It's really something to see a true one-of-one. The first time it really stuck, it really happened to me, was Usain Bolt in 2008 in Beijing. With all due respect to what Michael Phelps did in those Olympics, there's something primal about the 100m dash, something we've been doing as a species since Urk bragged to Gru he could get to that rock over there first. It was quite something for 14-year-old Joshua to see the seven fastest men in the world three steps behind this freak — and I say that with the utmost admiration.
Of course Bolt did that two more times in those Games, then broke his own record at the World Championships in Berlin a year later—still the fastest time ever recorded—and then in London, and just for good measure took home the gold in the 100m and 200m in Rio in 2016. The greatest sprinter of all time and a 100th-percentile outcome for what the human body can be. Bolt went out with a whimper though, pulling up lame in the 4x100m relay final at the 2017 World Championships. A hamstring injury mid-race spelled the end of one of sports' great, fiery comets.
You almost never get to go out on your own terms, especially in athletics. Eventually, your body—the thing that earned you a living, the thing that elevated you over pretty much the entire global population—lets you down. Giancarlo Stanton is also a true one-of-one. You could make a compelling argument that ****** ody in the history of baseball has boasted his raw power. Perhaps ****** ody in the sport has ever had so many home runs where the defenders simply didn't move upon contact:
View Link
And of course, like A-Rod in 2009, there's a very good chance the Yankees don't even make the World Series in '24 if Stanton doesn't hammer the ball like he can. Cleveland in particular had no answer whatsoever to the ALCS MVP, who showered Guardians pitching with four clutch homers. He had a 1.048 OPS that postseason and likely walks away with 18 career playoff homers and a .926 OPS in 202 plate appearances.
#time #championships #stanton #true
Of course Bolt did that two more times in those Games, then broke his own record at the World Championships in Berlin a year later—still the fastest time ever recorded—and then in London, and just for good measure took home the gold in the 100m and 200m in Rio in 2016. The greatest sprinter of all time and a 100th-percentile outcome for what the human body can be. Bolt went out with a whimper though, pulling up lame in the 4x100m relay final at the 2017 World Championships. A hamstring injury mid-race spelled the end of one of sports' great, fiery comets.
You almost never get to go out on your own terms, especially in athletics. Eventually, your body—the thing that earned you a living, the thing that elevated you over pretty much the entire global population—lets you down. Giancarlo Stanton is also a true one-of-one. You could make a compelling argument that ****** ody in the history of baseball has boasted his raw power. Perhaps ****** ody in the sport has ever had so many home runs where the defenders simply didn't move upon contact:
View Link
And of course, like A-Rod in 2009, there's a very good chance the Yankees don't even make the World Series in '24 if Stanton doesn't hammer the ball like he can. Cleveland in particular had no answer whatsoever to the ALCS MVP, who showered Guardians pitching with four clutch homers. He had a 1.048 OPS that postseason and likely walks away with 18 career playoff homers and a .926 OPS in 202 plate appearances.
#time #championships #stanton #true
3 days ago
