#102 Brian Hunter

About the Front: Rarely does a picture capture its subject looking so uncertain and awkward fielding his position, especially when that position is first base. Somebody must have had it in for Brian Hunter.

About the Back: Hunter hit 26 home runs in his first 509 big league at-bats. You've probably forgotten that he had that much pop.

Triple Play:

1. Here's another player who had a contemporary who was homonymous: speedy outfielder Brian Lee Hunter played for the Astros, Tigers, and four other teams from 1994 through 2003. Our guy is Brian Raynold Hunter, and his career spanned from 1991 through 2000.

2. Hunter hit seven pinch homers in his career; two of those were walk-off shots.

3. Brian has worked as a scout for the Nationals, Mets, and Braves, and signed pitcher Marco Estrada while with Washington. Estrada is currently a starter for the Brewers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought Hunter was one of the odder-looking players of his generation. There was something about his combination of beady eyes with bags underneath and his perpetually underdeveloped mustache that just seemed...off.

Bill James Said: "Exiled to Richmond after the McGriff trade, almost sent to Expos as part of the deal that Denny Martinez vetoed." That near-trade had long since slipped my mind. The deals that were never consummated are often fascinating; who knows how many have slipped through the cracks in the years since?

On This Date in 1993: November 7. An excerpt from that day's New York Magazine: "It has to have significance that Tiffany Trump was born on the same day Woolworth's announced its intention to close almost 1,000 stores and put 13,000 people out of work." Thank goodness that we've narrowed the gap between the haves and the have-nots since then...ahem.