"Who wore the snake better,
Britney Spears or Glenn Hubbard?"
Definitely Britney, though Hubbard
does close the gap with his glorious beard and fantastic Atlanta Braves road
jersey.
“A ball, a bat, and a pose...and
just like that Kevin Mitchell had the beginnings of his idea for the selfie
stick.”
“Matthew McConaughey saw this card
and wanted to play Greg Harris in a movie—until he found out he was a little
known middle reliever.”
Greg Harris’ lengthy major league
career spanned from 1981 to 1995, during which time the hurler bounced back and
forth between the starting rotation and bullpen. Harris’ ability to work as a swingman who
could start or relieve gave his teams a flexible option on the roster. Yet, because Harris never was a front-line
starter and only briefly worked as a closer, his career is somewhat
forgotten. However, a unique talent
possessed by the right-handed pitching Harris was his ability to also pitch
left-handed. In fact by 1986, the
ambidextrous Harris felt confident enough to alternate arms while pitching but
was unable to convince his managers to allow him to do so in an actual
game. Finally in 1995, during the
penultimate game of Harris’ career, Montreal Expos manager Felipe Alou gave
Harris the opportunity to alternate arms during a relief appearance and thus
the veteran hurler became the first switch-pitcher in over a century. I guess that means you could describe Harris
as an “ambidextrous swingman.” Hmm...maybe
we can get Matthew McConaughey to play Harris in a movie.
"I think it’s unfortunate that
they cut the scene out of Friends where we find out Joey Tribbiani's Uncle Sal
was the one who taught him the correct way to say 'How YOU doin’?’"
“Does having my sports car and my
Gold Glove Awards on my baseball card make me look shallow?”
Yes.
Omar Vizquel is a very polarizing
Hall of Fame candidate. The more
analytically-inclined scoff at Vizquel's 45.6 career WAR while his supporters
point to his 2,877 career hits and 11 Gold Gloves at shortstop. I consider myself to be more
analytically-inclined yet I don't really have a strong opinion for or against
Vizquel's Hall of Fame case. However,
after seeing the absolutely pimp-tastic shirt the former shortstop is wearing
on this card, I'm convinced--Vizquel needs to be unanimously elected on the
next ballot and should recreate the setting of this card for the backdrop of
his Hall of Fame induction speech. Between
the bright yellow car, the Gold Gloves on the hood, and the mesmerizing shirt,
Vizquel looks like the irresponsible playboy son of a billionaire.
“Wipe that goofy grin off your face,
you and your 4.04 ERA didn’t deserve those 21 wins.”
Speaking of polarizing candidates,
Jack Morris’ Hall of Fame candidacy brought out all kinds of acrimony between
sabermetric and traditional types. As
with Vizquel, I never had a strong opinion about whether or not Morris belonged
in Cooperstown. However, I do remember,
as a child back in 1992, rooting against Morris winning 20 games with an ERA
over 4.00. Back then, pitcher wins meant
more so 20 victories was the ultimate symbol of pitching excellence while
having an ERA over 4.00 meant you were a lousy pitcher or at the very least had
a poor season. Despite his high ERA,
Morris not only reached the 20-win plateau but also tied for the AL lead with
21. When Morris’ 1993 Topps came out,
the front of the card featured the veteran hurler sporting a goofy look on his
face while his league-leading 21 victories were italicized in bold red on the
back—both of which just seemed to rub in the fact that in spite of his 4.04
ERA, he had reached the pitching milestone.
Fast forward two and half decades later and Morris was elected to the
Hall of Fame despite his pedestrian career 3.90 ERA, the highest mark for any
enshrined pitcher.
“Sometimes the best way to beat the
other team is to not beat yourself.”
It’s pretty shameful that Topps used
this embarrassing shot of Ventura for a set marketed to children.
“When the Orioles played Kris Kross
on the PA, Billy Ripken had no choice but to...Jump Jump.”
"Kmart was an early supporter
for the DH in the National League."
Obviously, the person Kmart put in
charge of their Superstars set knew very little about baseball. Not only does Kmart classify Pedro Guerrero
as a designated hitter but also lists him as being a pinch hitter—failing to
understand the difference between the two roles. In addition, AL sluggers Fred McGriff and
Mark McGwire as well as NL slugger Glenn Davis are also classified as DH/PH
even though they were each regular first baseman. Curiously, the Kmart set has AL first baseman
Don Mattingly and NL first baseman Will Clark both listed at their correct
defensive position. It’s hard to believe
Topps signed off on this set with these obvious errors.
“Was Encino Man his teammate?”
“You think managing in Philly takes
a toll on someone? Paul Owens was just 59 years old when this picture was
taken...”
“I just realized Bruce Bochte was
the Tusken Raider Sand People Thing that attacked Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.”
----by John Tuberty
Follow my blog on Twitter @BloggerTubbs
Other Articles by Tubbs Baseball Blog:
The Quirk-y Truth about Harold Baines Wearing the Number 6 Jersey on Some of His 1991 Baseball Cards
