Allen Ripley - RIP

[StMic]

I just noticed that Allen Ripley recently passed away.  I didn't see any mention of it here.  Hopefully I'm not re-posting.
 
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/ex-boston-and-pawtucket-red-sox-player-allen-ripley-of/article_0dc18b6c-69da-11e4-bfcc-7be7d1783b1a.html
 
I remember seeing him Pawtucket back in the late 70's.  I think most of us will remember him as one of the Buffalo Heads.

 

[Plympton91]

62.

Not old enough.

RIP, Rip.

 

[The Talented Allen Ripley]

He was a local guy who had some good minor league numbers that never translated to major league success. He wasn't a strikeout pitcher, and he didn't have the control necessary to overcome that.
 
But as much as we grown men tend to excitedly froth at the mouth at our Sox prospects, I think a child feels an even more intense bond with whatever Rookie du Jour is on the scene. The prodigy's youth is the child's youth. His failures and successes mirror the booted balls and clean doubles of Little League. There is a shared experience there. The debut is witnessed, not learned about after the fact in hagiographic tones. The prospect is a chrysalis whose transformation the child can see before his eyes, he's not some God in Full, the bulk of His exploits missed out on and taken for granted.
 
And of course, most prospects don't pan out, which provides a resonant life lesson. And maybe that one failed prospect, that personal prospect, your guy, he becomes more than just some dude who didn't make it. He's a symbol, maybe even so much as an avatar. 

 

[TedsColdHead]

He was a local guy who had some good minor league numbers that never translated to major league success. He wasn't a strikeout pitcher, and he didn't have the control necessary to overcome that.
 
But as much as we grown men tend to excitedly froth at the mouth at our Sox prospects, I think a child feels an even more intense bond with whatever Rookie du Jour is on the scene. The prodigy's youth is the child's youth. His failures and successes mirror the booted balls and clean doubles of Little League. There is a shared experience there. The debut is witnessed, not learned about after the fact in hagiographic tones. The prospect is a chrysalis whose transformation the child can see before his eyes, he's not some God in Full, the bulk of His exploits missed out on and taken for granted.
 
And of course, most prospects don't pan out, which provides a resonant life lesson. And maybe that one failed prospect, that personal prospect, your guy, he becomes more than just some dude who didn't make it. He's a symbol, maybe even so much as an avatar. 

 
 
Hear, Hear