Old-school attitude...

[coachJ]

I was reading a thing in ESPN The Mag about the Diamondbacks, and they said that "the young players were great, but we needed some of the old-school attitude".... What is the old school attitude? I'm only 19, and havent really followed pro baseball up until the past couple years, and i was just wondering what the old-school baseball thing was all about.

[blackdogsong]

i guess real old-school would be sharpening your spikes and trying to clip the guy when you slide into second Ty Cobb style? lol.

i think what he really means is smart, aggressive, heads-up play w/ a lot of hustle. Always looking to stretch a single into a double. Always looking to tag-up and beat out a weak throw. Pete Rose (the player) is a great example. Today Larry Walker is a decent example, he is a very smart and aggressive baserunner.

[Pimpbot]

I think they are talking about last years Dbacks which by the end of the year were a triple A club at best with no veteren leadership and a bunch of young guys who just goofed off while the team was getting hammered day in day out. I think there are one or two players on last years team that could have been exciting prospects had they taken their big league gig seriously. However, some were shown the door while others now live in the pits of A ball.

[doublee]

The Cardinals and the Red Sox players in general are a perfect example of old school attitude. The Cards have guys like Rolen, Pujols, Edmonds, and Larry Walker who give it all to win. They put their bodies on the line and will play hurt if need be to win ballgames. Pujols played the last two or three months of last season with plantar fascitis and Rolen was playing on a bum knee. They spend as much time working on defense as they do hitting, and you rarely hear them popping off in the press. They lead with their actions on the field.

Then there are teams like last year's Cubs who all sorts of talent but had Sosa sitting out games with nagging little injuries and Moises Alou and Kent Mercker popping off in the media about how the WGN announcers are selling them out over the air.

Just think of Bull Durham and how Crash Davis took Nuke under his arm and tought him how it was in the big leagues. Or, how Jake Taylor pulled the Indians together for the pennant run in Major League. Every team needs two or three guys like that to help lead the rookies and younger players. Players will respond better to veterans busting their balls than a manager whom they are more likely to think is just singling them out because they are the new guy.

[catman]

The "old-school" attitude the Magazine speaks of is this -- each player does his job and they don't care who gets credit for wins. They play hard everyday and the manager is the boss in the clubhouse. Luis Gonzalez has always played this way and he was hurt at the end of last season. He's back and playing well. Tony Clark has always played this way. He is doing his job well.
I like the way the D'Backs have played and wish them luck the rest of the season.
By the way, my wife still wears her D'Backs cap to minor league games regularly.