Thursday, July 23, 2015

#457 Tracy Woodson

About the Front: This was Tracy Woodson's first Topps card since the 1989 base set. I can't think of anyone else in the 1993 set who might have had such a long drought.
About the Back: Tracy's single-season home run record still stands at NC State, though Turtle Zaun tied the mark in 1988.

Triple Play:

1. He appeared in seven postseason games for the Dodgers in 1988, primarily as a pinch hitter. Batting for Franklin Stubbs in the top of the seventh inning in Game Four of the World Series, he gave L.A. a 4-2 lead with an RBI groundout. The Dodgers went on to win, 4-3.

2. Tracy had the dubious honor of striking out while pinch-hitting for Dodgers pitcher Tim Belcher, thereby making the final out of Reds pitcher Tom Browning's perfect game on September 16, 1988.

3. Woodson was a minor league manager from 1998-2004, working in the Pirates, Padres, and Marlins organizations and winning the Southern League championship in 2003 with the Carolina Mudcats. He's been a head coach in the NCAA since 2007, first at Valparaiso University, and now at the University of Richmond.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I never did like the no-sideburns look.

Bill James Said: "Stan Royer plays the same position(s) and is a similar hitter, and I'm guessing that Royer will get Woodson's job." After batting just .208 with no power or walks in pinch-hit duty in 1993, Woodson never played in the majors again. He spent three more seasons plugging along at AAA before retiring.

On This Date in 1993: July 23. There's a three-way tie atop the American League Eastern Division, as Boston tops Oakland in 10 innings, the Yankees beat the Angels, and Toronto falls to the Rangers. At 53-43, the Red Sox technically lead the Yanks and Blue Jays (both 54-44) by a single percentage point. Meanwhile, the Orioles, winners vs. the Twins, lurk a half-game behind the trio at 53-44.

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