#27 Carlos Garcia

About the Front: I miss stirrup socks in baseball. But white sanitary socks with a half-stripe, like those being worn by Carlos Garcia here, are the pits. They're not quite as bad as the solid-colored socks that players wear today, but seriously...don't be wishy-washy. Either wear the real thing, or don't.

About the Back: Carlos is one of seven major leaguers named "Garcia" who were born in Venezuela, though he does not appear to be related to any of the others. The most well-known is probably Freddy, who has pitched for a half-dozen big league teams over the past 15 years.

Triple Play:

1. Garcia was an odd All-Star selection in 1994; he was batting .267/.307/.332 with four home runs and 17 RBI at the break. I guess you can chalk it up to the "every team is represented" mandate, but I'd still say that Zane Smith (9-6, 3.19 ERA in the first half) was robbed.

2. He hit his first career home run at Dodger Stadium on April 16, 1993 off of Orel Hershiser. It was an inside-the-park drive to center field that eluded Brett Butler.

3. Since hanging up his spikes, Carlos has been a minor league coach in the Indians and Pirates organizations, and coached on the major league level for the Mariners and Pirates. Currently, he is managing Pittsburgh's AA affiliate, the Altoona Curve.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I'm fairly certain that I used to confuse him with Bucs teammate Orlando Merced.

Bill James Said: "His 1993 season was exactly what I would expect him to do again, but he might be able to improve it." Not exactly. After hitting .269/.316/.399 with 12 homers and 47 RBI in his first full season, Carlos topped out at six homers and 104 games played in subsequent years, and played his last major league game in 1999.

On This Date in 1993: July 1. A 55-year-old failed entrepreneur named Gian Ferri entered an office building at 101 California Street in San Francisco and opened fire, killing eight people and injuring six others before taking his own life.