#332 Geno Petralli

About the Front: I didn't remember the "T" insignia on the Rangers' helmets being so razor-thin.

About the Back: Here's the box score from the game described. Geno's three-run blast was the go-ahead hit, and came against Mike Schooler. It was one of six pinch-homers in his career, and the only home run he hit in 1992. You might as well make it count!

Triple Play:

1. His father Gene was a minor league first baseman from 1948 through 1953. He batted .274 and slugged .434, and topped out at AAA, where he played 25 games in the Yankees and White Sox organizations.

2. Petralli set a dubious modern-day record in 1987 with 35 passed balls, including six in one game and four in a single inning. As you may have guessed, he had the unenviable task of catching Charlie Hough's knuckleballs that season...or trying to catch them.

3. Geno's son James is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the rock band White Denim. They have released six albums and opened for Wilco on the group's Winter 2012 west coast tour.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Geno looks like somebody shrunk Rafael Palmeiro.

Bill James Said: "Has had a nine-year career as Texas' backup catcher, which is a rarity (the Jamie Quirk of the Rangers?)."

On This Date in 1993: December 2. A couple of big moves on the Hot Stove. Eddie Murray signs a four-year contract with the Indians, and the Phillies trade closer and World Series goat Mitch Williams to the Astros for pitchers Jeff Juden and Doug Jones.

#331 Kenny Lofton

About the Front: Kenny Lofton is showing shades of Willie Mays, who supposedly wore an oversized cap on the field. The idea was that if his cap flew off of his head while he was tearing around the bases or the outfield, he would appear to be even faster than he actually was.

About the Back: Vince Coleman is the major league record holder for steals by a rookie, with 110 in 1985.

Triple Play:

1. Lofton attended the University of Arizona on a basketball scholarship, and was a backup point guard to Craig McMillan and Steve Kerr on the Wildcats' 1988 Final Four team. He left college as UA's all-time steals leader in basketball.

2. He led the American League in stolen bases in each of his first five seasons, including a career-high 75 in 92 tries in 1996. In a 17-year career, he totaled 622 swipes, 15th-most in history.

3. Despite his bona fides as a base stealer, an excellent center fielder, and a hitter (.299/.372/.423), Kenny received only 3.2% of the vote when he debuted on the crowded Hall of Fame ballot in 2013 and was rendered ineligible for future election. He now has a TV production company, FilmPool Inc., and has done postgame commentary for Dodgers' TV broadcasts.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: It seems like Kenny Lofton robbed the Orioles of at least one home run each time he faced them.

Bill James Said: "Also took 81% of the available extra bases on hits (such as going first to third on a single), the best of any major league player."

On This Date in 1993: December 1. A train accident occurs at Tattenham Corner railway station in Surrey, England. The driver is three times over the legal limit for alcohol consumption and crashes through a wooden station building, but luckily there are no fatalities. He will spend nine months in prison.

#330 Danny Tartabull

About the Front: You can see the seams on Danny Tartabull's pants where the pinstripes meet. It kind of messes up the visual, but what can you do?

About the Back: Tartabull used to torment the Orioles. For his career, he had a batting line of .301/.378/.548 in 96 games against Baltimore, with 22 home runs and 80 RBI. In 1991, he hit .523 (23 for 44) vs. the O's with five homers. When asked about his strategy for facing Danny in an upcoming series that year, Oriole manager Johnny Oates said:

“I’m going to find out what his room number is and call the hotel and say, ‘Cancel my wakeup call’. Then I’m going to call the cab companies and tell them not to have any taxis in front of the hotel; we’ll make him walk to the ball park. Then I’ll tell security not to let him in without an ID. Then I’ll tell Freddy (Tyler, the clubhouse man) to burn his uniform, and if he still makes it, I’ll walk him.”

Triple Play:

1. His father Jose was an outfielder for the Athletics and Red Sox from 1962 through 1970, batting .261/.303/.320 with just two home runs in 749 career games.

2. Danny was the 1985 Pacific Coast League MVP with the Calgary Cannons, Seattle's AAA affiliate. He batted .300/.385/.615 with 43 homers and 109 RBI in 125 games, becoming the first pro shortstop to hit 40 longballs in a season since Ernie Banks.

3. Recently, Tartabull has received unwanted attention by topping a list of deadbeat dads in Los Angeles. He owed over $276,000 in unpaid child support and failed to show up to serve a 180-day jail sentence in 2013.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember how unusual it seemed to see Danny as an outfielder/second baseman with the Mariners on his 1987 Topps card.

Bill James Said: "Had almost the same stats as Gil Hodges in 1952 (32 homers, 102 RBI, .254, .500 slugging percentage." Tartabull's 1993 stats were 31 HR, 102 RBI, .250 AVG, .503 SLG.

On This Date in 1993: November 28. The British paper The Observer reports that the national government has an existing channel of communications with Northern Ireland's paramilitary organization, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, or IRA. The British government had previously denied this.

#329 Mike Maddux

About the Front: The Padres were one of the early adopters in the MLB's 1990s pinstripe craze. Who actually thought that teams like the Angels and Astros needed pinstripes?

About the Back: Maddux was coming off of the best two-year stretch of his career, appearing in a total of 114 games for San Diego with a 2.42 ERA (153 ERA+).

Triple Play:

1. Mike is the only major leaguer to play college ball at the University of Texas at El Paso. The school dropped baseball in 1985, three years after he left.

2. He started 48 games in his career. His only shutout was a rain-shortened five-inning effort on April 29, 1989. The Reds reached him for only two hits, and the Phillies supported their starter with eight runs, highlighted by a Chris James grand slam.

3. Maddux got right into coaching after his pitching career ended in 2000, spending two-plus seasons with the AA Round Rock Express before a six-year stint as Brewers' pitching coach. Since 2009, he has been the pitching coach of the Texas Rangers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I never thought that Mike much resembled his younger brother Greg. Must be the mustache.

Bill James Said: "Can you name the only other Cy Young Award winners whose brothers also pitched? There were two of them. Gaylord and Jim Perry each had a brother who won the award." Eh, the Niekros were robbed. Plus, if the award had existed in the 1930s, Dizzy and Daffy Dean would make the cut.

On This Date in 1993: November 26. Remember Bob Packwood, the Republican U.S. Senator from Oregon who was charged with sexual abuse and assault towards ten women?  Back on November 26, 1993, he was clinging to his job despite calls to resign. Ultimately, he stepped down in the fall of 1995.

#328 Scott Ruskin

About the Front: Scott Ruskin's eyes are cloaked in shadow from the bill of his cap. Very mysterious.

About the Back: Look at how closely most of Scott's stats align from 1991 to 1992: 4-4 followed by 4-3, 46 and 43 strikeouts, and in both seasons he allowed 31 total runs, 30 of which were earned. Of course, he pitched 10 fewer innings in 1992 than he had in the previous year. Whoops.

Triple Play:

1. Ruskin was drafted as a first baseman/outfielder and batted .297/.363/.483 in 144 games at Class A ball, but switched to pitching after hitting only .223/.278/.317 in 90 games at AA Harrisburg in 1988.

2. He doubled off of Dodgers reliever Ray Searage on July 22, 1990 for his first major league hit, then scored on a Jay Bell single.

3. Scott finally completed his bachelor's degree in computer and information science from the University of Florida in 2003.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Ruskin's name reminds me of Luskin's, a local electronics chain run by Jack and Joe Luskin that claimed to be "the cheapest guy in town"; they went out of business in 1996. Jack Luskin's daughter Jamie co-owned the Dodgers with ex-husband Frank McCourt, but that all ended pretty poorly, as I recall.

Bill James Said: "Ruskin pitched four times for Cincinnati in September, getting a total of three men out, and was released after the season." The Royals signed him in December of 1993, but he never pitched in pro ball again.

On This Date in 1993: November 25. The Miami Dolphins topped the Dallas Cowboys 16-14 in a rare snowy Thanksgiving Day game in Irving, TX. You might remember Leon Lett's gaffe.

#327 Tim Hulett

About the Front: Some day I will tell my children that I watched baseball before there were advertisements all over the dugouts.

About the Back: How many guys can say that they were managed in college by a Hall of Famer?

Triple Play:

1. Fun with small sample sizes! In 39 plate appearances with runners in scoring position during the 1992 season, Tim batted .417/.462/.639.

2. His son Tim Jr., also known as "Tug", played for the Mariners in 2008 and the Royals in 2009, totaling 45 games and batting .194/.270/.254.

3. Hulett has coached the Rangers' low-A level Spokane Indians club for the past eight seasons. He also coaches at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, LA, and has led the Evangel Eagles to five high school state titles.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: On July 22, 1992, Hulett's four sons were walking back to their Cockeysville, MD home from a playground when six-year-old Sam darted into the path of a car and was struck. He died from his injuries the next day. It was a sad and prominent news story in this area.

Bill James Said: "He got a chance to play at third base when Gomez was hurt (and not playing well), and hit .300 (with a secondary average of .173)." In other words, Tim hit singles and very little else.

On This Date in 1993: November 24. Mrs. Doubtfire, the gender-bending Robin Williams comedy, debuts in theatres.

#326 Gary Varsho

About the Front: You normally don't see a player down in a crouch in the on-deck circle, bat knob resting against his shoulder. I'll give Gary Varsho the benefit of the doubt and assume that there's a pitching change or some other break in the action. I also can't identify the blurry teammates behind him. Both Don Slaught and Mike LaValliere had great bushy mustaches, so the catcher could be either one of them.

About the Back: Varsho is an example of the rare bats-left, throws-right player.

Triple Play:

1. In 1985 and 1986, Gary became the first back-to-back stolen base champion in the AA Eastern League, as he swiped a total of 85 bags in 104 tries for the Pittsfield Cubs.

2. He made 352 pinch hit appearances in eight big league seasons, with a .243/.296/.355 line and four home runs in those situations.

3. Varsho is currently an advance scout for the Angels. He was previously a minor league manager in the Seattle and Philadelphia farm systems, and coached in the majors for the Phillies and Pirates.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I never noticed before, but he appears incredibly close to the dugout in the front photo.

Bill James Said: "He's an excellent baserunner and a good outfielder, although he lacks a strong arm."

On This Date in 1993: November 21. Actor and director Bill Bixby, best known for his portrayal of Dr. David Banner on TV's The Incredible Hulk, passes away at age 59 after battling prostate cancer.

#325 Bill Gullickson

About the Front: Bill Gullickson's expression says, "Cecil Fielder just let a ground ball scoot through his legs, and I need to turn around and stare off into space before my eyes roll out of my head."

About the Back: Gullickson led the Giants in wins in 1988, with a sharp 3.10 ERA in 203.1 innings. He made only 15 starts in 1989, dropping to 7-5 with a 3.65 ERA. His manager with Yomiuri in 1988 was Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh.

Triple Play:

1. He was drafted second overall in 1977, right behind top pick Harold Baines. (We'll visit with Harold later.)

2. On September 10, 1980, Bill set a big league rookie record by striking out 18 Cubs in a four-hit, two-run complete game victory. He allowed only two walks, and his record stood until Kerry Wood whiffed 20 Astros in 1998.

3. Gullickson and his wife Sandy have six children, all of whom became involved in athletics. Most notably, daughter Carly is a former professional tennis player. She was active from 2003-2013, peaking with a #123 world ranking in singles and #52 in doubles. Carly and partner Travis Parrott were mixed doubles champions at the 2009 US Open.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Another card from my modest early childhood (pre-fandom) collection that still sticks with me years later is Bill's 1988 Topps card, featuring a tight closeup on his grimacing face, cloaked in shadow from the underbill of his Yankees cap.

Bill James Said: "Opened the season on the disabled list following off-season surgery to both his knee and his shoulder, and struggled most of the year." Gullickson had the worst season yet in his career, with a run support-inflated 13-9 record offset by his 5.37 ERA and 28 homers allowed in 159.1 innings. The 1994 season (4-5, 5.93 ERA, 24 HR in 115.1 IP) would be his last.

On This Date in 1993: November 20. LPGA golfer Heather Farr dies at age 28 after a four-year battle with breast cancer.

#324 Willie Randolph

About the Front: This is the final Topps card of Willie Randolph's long career, as he hung up his spikes after spending his age-37 season with the Mets. He had grown up rooting for the Mets, and took #12 as a nod to Ken Boswell, the team's former second baseman.

About the Back: Topps didn't include on-base percentage on its card backs in 1993, so you can't see that Willie reached base at a .373 clip for his career.

Triple Play:

1. He was a six-time All-Star and was widely regarded as a strong defensive second baseman. However, Lou Whitaker and Frank White monopolized the American League's Gold Glove at the keystone during Randolph's prime.

2. Willie's younger brother Terry played defensive back for the Green Bay Packers in 1977.

3. He spent a decade coaching for the Yankees before returning to the Mets as manager. Though he led the team to a .554 winning percentage in three-plus seasons, including a trip to the NLCS in 2006, he was fired 69 games into the 2008 season. Randolph then coached for the Brewers and Orioles through 2011.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I never would have guessed back then that I would some day complete the 1975 Topps set, which features Willie's rookie card.

Bill James Said: No he didn't, since as I mentioned, Randolph retired after the 1992 season.

On This Date in 1993: November 19. Joey Gallo is born. The Rangers will draft him with a first-round compensation pick in June 2012, and he will go on to hit 104 home runs in his first 296 minor league games while striking out 429 times. Pete Incaviglia, eat your heart out.