#271 Wally Whitehurst

About the Front: By the time this card came out, Wally Whitehurst was a San Diego Padre. He was one of three players sent out by the Mets in exchange for shortstop Tony Fernandez.

About the Back: 46 strikeouts and 9 walks in 1990 - that's a very good 5.11 K/BB ratio.

Triple Play:

1. He earned his first big league save on May 7, 1990 with 2.2 scoreless innings in relief of Frank Viola, who was just featured on card #270. Now isn't that a coincidence?

2. Wally made two starts for the Yankees in 1996, allowing six runs in eight innings to cap his MLB career. I would've assumed that he was the most obscure member of that championship roster, but check it out. Matt Howard? Dave Pavlas? Dale Polley? I'm not even sure those are real people.

3. Whitehurst spent several years coaching in the minors with the Padres and the Pirates. Wikipedia tells me that he's now living in Houma, LA, where he's a salesman in oil and gas.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Is "Wally Whitehurst" the most cartoon character name in the 1993 Topps set?

Bill James Said: "He didn't win, mostly because of his team, and went on the disabled list three times with a strained rotator cuff."

On This Date in 1993: August 28. Juan Gonzalez hits three of the Rangers' five home runs in an 11-1 rout of the Orioles. Doug Strange and Dean Palmer also go deep, with Texas scoring all of their runs off of starter Fernando Valenzuela and reliever Kevin McGehee in the first six innings.