Fun Cards: 2012 "Taco Bell Softball" Bo Jackson

Much like Night Owl, I have some fond memories of All-Star Games throughout the years. One of my most vivid memories is of Bo Jackson smashing a Rick Reuschel pitch for a home run in the first inning of the 1989 All-Star Game in Anaheim. I didn’t even remember that he won the MVP honors for that game until I looked it up, but I remember that towering blast.

Photo credit: AP

There has been a lot of speculation about how great Bo Jackson would have been had he not been injured playing football. Just for fun, I plugged some of his numbers into Bill James’ Favorite Toy to see where he might have ended up if he stayed healthy. I used his numbers from the 1987-1989 seasons.

Home runs: Based on his age, your player can be expected to play for 8 more years, at an average of 24.7 per year. At that rate, he will finish at 278 for his career.

Runs batted in: Based on his age, your player can be expected to play for 8 more years, at an average of 66.7 per year. At that rate, he will finish at 768 for his career.

Not really earth-shattering numbers. Perhaps if he had given up football to play on the diamond full-time he would have fared better (and lasted longer).

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