#108 Jose Lind

About the Front: The deeper I delve into this set, the more I realize that I've taken the horizontal cards for granted. Look at this action-packed scene: Jose Lind blocking the bag, preparing to slap a tag on would-be base thief Delino DeShields as the Expos' speedster slides in head-first in a cloud of dirt. A vertically-oriented card wouldn't be able to capture that moment just so. Anyway, was he safe or out? I checked the box scores from 1992, and "Bop" only attempted one steal with Lind covering second in games at Pittsburgh that year. It was June 21, 1992, and he made it safely against the battery of Jeff Robinson and Mike LaValliere. Just going by the photo, I would have assumed DeShields was out, but I guess Jose still had the ball at eye level while Delino's momentum was carrying him ever-closer to his destination. Or he could've dropped the ball while trying to put down the tag.

About the Back: Lind's three home runs in 1991 constituted a power surge for him, but it was fleeting. In the remaining four seasons of his career, he had only one homer in 1,433 plate appearances.

Triple Play:

1. He was awarded the Gold Glove for his play at second base in 1992, breaking Ryne Sandberg's decade-long death grip on the prize. Ironically, it was Jose's misplay of a David Justice grounder that helped spur the Braves' ninth-inning comeback in Game 7 of that year's NLCS.

2. Lind was an unusual character who kept a set of big knives in his locker in Pittsburgh and would pretend to stab at teammates to startle them. He had problems with alcohol and cocaine that expedited the end of his major league career, but has reportedly been clean since 1997.

3. He managed the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League from 2003 through 2005, winning 200 games and losing 192.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember Lind being referred to often by his nickname "Chico", a moniker that was probably not given to him by WWF wrestler (and Tony Montana knockoff) Razor Ramon.

Bill James Said: "He's a fine second baseman, fairly good range and turns the double play as well as the next guy, but is a complete cipher with the bat." I assume that Bill's going for the archaic definition of cipher, which is a zero.

On This Date in 1993: November 15. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera join the cast of The New Mickey Mouse Club, a series on the Disney Channel. And thus the Seventh Seal was opened.