Mike Sharperson's death seemed to mean really nothing to the American baseball world, when really he should have been mourned just like others as Tim Crews, Steve Olin, and Thurman Munson was.
Sharperson was a great player for the Los Angeles Dodgers for years and was a true "jack of all trades" in many cases. He never complained of playing time, and knew his purpose on the ballclub he was on. He reminds me a lot of today in ballplayer Placido Polanco. Although Polanco has earned a spot as a regular now for the St. Louis Cardinals, hitting tremendous, before this year he was a defensive specialist that produced hits off the bench and knew his role and always helped the team with spark and enthusiasm. This reminded me a lot of Sharperson.
In much of his career I was only a little kid, but I remember collecting a bunch of baseball cards of him through various packs, and seeing him play on TV for the Dodgers in the great Dodger teams in 1985 and 1988. He was a key player for them and he was known as a good leader and spirit in the dugout. I am a Cardinal fan myself, but I realize how good this player was, and it is hard to believe that today people don't remember him or his tragic death. The death was that much more devastating in that he was about to be called from Triple-A ball to the San Diego Padres to continue his MLB career. This tragedy was never talked about much then, and it frustrates me that such a good, solid, well-thought of player was never given the kind of respect he deserves.
» This is Aaron Thompson's first short-essay article. He was born in 1982.
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Copyright © 2001 by Aaron Thompson. Posted June 28, 2001.
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