We Are The Five-Tool-Fans
Here are our tools:
Passion
There is no “off-season” for a five-tool-fan. Every transaction, be it a blockbuster trade or a minor league call-up, is worthy of inspection by the five-tool-fan. A five-tool-fan is superstitious whether they admit it or not.
Knowledge
A five-tool-fan knows more than just the roster of their favorite team. A five-tool-fan reads what others are writing. Five-tool-fans can be proven wrong – and will admit their mistakes.
Statistics
A five-tool-fan knows that there is more to a batter than what scrolls across the screen while that batter is at the plate. A five-tool-fan knows a pitcher should not be judged by his W-L record. A five-tool-fan knows OPS+, WAR, UZR – but also recognizes their shortcomings. Baseball metrics are a dynamic beast – five-tool-fans stay abreast of new and exciting ways to evaluate their sport.
Awe
A five-tool-fan expects to see something they’ve never seen before every time they watch a major league baseball game. Five-tool-fans get excited for the first pitch of every game. A five-tool-fan has a countdown from the end of the World Series until pitchers and catchers report in February.
Grit
Five-tool-fans never leave a game early. Five-tool-fans do the little things to make sure they get the most out of their fandom. Five-tool-fans run – don’t walk – to the bathroom between innings. Five-tool-fans give it their all.
Are you a five-tool-fan?
fivetoolwill
fivetoolmike
Well, I have a long way to go to become a 5 TOOL FAN, but it is a goal, if not an achievement, that I aspire. First, I need to be candid and honest with myself and the 5 Tool Guys. Here is my assessment of my existing state of the qualifiers set above:
PASSION: I really only care about the big name trades. If the Cubs traded for Jeter I would be all over it. The way I look at it…if I don’t the name…how good can they be? My “passion” would be best described as “I LOVE THE STARS. IF THE OTHER PLAYERS WANT ME TO FOLLOW THEM…HIT MORE HOME RUNS.
I will work on this.
KNOWLEDGE: I don’t know the full roster of any of my favorite teams..only the stars. I need to really apply myself on this one. But fair or not, if the entire roster would hit more Home Runs it would be easier for me to remember them.
STATISTICS: I only care about Hits, RBI’s, Home Runs, and Won/Loss. I have a country mile ahead of me to get to this one.
AWE: Don’t even think about baseball until June, after the NBA Finals…except for the arrests and other malfeasance reported in the news. Does that count?
GRIT: Never stayed for a complete game in my life. Ever. Of any sport. Never even watched on TV from first pitch to last. And as for running to the bathrooms…nothing on this earth could get me to use the bathrooms in Wrigley Field…they are so disgusting that the last time I went to a game there, I had a catheter put in. But I am hoping that running to the bathroom between innings counts at home. That I can do! The older I get, the more running to the bathroom I do.
OK. Now I will await what the Five Tool Guys say: Are they willing to take on a rookie, or I am I passed any hope? It is up to them…I do so want to be accepted, to be a part of the 5TG (pretty cool don’t you think?). I hope they give me a chance, help develop me, guide me. Maybe someday I can be one of them…but I never will if they don’t give me a chance. I hope they do. I hope they can see the commitment. I hope….
Not sure if this helps…but I have a lot steaks and desserts that I would be happy to forward to both of the 5TG’s.
Hahah, You are hilarious. Wrigley bathrooms are DISGUSTING! And I’m pretty sure
you’ve got Will’s vote as long as you keep the steaks coming. Mike may be a different story.
Anyway, I don’t qualify as a Five Tool fan either. I really need to work on Statistics and Knowledge. On the other hand, I probably wouldn’t be reading your blog if I already knew everything…..
I don’t really think that any fan, no matter how dedicated, should be required to sit at the game until the very end if their team is playing like crap and getting killed. At that point, they don’t deserve to be watched anymore. Sometimes positive reinforcement is not deserved.
YES!!! That’s exactly how I feel, unless it hurts my chances of becoming a 5 Tool apprentice. To hear a teacher slam positive reinforcement does me proud. There are only a few ways a fan can have a voice. One is to BOO loudly (for those of you that do that..you really need to grow up). The other is to walk when the team is playing with less effort that it cost you to walk down the ramps. When fans begin to walk out during poorly played games it has a direct impact on how the players feel in the locker room. The hope is that it causes some player(s) to realize the low level of performance is not just accepted. AGAIN I SAY unless it hurts my chances of becoming a 5 Tool apprentice.
We’re all about high-potential rookies here.
Tools or no tools – we’re also big fans of steak.
I also am a little unsure of the difference between positive and negative reinforcement on players. Certainly we regular human beings would feel the effects – but I don’t necessarily think that applies to all professional athletes. They’ve gone through more criticism, played in more empty parks/stadiums, and had some truly nasty things yelled at them (assuming they play in Philly at some point) than we can really comprehend. I’d have to imagine the majority of them have found a way to get past that and just play. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure home-away records would be a lot more lopsided.
But again – we take all shapes and sizes of fans here. The more pretty links you click on, the more tools you develop!
‘WE REGULAR HUMAN BEINGS?” Professional athletes only share their insecurities and hurt and pain with their families and teammates. They don’t open up…they don’t just learn how to handle it. Why? Because they know that many fans don’t consider professional athletes to REGULAR HUMAN BEINGS. Not even 5 Tool Fans.
You are missing much when you dilute the emotions.
I don’t mean to insinuate that players simply don’t “feel” anything – more than I think it effects their play less than we often assume. Certainly there are exceptions to this (generally players who sink when they arrive in big markets) – but I really don’t know that empty stadiums have a great effect on all players. A lot of them may be content with their millions of dollars and long term contracts – and its those dollars that I feel make professional athletes “irregular.”