I admit it...

[Bort]

None of that will be undone if he simply stops at the end of this season, or next.  We'll all still be able to go back and listen to him any time we want to.  What won't happen is that we won't have to listen to him start chipping away at his legacy.

Like I said, I still thoroughly enjoy listening to Vin Scully.  He's unquestionably the greatest of all time, by some distance, and I have nothing but love and respect for the man.  But he's not improving with age and he probably needs to think about stopping soon.

I think you overestimate how seriously people take a subject like "broadcaster legacies." The mere fact that, 20 years later, people put Ryan Dempster on MLB Network because he does a bad impersonation of Will Ferrell's bad impersonation of the  "bumbling, confused, brain-dead pile of goo that Harry Caray was at the end" is probably evidence that you're overthinking this one.

Vin's legacy is set in stone, he's got nothing to hurt by sticking around as long as he wants.

I'm not overthinking anything, really.  I, personally, would like Vin Scully to stop broadcasting sooner rather than later.  I admitted as much in this thread.  The end.

Too late.

I loathe Vin Scully and wish he would die in the fucking booth.  The man is bollocks.

Well, I mean it's cool if Tonk thinks he should retire. That's fine. I was just debating the point (which he said twice) that carrying on like this would hurt Vin's legacy, and I just don't think it will. If people can make a folk hero out of brain dead Harry, they'll not begrudge Vin some years of senile broadcasting, unless he slips and starts making some kind of racial slurs or something.

I see what you're getting at, but legacy is a personal thing, too.  If you don't believe a person ever did anything worth a damn, then as far as you're concerned, they have no legacy - or what legacy they have is negative.  If you think somebody is the greatest human being ever to walk the face of the Earth - Mickey Morandini, say - then their legacy has value to you, and can be devalued for you by their actions.

We get it, you hate Colin Hay's solo stuff.

Au contraire, my obvious ami.  I'm not a real fan of Men at Work, but I do love Colin Hay's solo stuff.

I'm mainly a fan of his wonky eye.

[Quality Start Machine]

...even though they're meaningless stats, It'll still be cool to see Arrieta get 20 wins and Bryant and Rizzo each get 100 RBIs.

[Saul Goodman]

... I'm maybe 25% concerned about Arrieta being allowed to throw a career high in pitches to finish shutting out the garbage Brewers in a game that was essentially won in the third inning.

[Canadouche]

... I'm maybe 25% concerned about Arrieta being allowed to throw a career high in pitches to finish shutting out the garbage Brewers in a game that was essentially won in the third inning.

I didn't want to be the one to say it.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

... I'm maybe 25% concerned about Arrieta being allowed to throw a career high in pitches to finish shutting out the garbage Brewers in a game that was essentially won in the third inning.

I didn't want to be the one to say it.

He was in control. 120's really about pushing it but it felt like a true statement in many ways and he finished the job. Quasi-clinching game, his 20th...great moment, really, and it now feels like they can start gearing up for a run.  I don't even care if the coin flip game's at home (if they still wind up having to play the WC)--let's light this candle.

[SKO]

... I'm maybe 25% concerned about Arrieta being allowed to throw a career high in pitches to finish shutting out the garbage Brewers in a game that was essentially won in the third inning.

I didn't want to be the one to say it.

He was in control. 120's really about pushing it but it felt like a true statement in many ways and he finished the job. Quasi-clinching game, his 20th...great moment, really, and it now feels like they can start gearing up for a run.  I don't even care if the coin flip game's at home (if they still wind up having to play the WC)--let's light this candle.

This. He's not in his early 20s, he's logged a lot of innings at this point in his career, past the ages where ligaments typically fall off, he's renowned for his incredible fitness and endurance, and frankly there wasn't a single high stress pitch for him in that game. He was never laboring. A handful of extra pitches means nothing.

[Tonker]

... all this unbridled positivity and flagrant fate-tempting is making my balls itch.

[R-V]

...even though they're meaningless stats, It'll still be cool to see Arrieta get 20 wins and Bryant and Rizzo each get 100 RBIs.

This. Also 30 bombs for Bryant would be nice. I've still got a soft spot for the baseball card stats of my youth.

[Canadouche]

I don't think it's really a knock against Maddon, but if you look at the various Rays rotations through the years, there have been a handful of guys who only pitched well for one or two seasons. (Call it Mike Bielecki syndrome.) He's certainly never earned the reputation of widow maker like Baker did, and I think it very well may have been the Rays getting blood from a stone a few times rather than a talented pitcher falling off for overuse.

That said, if Pitcher Abuse Points are still a thing, Arrieta is somewhere around 10th in the league, but he's way off the top 3. I wouldn't worry; it's just that I'm a Cubs fan with a long memory.

[Tonker]

...even though they're meaningless stats, It'll still be cool to see Arrieta get 20 wins and Bryant and Rizzo each get 100 RBIs.

This. Also 30 bombs for Bryant would be nice. I've still got a soft spot for the baseball card stats of my youth.

...at the risk of upsetting one of our resident statnherds, the thing about counting stats is that although not getting them doesn't mean you suck, getting them nearly always means you're pretty good.  I still look at 100 RBI as being a mark of a good player, regardless of what else plays into that number.  You need to have a fucking good season to knock in the ton, whoever you're playing with.

[Quality Start Machine]

...even though they're meaningless stats, It'll still be cool to see Arrieta get 20 wins and Bryant and Rizzo each get 100 RBIs.

This. Also 30 bombs for Bryant would be nice. I've still got a soft spot for the baseball card stats of my youth.

...at the risk of upsetting one of our resident statnherds, the thing about counting stats is that although not getting them doesn't mean you suck, getting them nearly always means you're pretty good.  I still look at 100 RBI as being a mark of a good player, regardless of what else plays into that number.  You need to have a fucking good season to knock in the ton, whoever you're playing with.

McStiff eats ass.

[Yeti]

...even though they're meaningless stats, It'll still be cool to see Arrieta get 20 wins and Bryant and Rizzo each get 100 RBIs.

This. Also 30 bombs for Bryant would be nice. I've still got a soft spot for the baseball card stats of my youth.

...at the risk of upsetting one of our resident statnherds, the thing about counting stats is that although not getting them doesn't mean you suck, getting them nearly always means you're pretty good.  I still look at 100 RBI as being a mark of a good player, regardless of what else plays into that number.  You need to have a fucking good season to knock in the ton, whoever you're playing with.

It's fine. There are plenty of stats that I enjoy that are traditional. I like BAs over .270. I like 100 RBIs. I like win totals in the high teens and 20s. I like 40+ saves.

However, at the same time, I know the trash of those stats and if someone argues for/against a player using them, I'll twitshame them

[SKO]

Yeah there's nothing wrong with liking any stat provided you understand the context. I want guys to win batting titles and get 20 wins and hit 500 career dongs and get 3,000 hits or whatever. As long you understand that Matt Duffy isn't better than Kris Bryant because one's a .300 hitter and one's not, enjoy it all you want. Bryant hitting 25 homers was a nice benchmark I'm glad he hit. Same with 100 RBIs.

If anything I like when the Cubs are really good in the traditional stats AND in advanced stats so I have something to throw in the face of meatballs who will never even try to grasp WAR or something.

[Tonker]

...even though they're meaningless stats, It'll still be cool to see Arrieta get 20 wins and Bryant and Rizzo each get 100 RBIs.

This. Also 30 bombs for Bryant would be nice. I've still got a soft spot for the baseball card stats of my youth.

...at the risk of upsetting one of our resident statnherds, the thing about counting stats is that although not getting them doesn't mean you suck, getting them nearly always means you're pretty good.  I still look at 100 RBI as being a mark of a good player, regardless of what else plays into that number.  You need to have a fucking good season to knock in the ton, whoever you're playing with.

McStiff eats ass.

I just checked: McStiff hit 27 dingers and drove in 106 in 2000, whilst posting a WAR of... 0.2.  He was also an All-Star that year.  So, you know... something or other, I'm not quite sure what, any more.

[Quality Start Machine]

...even though they're meaningless stats, It'll still be cool to see Arrieta get 20 wins and Bryant and Rizzo each get 100 RBIs.

This. Also 30 bombs for Bryant would be nice. I've still got a soft spot for the baseball card stats of my youth.

...at the risk of upsetting one of our resident statnherds, the thing about counting stats is that although not getting them doesn't mean you suck, getting them nearly always means you're pretty good.  I still look at 100 RBI as being a mark of a good player, regardless of what else plays into that number.  You need to have a fucking good season to knock in the ton, whoever you're playing with.

McStiff eats ass.

I just checked: McStiff hit 27 dingers and drove in 106 in 2000, whilst posting a WAR of... 0.2.  He was also an All-Star that year.  So, you know... something or other, I'm not quite sure what, any more.

If that's not the most empty statistical season of all-time, it's in the running.