12 Great Athletes with One Huge Achilles' Heel
Even great athletes have weaknesses. Jon Lester has had some trouble with the pickoff move, and Wilt Chamberlain struggled with free throws throughout his career.
Here are 12 athletes who are generally thought to have that one major Achilles' heel. Some of these weaknesses are more detrimental to the possessor than others, but they’re all proof that no one is perfect.
Barry Bonds
1 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Throwing arm
Barry Bonds’ reputation has certainly suffered due to his prominence in baseball's steroids era. However, he was still a dominating player, one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen. Bonds was also a skilled defensive outfielder, winning eight Gold Gloves in the 1990s.
The one thing Bonds always lacked, keeping him from the coveted "five-tool player" label, was a rocket throwing arm.
Tiger Woods
2 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Par-70 courses
Tiger Woods has won 14 majors. He’s easily one of the greatest golfers of all time. However, even GOATs have their weaknesses.
Aside from nagging injury issues, Woods might have a small Achilles' heel in the way of par-70 layouts. Only two of Woods’ major championships have come on par-70 formats. These have two fewer par-five holes than par-72 formats, which has generally made Woods’ driving power less overwhelming.
In 2011, Jeff Rude of Golfweek reported that golfer Tom Watson said, “It’s an easy deduction. When there are eight fewer par-fives he can dominate, it makes it tougher for Tiger to win.”
Mike Piazza
3 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Catching base stealers
Mike Piazza was a classic offensive catcher. In fact, many call him the best offensive catcher in the history of baseball.
That said, he also had a reputation for some defensive shortcomings. According to FanGraphs, Piazza caught 423 runners stealing over the course of his career, but 1,400 successfully stole against him. That means he only caught 23.2 percent. The league average in 2014 among qualified catchers was 27.6, according to ESPN.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Steve Nash
4 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Defense
Steve Nash, a two-time NBA MVP, just retired. While maybe not the very best NBA point guard of all time, he will undoubtedly be a part of that conversation for years to come.
Still, many considered Nash to be subpar defensively throughout his career, lacking the speed and strength to effectively slow down ball-handlers. In January 2013, ESPN reported that according to Synergy, opposing players were making 51 percent of their shots on pick-and-rolls Nash defended. That put him in the bottom 12 percent of the league.
Deion Sanders
5 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Tackling
Deion Sanders was a two-sport pro, and he’s an NFL Hall of Famer. In football, Sanders played a little offense and special teams, but it was his defensive position that pointed out an Achilles' heel.
Despite an epic ability to cover receivers and his status as one of the best corners ever, Sanders was widely regarded as, well, a soft tackler. A great corner? Yes. A punishing menace against the run? Not so much.
Jon Lester
6 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Pickoff throws
Jon Lester was the crown jewel of the Chicago Cubs' offseason, but as it turns out, no one is perfect. Even before he landed in Chicago, there was chatter about Lester’s infrequent throws to first base and what that might mean. According to FanGraphs, Lester didn’t attempt a single pickoff in 2014, and the numbers were minuscule in 2013 and 2012, at seven and five, respectively.
The Cubs ace finally attempted his first pickoff throw since 2013 in a recent game against the Cincinnati Reds, and it went over the first baseman’s head and into the outfield. It's hard to say for sure, but it definitely looks like Lester might have just one major flaw.
Peyton Manning
7 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Cold weather
Peyton Manning is one of the all-time great quarterbacks, but he’s also gained a reputation for having difficulty in cold weather. That could have something to do with his 14 seasons in Indianapolis, playing under either a dome or a retractable roof.
Just before Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, PolitiFact published an analysis of Manning’s cold-weather numbers, conducted by Steve Contorno using stats from Pro-Football-Reference. At that time, Manning had a 97.2 percent passer rating in outdoor games when temperatures were 50 degrees or warmer. At under 50 degrees, the rate dropped to 89 percent. And while none of the differences were astronomical, Manning also posted higher numbers in yards, completions and touchdowns in warmer games.
A small sample size makes it tough to say for sure if cold weather actually affects Manning, but the sentiment is common enough.
Chris Davis
8 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Strikeouts
Chris Davis led MLB with 53 home runs and 138 RBI in 2013. He also struck out 199 times, second in the bigs only to Chris Carter of the Houston Astros. In 2014, he only played in 127 games—due in part to a 25-game suspension for a positive Adderall test—and he still managed to strike out 173 times.
According to Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore, Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter recently expressed concern as the problem persists in 2015. “I’m not from the ilk that an out is an out,” said Showalter.
Andy Murray
9 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Clay courts
Clay is a tough spot for several notable tennis players, given its effect on ball movement and pace. However, Andy Murray has particularly struggled with the surface over the years. He has a career ATP win-loss index of .630 on clay courts, lower than Roger Federer’s .762 and far lower than clay master Rafael Nadal’s index of .929.
In 2014, Murray talked about the clay surface at the French Open, as ESPN reported: “I feel like I can play good clay-court tennis, [but] to win this event, you need to play great clay-court tennis. That's something I haven't done yet.”
Mark Teixeira
10 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Defensive shifts
Defensive shifts are impacting baseball to the point where MLB commissioner Rob Manfred recently told ESPN’s Karl Ravech (h/t CBS Sports) he would be “open to” the idea of eliminating them.
This talk is nothing new for New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, a pull hitter from the left whom the shift has greatly impacted. According to Erik Boland of Newsday, the switch-hitter recently said:
"Every time I try to slap the ball the other way, it just doesn't go well for anybody. And that's what the other team wants. They want to take the middle-of-the-order power hitter and turn him into a slap hitter. So if I can hit more home runs, more doubles, walk more, that takes care of the shift.
"
That might be easier said than done.
Shaquille O'Neal
11 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Free throws
Shaquille O’Neal was a great NBA center, absolutely dominant in the low post. Unfortunately for him, there was one major flaw that continually plagued him. O’Neal attempted over 11,000 free throws in his 19-year NBA career, and he made just under 53 percent of them. He and Wilt Chamberlain are the only two players in NBA history to miss over 5,000 free throws.
O’Neal’s imposing presence down low, combined with his woes at the free-throw line, served as the basis for the infamous “Hack-a-Shaq” defensive strategy.
Wilt Chamberlain
12 of 12
Achilles' Heel: Free Throws
Before there was Shaq, there was Wilt. Wilt Chamberlain was an NBA legend, the man who scored 100 points in one game. One of the best ever. Like other big men, however, he had trouble at the free-throw line. He shot 51 percent for his career, and he too suffered from the hacking defensive strategy.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
