Minor League Monday - Alan Knicely, 1987 ProCards.

So the Rangers continue to play like a Triple A team that has somehow found itself in the middle of a Major League pennant race. Too painful to even go over the past few days of play. Instead let's take a look at an actual Triple A player - Alan Knicely.

Knicely appears today on card number 154 of the 1987 ProCards set. Apparently someone forgot to tell him that it was photo day and he decided to skip the shaving. No word on if Knicely lived up to his name or not. Never can tell, the only other Knicely I have ever heard of didn't.

By the time Alan appeared on this card he had already played all or parts of eight seasons in the Major Leagues and all or parts of eleven seasons in the minors. 1987 would be his first and only year with the Rangers organization after they signed him as a free agent in December of 1986.

Knicely would appear in 84 games for the Oklahoma City Eighty-Niners in 1987. He would play mostly at first base but would show up a few times behind the plate. At first base he would post a .984 fielding percentage. On offense he would bat .279 with a .361 on base percentage. Those numbers weren't good enough to get him a call-up with Texas. Part of the problem very likely was that he was being blocked by Pete O'Brien who was in his fifth year as the Rangers starting first baseman. O'Brien would get traded after the 1988 season but that wouldn't be soon enough for Alan Knicely. 1987 was his last season in professional ball.