Wiley: Classic vs. Frontier Players (Wizbang Sports)

Excellent column by Ralph Wiley on ESPN Page 2 today on the attributes and characteristics of the "Classic" ballplayer (examples: Ruth, Cobb, DiMaggio) and the "Frontier" player (Ted Williams, Henry Aaron, Barry Bonds). Here's an excerpt:

The Classic ballplayer is seen as having special, wondrous skills no one else could approach, and as a gregarious, lovable, hail-fellow-well-met, life-of-the-party, come-on-in-and-set-a-spell sort. Whether he is or not.

The Frontier ballplayer is seen as distant, somehow unapproachable, grim, brusque, gruff, terse, downright ornery, lacking social graces, unwilling to bow to either prior convention or custom, and having attained from sheer implacable nature.

This is Wiley in top form. Read it all.

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