A Titan Among Gods: "Bye Bye" Balboni

It is time to pay homage to a man long forgotten in the baseball world. A man whose very face, whose very essence, whose very intimidating mustache screamed manliness and sexuality. That man is Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni.

Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni looking fierce yet sensual as always.

Born on the mean streets of Brockton Massachusetts, Balboni became a Kansas City Royals icon when in 1985, also the year of my birth, no coincidence there, he led the Royals to a Wold Series championship while setting their single season home run record (36). But more than his towering home runs and his gargantuan strikeouts made this man among men a titan among gods.  He not only belted the baseball he hacked down the notion of what it means to be a baseball player and replaced it with a new era of understanding.

Though only a lifetime .229 hitter, Balboni played the game like a man who may have recently been sitting in the stands ... he had that much passion. Sure, he wasn't rippling with muscle like the 'roid raging miracles of modern science we see on the field today. No, he played with the physique of a lumberjack, swinging the bat like the ball owed him money. Not overly quick at 6'3" 225 pounds, or 260 on a day you chose not to believe the program, he ran like he was mad at the ground and earned every inch of his one career stolen base, also in 1985.

The nickname "Bye Bye" of course refers to his prodigious power at the plate, but few know that it also became his most common catch phrase, as he departed five ball clubs in 11 seasons. This lion of the lumber, this samurai of the stolen base could not be kept in one place long; he needed the open road. He needed a place to spread his message of hope to all those who sit at home, watch baseball, and think "Man, I could swing better than that guy." Maybe you can.

Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni could ... under the right circumstances ... in the right season ... with the right mustache.

Fun Fact: According to an unreliable source, my brother Rich, Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni was the inspiration for the N'Sync hit "Bye Bye Bye"