It was in the 1980s when left-handed-hitting Clint Hurdle cleverly used a cinematic reference to describe his hitting struggles with the New York Mets. Channeling the 1971 Academy Award nominee The Summer of ’42, Hurdle titled his season, The Summer of 43, as in four-to-three, as in a plethora of pull-side grounders to the second baseman—or four-to-three if you’re scoring at home.
The reboot of The Summer of 43 is being produced and directed by Kyle Tucker of the Chicago Cubs, who is going so bad that manager Craig Counsell opted not to play him in either game of a doubleheader against first-place Milwaukee Tuesday. Counsell called it a mental “reset.” That’s a statement of how far Tucker has fallen.
