And it was Mario Lemieux's ability to kill penalties, as well as score goals, that made him one the of the greatest hockey players ever.
Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.
That's why former Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski is held in such high esteem in western Pennsylvania. Yes, he hit the most important home run in the team's history, but those who watched Mazeroski play talk as much about what he did with his glove as what he did in that one at bat in the fall of 1960. He was perhaps the greatest defensive second baseman ever. With soft, sure hands, he could turn what looked like a ground-ball single into an out, and no magician had faster hands than Maz when he turned a double play. Many baseball fans believe he should be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and perhaps that will one day happen.