J D Drew Timeline?

For starters, let me say that I was a huge Drew fan and a serious player collector from 98-03. I still like him and have some descent cards, including all my base, inserts, and parallels from his Cardinals years.

Other than being injury prone, he is a class act and a heck of a baseball player, so I've defended him over the years.

1995-1997
"At Florida State, he was the winner of the 1997 Dick Howser Trophy and the 1997 Golden Spikes Award, was named the 1997 Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, the 1997 Sporting News Player of the Year, and was a consensus All-American (1997). He also was named the 1997 ACC Player of the Year. He was a 1996 member of Team USA. Drew was First Team in 1996, Freshman All-American in 1995 and was named to the College World Series All Tournament Team in 1995. He was the first player in college baseball history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. He set a Florida State record by batting .455 in 1997 while managing to become one of only three players in college baseball history to have 100 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBIs. During his college career, Drew broke 17 school and conference records."

1997 - Golden Spikes Winner
1998 - drafted and was called up in same season - .417 w/ 5 HR in 14 games - Hype was through the roof.
2001 - .323, 27 HR (only 109 games played). Was on pace for 56 HR when hit in hand by Wells fastball.
2004 - Traded to ATL - .305, 31 HR, 93 RBI, 1.005 OPS
2005 - Signs with LA - hand broke by fastball - .286 w/ 15 HR's in 72 games.
2006 - LA - Full Season - .283, 34 doubles, 20 HR, 100 RBI, .891 OPS.
2007 - Signs with Boston - Battled a few small injuries - .270, 30 doubles, 11 HR, 64 RBI
2007 Post Season - Red Sox win World Series - .314, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 11 RBI
2008 - Player of the month (JUNE) - Carried Boston during Ortiz injury - missed last month or so with injury.
2008 All-Star Game - MVP
2008 Post Season - .263, 2 HR, 6 RBI
2009 - 137 Games: .279, 30 doubles, 24 HR, 68 RBI, .914 OPS

Notes:
* I left out much of his Cardinals playing days because he battled patellar tendonitis and other various injuries and TLR platooned him during his entire stay in St. Louis.
* JD has a career slugging % of .504 (90th on all-time list)
* He has lost 2 seasons to broken hands due to being struck in the hand by a fastball. 2/11 seasons lost due to something out of his control.
* His back is injury prone.
* That being said, he cameback from patellar tendonitis and has played and played will when in the line-up in and around his back injuries.


There is the defense...Here is my 1 major knock on JD and his entire career...

Why leave Atlanta? JD is a small town guy, with no superstart personality, and doesn't seem to respond to pressure very well. He is a hunter, fisherman, Christian, Family man, and seems to desire the quiet small town life. His best year came in Atlanta which is 229 miles from his home in Valdosta, GA.

If he played baseball for the love of the game and not for money, I see no reason why he signed with LA and then Boston. He could have signed an 8 figure contract for 5+ years to stay in Atlanta and he could have lived his normal life to a greater extent and played pressure free baseball in Atlanta for his entire career and been a fan favorite.

I had to get that off my chest. I need to stop wondering what if and move on. I'd love to see him have a nice next 2 years in Boston.

Didn't he already make it blatantly obvious that he IS PLAYING BASEBALL FOR THE $$$ and NOT the love of the game?

You left out him turning down Millions of $$ from the Phillies to try and get more $$$ from the Cardinals the next year. Along with jumping from team to team for more $$$.

I have honeslty always felt he was a huge d-bag, lazy, and soft as baby ****.

That is my opinion. I am not trying to give you a hard time about him, because obviously you are a fan. But he is one of the few players in the MLB that I have a strong dislike for.

ballerskrip said:

Didn't he already make it blatantly obvious that he IS PLAYING BASEBALL FOR THE $$$ and NOT the love of the game?

You left out him turning down Millions of $$ from the Phillies to try and get more $$$ from the Cardinals the next year. Along with jumping from team to team for more $$$.

I have honeslty always felt he was a huge d-bag, lazy, and soft as baby shat.

That is my opinion. I am not trying to give you a hard time about him, because obviously you are a fan. But he is one of the few players in the MLB that I have a strong dislike for.

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I agree 100%. In fact, JD Drew is the only player that has ever been officially banned from my Fantasy Baseball league.

I feel that "class act" should NEVER be used on a player who clearly plays the game for money. I mean, that's like saying Alex Rodriguez is a "class act." Passing up millions, especially when you're an unproven player coming out of school is stupid (and yes, that still goes for the players today). I do find it funny that piece is clearly left out of the timeline, when in fact, that is actually a HUGE part of JD Drew's timeline.

Thanks guys.

Sly, I didn't leave the $$$ part of of my post. In fact, I basically implied that he is 100% in it for the money.

That being said, don't we all want to make the most money possible in our profession? Didn't the teams actually make the offer and pay him what he makes?

He is a good human being.

Sly said:

ballerskrip said:

Didn't he already make it blatantly obvious that he IS PLAYING BASEBALL FOR THE $$$ and NOT the love of the game?

You left out him turning down Millions of $$ from the Phillies to try and get more $$$ from the Cardinals the next year. Along with jumping from team to team for more $$$.

I have honeslty always felt he was a huge d-bag, lazy, and soft as baby shat.

That is my opinion. I am not trying to give you a hard time about him, because obviously you are a fan. But he is one of the few players in the MLB that I have a strong dislike for.

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I agree 100%. In fact, JD Drew is the only player that has ever been officially banned from my Fantasy Baseball league.

I feel that "class act" should NEVER be used on a player who clearly plays the game for money. I mean, that's like saying Alex Rodriguez is a "class act." Passing up millions, especially when you're an unproven player coming out of school is stupid (and yes, that still goes for the players today). I do find it funny that piece is clearly left out of the timeline, when in fact, that is actually a HUGE part of JD Drew's timeline.

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Exactly how I feel about him. Lazy underachiever probably describes him best.

Not picking a fight, but what examples do you have of him being a first class act? Last year in ATL I was sitting on the front row in right field beside a young girl (15 or 16) holding a "I heart DREW" sign. He saw her everytime he ran to RF and never once acknowledged her. Not a smile, a wave, nothing. The fans eventually started to yell at him and still nothing. I know that was my only time seeing Drew but first impressions are kinda hard to change. Again not doubting you, just relaying what I saw.

Adamsince1981 said:

Thanks guys.

Sly, I didn't leave the $$$ part of of my post. In fact, I basically implied that he is 100% in it for the money.

That being said, don't we all want to make the most money possible in our profession? Didn't the teams actually make the offer and pay him what he makes?

He is a good human being.

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HE IS NOT A GOOD HUMAN BEING! HE IS A MONSTER!

CAROLINA BOSOX said:

Not picking a fight, but what examples do you have of him being a first class act? Last year in ATL I was sitting on the front row in right field beside a young girl (15 or 16) holding a "I heart DREW" sign. He saw her everytime he ran to RF and never once acknowledged her. Not a smile, a wave, nothing. The fans eventually started to yell at him and still nothing. I know that was my only time seeing Drew but first impressions are kinda hard to change. Again not doubting you, just relaying what I saw.

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Basically 6 years worth of articles and stories while he was with St. Louis about his life away from the field and his character.

I wasn't there so I can't say anything about your story.

CAROLINA BOSOX said:

Not picking a fight, but what examples do you have of him being a first class act? Last year in ATL I was sitting on the front row in right field beside a young girl (15 or 16) holding a "I heart DREW" sign. He saw her everytime he ran to RF and never once acknowledged her. Not a smile, a wave, nothing. The fans eventually started to yell at him and still nothing. I know that was my only time seeing Drew but first impressions are kinda hard to change. Again not doubting you, just relaying what I saw.

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Maybe he's just not a *********

Adamsince1981 said:

CAROLINA BOSOX said:

Not picking a fight, but what examples do you have of him being a first class act? Last year in ATL I was sitting on the front row in right field beside a young girl (15 or 16) holding a "I heart DREW" sign. He saw her everytime he ran to RF and never once acknowledged her. Not a smile, a wave, nothing. The fans eventually started to yell at him and still nothing. I know that was my only time seeing Drew but first impressions are kinda hard to change. Again not doubting you, just relaying what I saw.

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Basically 6 years worth of articles and stories while he was with St. Louis about his life away from the field and his character.

I wasn't there so I can't say anything about your story.

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People have bad days, maybe that was one for him. I don't know. Just was disappointing for me b/c I expected better from him. After all he is Red Sox I hold them to higher standards.

tigers still should have drafted him instead of matt anderson

Drew is a decent player and nothing more, IMO. How he fooled Theo Epstein into all that money is beyond me. I don't get how a middle of the order guy like him is thought to be a star, yet he averages 85 RBI a year and has only had 100 once in his 12 seasons.

KandKCards said:

Drew is a decent player and nothing more, IMO. How he fooled Theo Epstein into all that money is beyond me. I don't get how a middle of the order guy like him is thought to be a star, yet he averages 85 RBI a year and has only had 100 once in his 12 seasons.

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Epstein and the Red Sox got exactly what they thought. Corner outfielder that is above avg defensely with a pretty good arm. He avg's 85 RBI a year but Epstein thought maybe he can get a 100 batting behind Ramirez and Ortiz or maybe 100
runs if he hits in front. Minds his own business and is not high maintenance like alot
of others in the clubhouse. I can't figure out for the life of me Theo Epstein but this one is pretty much black and white. Now why he isn't trying to sign Jason Bay is beyond me? Maybe they have someone in the minors or Mike Cameron is going to play left?

Well, I was hoping for some Braves fans to give me their perspective, but I'll just say that I really wish his career had gone differently. He just had shoulder surgery, the end is right around the corner, and sadly, his legacy is all but set in stone.

It is a shame.

I never knew his college career was that ridiculous. No wonder he had so much hype

Adamsince1981 said:

Well, I was hoping for some Braves fans to give me their perspective, but I'll just say that I really wish his career had gone differently. He just had shoulder surgery, the end is right around the corner, and sadly, his legacy is all but set in stone.

It is a shame.

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Yeah, he had college baseball's 1st 30/30 season and I believe it was BA that ranked him the 8th best college player of all-time.

I always enjoyed watching him play and still do.I also collect him quite a bit when I can get away from Bagwell collecting.

This is definitely a minority opinion but who cares if he plays for the money? A game or not baseball is his job, choosing to make the most money at it that you can does not make you scum. If he were in any other industry he would be looked at with little vitriol, imagine a businessman being criticized for being offered two jobs and accepting the higher paying one.

ballerskrip said:

Didn't he already make it blatantly obvious that he IS PLAYING BASEBALL FOR THE $$$ and NOT the love of the game?

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His agent made that clear, not him. I met JD back in 1998 when he was called up to AAA (Memphis Redbirds) and talked to him 3 times (about 30 minutes each time) and he seem to love the game and his fans. He also handled pressure nicely when he was being hammered by the media for refusing to play for Philadelphia. His agent, Scott Boras, also represents AROD.... 'nuff said. While talking to with him, he made it a point to sign for everyone and didn't want to miss anyone. People were scared to approach him due to the media attention, but would stare at a distance, holding items they wanted signed. I started inviting people over. A few items I got signed during that time.







Also a 98 Memphis Redbirds card.

I think when it comes to changing teams, he is doing what any player would do. Do what's best for them and their family.