on the baseball forum and just wanted to mention Scott Podsednik. Does anyone remember him? Podsednik had what I would call a brief career in Major League Baseball. Podsednik was drafted out of high school and had great speed. He was also a 100/200 m track star, however, for some reason he didn't play a full MLB schedule until he was 27 years old in 2003. That year he scored 100 runs, batted .314 and stole 43 bases. the next season, 2004, at age 28, he led the league in stolen bases with 70, I believe the most by a white player since Ty Cobb in 1909. Unless you consider Jacoby Ellsbury, who had 70 in 2009. Is Ellsbury white? I think some have questioned his race. He, Podsednik, stole 59 bases in 2005, made the ALL-Star team, and hit a walk-off HR in game 2 of the WS with the Chicago White Sox and won the WS. Anyway, Podsednik went on to play about 6 full seasons in MLB, stealing 277 bases in that span. An average of 46 SB/season!
Just thought I would mention Podsednik and just seems a little weird that it took almost 100 years for a white player to still that many bases. What do ya'll think?
We've had plenty of white players to steal bases with high success rates, but it seems strange that they just don't take off as much. Why? Thoughts?

I remember Posednik! He was always my go to guy for steals in fantasy baseball. I think that the reasons white players do not get the green light to steal is due to the racial stereotyping of whites not having speed and just the game itself changing and going away from the "small ball" style to the long ball. I really think that it is just the caste mentality applied to baseball.

 

[Don Wassall]

We had four Podsednik threads going back in 2005 and 2006:

http://www.castefootball.us/index.php?threads/update-scott-podsednik.2785/
http://www.castefootball.us/index.php?threads/podsednik-vs-shefield-incident.1348/
http://www.castefootball.us/index.php?threads/vote-for-scott-podsednik.1106/
http://www.castefootball.us/index.php?threads/podsednik-quickly-becoming-a-fan-favorite.688/

 

[Carolina Speed]

Don Wassall said "We had four Podsednik threads going back in 2005 and 2006":
Thanks Don. I searched for him in the baseball thread, but nothing turned up. I thought there might have been talk about him.

 

[Don Wassall]

Yes, he was a premier base stealer and a favorite here back then, but as you noted unfortunately had a brief career.

 

[Shadowlight]

Of course Pod was a favorite of mine. Speedster CF on a WS champion it does not get any better than that. Took him forever to make the bigs which helps explain his brief MLB career. Drafted in 1994 he was part of a trinity of stud speedsters. Yes he was a star sprinter in high school but two other guys who did not make it were considered even faster. Chad Green from KY was drafted in the first round in 1993 by the Brewers many felt he had olympic type speed and there was even rumblings about him trying sprinting. He stalled in the minors and never made it to the majors. He was a brilliant running back at Mentor High and Notre Dame wanted him badly for football. In 1994 Pod's draft year the fastest player and best athlete was McKay Christensen out of California. This was back in the day when whites were allowed to actually run--these days it seems like there is a court order telling them to not even try to run fast.. Another star running back with blinding speed and countless football AWARDS Christensen went on a two year Mormon mission. He eventually made the Big Leagues as a spot player from 1999-2002. A few at bats here and there but never really MADE it.

 

[Shadowlight]

Holy whatever even my name showed up once in those old Podsednik posts--I was Sunshine back then but changed my name after the site got interrupted. Sunshine seemed too optimistic given the crap that has gone down in sports over the past years. Now I live in an eternal dark shade pissed off everyday of the year.
Ellsbury is American Indian. Perhaps the closest player to Pod these days might be CF Travis Jankowski of the Padres. Still a work in progress he is young enough ( 24?) to make a name for himself as a speedster. He has roughly 30 SB's so far this year. Hitting has been a problem for him but he can really run and play D.

 

[Flint]

Sunshine seemed too optimistic given the crap that has gone down in sports over the past years. Now I live in an eternal dark shade pissed off everyday of the year.

Ha ha I LOL'ed.

 

[stickman]

Dave collins stole 79 bases for the 1980 reds another fast white guy with over 70 steals