#137 Alan Mills

About the Front: So many great little details. The tried-and-true Alan Mills "horseshoe" mustache, the cap brim pulled low over his eyes (though I've seen him go even lower), the oddball #75 jersey, and the tin of what I assume is chewing tobacco protruding from the back pants pocket.

About the Back: The Yankees give an award for the best rookie performance...in Spring Training? Does any other team do that?

Triple Play:

1. His first love was football, but he turned to baseball after doctors discovered that he had been born with only one kidney.

2. During a bench-clearing brawl between the Orioles and the Yankees on May 19, 1998, Mills famously bloodied Darryl Strawberry with a mean right cross in the New York dugout.

3. Alan is currently a pitching coach in the Baltimore farm system.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I had an Orioles game program from 1993 that included an article on Mills and his baseball card collecting hobby. There were pictures of him rooting through stacks of 1991 Topps in his home. It's always fun to find common ground with pro athletes.

Bill James Said: "Limited hitters to a .187 batting average when there were men on base, best in the American League."

On This Date in 1993: January 8. The comedic horror B-movie Leprechaun premieres, starring Warwick Davis and a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston.