#501 Johnny Oates and Bobby Cox

About the Front: Topps did something new in 1993, placing one American League manager and one National League manager on a shared card and including them as a 14-card subset in Series Two. As you can see, they're superimposed over a pixelated black and white photo of a dugout, which is kind of an ugly graphic choice.

About the Back: The pre-and-post All-Star Break records are a cool touch. My Orioles were only four games back of the Blue Jays at midseason, but fell off the pace a bit and finished in third place, seven games behind Toronto and three behind Milwaukee.

Triple Play:

1. Johnny Oates was a reserve catcher for the Orioles, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, and Yankees from 1970 through 1981. He batted .250/.309/.313 overall. Despite posting winning records for three straight years as Orioles' manager, he was fired during the 1994-95 players' strike. The Rangers hired Johnny right away, and he led the team to three AL West titles in six full seasons, earning Manager of the Year honors in 1996. Unfortunately, he died of brain cancer at age 58 in 2004. The Rangers retired his number 26 posthumously.

2. Bobby Cox played third base for the Yankees in 1968 and 1969, batting .225/.310/.309 in 220 games. Knee troubles forced his retirement at age 30, but he found his calling as a manager. Cox helmed the Braves from 1978 through 1981 and the Blue Jays from 1982 through 1985, winning the East Division title and AL Manager of the Year in his last season in Toronto. He spent the next five years as Atlanta's GM before moving back to the dugout in 1990. He would stay through 2010, winning an astonishing 15 division titles and five National League pennants. He guided the Braves to a World Series win in 1995, and earned three more selections as Manager of the Year. In all, his managerial record was 2,504-2,001, a lofty .556 winning percentage. His win total is fourth all-time, behind Connie Mack, John McGraw, and Tony LaRussa. Bobby was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2014.

3. Cox was ejected from a game 159 times in his managerial career, an MLB record.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I don't think that I properly appreciated Johnny Oates when he was managing the O's. It only took one year of Phil Regan (71-73 in 1995) for me to realize what I was missing.

Bill James Said: He didn't assess the managers directly in his Player Ratings Book. I'll put this category on ice until we're done with the Managers subset.

On This Date in 1993: March 1. Actor Terry Frost dies of a heart attack at age 86. He appeared in numerous western films and television series during the 1940s and 1950s.