Monday, October 7, 2013

#83 Reggie Sanders

About the Front: It's true, Reggie Sanders was once a rookie! He's wearing number 16, which he wore with seven of his eight MLB teams. Sanders spent the 2003 season in Pittsburgh in a #19 jersey, since Aramis Ramirez already had ownership of Reggie's preferred number.

About the Back: When Topps tabbed Sanders as an All-Star Rookie, they couldn't have guessed that he'd play for another 15 years, retiring with 305 home runs, 304 steals, and 983 RBI.

Triple Play:

1. He was the second Reggie Sanders to play in the big leagues. Reginald Jerome Sanders played 26 games for the 1974 Tigers, primarily at first base. Reginald Laverne Sanders (yep, Laverne) is obviously the better-known of the two Reggies.

2. Reggie was ridiculed for an incident on April 13, 1994. Pedro Martinez had retired the first 22 Cincinnati batters before hitting Sanders with a pitch. The outfielder charged the mound and was ejected, somehow assuming that Martinez would sacrifice a perfect game to settle some personal score with him.

3. At age 37, Sanders set a Division Series record for the 2005 Cardinals by driving in 10 runs in a three-game sweep of the Padres. He batted .333/.385/.750 in 13 plate appearances, with three of his four hits going for extra bases.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: The 1994 Reds had two-thirds of an All-Sanders outfield after they traded for Deion. I probably would've been confused by the pair if Deion wasn't such an outsized personality.

Bill James Said: "(W)e must assume he is ready to move into the three or four spot, which means he could drive in 100 runs." Could, but didn't. Sanders peaked with 99 RBI in the strike-shortened 1995 season.

On This Date in 1993: October 7. The Braves evened their NLCS matchup with the Phillies at a game apiece by clubbing four home runs in a 14-3 rout at Veterans Stadium. Fred McGriff, Jeff Blauser, Damon Berryhill, and Terry Pendleton did the honors in support of winning pitcher Greg Maddux (7 IP, 2 ER, 8 K).

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