#20 Tim Salmon

About the Front: Tim Salmon was fortunate enough to get a solo card in the 1993 Topps set, which is more than 1993's other Rookie of the Year can say. (More on that later.) Not only that, but he got a card number on the 10's. Pretty heady treatment for a rookie, but he had just put up a 1.141 OPS in 118 games at AAA. Topps rolled the dice and it worked out well in this case.

I'd also mention that Tim Salmon was one of those guys who didn't age much cosmetically throughout his career. He looked much the same in 2006 as he did in 1992.

About the Back: The Angels scout who signed Salmon was actually his future big league coach (and current Rays skipper) Joe Maddon. With an "o". No respect from Topps.

Triple Play:

1. What Could've Been: The Braves drafted Tim in the 18th round in 1986, but he declined to sign, instead attending Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

2. Salmon played his entire 14-year career for the Angels, finishing with a batting line of .282/.385/.498, 299 home runs, and 1,016 RBI. Remarkably, he never made an All-Star team.

3. In the only postseason of his career, he helped power the Angels to a seven-game World Series triumph over the Giants with a .346/.452/.615 line in 31 trips to the plate. His performance in Game Two (4-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB) was instrumental, as the Halos won a wild 11-10 contest.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: This guy seems pretty fishy, eh? Huh? Even as an adolescent, I loved terrible puns.

Bill James Said: (After suggesting that Salmon doesn't run or make contact enough to be a great star...) "But he should provide the Angels with a solid cleanup hitter for several years." Bill James is right more than he's wrong, you know.

On This Date in 1993: June 13. The WWF's King of the Ring pay-per-view event took place in the Nutter Center in Dayton, OH. Bret "the Hitman" Hart won the eight-man-tournament to become King, and Hulk Hogan lost the World Heavyweight Title to the 600-pound super-heavyweight Yokozuna. It was Hogan's last match in WWF until 2002. (C'mon, you knew I was going to work in a pro wrestling tidbit sooner or later.)