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David Eckstein Reads Mean Blog Posts About Himself (Video)

By Ed Carroll

Apr 25, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinal former player David Eckstein throws out the first pitch prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinal former player David Eckstein throws out the first pitch prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former MLB infielder David Eckstein is well-aware of the nasty things people say about his heart and hustle in blogs, and he’s willing to read them out loud, and then make jokes afterwards.

Remember David Eckstein? The 5-foot-7, 144 lbs former MLB infielder won the hearts of many fans and sportswriters during his 10-year playing career as a key contributor on two World Series-winning teams in the 2002 Los Angeles Angels and the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, as the gritty shortstop was outperforming taller opponents, playing solid defense and generally being a gnat of annoyance to other MLB teams for part of his career.

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Eckstein was one of the first “battleground players” for the advanced metrics versus traditionalists debate in baseball evaluation, as advanced statistics showed Eckstein as a player who only twice (2002 and 2005) produced at the plate and was actually somewhat inconsistent on defense. Traditionalists scoffed at the stat nerds bashing a guy who clearly just loved to play the game and hustle up and down the baseline. It was really adorable, in retrospect.

Eckstein, with the help of MLB Fan Cave, recently made a video reading out loud some of the posts that have criticized the love affair some baseball writers have had with him, along with some mean-spirited comments regarding his height. Eckstein, to his credit, is incredibly charming in the video, showing no real bitterness over the words and instead cracking jokes after:

It was a gritty way to make a joke, but Eckstein grinded and got it done.

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