#14 Greg Briley

About the Front: We have our first cameo of the set, as a Royals player (I'm reasonably certain that it's Rico Rossy) tries to stop Greg Briley from turning the double play. I don't think he was successful, unless Briley was made uncomfortable by having his thigh massaged in mid-throw. If my assumption is correct that it's Rossy, who wore #32 for K.C., then this play occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning on June 7, 1992. Rico was forced at second on a grounder by Keith Miller, but the batter was safe at first base. Briley went 0-for-4, and the Royals beat the Mariners 4-1. I'll never doubt Rico Rossy's powers of sexual confusion again.

About the Back: You'll note that Greg is listed as an outfielder, even though he's playing second base on the front of the card. He actually played all over the place in 1992: 27 games in left field, 13 in center, 12 at DH, and four each at second base, third base, and right field.

Triple Play:

1. If Baseball Reference is to be believed, Greg's nickname is "Pee Wee".

2. His two-run homer off of Rich Monteleone gave the Mariners a walk-off win in 16 innings on May 5, 1991. The Yankees had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 16th on a Kevin Maas home run. 16 innings...Kevin Maas...what's not to like about this game?

3. He has been a minor league coach for the Pirates and White Sox since the late 1990s.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Hm. This is the first card in the set with a bespectacled player featured. I wore glasses as a kid, and Greg Briley's performance could not have been encouraging to me.

Bill James Said: "Briley complained in early September about his lack of playing time. Since he had hit .077 in 48 games after the All-Star break, this was construed as bad timing." Though he played in the minors and in Mexico through 1997, Greg never played another game in the majors after 1993.

On This Date in 1993: June 4. Cricket happenings! Australian Shane Warne bowled the "Ball of the Century", baffling veteran British batsman Mike Gatting. I watched the video at that link, and I still don't understand what I saw, but it was pretty impressive.