On Facebook, I wrote: Postmarked from Los Angeles, CA, the BCB sent the card of one of the more star-crossed players of the last 30 years.
During the mid-1980s Nick Esasky was a solid player in Cincinnati but he had the misfortune of having Pete Rose as his manager. Rose was in the midst of his death march toward the MLB hit record and Esasky was at Pete's position of first base. By this point in their respective careers, Esasky was worth more to the Reds than Rose but Rose didn't care, he was going to get that record. The only position Pete could play was first (because he was ancient).
That meant Nick Esasky bounced from third to first to left field and never really settled into a groove. After Rose got his record, the Reds brought in another blast from their past, Tony Perez. Again Esasky bounced around, as Rose thought it was a good idea to split time with his 44-year-old pal Perez at first. A 34-year-old Buddy Bell was at third and Eric Davis and Dave Parker were at the corner outfield positions. Lesson? Pete Rose is an asshole.
In 1988 he was traded to the Red Sox with Rob Murphy for Todd Benzinger and Jeff Sellers. With a short left-field porch, the following year was a huge one for Esasky as he reached career highs in a lot of hitting categories. After the 1989 season he left Boston and signed with the Braves for big money. He lasted nine games before he was felled by vertigo.
He never played again.
Had he stayed in Cinci, he might have been the starting first baseman for the World Champion Reds. By then Rose was gone and Benzinger (he caught the last out of the 1990 World Series) had replaced Esasky at first base, but he did not provide the same offense that his predecessor did.
Had he been healthy in Atlanta, the Braves probably wouldn't have signed Sid Bream (Esasky was the superior player) and maybe the Braves win the 1991 World Series. (Bream batted .125 that October.)
And maybe the 1992 NLCS ends up differently too. Maybe it's not Sid Bream chugging around the bases in Game 7, maybe it's Esasky and perhaps he gets thrown out at the plate (though I doubt it because Sid Bream was incredibly slow). But let's say he did, that play sends Barry Bonds and the Pirates to the World Series instead of Atlanta. Perhaps Barry Bonds wins a championship and six years later he doesn't feel the need to take PEDs and he becomes the first unanimous Hall of Famer.
Nick Esasky is the nexus of baseball realities.
2019 Notes: There isn't a lot to add to this entry, it's one of my favorite ones that I wrote and started the ball rolling on a different kind of BCB entry, where I use the player as a jumping off point for other things that I wanted to write about.
When I heard that Esasky had vertigo, I was conflicted. On one hand, I felt bad for the guy. The year that he spent in Boston, Esasky seemed like a really good dude and he put up some pretty good numbers. On the other hand, I was pissed that he left the Sox; I mean we traded Todd Benzinger for him! And while I wasn't happy that he got a career-ending illness, I was a bit relieved that didn't happen while he was in Boston. And if I'm being honest, I felt a little twinge of "That's what you get for leaving MY TEAM!"
As a 15-year-old I was a real dick about sports and I actually feel terrible even thinking that back then. Ugh. I was the worst.
Though I will say that when I read about this happening to Esasky, I thought that the Atlanta Braves were a snake-bit organization and nothing good would ever happen to them. Ever. Then the 1990s kicked in, they won like 15 straight division titles and I was proven wrong. Again. I'm shocked I never worked in professional sports. SHOCKED!
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