#154 Wes Chamberlain

About the Front: That's quite a power stroke by Wes Chamberlain. But I'm more interested in the blue Liberty Bell logo that's peeking out from his red stirrup sock. Nice touch!

About the Back: The writeup mentions a go-ahead home run that Chamberlain hit in Wrigley Field, and the photo on the back shows him playing in front of Wrigley's famous ivy-covered outfield fence. How's that for synergy?

Triple Play:

1. Wes starred in the 1993 NLCS, batting .364 (4-for-11) with a walk and three doubles, but had just a pair of pinch-hitting appearances in the World Series. He went 0-for-2.

2. The only walk-off home run of Chamberlain's career was also his last homer as a big leaguer, a ninth-inning tiebreaking shot off of rookie Armando Benitez in Fenway Park on May 9, 1995.

3. He last played in MLB in 1995, and had his last game in the affiliated minors in 1998, but continued playing in independent leagues through the 2004 season. Wes was a Winnipeg Goldeneye, a Schaumburg Flyer, a Long Island Duck, a Newark Bear, and a Gary Southshore Railcat.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: The most notable thing about Wes Chamberlain to a young collector was the erroneous variation of his 1991 Topps rookie card, featuring a picture of Wes' teammate Louie Meadows. I owned a factory set that featured the corrected version, so I've never seen the error card first-hand.

Bill James Said: "The Eisenreich/Chamberlain combination was among the most effective platoons in the majors last year, along with Incaviglia/Thompson and Wilkins/Lake." The Phillies had two of the three combos mentioned, which went a long way towards capturing the NL pennant.

On This Date in 1993: February 3. Major League Baseball suspends Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott for the upcoming season and levies a $250,000 fine due to her recent racially offensive comments.