#187 John Dopson

About the Front: The "JRY" patch on John Dopson's left sleeve is a memorial for Red Sox owner Jean R. Yawkey, who died at age 83 in February of 1992.

About the Back: Here we go again, digging out AAA and rookie-year highlights for a guy eight years later. It makes it seem like the rest of Dopson's MLB career was an indiscriminate slog.

Triple Play:

1. John held Steve Sax to two singles and three walks in their 26 meetings.

2. His lone career shutout was a three-hitter against the White Sox on April 19, 1993.

3. From 1996 through 1999, Dopson pitched in Independent ball with the Tennessee Tomahawks and the Tri-City (WA) Posse, going 30-9 with a cumulative ERA of 2.84. His teammates included Sam Horn, Mike Felder, Ernie Riles, and Mike Campbell.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought it was neat that Dopson was born in Baltimore, just like me. But once his big league career ended in 1994, he was out of sight and out of mind.

Bill James Said: "Two straight 7-11 seasons may get him an endorsement contract with a convenience store company, but otherwise could not be considered lucky."

On This Date in 1993: April 4. Alfred Mosher Butts, the American architect who invented the popular board game Scrabble, died just shy of his 94th birthday.