The Unconsidered Hero

Pat Dodson

2008-03-06T21:28:00.006-07:00

Pat Dodson, 1987 Topps

Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Debut: 9/5/86
Final Game: 6/22/88

Career Line: .202/.314/.424

I have sometimes wondered what qualifies a player to earn a title on thier baseball card. Sometimes it is obvious, like Andy Benes was a #1 draft pick, so that's an easy one. But what about the ambiguous "future stars" title?

Pat Dodson came up through the Red Sox organization. He was a solid Minor League player. But in 3 "seasons" at the major league level he only had 99 career at bats in which he hit .202/.314/.424. However, those career stats are a little inflated thanks to a 12 at bat debut where he had 5 hits, 3 for extra bases, including 1 home run.

Was it that 12 at bat, 9 game stretch during the fall of '86 that earned him the future stars status? His OPS+ for those 9 games was 265.

Dodson played sparingly for 3 seasons. He was granted free agency in 1988, and never played an MLB game again. He appeared in just 52 games. At the Minor league level he hit a lot of home runs and he walked a lot. He didn't have a great average, but he was a typical 1980s power hitter--low average, big power. Once in the Big Show he struck out a lot. 33 times in 99 at bats.

On a somewhat positive note, he finished his career with no errors in the field, and never grounded into a double play. I suppose that is some saving grace to a 99 at bat career?

Andy Benes

2008-03-04T19:35:00.004-07:00

Andy Benes, 1989 Topps

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 8/11/89
Final Game: 9/29/02

Career Line: 155-139 3.97

Andy Benes was the number one pick in the 1988 amateur draft. His junior year in college he was 16-3. He struck out 188 batters in 146 innings and walked only 36. He pitched 13 complete games, 8 of which were shutouts. He was the Baseball America college pitcher of the year.

He made his debut in 1989 for the Padres, and spent 5 years pitching in San Diego. His best years were in St. Louis in the late 90s, where he pitched for a winning team. But despite pitching for bad Padres teams, he still posted resectable WHIP's and K/9 ratios. He was above average in K/9 throughout his 14 year career. In 1995 he averaged just over 1K per inning, finishing the campaign with a 9.56 K/9. In 1994 he led the NL in Strikeouts with 189.

His career ERA+ was 104. Baseball Reference lists some of his comparables as: Kevin Appier, Ron Darling, Darryl Kile and Al Leiter.

He pitched his final game in 2002 at age 34.

Brook Fordyce

2008-03-03T19:34:00.005-07:00

Brook Fordyce, 1991 Upper Deck

Debut: 4/26/95
Final Game: 10/2/04

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Career Line: .258/.309/.388

It is spring training time, and for many young prospects it marks a chance to win a spot on the big club. I thought I'd take a look at some prospects of the past, and how they did in the Major Leagues.

Baseball cards are notorious for labeling players. Especially young prospects. "Future Star", "Top Prospect", "Rated Rookie", "#1 Draft Pick" and other labels are often plastered on the front of these player cards. As if expectations are not already high enough for these players, card companies raise the bar by telling all of us with the use of fancy graphics, that "hey you better hold onto this card, because this kid is going to do great things!" It is great marketing. And in hindsight, these sort of cards are some of my favorites. Because the fact is, most of these so labeled players are lucky if they live up to the hype. Many fade away, and still some have legitimate careers. I love finding old prospect cards, and taking a closer look at the careers these players had.

I came across this card of Brook Fordyce. I remembered the name, but nothing of his career. A little research revealed why. His promising career never really happened. He bounced around the league, scoring multi-year contracts and promises of a starting job, but never really caught on. He was hampered by injuries, he didn't hit for power, he didn't walk much, but didn't strike out much either. He had 148 career extra base hits. His career OPS+ was 82.

He said, after signing a 3 year deal with Baltimore in 2001:

“I love the game, I have a lot of enthusiasm. I play the game hard. I come to play every day. That’s the way the game should be played. As long as you’re in the field, you don’t want to embarrass yourself. You should want to play hard. Hustle is part of the game.”

That's the same quote we hear a lot from mediocre players. Talk of hustle, hard work, playing the game "right". The fact is however, Fordyce just wasn't all that good. His best season was 2000, the year he split between the White Sox and Orioles. He hit .301/.341/.507 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI--all career highs.

He hung on for one more year with Tampa Bay after that 3 year deal expired in 2003, but it was his last in baseball. By age 34 he was done.

Chuck Knoblauch

2007-11-06T16:30:00.003-07:00

Chuck Knoblauch, 1991 Leaf RC

Debut: 4/9/91
Final Game: 9/27/02

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Career Line: .289/.378/.406

Chuck Knoblauch was the 1991 Rookie of the Year, after being the 25th pick in the June 1989 amateur draft. From there he became a genuine Major League star. Through the mid-nineties he hit for average, got walked a lot, and stole bases. His best statistical year came in 1996 when he posted a .341/.448/.517 line. He finished in the top 10 at least twice in hits, runs, on base %, doubles, BB's, SB's, and triples throughout his career. He also played on 4 World Series winning teams ('91 Twins, 00-02 Yankees).

And then he hit Keith Olbermann's mom in the face with a baseball.

Sadly, Knoblauch's career is probably remembered more for his odd throwing woes, than his stellar job as a lead off hitter. But during the 90's he was one of the better second basemen in the league, and one of the hardest outs in baseball.

Willie McGee

2007-10-24T10:27:00.002-06:00

Willie McGee, 1989 Topps Big

Debut: 5/10/82
Final Game: 10/3/99

Bats: Both
Throws: Right
Career Line: .295/.333/.396

This is a great card of Willie McGee, even if his left arm is missing. It perfectly highlights the famous pained facial expression that McGee seemed to wear through his entire career. Every aspect of his game, weather it was walking to the plate to bat, or roaming the outfield for the Cards, he made look painful. But he was a good ballplayer. He played on some very good Cardinals teams during his career, and was the 1985 National League MVP, when he posted a .353/.384/.503 line along with 26 2B's, 18 3B's and 56 stolen bases. He finished his 18 year career in 1999 with 2,254 hits.

Dave Parker

2007-10-23T09:40:00.000-06:00

Dave Parker, 1987 Topps

Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Career Line: .290/.339/.471

The 1987 Topps set is one of my all-time favorites. I love the "wood paneling" border. It reflects the style of the times, also seen on station wagons and rambler housing.

Dave Parker is a classic '80s player. Big beards, thin stirrups, tight pants. In the early part of his career, he won a World Series title with the '79 Pirates. Toward the end of his career he won again with the '89 A's. I found it interesting that he played with both Willie Stargell, and Mark McGuire. Two of the greatest hitters of their respective era's. Parker was a fine hitter himself. He finished in the top 5 of the MVP voting 5 times in his career, winning the award in 1978 with a .334/.394/.585 line, along with 30 HR's and 117 RBI's 32 2B's and 20 SB's.

His career numbers are close enough to be considered for the Hall of Fame. But will today's inflated power numbers keep Dave Parker out? He finished his career with 339 home runs, 2, 712 hits and a career OPS+ of 121 and OPS of .810.

Bill Buckner

2007-10-22T08:54:00.000-06:00

Bill Buckner, 1987 Sportflics

Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Career Line: .289/.321/.408

This is one of those cards that when you change the angle you are looking at it, the picture changes. It doesn't scan too well. The cruel thing about this card is that it shows Bill Buckner in two poses, one in the follow through of his swing, and the other, at first base about to field a harmless grounder. Perhaps the picture choice isn't the cruel thing, but instead that Buckner will never live down his error in the 1986 World Series. The truth is, Buckner had a fantastic MLB career. He played 22 seasons in The Show, amassing 2,715 hits. He won the 1980 batting title with a .324 average. Weirdly, he was only chosen to play in the All-Star game one time in his career, in 1981.

Despite a stellar career, Buckner is immortalized for a ball that went through his legs, in the biggest game in Red Sox memory It might be the most famous play in baseball history. Perhaps though, 21 years later, the baseball gods are leveling the playing field, as the Mets this year accomplished the biggest regular season collapse in history, and the Sox are back in the World Series.

Jose Oquendo

2007-10-19T17:06:00.000-06:00

Jose Oquendo, 1991 Fleer

Bats: Both
Throws: Right
Career line: .256/.346/.317

Jose Oquendo was one of my favorite players because the guy played every position on the field. I once saw a blooper video of him pitching to himself, he hits a grounder to himself at short, and then throws to himself at first. The out ends the inning and we see him running off the field in catcher's gear. All cut together from game footage. In 1989 he became the first player since 1918 to play all 9 positions during the same season.

He was nicknamed the "Secret Weapon", I think because he could play anywhere rather effectively. Although I don't know that you'd want him on the mound in an elimination game.

He played 12 Big League seasons, and today is the third base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Todd Helton

2007-10-16T08:48:00.000-06:00

Todd Helton, 2001 Upper Deck Victory, Big Play Makers

21 of 22. Welcome to the World Series, Colorado.

Johnny Damon

2007-10-08T15:34:00.001-06:00

Johnny Damon, 2007 Upper Deck Goudey

ALDS Game 3: 3 for 4, 4 RBI, 1 R

Damon's 3-run homer put the Indians in a coma. Will they break out of it tonight? I hope so. I don't think I can take another Yankees/Red Sox series. The 68 times they played each other on national television this summer was enough.

The victory by the Yankees avoided all 4 playoff series ending in sweeps. In fact, the 4 run rally the Yankees put together last night was the first time any of the eliminated/trailing teams showed any real signs of life in these playoffs. I wonder what would happen right now if the Cubs played the Angles in a 5 game series. Game 1 might last 17 innings and end 1-0.

Career Ending?

2007-10-07T20:00:00.000-06:00

Roger Clemens, 1993 Donruss

Roger Clemens started for the Yankees tonight in Game 3 of the ALDS. He pitched just 2 1/3 innings before leaving with a tight hamstring. Was this the end for the Rocket? While I have never been a Rocket fan, I have never really disliked him either. Over the course of his career he has been continually dominant. How many 45 year old power pitchers are there in the Major Leagues?

I find myself hoping he gets another chance to pitch. Ending a 24 year career with a 2.1 inning, 4 hit 2 BB 3 ER outing is not a real poetic way to go. But I think chances of seeing the Rocket throw again in an MLB game are very slim.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2012 awaits...

Your 2007 Chicago Cubs

2007-10-06T22:57:00.000-06:00

The Chicago Cubs, 2007 Topps

For some reason, in the late 80's and into the mid 90's I had WGN as part of my TV package. I did not live anywhere near Chicago. But because of that, during the summers in those years I was able to watch the Cubs almost daily. In my memory, the games were on all the time, Harry Caray calling the game in his distinct, quirky, and amazing way. The more I watched the Cubs, the more of a fan I became. Vance Law, one of my favorite players was on the team, and so was Ryne Sandberg, another one of my all-time favorites. Those were the years of Andre Dawson, Shawon Dunston, Mark Grace, Rick Sutcliffe, Joe Girardi, and Jerome Walton.

I am still a Cub's fan. I follow the team with a sort of distant loyalty. Quietly cringing over box scores and 4 inning outings by starting pitchers. This year though, I was given reason to hope, to think, that perhaps something special was going to happen in 2007. After all, sheer probabilities would be in favor of the Cubs right? What are the chances of a team going 100 years without winning the World Series?

Tonight the Cubs lost at home 5-1. Completing an unremarkable 0-3 bow out of the playoffs. Another year gone, another year of could-have-beens for Chicago fans, and another year ahead of "this is our year" hype and hope.

It is interesting to see that in the late 80's and early 90's the Cubs were not a great team. However, in 1989, after posting winning percentages of .438, .451, .369 the previous 3 seasons, the Cubs won 95 games and took the NL Central. The next 3 seasons they posted winning percentages of .478, .481, and .481.

My point?

Last year the Cubs went 66-96, and in 2005 they were 79-83. If history is any indicator, we can expect a string of 3 or 4 years of stinkage for the Chicago Cubs. The team history over the last 30 years reminds me of a humpback whale that spends most of its time in deep water, only occasionally coming up for air before plummeting back to the depths. The Cubs came up for air in 2007. It wasn't pretty, but they got the job done and landed back in the playoffs. They went from 30 games under .500 in 2006 to 8 games above in '07. That is an impressive turn-around. But will it last? Only time will tell.

And in the meantime...

There is always next year.

Playoff Hero/Goat Day 3

2007-10-06T14:41:00.000-06:00

Hero's... 2 games, 2 walk off hits. It doesn't get much better.

Manny Ramirez, 2006 Topps Opening Day

Travis Hafner, C.C. Sabathia, Topps 2006 Team Leaders

Playoff Hero/Goat: Day 2

2007-10-05T08:40:00.000-06:00

Goat...

Chien-Ming Wang, 2007 Upper Deck Goudy

Playoff Hero/Goat: Day 1

2007-10-04T08:51:00.002-06:00

Hero...

Josh Beckett, 2004 Fleer Tradition

ALDS Game 1, Red Sox Vs. Angels
9.0IP 4H 0R 0ER 0BB 8K 0.00ERA
Red Sox 4, Angels 0

Jamey Carroll

2007-10-02T16:05:00.002-06:00

Jamey Carroll. 2007 Topps

This happens to be a very cool baseball card. And today Jamey Carroll is a playoff hero. He came into the game as a defensive replacement, and in the bottom of the 13th inning hit a ball just deep enough for Matt Holiday to tag from third base. It was a fantastic, and somewhat controversial finish to a compelling 2007 season. When Matt Holiday receives the MVP trophy, he ought to remember to send something nice to Jamey Carroll.

Today Carroll perfectly exemplifies the "unconsidered hero". Yesterday he was a slightly above average player on a team nobody knew anything about. Today his sacrifice fly is being replayed on every sports highlight show in the country. Tomorrow? Tomorrow he will likely be just another mostly anonymous face on a team that plays in Denver.

Game 163

2007-10-01T15:49:00.000-06:00

Jake Peavy, 2007 Upper Deck Goudy

Great Pitching

vs.

Great Hitting

Todd Helton. 2007 Upper Deck Goudy

Craig Biggio

2007-09-30T20:40:00.000-06:00

Craig Biggio, 2007 Topps

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 6/26/88
Final Game: 9/30/07

Career Line: .281/.363/.433

Craig Biggio played his final Major League game tonight. He went 1 for 4 and scored a run in the Astro's 3-0 win over the Atlanta Braves. His final hit was a double, the 668th of his career, and his 3,060th hit. He played 20 seasons in the Big Leagues, all with Houston. He was a quiet star, the kind that sportswriters love to write about--they use words like grit and hustle, and "playing the game the right way". And while I guess all those things are true, in the end, Biggio was simply a great ballplayer. He could hit, he could play anywhere in the field, and he excelled at a very difficult game, for a very long time.

Biggio is the type of guy that I will not be surprised to see in a Major League uniform sometime in the near future. Maybe as a hitting instructor or base coach. I think he is just too good of a baseball player for a team not to have around, helping young talent to develop.

Clinchers

2007-09-28T21:15:00.000-06:00

The Red Sox clinched the AL East tonight, and the Cubs clinched the NL Central. Red Sox VS. Cubs World Series? It could happen.

The Cubs were helped out tonight by former starter Greg Maddux. The future Hall of Famer pitched 5 solid innings for the Padres, as San Diego knocked Milwaukee out of the NL Central race. The Orioles helped the Sox, beating the Yankees in extra innings, as Mariano Rivera blew another save. A sign of things to come? Perhaps.

What a great week of baseball this has been. And with the NL East and West division races coming down the wire, it is only going to get better.

Greg Maddux, 1991 Donruss

Carlton Fisk, 2005 Fleer Showcase

Dante Bichette

2007-09-27T13:06:00.001-06:00

Dante Bichette, 1989 Topps

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 9/5/88
Final Game: 10/6/01

Career Line: .299/.336/.499

Dante Bichette was a 4-time All-Star. His best season was in 1995 with the Colorado Rockies. He smacked 40 HRs, slugged .620, and had an OPS+ of 130. He finished second in the MVP vote to Barry Larkin, whose numbers that year, were frankly, quite inferior to Bichette's.

In his 14 year career he played in one playoff series, the 1995 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. He had a great series, going 10 for 17 with 1 HR, 3 2B's and an amazing line of .588/.611/.941. That's an OPS of 1.552! Despite his stellar series, the Rockies lost to the Braves, who went on to win the World Series.

That 1995 season was the best in Colorado history, until this year. As of today the Rockies are in the hunt for a Wild Card spot, which would be the team's first post-season appearance since Dante Bichette led them to the promised land in '95.

Julio Franco

2007-09-26T15:56:00.001-06:00

Julio Franco, 1990 Topps (All Star)

Bats: Right
Throws: RIght
Debut: 4/23/82
Final Game: N/A

Career Line: .298/.365/.417

Julio Franco was sent down to the minors by the Braves this year after they traded for Mark Teixeira. Many people thought that was the end of his long career, but he was called back to the Show on September 1st to help Atlanta make a push for the post-season. He is 49 years old. I was 4 years old when Franco made his MLB debut.

In 2004, at age 45, he posted a line of .309/.378/.441 in 320 ABs. In 23 years of Major League Baseball, Julio Franco has never played in a World Series. He was the MVP of the 1990 All-Star Game, his 2-run double off Rob Dibble provided the only runs of the entire game.

If Julio can make an MLB roster for 2008, he will be just the fifth player in MLB history to play at the age of 50 or older, and the first since Satchel Paige played at the age of 59 in 1965.

Robin Yount

2007-09-25T19:03:00.000-06:00

Robin Yount, 1990 Post

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 4/5/74
Final Game: 10/3/93

Career Line: .285/.342/.430

I used to pull these cards out of cereal boxes. I have a handful of them, and I love the generic airbrushed uniforms. Robin Yount of course had a fantastic career. He is part of the Hall of Fame class of 1999. He played all 20 of his Big League seasons with the Brewers. In his only World Series appearance, in 1982 (the year he won the AL MVP) he posted a line of .414/.452/.621, going 12 for 29 with 1 HR, 3 2B, and 6 RBI. Milwaukee lost the series in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Guillen or Betancourt?

2007-09-25T09:24:00.001-06:00

Jose Guillen/Yuniesky Betancourt, 2007 Topps

I noticed this little snafu while going through the Topps 2007 base set. I wonder if the Updates and Highlights set will fix it?

Vance Law, Tony Pena, Pascual Perez

2007-09-23T16:20:00.000-06:00

Pirates Future Stars, 1981 Topps

One of my favorite kind of cards are the "top prospect" sort. I especially like older ones, becuase I can look at them with the benefit of hindsight. I came across this card recently, and decided to take a look at what kind of career the 3 players had.

But first, a little background. I bought this card at a shop in Maryland when I was 11 years old. I was visiting my cousins, and my uncle who is a baseball fan, was eager to take me to a good shop near his home (I also attended my first MLB game on that trip, Orioles/Brewers) . I still have the cards I bought that day, a few of which feature either Vance or Vernon Law. The reason is that Vance Law was a local, and in fact I grew up playing ball with his nephew. We played together from Little League on up through High School. And every now and again I'd be lucky enough to be at his place when Vernon, his grandpa, or Vance was also at the house. The result is that I have several Vance and Vernon Law autographed cards, including a Father/Son card that they both signed.

I am getting a bit off topic. But I find it interesting that baseball cards can spark all kinds of memories from my childhood.

On to the the rest of the post...

Vance Law

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 6/1/80
Final Game: 10/6/91

Career Line: .256/.326/.376

While Vance never turned out to be a star for the Pirates, he did go on to have a respectable MLB career. He was a reliable infielder, playing most of his career at third base, however he also played several games at shortstop and second. He finished his career with a .971 fielding average over 11 seasons. 1988 was his best overall season, posting a line of .293/.358/.412. Interestingly, that year he also had a career high in AB's, PA's, Games, and Hits. He made the '88 All-Star team, but only played half an inning. He never did get to bat. I distinctly remember being disappointed that Vance did not a get a chance to swing the bat that day. Today, Vance is the head baseball coach at BYU.

Tony Pena

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 9/1/80
Final Game: 9/28/97

Career Line: .260/.309/.364

A 5 time All-Star, and 5 time Gold Glove winner, Tony Pena was one of the better catchers in the mid to late '80s. My memories of him are with the Cardinals, him literally sitting in the dirt when no men were on base. He played 18 seasons in the Majors. After his playing days, Tony managed the Kansas City Royals from 2002-2005. He was the 2003 AL Manager of the year.

Pascual Perez

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 5/7/80
Final Game: 10/2/91

Career Line: 67-68, 3.44

I don't remember having ever seen Perez pitch. And to my knowledge, the above pictured card is the only one I have of him. However he did play 11 season in the Major Leagues. By the numbers he was a decent pitcher. He played for terrible Atlanta and Montreal teams in the '80s. But he struck out 822 batters, waling 344 over the course of his career. His best season was 1983 when he won 15 games. that year he was voted to the All-Star team. He had a career high 215.3 IP that year, posting a WHIP of 1.226.

A few things that stand out about these 3 players...

-Although they are featured as "Pirates Future Stars" on this card, none of them had significant season with the Bucs.
-All three of them played in at least 1 All-Star Game.
-Each of them played at least 10 seasons in the Majors.

Mickey Hatcher

2007-09-23T10:05:00.001-06:00

Mickey Hatcher, 1988 Topps

Bats: RIght
Throws: Right
Debut: 8/3/79
Final Game: 10/3/90

Career Line: .280 /.313/.377

I have basically one memory of Mickey Hatcher. He hit a home run in the 1988 World Series, and he literally sprinted around the bases. I think about that home run sprint whenever the '88 sereis is brought up. For me, it was nearly as memorable as Gibson's amazing HR to win game 1. In that series against the A's, Hatcher hit 2 home runs. In the entire 1988 regular season, he hit a total of 1.

Cory Snyder

2007-09-21T20:04:00.000-06:00

Cory Snyder, 1986 Donruss

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 6/13/86
Final Game: 8/10/94

Career Line: .247/.291/.425

Cory Snyder is still a whispered name around here. He was a legend at BYU, and so, being in Cougar country, he is still remembered for the towering home runs he used to blast into the thin air of the Rocky Mountains. His Major League career started well enough, finishing 4th in the RoY voting, hitting 24 home runs in just 103 games. He hit a career high 33 home runs in 1987, but after that year, his numbers slowly deteriorated. His great weakness as a hitter was his high strike out rate (once every 3.7 AB) and an inability to draw a walk. He walked once for every 17.4 plate appearances.

Bob Walk, Ted power

2007-09-21T12:34:00.000-06:00

Ted Power, 1988 Topps

Ted Power is a good name for a pitcher.

Bob Walk, 1988 Topps

Bob Walk is not a good name for a pitcher.

Ironically though, Bob Walk was a slightly better pitcher than Ted Power.

Harold Reynolds

2007-09-21T09:26:00.000-06:00

Harold Reynolds, 1988 Topps

Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
Debut: 9/2/83
Final Game: 8/7/94

Career Line: .258/.327/.341

The number 2 overall pick in the 1980 Amateur draft, Harold Reynolds was the definition of a mediocre singles hitter. In his 12 year career he totaled 1,233 hits. 929 of those hits were singles. In 1989 he had a career high of 184 hits. 151 of those hits were singles. He was known for his defense, much more so than for his bat. He won 3 Gold Glove awards, and ended his career with a fielding percentage of .979 while playing second base.

After a long career with ESPN as a broadcaster and analyst, HR now writes a column for MLB.com.

2007 Kansas City Royals

2007-09-20T15:11:00.000-06:00

The Royals have not been a good baseball team in a long, long time. Since 1995, they have one winning season, their 83-79 campaign led by Tony Pena in 2003. This year they once again have been the bottom feeder, sitting at 65-86 with just 11 games to play.

Recently I was going through my 2007 Topps base card set. A team photo of every Major League team is featured in the set, along with a manager card. Every team, that is, except the Kansas City Royals. And it isn't that the team portrait is missing. No, the card is there, but nobody is pictured.

Is this an underhanded way of Topps poking fun at the Royals, letting card collectors everywhere know that "the Royals have nobody"? Probably not, but if it is, it's hilarious.

I found this on ESPN's page 2, when Jim Caple asked the Topps people about the missing portrait:

"Every year Topps prints a team photo card for every club. Been doing it for decades. But this year, the Royals' team card is just a photo of the stadium in Kansas City. It seems that for some reason, a Topps photographer didn't shoot the team on photo day during spring training. So a Topps rep called the Royals to see if they could use their team photo instead. The only problem was, he says, Kansas City told him it didn't bother to take a team photo, either."

So it appears that not even the Royals themselves want to document the poor team they field everyday.

Dave Stieb

2007-09-20T09:24:00.001-06:00

Dave Stieb, 1990 Bowman

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 6/29/79
Final Game: 9/25/98

Career Line: 176-137, 3.44

When I was a kid, the first Little League team I was on was the Blue Jays. So naturally I rooted for my Major League counterparts. Names like Garth Iorg, Tom Henke, Tony Hernandez, Rance Mulliniks, Lloyd Moseby, and of course, the great George Bell, still roam halls in the back of my mind. But before these names became so familiar to me, there was another one that captured my attention...

That first year of Little League was also the year I got my first "real" baseball glove. And there on the palm was the replicated signature of someone I had never heard of: Dave Stieb. Upon further investigation, I learned that he was a starting pitcher for the Blue Jays. "My glove is signed by a Blue Jay. I am on the Blue Jays!" Naturally Dave Stieb became my favorite player. It mattered little that I knew nothing about him. And in fact, I never really bothered to follow his career. At 9 years old it was enough that he wore the same hat I did, and that his name was etched into my glove.

Dave Stieb was a 7-time All-Star. 3 times he won 17 games, and once in 1990, his last significant season in the Bigs, he won 18. That season he struck out 125 batters, walking only 64, posting a WHIP of 1.16. It was in 1990 that he finally got a no-hit bid to stick, after losing 3 previous attempts with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th. Including in consecutive starts in 1988.

He No-hit the Cleveland Indians September 2nd 1990.

5 years after being released by two teams over the course of the 1993 season, he signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays at age 40. He pitched 50.3 innings that year, striking out 27, and walking 17.

Scott Fletcher

2007-09-19T18:51:00.000-06:00

Scott Fletcher, 1982 Donruss

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 4/25/81
Final Game: 9/29/95

Career Line: .262/.332/.342/.674

Scott Fletcher was the 6th overall pick in the 1979 Amateur draft. He played 2 seasons with the Cubs, and then moved South and played for the Sox over the next 3 seasons. In all he played 15 seasons in the Bigs. His best year was with the Texas Rangers in 1986 when he hit an even .300, had an OBP of .360 and posted an OPS+ of 105. He finished 1986 17th in the MVP voting. It was the only season he hit .300 or better.

The back of the card pictured states that the "...Cubs like his speed and his batting eye..." He stole 99 bases over his 15 year career, and was caught stealing 58 times. He was a good contact hitter, striking out just 541 times in 5,258 career at bats, once every 9.7 at bats. He drew 514 walks in 5,976 plate appearances.

Scott Fletcher is a great example of an average Major League Baseball player. He never stunk, nor stood out very much, but still managed a long career in the Big Leagues. He played in 1,612 games, and got 1,376 career hits. 34 of which were Home Runs.

Bo Jackson

2007-09-19T12:04:00.000-06:00

Bo Jackson, Topps 1987

In 1986, in just 25 Major League games, Bo Jackson had 4 game winning RBI's. He of course went on to become quite possibly the greatest two-sport athlete in history. He is remembered for two iconic accomplishments:

In the 1989 All Star Game, leading off the bottom of the 1st inning he launched a 480 ft home run off Rick Reuschel that bounced off the hitter's eye in center field. It set the tone for the rest of the game, as he played the thorn in the side of the National League, leading the AL to a 5-3 victory. It was the first time since '57-'58 that the AL won consecutive All Star games.

The other iconic moment in Bo Jackson's career came in his other sport, football. On November 30, 1987 Bo ran for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns. En route to that amazing performance, he barreled over Brian Bosworth, who was considered a premier defensive player at the time. It was probably the most embarrassing moment in the lackluster career of the eccentric Boz.

During his heyday I had Bo Jackson posters all over my wall. My favorite was this one, reflecting his dominance in both football and baseball.