In honor of Tom Glavine

While I was away for the weekend, Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron’s home run record, and Tom Glavine won his 300th game. In honor of these accomplishments, it seems appropriate to resurrect the this Nike commercial from a decade ago, featuring Glavine, Greg Maddux, Heather Locklear, and a somewhat tarnished slugger: Seen in retrospect, the ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

While I was away for the weekend, Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's home run record, and Tom Glavine won his 300th game. In honor of these accomplishments, it seems appropriate to resurrect the this Nike commercial from a decade ago, featuring Glavine, Greg Maddux, Heather Locklear, and a somewhat tarnished slugger: Seen in retrospect, the commercial is ironic for two reasons. First, does anyone doubt that Glavine (and Maddux) will be held in higher esteem from here on out? Second, as Jack Wilkinson wrote in this SI.com story, Glavine was actually quite accomplished at the plate -- just not in the same way as Bonds: "Tommy goes beyond pitching, though," said [Atlanta Bravers manager Bobby] Cox. "He's always been the best bunter. You can squeeze [bunt] with him with two strikes, which we did dozens of times. And he's a great fielder and an all-around guy. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, too."

While I was away for the weekend, Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron’s home run record, and Tom Glavine won his 300th game. In honor of these accomplishments, it seems appropriate to resurrect the this Nike commercial from a decade ago, featuring Glavine, Greg Maddux, Heather Locklear, and a somewhat tarnished slugger:

Seen in retrospect, the commercial is ironic for two reasons. First, does anyone doubt that Glavine (and Maddux) will be held in higher esteem from here on out? Second, as Jack Wilkinson wrote in this SI.com story, Glavine was actually quite accomplished at the plate — just not in the same way as Bonds:

“Tommy goes beyond pitching, though,” said [Atlanta Bravers manager Bobby] Cox. “He’s always been the best bunter. You can squeeze [bunt] with him with two strikes, which we did dozens of times. And he’s a great fielder and an all-around guy. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, too.”

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

Tag: Sports

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