Friday, May 15, 2015

#427 Bob MacDonald

About the Front: Bob MacDonald's left hand, the one gripping the ball, is cut off. Whose idea was that?

About the Back: Bob was one of four players chosen in the 19th round of the 1987 draft to make it to the major leagues. The others were reliever Jeff Carter, shortstop Rafael Bournigal, and pitcher Mike Fyhrie, who chose not to sign out of high school and caught on with Kansas City in the 12th round of the 1991 draft.

Triple Play:

1. He earned his first career win on June 23, 1991, with two and a third flawless innings of relief against the Indians.

2. MacDonald's pro baseball career ended unceremoniously in 1997, when he allowed six earned runs in seven and a third innings spanning nine appearances for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Central League.

3. If you'd like to read about Bob's prowess in semi-pro softball, recreational basketball, and beer pong, read his highly entertaining Wikipedia entry, which I assume was written by a friend of his.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Toms River, NJ was Bob's home when this card was printed. That didn't mean anything to me at the time, but I wound up dating a girl from Toms River during my last two years of college.

Bill James Said: "He was in danger of not making the Blue Jays roster at the end of spring training, so a trade was arranged to send him to Detroit, where he led the staff in appearances."

On This Date in 1993: May 15. The Expos retire Rusty Staub's #10 uniform, and celebrate by winning a squeaker against the Mets, 2-1.

4 comments:

  1. Looks like the intern in charge of Jim Gott's card got a hold of this one too....

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  2. Andy - Yep, there was a butcher on the loose at Topps in 1992-93.

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  3. I dated a gal from Tom River briefly back when I used to spend entire summers down on the Jersey Shore. I have a funny feeling it's not the same girl, though.

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