three hundred and sixty days ago, Matt Cain joined the ranks of Catfish Hunter, Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, David Wells, and... Philip Humber. The Perfect Game. Watching the 9th inning on the MLB.com archives still makes me pumped, and I'm not even a huge fan of the giants. He now rests on laurels along with Roy Halladay, Felix Hernandez, and... Dallas Braden. How is it that some no-name who played for Oakland had one solid year, couldn't get a single winning season, and ultimately now has a worse chance of re-entering the MLB than Roger Clemens could have such a timeless achievement? In the words of the Arctic Monkeys, Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden went from ritz to rubble in a few years.
Let's look at another Oakland Oddity, but instead of a no-hit wonder, he had a one-hit wonder. However, he had the same long-standing memory: U Can't Touch This. Bay Area baby MC Hammer is a household name and a bad memory of old MTV. He went broke, acted like an idiot, and yet we still laugh at his parachute pants and call him pop genius. At the same time, we deem Michael Jackson immortal music royalty, Run DMC rap pioneers, and revere The Beastie Boys for their daring antics. Try naming three songs by MC Hammer. Impossible. Try naming five songs from any of the other music hall of famers. Easy.
So why do flashes in the pan like MC Hammer and Dallas Braden still so well thought of, even though they didn't have it in them to last for three years in their business? Simple. Good timing and Good Luck. These two Oakland kids reminded that every person has a chance to be as great as Cy Young or the Beastie Boys. MC Hammer and Dallas Braden lived the modernized American Dream: obtaining glory while not really deserving it. Let's all follow these men's example.
Bonus Piece, here's a great song and music video by the Brooklyn Jews
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