#148 Steve Finley

About the Front: Steve Finley is turned in such a way that you can follow the thick navy blue piping all the way from his armpit down to his ankle. It's a shame that it doesn't quite line up right with the stirrup sock.

About the Back: "Acq.: Trade." Eight little letters, but so insidious. That would be THE Glenn Davis trade, which I've moaned about numerous times on my own blog and will discuss again here when we touch upon the other persons involved (Pete Harnisch, Curt Schilling, and Davis). Ugh.

Triple Play:

1. Do you like cherry-picked stats? Here's a fun one: Only two players in MLB history have totaled 300 home runs, 425 doubles, 100 triples, and 300 steals. They are Steve Finley and Willie Mays.

2. I've always loved guys that played forever. Old age trivia! Finley is the oldest player to lead his league in triples (an NL-high 10 in 2003 at age 38), and to play 100 games in center field (where he saw action in 130 games at age 41 with the 2006 Giants). On April 8, 2006, Steve was one-third of the oldest starting outfield in major league history along with left fielder Barry Bonds (age 41) and right fielder Moises Alou (age 39).

3. Steve and former teammate Brady Anderson are brothers in-law.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: As a relatively-new Orioles fan in 1993, I already had the sense that the blockbuster that sent Finley, Harnisch, and Schilling to Houston for Glenn Davis was a disaster. Little did I know that those three would combine for 36 more big league seasons from that point forward. Finley was productive through 2004, when he slugged .490 with 36 homers, and Schilling was a quality starter up through his injury-shortened final year of 2007.

Bill James Said: "A Brett Butler-type player, hits the ball harder than Butler, doesn't bunt as much or walk as much, but fast, durable, a good center fielder and a pretty good base stealer." By 1996, Steve was hitting the ball MUCH harder than Butler.

On This Date in 1993: January 24. In Turkey, thousands protest the murder of investigative journalist Ugur Mumcu. He was killed outside his home by a car bomb that had been rigged to detonate when he stared his car. The murder is still unsolved, but there are several theorized assassins, including the CIA, the Turkish deep state and armed forces, Counter-Guerilla, and Kurdish forces.