#134 Lee Guetterman

About the Front: It looks like the Mets are hosting the Astros, judging from the ghost runner on first base. Also, Lee Guetterman is a tall dude. He looks every inch of his listed height of 6'8".

About the Back: This is one of my favorite two-sentence bios so far. We learn that Lee has a fallback career option of teaching, that Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University, it was founded by Bible-thumping blowhard Jerry Falwell) somehow produced a pair of contemporary big leaguers, and that Guetterman is a European travel enthusiast. Much better than just listing off a handful of big home runs or complete games.

Triple Play:

1. In 1987, Lee won his first five decisions and eight of his first nine. Including his 5-1 start to the season at AAA Calgary, he posted 16 wins against five losses that year.

2. Pitching out of the Yankee bullpen in 1989, Guetterman was unscored upon in his first 19 appearances of the season. His record-setting streak reached 30.2 shutout innings before the Angels hung a five-spot on him in the ninth inning on May 24. Chili Davis' leadoff homer was the bagel-buster.

3. He now lives in Lenoir City, TN with his wife Drew.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: To my unrefined eyes and ears, his name was pronounced "Gooter-men". As I got older, I read it as "Gwetter-men". According to this site, it should actually be "Getter-men". Let's call the whole thing off!

Bill James Said: "I had Lee Guetterman, who was out of work, valued at $3. He pitched 40 times, and pitched well." Always nice to see a guy put up a 2.93 ERA (135 ERA+) as a middle reliever a year after being dumped by both New York teams.

On This Date in 1993: January 3. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine premieres as a syndicated TV series in the United States. It is the third distinct series in the Star Trek franchise; at current writing, there are five total.