Walt “Three Blind” Weiss has to be one of the most underrated nicknames in all of sports. It was never really widely used and few people outside of Oakland will be familiar with it. In many ways, it’s sort of an embodiment of Walt Weiss the baseball player. If you didn’t know he existed, you probably wouldn’t care, but he gave hope and joy to those aware of him.
If you look at Weiss’ stats, you’d think he sucked. He never hit more than eight home runs or 48 RBIs in a season and was a career .258 hitter. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t come during the height of the steroid era. Oh, and Weiss spent three seasons playing for the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in the mid-1990s where broken bat bloopers had a chance of leaving the park.
You might think he was a defensive wiz like Omar Vizquel since he couldn’t do diddly with a bat. That would be incorrect. He never won a Gold Glove and was by all metrics an average fielder. And yet, much like the Walt “Three Blind” Weiss nickname, he grew on you. If you were a Little Leaguer and saw him play, it inspired hope. Anyone had a chance to be a pro if this dude could make it.
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Walt “Three Blind” Weiss wins Rookie of the Year
The Oakland A’s were a powerhouse in the late 1980s. José Canseco won American League Rookie of the Year 1986 with Mark McGwire following suit in 1987. Of course, the Bash Brothers were only half the story. These Athletics were deep with Ricky Henderson and the underrated Dave Henderson in the lineup as well. There was also…errrrr…Terry Steinbach.
Dave Parker, Bob Welch and Storm Davis helped form an incredible pitching rotation. Dennis Eckersley shut the door in the ninth inning. The A’s were amazing during this time advancing to the World Series three years in a row.
Walt “Three Blind” Weiss was here too. He would actually be the third consecutive A’s player to win AL Rookie of the Year in 1988 following in the footsteps of McGwire and Canseco. Wait, he was the best rookie, that must mean Weiss was good? Nope. There was literally no one else deserving of the award that season. I mean look at this voting:
Unless you are Jody Reed’s mom or a die-hard fan of mediocre closers, this is just a terrible collection of candidates. The only reason Weiss won Rookie of the Year is because they had to give out the award. But hey, if he could do it, that meant it could be me one day.
The greatest play of Walt Weiss’ career
The greatest play of Walt Weiss’ career is actually Ricky Henderson’s 2,000 career hit. That probably sounds confusing, so let’s just go to the tape.
Rickey Henderson lines one to right field as he collects his 2,000th hit while Walt Weiss scores at a play at the plate! #RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/Kh0Er673oe
— Amazin’ A’s Craze (@AmazinAsCraze) July 3, 2020
This is awesome on so many levels. Let’s start with the most obvious. Ricky Henderson, a player who loved attention and himself, gets upstaged by the unassuming Weiss who pulls off a ridiculous play at the plate. He manages to bowl over the catcher and tag home. It’s incredible apart from the fact it totally steals the moment away from Ricky.
Look at Henderson begrudgingly clap for Weiss. He’s pissed. The A’s players in the dugout seem sort of confused. Weiss has made the moment about him and he probably didn’t even realize it. Best of all is Weiss’ awkward run. He’s all hips and arms. It’s like the direct opposite of the smooth and sleek strikes Ricky was known for. Finally, you have to love Weiss for rocking the hat under his helmet.
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The unwitting All-Star
In 1998, Walt “Three Blind” Weiss made the All-Star team for the first and only time of his career. Wait, he was an All-Star? That must mean he’s good. Not so fast.
Weiss was in his first season playing for the Atlanta Braves and was 34-years old in 1998. He was playing regularly but also split duties at shortstop with a diminished Ozzie Gullien. Statistically, there was no reason for Weiss to be an All-Star. Of course, MLB All-Star starters are voted on by the fans who don’t always care about on-field performance.
Earlier that year, Weiss’ three-year old son got E. Coli during a trip to an Atlanta water amusement park. The ordeal was pretty bad, and the virus caused his son’s kidneys to shut down. The sympathy vote was strong. Weiss eventually found himself at the 1998 All-Star as a starter despite having one of his worst seasons as a professional.
I want to be like Weiss
The Walt “Three Blind” Weiss nickname is as campy and unassuming as the player himself. It embodies everything Weiss was. You don’t know why or how it happened, but it’s there and it’s great.
As I mentioned, watching Weiss as a Little Leaguer gave me hope that anyone could make it even if they didn’t possess a ton of talent or ability. As long as you kept playing, you just may end up a Major Leaguer, Rookie of the Year or an All-Star just like Walt “Three Blind” Weiss.
