Issue With Bill Hall After His Break-Out '06 Season

[Brew Crew]

The March 22 edition of ESPN Magazine carries the first column from "MLB Player X," whom the magazine does not identify other than saying "Player X is a major league star."

The aim of the column is to provide "a series of unfiltered looks at the lives of professional athletes." The magazine and ESPN Insider have been offering "incognito reports" from NFL, NBA and NASCAR competitors.

The subject of the column from "MLB Player X" is spring training - the writer explains things like why veterans leave the spring training games, including the park, before games are over.

The writer contends spring training isn't much about partying, but goes on to cite evidence to the contrary.

"If you must know, Arizona is where the fun is more than Florida; the cleat chasers are all over the desert," Player X writes.

Then the writer tells a story about Bill Hall, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers.

"I heard a story about Bill Hall when he was with Milwaukee," writes the player. "He was coming off a career year in 2006 when he had 85 RBIs, 35 homers and a new $24 million contract. He showed up to camp pretty loose. He was having fun off the field, too. Word of his partying made the rounds and guys predicted he was due for a slump. Sure enough, his RBI total dropped to 63, he hit only 14 homers the next season and he was a disaster in the field. It started in spring and he never recovered."

Interesting. Did he think his job was done once he got his contract?

[long ball]

I doubt it had to do with his partying. I think the team out drinking on saturday nights may have been an issue in their struggles during Sunday day games though.

My brother used to bar tend downtown and he said he would run into DeFelice, Parra, and Braun out on the town quite often last season.

[Stay_Swim]

5 times I've seen Ryan Braun downtown Milly on Saturday nights.

[crewfan13]

These guys are baseball players, there's really nothing wrong with going out and maybe not feeling 100% the next day. I doubt they are drinking themselves into oblivion to the point where they are super hung over for day games, but its still baseball. Heck David Wells claims his perfect game was when he was hungover.

I doubt Bill Hall's lack of success had a ton to do with partying. Maybe it did alittle, but I think it was more of a direct result of him having holes in his swing that an offseason full of scouting allowed teams to find.

[cooters22]

Bill Halls situation is an easy one:steroids, once they started testing he couldn't take anymore and he just starting swinging harder and harder, not going for average at all anymore. A buddy of mine showed up early to watch bp one day and said all Bill Hall did was swing his hardest everytime to jack them over the fence, no other swing. Then he hit five straight over and he smiled. Thats when my buddy yelled hey Billy work on your average and his smile quickly went to a frown, true story. His swing totally changed from that season. Go back at look at footage. Bill Hall was not a longballer and was a mediocore minor league player, then something changed. You tell me. Once he starting hitting homers, he got a new contract and hitting homers is ALL he cared about. My inner circles, buddies that I sit around and drink beers with all agree on this one. The sad thing is is that his glove would have kept him in the game for a long time.