Pittsburgh has, through the years, been blessed to host more than its fair share of athletes who were supremely talented. It’s also been saddled with many who were ... not. And yet, sometimes those in the latter group managed to entertain us anyway.
Inspired by a Deadspin post Monday titled “What bad player did you inexplicably love as a kid?,” below are this reporter’s picks for each of the three local pro teams. Who are yours? Let us know via email at sports@post-gazette.com, in the comments, on our Post-Gazette Sports Facebook page or on Twitter, @PGSportsnow. We’ll compile some of our favorites.
Penguins: Rico Fata — The post-Jaromir Jagr, pre-Sidney Crosby Penguins were a mess of mostly unremarkable dudes. Fata’s production fits that trend — he scored just 21 goals in 120 games with the Penguins from 2002 to 2006. But he was fast as hell! And on some of the worst Penguins teams ever, that trait stuck out, inspiring all kinds of false hope that he, one day, would help guide the “X-Generation” Penguins to the promised land of an eighth seed in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Pirates: Lastings Milledge — Once an uber outfield prospect for the New York Mets, Milledge came to the Pirates in the same trade that netted future closer Joel Hanrahan from Washington in 2009. He did not produce nearly as much, to put it kindly. In 171 games with the Pirates, Milledge hit just eight homers and posted a sickly .718 OPS. But what he lacked in numbers he more than made up for in swag. He had a slew of cool nicknames — L-Millz, Thrilledge, and just plain ’edge — rocked some pretty rad dreads and played at-times brilliant defense.
Like most late Streak Era Pirates, he was bad. But at least he was bad with some style.
Steelers: Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala — “Fu” was not a bad player, per se. He averaged a productive 4.2 yards per carry and scored 10 touchdowns in parts of five seasons with the Steelers. But he did enjoy cult hero status that far exceeded what you’d expect for a backup running back who rushed for just 964 yards in his NFL career, and that’s because he combined his gigantic Hawaiian last name with a powerful running style that was fun to watch on some bad Steelers teams in the late 1990s and early aughts. Oh, and we can’t forget this touchdown that capped a historic comeback against the Browns in the 2002 playoffs.
Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter, @fugimaster24.
First Published: August 29, 2017, 3:38 p.m.