Joe Hardy Junior


Gio Urshela continues to be one of the breakthrough stories of 2019. On an injury-riddled Yankee team whose marching orders have been Next Man Up, the former Indian and Blue Jay hasn't just stepped up, but become a mainstay. A defensive wiz who never hit over .233 in parts of three previous seasons, Urshela has morphed into Graig Nettles and Scott Brosius. Last night, two more home runs and a double with four RBIs in a 14-2 destruction of the Orioles.

Or maybe he's a 21st century Joe Hardy. Joe Who? Remember the classic 1950s movie Damn Yankees? The one where a passionate but frustrated fan makes a deal with the devil (Ray Walston) if his beloved Washington Senators could only beat the Yankees -- and the forever losers go onto the World Series. OK, it's not exactly the same story -- Joe was a devoted fan not a borderline major leaguer. And of course, he's helping, not hurting the Yankees.

But watching this eight-game winning streak -- especially the three-game series where the Yankees staged their own home run derby at Camden Yards -- the mind wanders to find a parallel for this once-struggling player's transformation into a star.

Comments

Bronx Cheers Ric said…
I was thinking the same about Mike Tauchman. They're both amazing.
August 8, 2019 at 1:31 PM
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