The Fascination with Kevin Elster

[soupcan]

Oh - I got an Elster memory!

Some game in the 90's Elster won with a walk-off homerun. The vendors who were always outside the stadium hawking their counterfeit merchandise were out again and enjoying the purchasing power of the happy crowd. One vendor understood the mood better than the rest and instead of just trying to sell 'Mets hats' he was shouting 'Elstah hats! Get your game-winnin' Elstah hats!'

[Guest cooby]

I hope you bought one

[soupcan]

What am I - a rookie?

Had one dude.

[Willets Point]

Those guys must be related to the guys selling green carnations outside the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts when I was a kid going to see a performance by Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy. Their spiel, "Tommy make 'em, we sell 'em."

[Guest cooby]

dude? sheesh

[Benjamin Grimm]

Dude looks like a lady.

[HahnSolo]

Consideration the lack of posts in this thread about Kevin Elster, I guess there really is no "fascination with Kevin Elster."

[Elster88]

You may not be fascinated with him, but your girlfriend is.

[Benjamin Grimm]

You mean my imaginary girlfriend who pees a lot?

[Guest Edgy DC]

]...my imaginary girlfriend who pees a lot

New band name!

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm sure she'd be flattered!

[Guest cooby]

So how's the old cold-in-the-kidneys-girl doing, anyway?


(Trying to give Yancy opportunities to post so he is done with Franco sooner. Or is that Willets that wanted that? I'm so confused....)

[Benjamin Grimm]

It was me.

I haven't seen her this week! Either they fired her for peeing too much or she's on vacation. Maybe she's peeing in Acapulco this week.

[Willets Point]

I don't care about being Franco I just want to be something different from Willets. I mean Yancy! I'm so confused.

[Guest cooby]

Ew! In the ocean!


I mean her peeing! Yancy's gf! Or Willets'...or SI's...or Franco's...I'm so confused

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't mind sharing her.

[Guest cooby]

You better keep that nasty kidney condition of hers under your hat then

[Benjamin Grimm]

If I did that, I think I'd have to get a new hat.

[G-Fafif]

It wasn't quite fascination, but my wife (then fiancee) labeled Kevin Elster "the cute one" in 1990.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I thought that was Paul McCartney.

[Guest cooby]

That Craig Wilson is a doll. Last year, all that yellow hair was even longer


Here's me and my sister with him...

[Guest Edgy DC]

Whoah.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

That doesn't look like you. Not at all.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I believe cooby's trying to fool us with her change up.

[Guest cooby]

lol, if my sister saw what I said she'd kill me

[Elster88]

Darling talked about Elster during the telecast yesterday. Said you could see the disappointment on his face every time they got off a plane to crappy weather. Called California "God's country to play baseball" or some such. Lives in Florida right now. Hasn't seen Darling in a few years, last saw him when he lived in Vegas.

Edit: I'm Tug McGraw (RIP)

[MFS62]

Trying to describe the Elster fascination.
IIRC he played in a cusp era when shortstop was transitioning from a purely defensive position (other than Ernie Banks) to a position where offense was becoming increasingly important. So when Kevin had 25 doubles, 10 dingers and 55 RBI in 1989 to go with his better than league average fielding percentage (The only defensive stat you had in those days) he was loooked upon as "something special".
He never achieved those same numbers again, but fans kept hoping he would.

Later

[Elster88]

MFS62 wrote: to go with his better than league average fielding percentage (The only defensive stat you had in those days)

88 games.

[MFS62]

Nope.
In 1989, the year I mentioned, he played 150 games at short.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't know about that, 62. By 1989, Cal Ripken and Alan Trammell had already been around for a long time. I don't recall ever being excited about Elster's bat.

Or his glove, either.