I've officially determined that Brett Lawrie is the most exciting Blue Jays rookie I have ever seen (and I've pretty much seen them all).
What clinched it for me? Last night Lawrie hit a sharp grounder that
bounced off of Kevin Youkilis. Youk quickly corralled it, but Lawrie
easily beat the throw for an infield hit. He is without doubt one of the
quickest right-hand batters to first base in the majors.
Then I got to thinking about who Lawrie most reminds me of among past major leaguers, and no one immediately came to mind.
Lawrie has an intensity that would make Reed Johnson blush, so I thought of Pete Rose, but Lawrie is much more athletic than Rose ever was. The next man I though of was Kirk Gibson, circa 1981, but while matching Lawrie's athleticism, Gibson was about 3 years older. Ditto for Larry Walker and his 1991 campaign.
At some point I'll try to run similarity scores, but in the meantime I'd like to hear comparisons Bauxites have for our new star.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20110914084123192