The Shadow Legend

From The Rogue's Baseball Index

The Shadow Legend is a ballplayer whose early on-field exploits are so heroic that they become unsustainable. He has the capacity to draw out superlatives from the broadcast booth and expletives from the opposing dugout. With a twirl of his bat, a kick of his front leg, a knowing grin, he wraps the collective imagination around his fingertip. Then real life gets in the way.

When transcendence is expected, mere excellence becomes unsatisfying. He gets hurt. He slumps. He drinks too much. He is one hell of a ballplayer. But he is never able to hit that 800th home run, strike out that 6,000th batter. He is never able to escape the shadow of his own mythology.

“One of the best ever,” fans might say about the shadow legend, “but imagine if he managed to stay..."

The Shadow Legend is Tony Conigliaro, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez, Herb Score, Dick Allen, Rocky Colavito.