Senators Saturday - Pete Burnside, 1961.

Pete Burnside was drafted eighth overall in the December, 1960 expansion draft. The Senators grabbed him from the Tigers. Because Pete appears on card number 507 in the 1961 Topps set he gets a decent picture and gets to keep his hat on. Am I the only one to find it a bit ironic that a man with the last name Burnside has very short sideburns?

In 1961 Pete was the only left-handed pitcher to see significant action for Washington. He would serve as as both long relief and as a spot starter. In 33 appearances he made 16 starts and finished nine games. Four of the nine games finished were complete games. His final record on the season was 4-9.

In those 33 games Burnside would pitch 113.1 innings, only one out less than the year previous with Detroit. He would face 492 batters and would strike out 56 of them. He would also walk 51 opposing players. 66 runs would score on Pete's watch but only 57 of them were earned. That left him with a 4.53 ERA to go with his 1.385 WHIP.

None of Burnside's numbers were standout - either for his career or for the team in 1961. Compared to what manager Mickey Vernon had to work with though, they weren't terrible either. All told Pete landed about the middle of the pack for the bullpen. What remained to be seen was if that would get him another look with the club in 1962.

No re-gifting here.

So I'm finally starting to get caught up at home and work from the holidays. Seems like being gone the week between Christmas and New Year's put me a little behind.

As I am finally putting away the gifts I was given by family it re-occurs to me how great they are. From what I have read and heard there seem to be a lot of folks out there who have very loving families who just don't understand the need to follow a particular team or player. Actually, I'm not sure mine does either but they are good sports about it all.

Mrs. Spiff in particular is good about the Rangers and sometimes even shares my enthusiasm. In fact, for Christmas she presented me with this 2010 World Series program. Very cool. I am looking forward to reading it - very carefully.

The rest of the family is great as well, both sides. My parents, in-laws, sister, and two of my three brothers gave me Rangers-themed gifts. One brother even gave Mrs. Spiff two Rangers t-shirts. No cards except from Mrs. Spiff but still cool all the away around. Makes me very grateful. Not just for the gifts but more importantly for the people behind them who are willing to take the time and thought to give what they know others will enjoy.

Norris, Texas Ranger.

So I have been working all day on trying to get computer problems fixed. Spent most of the day at work on a computer and came home to the same. At least I finally got the Internet back up and working. Made for a long day though and has kind of zapped my desire to spend much time in front of the monitor.

Decided to show off my latest through the mail autograph success. I had sent this 1981 Donruss card to Jim Norris in April of 2010. He signed and returned it. I got it back yesterday. Not sure what the delay was but I do appreciate Mr. Norris taking his time to sign and return the card.

Blyleven and Alomar move to Cooperstown.

Quick break from the normal wantlist post to congratulate former Ranger Rik Aalbert Blyleven on his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame today.

Bert's looking good on card number 53 of the 1978 Kellogg's set here. Do you think he'll look as good in Cooperstown? Why?

Along with Blyleven, Roberto Alomar was also elected. What are your thoughts on Robbie's selection to The Hall?

Should anyone else have made it? Why?

1974 Topps - Jim Fregosi.

Jim Fregosi is listed as a third baseman on card number 196 in the 1974 Topps set. In spite of that he spent 100 more innings at first than he did at third. He would also miss 18 days of the 1974 season with muscle spasms.

In 78 games Fregosi would put in 312 innings playing first base without an error. He would make five errors in his 212 innings at third for a .929 fielding percentage.

Playing mostly when lefties were starting for the opposing team, Jim would get 253 plate appearances in 1974. He would post a .261 batting average and a .324 on-base percentage. 12 times he would circle the bases on a home run ticket. He would walk 22 times.

1974 wasn't too bad of a season for Jim Fregosi but it was far from his best. Time and injuries had taken their toll. He was on the downhill side of his career by the time Texas picked him up from the Mets midway through the 1973 season. Still, he had managed to stick as corner infield relief for a contending team and that wasn't too shabby.

Minor League Monday - Tim Rodgers, 1987 ProCards.

1987 was Tim Rodgers' second year in the Rangers farm system. Prior to that he had played five season in the Blue Jays organization - all in the minors. Rodgers, pictured here on card number 149 of the 1987 ProCards set, started the 1987 season at Double A Tulsa. After just three games and nine innings he was moved up to Triple A Oklahoma City.

With OKC Rodgers would make one start and 32 relief appearances. Those games would total 65.1 innings. His ERA during that time was 4.96 and his WHIP totaled out to 1.607. He did manage to strike out ten more batters than he walked, 35 to 25.

That about sums up Tim Rodgers' 1987 season. It also put the ending mark on his career as it was his last season in pro ball.

Senators Saturday - Harry Bright, 1961.

Happy New Year everyone! I trust that all had an enjoyable evening last evening and will have a great year.

Starting the new year off on a bright note here. Well, Harry Bright that is, as he appears on card number 447 of the 1961 Topps set. Harry is in the higher numbered part of the Topps set and so his card was issued in the last series. As such we actually get to see a Washington Senators' uniform for the first time. Not bad looking really. Gotta like those socks.

Washington traded Bobby Shantz to the Pittsburg Pirates in December of 1960 to get Bright, Bennie Daniels, and R.C. Stevens. Harry would end up as the backup third baseman to Danny O'Connell. He would also make brief appearances at catcher and second base.

In 334 innings in the field at third base Bright would post a .928 fielding percentage. That was well below the league average .951. Probably accounts for his being the backup rather than the starting third baseman.

At the plate Harry put together a .240 batting average and a .310 on-base percentage in 204 plate appearances. He would have six doubles and four home runs but no triples. That and his being caught stealing in his only two attempts indicate that while Harry may have been bright, he wasn't very quick. One troubling trend with Harry was that he struck out 23 times and only walked 19 times.

That strikeout to walk ratio with little power behind it is not a good thing. Bright would need to address that if he hoped to get a starting job in 1962.