Poll: Which athlete wasted the most talent?

My vote goes to Mike Tyson because he could been one of the best to ever step in a boxing ring.

 

Wow, three and a half pages of athletes who wasted the most talent, and no mention of Alexandre Daigle? Supposedly the next Gretzky when he was drafted (I think I even have a card somewhere comparing the two of them). Although he played. After nine seasons was out of the game completely. Took two years off, made a comeback with Pittsburgh and Minnesota, now playing for Davos in the Swiss Elite league. Played hockey all his life, took him until he was in his early 30's to enjoy it.

And I do believe I heard Jimmy Carson had trouble with bottle, but don't quote me on it.

Another guy who pissed away his talent was A&M Running back Ja'mar Toombs. Was told he would be drafted and left school after his Junior season. Didn't prepare for the combine, came in grossly overweight and performed like shit. Needless to say he didn't get drafted, but that didn't stop him from going out and spending what he thought would be a signing bonus before the draft. Few years later had a tryout with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL, got cut and I haven't heard of him since.

 

Good call on Daigle. His biggest problem was he had no balls.

 

Or interest in the game for most of his career.

 

I voted for Strawberry and I was in New York during the late 1980s. I think he wasted more talent than Gooden because Gooden had some great seasons and was a successful pitcher during stretches. There are a lot of pitchers who level out over their careers and, even aside from drugs, he had more health issues.

Strawberry was unbelivable. Gooden might have been a Hall of Famer, but Strawberry should have been an elite-level Hall of Famer. He had remarkable power to all fields. Lee Mazzilli once said something like: "If Darryl works hard and applies himself, he'll be a Hall of Famer. And if he doesn't, he'll still be pretty good."

Strawberry had more of an upside than Gooden, and that is why I think he wasted more talent. He had years in what should have been the prime of his career with the Dodgers and Giants which were really bad.

 

Sidd Finch, the guy could throw a baseball 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy

 

I was going to go Tyson, but switched to Gooden.

I have a problem with the Herschel Walker bash. He was great with the Cowboys on a terrible team. There's a reason the Vikings gave up all those picks.

 

Interesting article . . .

If this is indeed how it went down, you can question Taylor for getting involved in the situation. But who is to say this wouldn't have happened the first time he reached back for something extra on his fastball the next spring?

 

My votes: Jeff Allison (Marlins pitcher, drugs) ... or Josh Hamilton (Devil Rays OF, drugs).

Both should be total bad-ass players.

 

Yes, Toe. I'm sorry, my sports knowledge fades with each passing year. Gone are those days in the early '80s when I could name the starting lineup of every MLB team. Yet I still can name the lineups for several of those forgotten teams. Cromartie, LeFlore, Carter, Raines, Dawson. Crud. I'm straining already. Ah, yes, Wallach. Well, six out of nine isn't bad. But I have a feeling I'm forgetting someone important, perhaps a speedster?

Since, we're on the subject of guys who never quite fulfilled their talent, shouldn't Raines be in the Hall? I believe he's the only man with 800 steals who isn't. And he wasn't a bad hitter for someone who was a table-setter most of his career during an era when Fred Lynn's 25 homers a year made him a legitimate power-hitter. And I recall writing a column when Rickey was pulling one of his stunts where I noted that Raines had an incredible success rate on his swipe attempts. Wow. I just checked his numbers. He had 11 homers, 71 RBIs, 90 steals and a .298 average when he was just 23.

 

Toe Nash landed up in jail for rape, right?

I remember when Gammons first wrote about him. The way he described the kid ... all I could say was "holy ... "

 

Anybody remember Omar Cook from St. Johns?