In Memoriam.

Thank you.

Senators Saturday - Jim Hannan, 1969.

In 1968 Jim Hannan, shown here on card number 106 of the 1969 Topps set, won a job in the Senators' starting rotation. In 1969 he was out to keep it.

Jim appeared in 35 games on the mound for Washington in 1969 and started 28 of them. In total he logged 158.1 innings pitched, third most of the rotation. He allowed 64 earned runs and his 3.64 ERA was third best in the rotation. Jim struck out 72 and walked a startling 91 of the 685 batters he faced that season. He also allowed 17 home runs, second only to Joe Coleman (26) who faced over 300 more batters than Hannan did.

Jim's mediocre numbers were reflected in his 7-6 record on the season. Unfortunately for him the numbers he needed to get down from 1968 were up and the numbers he needed to get up were down. Not a good trend if he wanted to keep that spot in the rotation in 1970.

Contest - week one.

So the matchup for the contest this past week was Rangers versus Padres in Texas. The results were mixed to say the least.

In the first game the MLB Showdown Rangers smashed the hapless Padres 14-4. Kenny Rogers, pictured here on card number 53 of the 2004 MLB Showdown Pennant Run set, came away with the win. Carl Everett, Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez all went deep in the rout. One point if you predicted this team to win.

In game two the 2009 Rangers faced off with the 2009 Padres in a basic Strat-O-Matic game. This time the Rangers came up on the short end of a 5-1 score. Kevin Millwood took the loss as the Texas offense was lulled to sleep by the Friars' pitching. One point if you predicted this team to lose.

The MLB Showdown Rangers won the scoring contest this week 14-1. One point if you predicted them to score the most runs.

Ok, a couple of initial thoughts on Strat-O-Matic versus MLB Showdown from a guy who has just played his first full Strat game.

When it comes to price I think the games about even out. A Showdown starter is cheaper but you don't get as many full teams as you do with a starter Strat set. Nice to be able to plug and play so to speak with Strat. Going to have to give the setup nod to Strat.

As far as storage I will have to go with Showdown. The cards are the same size as regular baseball cards so I already had the cases and such when I started playing the game. Strat cards are just a slight bit smaller than a 3x5 and so are a little more difficult to store. The game came with a rubber band for each team but I am not impressed with that idea. Showdown will have to come out on top for storage.

Ok, on to this week's matchup. Using a random process I have come up with the Astros in Houston. Make sure to get your predictions in quick. Remember, if each Rangers team will win and which one will score the most runs. Night Owl has the only point so far but can be caught if you get in now.

For details on how this contest works please see this post.

Excuses.

Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday. First thing in the morning Mrs. Spiff and I loaded up the family and headed off to see the Rangers play in Kansas City. We met some friends there for the game. Since they are Royals fans (yes, there are such people) we figured that both families could enjoy the day.

Scott Feldman, pictured here on a signed 2006 Ultra card, was the starting pitcher for the Rangers. He stumbled a bit early but entered the sixth inning with a tied ballgame. First to the plate was Billy Butler. I turned to my Royals fan buddy and told him that the sixth inning was melt-down inning this year and that I expected Scooter to fall apart in this frame. Butler took the next pitch over the left field wall. The Royals added one more run before the end of the half-inning. Guess I'm a prophet. Wish I wasn't so accurate.

The Rangers went on to lose 5-2. Bummer. I was surprised to see Derek Holland come out of the bullpen in the eighth and finish the game. Last I knew he was in the starting rotation. I felt bad about missing the change in assignments but felt a little better upon getting home and finding that there was no information on the Rangers' site about the move.

All in all though it was a great day at the park, even with the loss. After all that puts Texas at 5-1 on the season against KC. Can't beat a nice afternoon watching baseball. So there's my excuse for not posting, what's yours for not entering the Strat-O-Matic contest? Better get going, the results of the first week will be posted tomorrow.

1973 Topps - Rich Hinton.

The Rangers had yesterday off following their two game sweep by the Cubs. Tonight they are in Kansas City trying to get back in the win column.

The next card we come to in the 1973 Topps team set is number 321, Rich Hinton. Rich appeared for five games for Texas in 1972. In 1973 he didn't appear in the big leagues at all and not with any Rangers' affiliated team.

On March 8, 1973 the Rangers traded Rich and Vince Colbert to Cleveland. The Tribe sent Alex Johnson to Texas in return. That was the final word on Rich Hinton's association with the Texas Rangers.

Minor League Monday - Bob Brower, 1986 ProCards.

Today we see the final player card from the 1986 ProCards Oklahoma City Eighty-Niners set, Bob Brower. On this card Bob is listed as living in Virgina. He now lives in Kansas, actually not all that far from where I live.

Brower spent most of the 1986 season at Triple A. His records are sketchy but it appears that he played in the outfield for all of the 140 games he appeared in for the Eighty-Niners. I can't locate any defensive stats for him.

In 550 at bats Bob put together a .287 batting average for OKC. He tallied 158 hits with 25 of them being doubles, seven triples, and 13 home runs. His runs scored, RBI, walks, and strikeout totals are not available.

After spending that previous four seasons and most of 1986 in the minors Bob finally got the call. He made his major league debut for the Rangers on September 3, 1986. At 26 years of age he had broken into the Bigs. Now he just needed to stay there.

**Quick reminder to be sure and enter the Strat-O-Matic contest. Right now Night Owl is looking at an easy win.***

Senators Saturday - Gary Holman, 1969.

Quick reminder before we take a look at today's Senator. Don't forget to enter the Strat-O-Matic contest. See yesterday's post for the details.

Gary Holman broke in with the Senators in 1968 and apparently did well enough that his 1969 card featured the Topps All-Star Rookie trophy. 1969 would be another story.

Gary is listed as a first baseman on card number 361 of the 1969 Topps set. That wasn't the entire story in 1969. While with Washington that year he appeared in 41 games and played 30 innings on defense. 18 of those innings were at first base and 12 in the outfield. He handled 15 chances without an error. That really wasn't surprising, he had done extremely well in the field the year before.

Where things broke down for Gary in his second season was at the plate. He made 35 trips to the plate and managed only a .161 batting average. His .257 on base percentage really didn't help shine things up much either. Gary struck out seven times while walking just four. He hit no home runs, no triples, and only one double. He scored just once and only had two RBI.

By June the Senators had seen enough, they sent him down to Triple A. His last game with the team was on June 18, 1969. It would also be his last Major league game. 1969 would also be his last professional season.