#93 Pedro Astacio

About the Front: Pedro Astacio knows that the smart pitcher accessorizes. Check out his glove, with its lovely shade of Dodger blue.

About the Back: Seriously? Pedro tosses four shutouts in his first 11 career starts and you're giving shout-outs to his high school and the scouts who signed him? Bad form, Topps.

Triple Play:

1. Astacio spent parts of five seasons in the middle of his career pitching for the Rockies, an unenviable task. How out-of-whack was the offensive environment in Denver before the humidor? In 1999, Pedro went 17-11 with an ERA+ of 115, struck out 210 batters in 232 innings, set a team record with seven complete games...and had an earned run average of 5.04.

2. He owns a ranch in Quisqueya in the Dominican Republic. It is reportedly adjacent to the ranch of former Orioles/Mets/etc. closer Armando Benitez.

3. Wikipedia tells me that Astacio applied for Pakistani citizenship because of his amateur interest in jai alai, but this is unsourced. A Google search turned up a message board post from a Padres' fan in 2008. I'm gonna say that this is probably bunk, but it's also too weird to go unmentioned.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I was always amused because his name reminded me of pistachios.

Bill James Said: "He embodies most of the things you look for in a young pitcher - a power pitcher working in a pitcher's park, whose arm was not abused at an early age." Yeah, moving from Dodger Stadium to Coors Field must have been a shock to the system.

On This Date in 1993: October 23. Blue Jays 8, Phillies 6. Back-to-back World Champions for Toronto. "Touch 'em all, Joe!"