Triva time!

Time for some more trivia courtesy of the Classic Baseball game. These questions come from card number 146 in the 1986 set, Jerry Browne. Give them your best shot in the comments and I will post the answers on Monday.

1. T-F. The N.Y. Giants became the San Francisco Giants.
2. I am the Phillies all time leader in HR's through 1986. Who am I?
3. Who was voted the A.L. Outstanding Designated Hitter in 1986?
4. What Cubs pitcher is the club's all time leader in wins through 1986?
5. What position does (did) Don Mattingly play?

What a steal!

Here we see outfielder Dan Peltier on card number 266 of Bowman's 1991 offering.

Dan spent part of two seasons with Texas in 1992 and 1993 and part of the 1994 season with the Giants. In 108 games he had 243 at bats and only managed one career home run. He wasn't exactly a speed demon on the base paths either. In 77 games with Texas he never stole a single base.

Dan wasn't exactly the next Rickey Henderson. His lack of speed didn't keep Dan from committing one theft though. He managed to steal Dean Palmer's 1991 Bowman card!

You make the call

Hunter skippered the Rangers for part of 1977 and part of 1978. He appears here on his 1978 card which I obtained with the autograph already in place. Not being familiar with Bill's signature I assume it is authentic because I doubt there is much to be made in forging his autograph.

I have been meaning to ask for some feedback from any readers I might have. Do you like the way the blog is going? Have any suggestions? Any player, year, or company you would like to see featured. If so leave a comment and I will see what I can do. If I have a card in my collection I probably don't mind posting it.

1989 ProCards - Jose Hernandez

Brandon Bogg's feat earlier this year of going 4-4 upon being called up made me think of Jose Hernandez. Here he is on today's card, number 1018 in the 1989 ProCards set.

Jose appears on this very minor league-looking card two years before making his major league debut for Texas. The orange border, sandlot outfield fence, and mesh cap remind us that Jose has not hit the big time yet.

According to the back of the card there is a reason for the delay. In 1988 Hernandez hit a mere .160 in 162 at bats. He knocked in a lowly 13 RBI and hammered only one homer. Not exactly stats calculated to catch the parent club's eye.

After a partial season with Texas in 1991 the Rangers had seen enough. In spite of going 4-4 in his first four at bats (a mark not matched until Boggs did it this year) Jose managed to match his minor league numbers. He posted a .184 average in 98 at bats with no homers and only four RBI. Texas then put him on waivers and Cleveland snagged him up. Let's hope that Brandon Boggs has a longer career with the Rangers than that.

Unlikely contenders

Today's card is number 184 in Topps' 1974 offering. I post this card as an encouragement to the team of 2008.

Just two years after MLB baseball came to the metroplex and a year after losing 105 games the team pictured at left took the field. Expected to lose once again, they instead took fire and finished the season at 84-76. That put them only 5 games behind the team that would eventually win the Series; the Oakland A's.

Here's to hoping that this year will be as big a surprise as 1974. Just seeing the team stay in the race all year would be a pleasant surprise.

Thanks

Today is Memorial Day. I just got back from the local cemetery and the yearly Memorial Day service. Thought I should take a minute to say thanks to any vets who are reading this. There are not words to express how grateful I am to those who have sacrificed to defend this country in the past and now. If you know a vet make sure you take time to thank them today.

1991 Topps - Ivan Rodriguez

Ivan on Monday again and this time a two for one deal. Today's first card is number 101T in the 1991 Topps Traded set.

The back of this card re-states that Ivan was signed as a free agent by Texas in 1988. It also lets us know that he led South Atlantic League catchers in 1989 with 96 assists. He threw out 44 of the 133 runners trying to swipe on him.

I like this card. The 1991 Topps design is one of the better ones from the time period and the picture is a decent headshot. This is one card I would like to get autographed. It seems like it would lend itself to that.

The second card is the Tiffany version of the first card. The card is the same but with a lighter colored back and a coat of gloss on the front.