Doesn’t an athlete always want to play on the biggest stage where the most eyes are on them? A stage where there are tons of records, championships and legacies to carry on. If that is the case then playing in New York has to be the place for that to happen! But New York isn’t for everyone. A lot of athletes are coming from small towns that are long away from the hustle and bustle of New York. Lots of these athletes have never been under the scrutiny of the New York media. Many of them are coddled and told how great they are. Well, in New York that doesn’t always happen.
Yes, New York is a big stage – maybe the biggest stage in sports for many reasons. But for every Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle and Eli Manning, who could handle the big apple, there are plenty of AJ Burnett’s, Bobby Bonilla’s & Allan Houston’s who frankly can’t.
Ok your turn:
Time to build a list of athletes who…
- Not only made it in New York but excelled in the big city
- And of course, those who couldn’t handle the pressure of the Big Apple
I look forward to reading your comments.
PS – Let’s not forget the great Randy Johnson who almost got into a fight with a cameraman as he was walking the streets of New York the first week he was a Yankee!
Jeffrey Adler says:
Excelled in NY: Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver
Could not handle the pressure: Latrell Sprewell
According to Wikipedia:
prior to the 2002 season, Sprewell reported to training camp with a broken hand, which he claimed occurred when he slipped on his yacht; the Knicks fined him a record $250,000 for failing to report the incident to them. Sprewell sued the New York Post for claiming that he broke his hand in a fight.
Ed Sugar says:
Excelled in the Big Apple
Joe DiMaggio
Mickey Mantle
Joe Namath
Yogi Berra
Casey Stengel
Joe Torre
Walt Frazier
Could not handle the heat of NYC
Chuck Knoblauch
Jeff Weaver
John Rocker
Roger Maris
Ed Whitson
Carl Pavano
Jason Giambi
michael mermelstein says:
If you are include Walt Frazier than you need to add Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe and many of the Knicks of that time – including Phil Jackson. I would add Tom Seaver to those who excelled and you can arguable say Nolan Ryan did not handle it well, though maybe he was just too young at the time.
Jon Last says:
Too many who made it, to list.
Notable New York Flame-outs: Jason Bay, Don Gullett, Andy Messersmith, Francisco Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Stephon Marbury, Isaiah Thomas, Steve Sax, Mark Sanchez, Hideki Irabu, Larry Cszonka, Ed Whitson, Kenny Rogers, Kevin Brown, George Foster, JJ Putz, Lastings Milledge, Kaz Matsui, Jeromy Burnitz,
But biggest of all was Jay Sborz of the 2010 Detroit Tigers. Sborz was called up from the minors as a relief pitcher and entered his first MLB game after a lengthy MilB career at Citi Field against the Mets. Sborz hit the first two batters he faced and then recorded only one out after giving up a few more hits. He was sent down the following day…never to be heard from again….until now.
Marc Rentzer says:
Ya know, We have to demand equal time for those who didn’t fit in with the “culture” at Fenway.
That being said – this is a great idea. When I read the reference to Knoblauch, I thought about whether the causal effect of his dysfunction was absolutely 100% being in NY. Does anyone have thoughts on why that it may or may not be?
It could have been the pressure of the big games he was in, which could have happened while playing for any team. But…gosh, NY is NY and yeah, if I had to guess, that must have carried a lot of weight. Poor guy! great character to have on the team, prior to his meltdown.
Also, what about Maris? He excelled in NY. Yes, he started losing his hair in clumps, due to stress…but he still excelled. I forgot if he left NY ASAP though.
Love the reference to John Rocker. Man, he couldn’t make it through a single day here. lol
Marc
Ann Brown says:
How about one of my favorites, Randy Johnson?
kenyon says:
How about success stores who also couldn’t handle the pressure? Strawberry and Gooden! 2 of the greatest talents of all time and total druggies. Add Steve Howe to that list. Bonilla, Foster and Bay all went from Samson to Delilah.
Ed Sugar says:
Talk about the pressure in New York, this week it has been quite evident that there are two gentlemen who are about to be ran out of Los Angeles on a rail:
Dwight Howard and Mike D’Antoni.
We have seen our fair share of USC football and UCLA basketball coaches who have been unfairly treated by the fans and media, mainly because they did not take their respected teams to the Rose Bowl or Final Four. But the current ill will towards Howard and D’Antoni sets a new level of anger due to the unrealized expectations from the fans and local press.
In my 50 plus years of living in the city of Angels the only time I can remember fans being this P.O. at any athlete or coach was back in May of 1971 when John “The Golden Greek” Tolos used Monsel powder to blind fan favorite Freddie Blassie. And that was pro wrestling!