[Mick]

BC...Duh. Don't tell me how hard it is. I know.

I also told you. Sorry. It's just that I didn't fully appreciate it until this year. Tim was hitting .382 after WAZZU series then started hitting line drives into mitts. Then pressed, then more mitts. In a month, the BA was down to .264. "What's wrong with him?" people asked. But he was doing the same things! Pitchers pitch and 8 in the field try to stop you. Failure is not an option; it's a reality.

I went to high school with Dann Bilardello, who was a third round selection after high school, and a 1st round/secondary phase selection in 1978.  He batted about .350 or .360 in high school, which made me wonder how in the heck he would hit major league pitching?  Answer: he couldn't.  He was career .204 in eight MLB seasons.  Defensively, he was very strong...his second season he led the league in throwing out base stealers (42%) and did even better the next year, throwing out 49% (finishing third) and 37% for his career (Buster is 33%).  Very tough to succeed in MLB.

[Mick]

BC...Duh. Don't tell me how hard it is. I know.

I also told you. Sorry. It's just that I didn't fully appreciate it until this year. Tim was hitting .382 after WAZZU series then started hitting line drives into mitts. Then pressed, then more mitts. In a month, the BA was down to .264. "What's wrong with him?" people asked. But he was doing the same things! Pitchers pitch and 8 in the field try to stop you. Failure is not an option; it's a reality.

I went to high school with Dann Bilardello, who was a third round selection after high school, and a 1st round/secondary phase selection in 1978.  He batted about .350 or .360 in high school, which made me wonder how in the heck he would hit major league pitching?  Answer: he couldn't.  He was career .204 in eight MLB seasons.  Defensively, he was very strong...his second season he led the league in throwing out base stealers (42%) and did even better the next year, throwing out 49% (finishing third) and 37% for his career (Buster is 33%).  Very tough to succeed in MLB.