On May 18, former San Diego Padres RHP Eric Show would have celebrated his 57th birthday. Of course, Show has been gone since 1997 when he died of a drug overdose in a rehabilitation center in California. Show had some very good seasons for the Padres, winning 16 games once and 15 games another two times. With his 100 career wins, he has the most in the history of the San Diego franchise- eight more than Randy Jones and Jake Peavy.
Show had a solid run from 1983-1988, after establishing himself as a starter during the 1982 season. Never a real strikeout pitcher, he pitched over 200 innings in 5 of those 6 seasons. He was mostly considered the Padres number one starter, though he struggled mightily during the 1984 postseason.
Problems existed between Show and his teammates. Throughout his entire Padres career, there was a rift that seemed to exist. Of course, Show is known as the pitcher that gave up Pete Rose's record breaking hit in 1985; number 4192 to pass the great Ty Cobb. Show sat on the mound and before the game was quoted saying he didn't care about Rose and the record. In Show's opinion, he could not understand the length of the celebration of Rose's hit. During the same game, Show would get in a shoving match with OF Carmelo Martinez over a ball that fell in front of Martinez that led to the winning run. Shortstop Garry Templeton called Show's actions "bush" and the pitcher refused to answer questions after the game. This led infielder Tim Flannery to state the following: ""I'm tired of hearing about his unlucky luck, that's been at the root of the problem all year. If something goes wrong, he quits. That's why runs aren't scored for him. Guys don't want to play for him. One guy got tired of hearing it."
Show always gave the impression he was doing a job by pitching in the big leagues. I am sure that rubbed some people the wrong way. Many in the game look and have looked at baseball as a game. Show never seemed to enjoy himself. He later spoke about the game saying something along the lines of you have a choice to think or not and most players cannot think about anything but baseball. Because he did not, Show felt he was considered a loner because of it. It may have been true.
In my opinion, incidents like his hitting Andre Dawson in 1987 and joining the John Birch society are non-issues. Show's personality led him into drugs and eventually his death in 1994. Teammates stated they thought Show was not one to get into drugs and were adamant about him not using drugs during his career in MLB. Sometimes people do not fit in to an environment. Show could have possibly benefitted by pitching for another team than San Diego. By the time he signed as a free agent with Oakland, he was finished. Had he been traded to another team, maybe he could have gotten the change of scenery he needed to get. I do not think it would have stopped his later issues with drugs, though. But I think he could have possibly pitched a little longer and maybe enjoyed the game a little more than he did.
Show had a solid run from 1983-1988, after establishing himself as a starter during the 1982 season. Never a real strikeout pitcher, he pitched over 200 innings in 5 of those 6 seasons. He was mostly considered the Padres number one starter, though he struggled mightily during the 1984 postseason.
Problems existed between Show and his teammates. Throughout his entire Padres career, there was a rift that seemed to exist. Of course, Show is known as the pitcher that gave up Pete Rose's record breaking hit in 1985; number 4192 to pass the great Ty Cobb. Show sat on the mound and before the game was quoted saying he didn't care about Rose and the record. In Show's opinion, he could not understand the length of the celebration of Rose's hit. During the same game, Show would get in a shoving match with OF Carmelo Martinez over a ball that fell in front of Martinez that led to the winning run. Shortstop Garry Templeton called Show's actions "bush" and the pitcher refused to answer questions after the game. This led infielder Tim Flannery to state the following: ""I'm tired of hearing about his unlucky luck, that's been at the root of the problem all year. If something goes wrong, he quits. That's why runs aren't scored for him. Guys don't want to play for him. One guy got tired of hearing it."
Show always gave the impression he was doing a job by pitching in the big leagues. I am sure that rubbed some people the wrong way. Many in the game look and have looked at baseball as a game. Show never seemed to enjoy himself. He later spoke about the game saying something along the lines of you have a choice to think or not and most players cannot think about anything but baseball. Because he did not, Show felt he was considered a loner because of it. It may have been true.
In my opinion, incidents like his hitting Andre Dawson in 1987 and joining the John Birch society are non-issues. Show's personality led him into drugs and eventually his death in 1994. Teammates stated they thought Show was not one to get into drugs and were adamant about him not using drugs during his career in MLB. Sometimes people do not fit in to an environment. Show could have possibly benefitted by pitching for another team than San Diego. By the time he signed as a free agent with Oakland, he was finished. Had he been traded to another team, maybe he could have gotten the change of scenery he needed to get. I do not think it would have stopped his later issues with drugs, though. But I think he could have possibly pitched a little longer and maybe enjoyed the game a little more than he did.
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