Walking the Plank: Thank You, Josh Bell
Growing up as a young Pirate fan, I always heard stories and references of great players like Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, and so on; hearing about all of these great players and past World Series made me proud to be a Pirate fan and I always wondered when the next great player would come along. I grew up in the midst of the 20 straight losing seasons (sorry for bringing back bad memories) and watched amazing players tear up the Pirates night in and night out. A short list of these players that comes to mind are: Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman, Billy Hamilton, and etc. New players would come along for the Pirates like Ryan Doumit, Nate McLouth, and Jason Bay that I would get all excited about thinking they'd be the next great player... but we all know how that turned out.
Alas! Finally incomes #22, Andrew Mccuthchen, who showed me what a great Pirate truly looks like. I took a lot of pride in watching Cutch play in a Pirate uniform knowing that other fans looked at him the same way I looked at Pujols, Sosa, and Braun as they torched the Pirates. I was always a big fan of the Pirates, but Cutch made me absolutely fall in love with Pirates baseball. Cutch's time in Pittsburgh came and went so fast with the Pirates first playoff win and appearance in 20 plus years along with winning an MVP award along the way, and the Pirates have had a tough time trying to replace a player of his caliber. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox grow these superstar players on trees since they have (and are willing to spend) the money to keep these big names on their team to keep fans interested. As fans, we love to root for star players; when your team has a star player, it makes rooting for them so much more fun. At the beginning of the season, 93.7 the Fan's Jack Zduriencik said the Pirates have all the pieces to be competitive besides having a star on the team, but the past month has shown that the Pirates may have found that star in Josh Bell.
Over the past month, Josh Bell has been on a MVP level at the plate where I expect him to have hit another home run by the time I am finished with this article. In all my years of watching baseball, I have never seen a guy hit the ball so well and hard like Bell currently is. What amazes me with Bell is that his swing is so smooth and effortless, and the ball sky rockets off the bat every time he makes contact; and Bell is making contact a lot, batting well over .300, which is absolutely incredible after the disappointing season he had last year. Statistically, Bell is having the best month of May in Pirate history, leading Roberto Clemente and Ralph Kiner for most total bases in May (that's some pretty good company, if you ask me). It has been a tough season for the Pirates battling through injuries and having nights where they get blown out, but Bell has made it difficult to miss a game. Bell gives me that same feeling that Cutch did, knowing that the opposing team and their fans fear what he can do with any given plate appearance. The kind of season that Bell is having right now is what makes being a baseball fan so great, and in this particular instance, a Pirate fan.
Over my lifetime, I have not had much to cheer about as a Pirate fan, which makes what Bell is currently doing even more special. Here's to hoping Bell can keep up what he is doing at the plate as he is on pace for a truly historic season. If he can keep this pace up, we may have another MVP here in Pittsburgh (as long as the Dodger's Cody Bellinger and Brewer's Christian Yelich do not keep up their even more ridiculous paces). In summary, thank you, Josh Bell.
Thank you for reading! Leave any comments you may have below. And as always, Lets Go Bucs!
-Aaron TGYK
Alas! Finally incomes #22, Andrew Mccuthchen, who showed me what a great Pirate truly looks like. I took a lot of pride in watching Cutch play in a Pirate uniform knowing that other fans looked at him the same way I looked at Pujols, Sosa, and Braun as they torched the Pirates. I was always a big fan of the Pirates, but Cutch made me absolutely fall in love with Pirates baseball. Cutch's time in Pittsburgh came and went so fast with the Pirates first playoff win and appearance in 20 plus years along with winning an MVP award along the way, and the Pirates have had a tough time trying to replace a player of his caliber. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox grow these superstar players on trees since they have (and are willing to spend) the money to keep these big names on their team to keep fans interested. As fans, we love to root for star players; when your team has a star player, it makes rooting for them so much more fun. At the beginning of the season, 93.7 the Fan's Jack Zduriencik said the Pirates have all the pieces to be competitive besides having a star on the team, but the past month has shown that the Pirates may have found that star in Josh Bell.
Over the past month, Josh Bell has been on a MVP level at the plate where I expect him to have hit another home run by the time I am finished with this article. In all my years of watching baseball, I have never seen a guy hit the ball so well and hard like Bell currently is. What amazes me with Bell is that his swing is so smooth and effortless, and the ball sky rockets off the bat every time he makes contact; and Bell is making contact a lot, batting well over .300, which is absolutely incredible after the disappointing season he had last year. Statistically, Bell is having the best month of May in Pirate history, leading Roberto Clemente and Ralph Kiner for most total bases in May (that's some pretty good company, if you ask me). It has been a tough season for the Pirates battling through injuries and having nights where they get blown out, but Bell has made it difficult to miss a game. Bell gives me that same feeling that Cutch did, knowing that the opposing team and their fans fear what he can do with any given plate appearance. The kind of season that Bell is having right now is what makes being a baseball fan so great, and in this particular instance, a Pirate fan.
Over my lifetime, I have not had much to cheer about as a Pirate fan, which makes what Bell is currently doing even more special. Here's to hoping Bell can keep up what he is doing at the plate as he is on pace for a truly historic season. If he can keep this pace up, we may have another MVP here in Pittsburgh (as long as the Dodger's Cody Bellinger and Brewer's Christian Yelich do not keep up their even more ridiculous paces). In summary, thank you, Josh Bell.
Thank you for reading! Leave any comments you may have below. And as always, Lets Go Bucs!
-Aaron TGYK
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