Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Okay Boomer

A month or two ago, I heard the phrase "okay Boomer" on local radio and started asking my students if they used it.  A lot of them replied "yes".  From what I've heard, this saying seems to be a dig at baby boomers by millennials after being the butt of jokes and complaints over the years.

However after surveying my students, the vast majority said they don't really use it against their parents, grandparents, teachers, and other adults in their life.  They tend to use it against each other when their friends say something overly critical or mature.

I can totally see where some people are offended by the saying.  That being said, I can see where millennials and Gen Z'ers are tired of being harassed and are standing up for themselves.  As a Gen X'er... I find it sort of humorous and will leave it at that.

Downshifting a little, I thought it would be cool to show some love for MLB baby boomers.  Obviously the list could be obnoxiously long, so I've narrowed things down to the thirty-five players born from 1946 to 1964 (baby boomer range according to Wikipedia) who have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame based on their careers as a player.

I spent almost two hours sifting through my vintage and 80's binders finding and scanning cards, so grab your popcorn, sit back, and enjoy...

Catfish Hunter (April 8, 1946)

Reggie Jackson (May 18, 1946)
Dave Winfield (October 3, 1951)

Rich Gossage (July 5, 1951)
Rollie Fingers (August 25, 1946)

Nolan Ryan (January 31, 1947)

Johnny Bench (December 7, 1947)
Carlton Fisk (December 26, 1947)

Ted Simmons (August 9, 1949)

Mike Schmidt (September 27, 1949)
Eddie Murray (February 24, 1956)

Bert Blyleven (April 6, 1951)

Bruce Sutter (January 8, 1953)

Jim Rice (March 8, 1953)

George Brett (May 15, 1953)

Gary Carter (April 8, 1954)

Andre Dawson (July 10, 1954)

Dennis Eckersley (October 3, 1954)

Ozzie Smith (December 26, 1954)

Jack Morris (May 16, 1955)

Robin Yount (September 16, 1955)

Paul Molitor (August 22, 1956)

Lee Smith (December 4, 1957)

Alan Trammell (February 21, 1958)

Wade Boggs (June 15, 1958)

Rickey Henderson (December 25, 1958)
Tim Raines (September 16, 1959)

Harold Baines (March 15, 1959)

Ryne Sandberg (September 18, 1959)

Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960)

Tony Gwynn (May 9, 1960)

Cal Ripken Jr. (August 24, 1960)

Edgar Martinez (January 2, 1963)

Randy Johnson (September 10, 1963)

Barry Larkin (April 28, 1964)  Youngest

Out of the thirty-five players, Catfish Hunter was the first boomer born on this list.  Sadly he passed away in 1999Gary Carter, Kirby Puckett, and Tony Gwynn are the three other players who were taken from us (baseball fans) and their families way too early.

Reggie Jackson is the oldest living boomer enshrined in Cooperstown, while Barry Larkin is currently the youngestBarry Bonds is three months younger than Larkin, so he'll probably capture the title eventually.

As for guys like Derek Jeter, Curt Schilling, and Larry Walker who look like they'll be part of the Cooperstown Class of 2020... they are all Generation X'ers like myself.  But that's according to Wikipedia.  There are some blurry lines when establishing the age ranges for these generational labels.

Okay it's your turn to chime in...

Do you have a favorite baseball boomer?  Favorite baby boomer in general?

I'm actually thinking about ranking my Top 5 baby boomers one day.  I'd narrow it down to only athletes, but open it up to all sports.  Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

19 comments:

Peter K Steinberg said...

What a group of cards and players. Wow. My favorite on your list is Sandberg. But I guess Darryl Strawberry (b. 1962) would be my favorite boomer ball player.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Nah, no particular favorite. But from another G-Xer, I love the busting on them too. I catch myself all of the time saying damn millennials. I also find it interesting how 20 years ago what is today a millennial was not a millenia then. My kids and I were all Gen X, but not since "they" redid it. I personally think the generation naming thing was better before the "redo" as all of the other generations are based on when the person was born, not what the grew up with, therefore you would have had to be born in the new millennia to be one. I liked that better. Just makes more sense.

night owl said...

Every single on of my most favorite players are baby boomers, including THE boomer, George Scott. They were playing when I first started following baseball and collecting.

Generation bating/rivalries, etc., is one of the stupidest things I've heard of in a long time.

Sean said...

Don Mattingly!

(honorable mention to every boomer who played for the Montreal Expos)

acrackedbat said...

1964 was a a very good year, I'll leave it at that. ;) Sandberg is my Boomer from your list. Great post Fuji! Boomer is in my blood. After all, I AM a SOONER!!!

Nick Vossbrink said...

Oh good someone mentioned George Scott so I can say my favorite is the Trenton Mascot.

Matt said...

I've yet to hear my daughter say "OK Boomer" in any other context than having a laugh with her friends. I find it humorous too - it's only natural for younger generations to rebel against the older ones. (Don't trust anyone over 30!). Apparently we Gen-Xers are referred to as "Karens"!

friend11 said...

Kevin Costner, born same day as myself, do his three baseball movies count. Which movie was your favorite. Bull Durham Field of Dreams Love of the Game

Brett Alan said...

My favorite boomer player is George Brett. Maybe my favorite player, period.

I want to joke and say my favorite Boomer is Sharon Valerii. I really hope they work in a reference to this about Katherine on A Million Little Things. (Both characters are played by Grace Park, you see.) But I don't know who else to say...my parents were born a little too early to be boomers and I'm a little too young, and my brother and my wife are younger than I.

SumoMenkoMan said...

Wow, great rundown of Boomers. My kids use the term all the time. Ha!

The Lost Collector said...

By the time I heard about “ok boomer” I realized it was already not cool and the kids were on to something new.

gcrl said...

Steve Garvey is my favorite boomer ballplayer, although like NO, most of my favorites from growing up were boomers.

Fuji said...

peter k. steinberg - wish i had the time to stan all of my favorite non-hof baby boomers, but that would have taken a few more hours. if i had... there's a good chance strawberry makes the post

johnnys trading spot - i have co-workers who are millennials who agree with their stereotype, but feel they associate more as gen x'ers.

night owl - most of my favorite athletes are either baby boomers or gen x'ers. as for the generation rivalries, i honestly didn't realize there was one until hearing of this saying. i mean, i know people would tease millennials and younger generations, but i just figured every generation would tell future generations "they don't make them like they used to".

sean - i'm sure mattingly would top a lot of collectors lists. he was so big in the 80's and early 90's.

acrackedbat - i think you're a month off. i heard things were rocking in late december back in '63. you'd get along with my siblings, they're all boomers :)

nick vossbrink - if it's true that boomer was born in 1980... he's technically a gen x'er... borderline a millennial ;)

matt - karens? i like it. i'll have to listen for my students using that one on me

friend11 - i don't think i saw love of the game. i'll have to check it out

brett alan - i was gonna post my sharon valerii card in this post, but she's a gen x'er. but she's definitely my favorite boomer

sumomenkoman - are they using the saying against you? lol

the lost collector - yeah... the kids have definitely cut back on saying it and i only learned about it back in late november or early december

gcrl - most of my favorite athletes are boomers too

Chris said...

Interesting topic, and great cards. My favorite "boomer" ballplayer would be Robin Yount but there are a lot of great players on your list.

The Snorting Bull said...

Ozzie Smith is my favorite "Boomer". Same great names to choose from though.

K said...

Rickey has to be my favorite Boomer, great idea for a post!

SumoMenkoMan said...

Against me unfortunately. Ha, all in good fun though.

Matt said...

Always so odd seeing Randy in a Expos uniform. He is and always will be a Mariner

Fuji said...

chris - yount doesn't get the recognition on this blog that he deserves. i probably need to remedy that. the guy was a brewer lifer. gotta respect staying loyal to one team

the snorting bull - if i created a top 10 list of favorite boomers, ozzie would be on it

k - can't argue with that. grew up rooting for rickey. he'd be #2 for me behind gwynn

sport card collectors - i agree... i think of him as a mariner more than any other team. although he probably had his best years with the diamondbacks. personally... i enjoy seeing him as an expo on cards