#481 Ryan Luzinski

About the Front: Nothing says "newbie" like a baseball player wearing a jersey number in the eighties. I like it, though; he's wearing my year of birth.

About the Back: Ryan's dad, Greg "the Bull" Luzinski, is something of a cult hero in Chicago and especially in Philadelphia, where he was a four-time All-Star and now owns "Bull's Barbecue", a food stand in Citizens Bank Park.

Triple Play:

1. Luzinski signed with the Dodgers for a $500,000 bonus after being drafted with the 32nd overall pick, which L.A. received as compensation for losing Eddie Murray as a free agent.

2. His best overall season in the minors was 1996, when he batted .311/.371/.443 in 71 total games at three different levels.

3. Ryan never made it to the major leagues, and only totaled 55 games at AAA in parts of three seasons.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I must not have paid close attention to the Orioles' minor league affiliates; I never knew that Luzinski spent the 1997 and 1998 seasons in the Baltimore organization. He spent most of that time at AA Bowie, with 46 games at AAA Rochester tossed in for good measure.

Bill James Said: Nothing. There weren't many teenage catchers on Bill's radar.

On This Date in 1993: September 13. The Rockies and Astros are snowed out in Denver, thanks to a late summer storm that drops over five inches of the white stuff; the previous day's high temperature had been 92 degrees.

#469 Dave Hansen

About the Front: I like to imagine that Dave Hansen just fell butt-first into a sinkhole in Wrigley Field and he's asking for a helping hand.

About the Back: Hansen fared much better than high school outfielder Michael White, the player the Dodgers chose ahead of him in 1986. White spent seven seasons in the minor leagues, reaching AAA for just a single game in 1992.

Triple Play:

1. Hansen's best overall season was 1993, when he batted .362/.465/.505 in 127 plate appearances in a bench role for the Dodgers.

2. In 2000, Dave set a major league record with seven pinch hit home runs, six of which either tied the game or put the Dodgers ahead.

3. In recent years, he has served as hitting coach for the Dodgers and Mariners. He is currently the Angels' assistant hitting coach.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I'm sure I was very impressed by Dave's high batting average in 1993, especially considering that he batted just .214 the previous year. Apparently a back injury in 1992 hampered his performance.

Bill James Said: "Had a great year as a pinch hitter, and may have earned another shot at the third base job, which has been up for grabs since Ron Cey was traded in 1983."

On This Date in 1993: August 17. The Orioles sign 16-year-old Aruban pitcher Sidney Ponson as an amateur free agent. He will pitch in the majors from 1998 through 2009, accumulating 91 wins, 113 losses with a 5.03 ERA (89 ERA+) and three arrests.

#450 Darryl Strawberry

About the Front: The blurry fans in the background look like they're right on the field. For safety's sake, I'm sure that's not true.

About the Back: Two homers is all well and good, but Darryl had a pair of three-homer games in his career, separated by more than a decade: August 5, 1985 for the Mets and August 6, 1996 for the Yankees.

Triple Play:

1. Late in his career, Strawberry found new life as a part-timer for the Yankees. In 1998, he hit two pinch grand slams during the regular season; only four other players have performed that feat.

2. Darryl is both a recovered drug addict and a survivor of colon cancer. He currently lives in Missouri with his wife Tracy and is a born-again Christian minister.

3. His son D. J. (Darryl Jr.) was a swingman and point guard for the University of Maryland basketball team (2003-2007). He was a second-round draft pick of the Phoenix Suns, and has played pro basketball ever since, spending much of that time in Europe.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Thanks to The Simpsons, I've always suspected that the mocking chant of "DAAAARRR-RRYYYLLL, DAAAARRR-RRYYYLLL" will actually reduce Strawberry to tears.

Bill James Said: "The back injury which has cost him most of the last two years is obviously serious and probably chronic."

On This Date in 1993: July 10. Television screenwriter Sam Rolfe, who co-created Have Gun - Will Travel and also wrote for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Eleventh Hour, dies of a heart attack at age 69.

#418 Jim Gott

About the Front: It looks like Jim Gott is wearing a brace on his right knee under his pants. Or it could just be visible panty line.

About the Back: Jim was a shrewd waiver pickup by the Pirates in mid-1987, as his ERA was three runs lower in Pittsburgh than it had been in San Francisco, and he took over closer duties from Don Robinson.

Triple Play:

1. On May 12, 1985, he hit a pair of solo home runs against Bob Forsch of the Cardinals. Alas, Jim received no decision, as Mark Davis blew the save.

2. Throughout his career Gott, whose surname is the German word for "God", faced infielder Tim Teufel, whose surname is the German word for "devil", 11 times. Tim walked twice and went 2-for-9 with a home run, for a line of .222/.364/.556.

3. He taught actor Dennis Quaid how to pitch for the film The Rookie.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember when Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's record by playing in his 2,131st consecutive game. Gott, who was on the disabled list with the Pirates at the time (September 1995), appeared as a part of the postgame ceremonies to present Cal with the game ball from the first game of the streak: May 30, 1982. Jim had been the opposing pitcher that day, and had beaten Jim Palmer for his first career win. I've always thought that it was a pretty incredible and selfless gesture.

Bill James Said: "My guess is that Lasorda will keep him in the closer role, rather than moving Pedro Martinez there, because a) Gott pitched well, and b) Lasorda, like many managers, prefers a veteran in that role." Pedro, of course, was traded to the Expos for 1994, and fortunately they saw him as a starting pitcher. However, Todd Worrell wound up closing for the Dodgers.

On This Date in 1993: May 4. The Rockies outlast the Cubs 14-13 in an 11-inning slugfest in Wrigley Field. Chicago takes a 5-4 lead with a four-run rally in the seventh inning, then the Rockies put up a half-dozen runs in the very next at-bat, only to surrender the lead by giving up five in the bottom of the ninth. Chuck McElroy coughs up four Colorado runs in the top of the 11th, and Willie Blair gives three runs back in the home half before slamming the door. Sammy Sosa goes 5-for-6 with a double, a pair of homers, and five RBI in the losing cause. Joe Girardi, Jerald Clark, Charlie Hayes, and Jim Tatum all go deep for the Rox.

#365 Tom Candiotti

About the Front: Tom Candiotti is pitching in San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, where he made three road starts in 1992. He posted a 1-2 record with a 4.43 ERA in the Murph that year, allowing 10 runs (and five home runs) in 20.1 innings.

About the Back: The "Victoria" team that signed Tom in 1979 as an amateur free agent was the Victoria (British Columbia) Mussels of the Northwest League. They were one of two unaffiliated clubs in the low-A minor league. After he went 5-1 with a 2.44 ERA in 12 games, the Royals signed him the following year.

Triple Play:

1. Candiotti underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in 1981. When he debuted with the Brewers in 1983, he became the first player to pitch in the big leagues after having that surgery since Tommy John himself.

2. Tom had a brief cameo in Billy Crystal's movie 61*, which chronicled Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's 1961 race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. He portrayed Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm.

3. In 2007, he became the second celebrity inducted into the International Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum, following ex-Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I didn't know just by looking at this card that Candiotti was a knuckleballer. There's no mention of his rare pitching style, and the photo on the front doesn't really capture his delivery.

Bill James Said: "His offensive support, 2.53 runs per nine innings, was easily the worst in the major leagues." That's how Tom went 8-10 with a 3.12 ERA (122 ERA+) in 1993.

On This Date in 1993: January 28. British actor Will Poulter (The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Maze Runner) is born.

#338 Bob Ojeda

About the Front: Bob Ojeda wore #17 with the Dodgers because #19 (which he'd worn as a Met) was retired for Jim Gilliam.

About the Back: As we all know, a nine-hit shutout requires the use of the term "scattered". You can reach back to April 14, 1988 for Ojeda's lowest-hit shutout, a two-hitter against the Expos. In that game, the lefty stranded the bases loaded while clinging to a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning.

Triple Play:

1. Bob was the winning pitcher in the longest game in pro baseball history as a member of the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1981. He relieved Bruce Hurst in the top of the 33rd inning, got three outs without allowing a run, and benefited from Dave Koza's RBI single in the home half.

2. He beat his former Boston teammates in Game Three of the 1986 World Series, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings. He also started the fateful Game Six, yielding only two runs in six innings, but departing with a no-decision.

3. Late in the 1988 season, the tip of Ojeda's left middle finger was severed by an electric hedge trimmer while he was doing yard work at home. The digit was repaired in an emergency surgery, but he missed the playoffs, and the Mets were bounced from the NLCS by the Dodgers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: My introduction to Bob Ojeda was as the sole survivor of the tragic boating accident that claimed the lives of Cleveland teammates Tim Crews and Steve Olin in early 1993.

Bill James Said: "Highly traumatic events, however, change people in unpredictable ways; it might make him feel that there is more to life than baseball, or it might push him to a new level of dedication." In Ojeda's case, his career was just about over. He allowed eight runs in three innings for the Yankees in 1994 and that was that.

On This Date in 1993: December 10. The computer game Doom, an influential first-person shooter with cutting-edge 3D graphics, is released by id Software.

#311 Jay Howell

About the Front: Good Lord! Where did Jay Howell's right arm go?

About the Back: Looking at those palm trees reminds me that we're in for a long winter. I miss baseball already.

Triple Play: 

1. Howell was an All-Star in 1985, 1987, and 1989. How he made the team in 1987, when he had a 4.86 ERA at the break, is beyond me.

2. In Game Three of the 1988 NLCS against the Mets, he was ejected for having pine tar on his glove and suspended for three days.

3. Jay was an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge from 1998 through 2005, leading the team to two Big Sky Conference championships.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I always thought that his middle name (Canfield) was quite unusual. I assume it was a family name.

Bill James Said: "Removed from the closer role there was less pressure to get him in the game when he wasn't 100%, and he pitched more games and innings than he had since 1989." Howell allowed 48 hits in 58 innings for the Braves in 1993, with a 2.31 ERA.

On This Date in 1993: October 30. Let's go with that day's Calvin and Hobbes strip!

#284 Henry Rodriguez

About the Front: Henry Rodriguez has his hands positioned oddly on the bat during this follow-through. It looks like he's only gripping the handle with two fingers of his bottom hand.

About the Back: He blew away the Texas League competition in 1990, hitting 28 home runs and driving in 109 to earn MVP honors. No one else topped 21 homers or 88 RBI.

Triple Play:

1. Henry got started with a bang, hitting his first two big league home runs off of Jose Rijo and Dwight Gooden in August of 1992.

2. He became a fan favorite in Montreal, where he had his lone All-Star season in 1996 while reaching career highs of 42 doubles, 36 home runs, and 103 RBI. Fans used to throw "Oh Henry!" candy bars onto the field after he went deep.

3. In 2005, three years after playing his last MLB game, Rodriguez led the Atlantic League with a .322 average for the Long Island Ducks. He also homered 27 times in 92 games.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I was surprised when he finally broke out in 1996. As a fan of an American League East team, I'd heard next to nothing about Rodriguez during his previously unimpressive years in Los Angeles.

Bill James Said: "He is only 26, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that he isn't going to get beyond the part-time outfielder status, at least unless somebody gets hurt."

On This Date in 1993: September 22. An Amtrak passenger train derailed on the Big Bayou Canot bridge in northeast Mobile, Alabama. 47 people were killed and another 103 injured, making it the deadliest crash in Amtrak history.

#255 Orel Hershiser

About the Front: Orel Hershiser is wearing a patch commemorating the 30th anniversary of Dodger Stadium. See it in greater detail here.

About the Back: 15 complete games in 1988. In 2013, Adam Wainwright led the major leagues with five.

Triple Play:

1. Orel pitched out of his damn mind in capturing the 1988 Cy Young Award, NLCS MVP, and World Series MVP. In addition to all of the gaudy numbers you see on the card back above, he ended the regular season with 59 and one-third straight scoreless innings, totaling 30 hits allowed, nine walks, and 34 strikeouts in that span. He had eight straight complete games from August 19 through September 23, and left his final start on September 28 after tossing 10 shutout innings (the Dodgers ultimately fell to the Padres, 2-1, in 16 innings).

2. His career spanned 18 big league seasons, including three years with the Indians and a season each with the Giants and the Mets before returning to Los Angeles for a rough 10-game stint in 2000. Hershiser totaled 204 wins and 150 losses with a 3.48 ERA.

3. He spent four seasons as the Rangers' pitching coach before becoming a TV analyst for ESPN's baseball coverage in 2006. He stayed with the network until 2014, when he returned to the Dodgers as a TV analyst for road games.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Hershiser batted .356 (26-for-73) in 1993; his average had peaked at .424 entering September, but he endured a 1-for-14 slump to end the year. I swear that I remember hearing a facetious report that the Dodgers were going to start giving him time at third base to get his bat in the lineup on days that he wasn't pitching.

Bill James Said: "A ground-ball pitcher; over the past four years he is 2-11 on artificial turf."

On This Date in 1993: July 21. Tony Phillips goes 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in Detroit's 7-2 loss vs. the Twins. This is the only time in a 101-game stretch spanning from May 26-September 26 that Phillips fails to reach base at least once. Kevin Tapani gets the win and Carl Willis the save for Minnesota.

#228 Tom Goodwin

About the Front: I've heard of "dancing off first base", but I don't know that I've ever seen it so literally. My guess is that Tom Goodwin might be preparing to hop out of the way of a bouncing ball struck by the batter.

About the Back: Tom was actually the Dodgers' first-round pick in 1989, 22nd overall. I never realized how slipshod Topps' transactions data was in this set.

Triple Play:

1. In parts of 14 seasons, Goodwin stole 369 bases, with a high of 66 with the Royals in 1996.

2. On June 3, 2001, Tom went 5-for-5 with a double, a pair of steals, and three runs scored in the Dodgers' 9-8 win over Houston.

3. He is currently the Mets' first base coach, having replaced Mookie Wilson after the 2011 season.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I associated Tom Goodwin with Curtis Goodwin, the fleet outfielder who debuted with the Orioles in 1995 and was subsequently traded to the Reds for David Wells. No relation, though.

Bill James Said: "He's never going to be a regular, and getting those 25th-man slots is as much a matter of luck and personality as it is skill." Leave it to the Royals to prove James wrong, giving Tom 1,124 plate appearances in 1995-96 despite an OPS+ of 77.

On This Date in 1993: June 6. A wild Orioles-Mariners brawl erupts at Camden Yards after Mike Mussina plunks Seattle catcher Bill Haselman. In the ensuing melee, Mussina tweaks his shoulder. Though he doesn't miss time until mid-August, he will finish the year with an uncharacteristic 4.46 ERA. Cal Ripken, Jr. is also hurt, twisting his knee when his spikes catch in the infield grass. Ripken's consecutive-games-played streak, then at 1,790, seems to be in jeopardy, but swelling in the knee subsides in time for the next evening's game against Oakland.

#202 Mike Scioscia

About the Front: This is a great action photo; Mike Scioscia's helmet, suspended in midair, completely makes the card. But I almost wish they'd gone with a wider angle to provide context. Is he in the middle of a lunge home, preparing to tag a runner? We'll never know.

About the Back: I have a friend from Upper Darby. It's a nice little suburb just to the west of Philadelphia.

Triple Play:

1. In 1990, Scioscia became the first Dodgers catcher to start the All-Star Game since Hall of Famer Roy Campanella in 1954.

2. Mike was not known for his speed. As Tommy Lasorda once put it: "If he raced his pregnant wife he'd finish third."

3. He is currently in his 15th season as Angels' manager. He's won Manager of the Year twice (2002, 2009), and led the team to their first World Series title in 2002.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I first knew Scioscia as the catcher on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's ringer softball team. "Mike Scioscia's tragic illness made us smile..."

Bill James Said: Zippo. Mike signed with the Padres after the 1992 season, suffered a torn rotator cuff in spring training '93, and never played in the big leagues again.

On This Date in 1993: April 25. Todd Stottlemyre outduels Alex Fernandez in a 1-0 Toronto win over the White Sox. Darrin Jackson's eighth-inning solo home run makes a hard-luck loser out of Fernandez.

#177 Lenny Harris

About the Front: I hope that Lenny Harris waited until he made contact to release the bat with his left hand. He's not Reggie Jackson, after all.

About the Back: I wonder if they give out trophies for the Eastern League's Best Defensive Third Baseman? Or maybe a nice gift certificate for Wendy's?

Triple Play:

1. Lenny holds a number of pinch hit records, including: most career pinch hits (212), most pinch hit at-bats in a season (83 in 2001), and most career pinch hit at-bats (804).

2. He spoiled Mark Gardner's no-hit bid on July 26, 1991 with a leadoff single in the tenth inning. Two batters later, he scored the winning run on a base hit by Darryl Strawberry.

3. Like many ex-players, Harris got into coaching, and spent two seasons as the batting instructor for the Nationals. In 2010, he was working for the Dodgers as a minor league instructor when he suffered a massive heart attack while throwing batting practice. He underwent a successful triple bypass and has had no further health problems since.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Before researching him for this blog entry, I couldn't have told you any more about Lenny Harris than I knew as a kid - that he was a pinch hit specialist.

Bill James Said: "He's an awfully good bench player - a lefthanded line drive hitter who can run and play third base or second."

On This Date in 1993: March 17. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, also known as the PKK, declares a unilateral ceasefire in Iraq.

#145 Eric Young

About the Front: EY just got bipped, kids! Once again, I've used my mystical powers (of box-score reading) to determine that this photo was taken on August 13, 1992. Bip Roberts singled twice, but was  wiped out on the basepaths both times by Reggie Sanders grounders to short. The Dodgers won 4-3 on a Henry Rodriguez RBI double in the ninth.

About the Back: Also drafted in the 43rd round in 1989: Jorge Posada by the Yankees (did not sign, but New York got him in the 24th round in 1990) and Jason Giambi by the Brewers (did not sign, wound up being taken in the 2nd round by Oakland in 1992).

Triple Play:

1. Eric stole 465 bases in a 15-year career, 45th all-time. However, he was also caught 168 times, 17th-most in history.

2. On June 30, 1996, Young tied a big league record with six stolen bases in a wild 16-15 Colorado win over the Dodgers. In the bottom of the third inning, he swiped second, third, and home against the battery of Hideo Nomo and Mike Piazza.

3. His son Eric Jr. has played for the Rockies and Mets in an MLB career that began in 2009. He was the National League's leading base stealer in 2013 with 46 thefts.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I would've been surprised to learn that a guy who had a rookie card in the 1993 Topps set also had a son who was the same age as my kid sister.

Bill James Said: "Brett Butler-type hitter but righthanded, could draw 100 walks and steal 50 bases." He topped 50 steals three times, but maxed out at 63 walks...and did that three times as well. Odd.

On This Date in 1993: January 21. Hall of Fame second baseman Charlie Gehringer, who batted .320/.404/.480 in a 19-year career with the Tigers, passes away at age 89 a month after suffering a stroke.

#133 Steve Wilson

About the Front: That's some windup Steve Wilson has. It looks like he's shielding his right knee with the glove while simultaneously preparing to drop the ball on top of the mound.

About the Back: Canadian-born AND a fan of ice hockey? Well, wonders never cease.

Triple Play:

1. Steve was one of nine players involved in the December 1988 trade that sent Rafael Palmeiro from the Cubs to the Rangers.

2. Andy Van Slyke made mincemeat of poor Steve, collecting eight hits in 19 at-bats and putting up a .421/.522/.895 batting line with a pair of home runs and five RBI. But Wilson got the last laugh, retiring Van Slyke on a pop-up on April 18, 1993 to earn his final big league save.

3. Wilson concluded his pitching career in Taiwan, where he runs an English elementary school. He has also scouted for the Cubs in the Pacific Rim and southern California.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I went to high school with a Steve Wilson. This was in 1998, and his last name was spelled with two 'L's, so it was probably a different guy.

Bill James Said: "Wilson has a great arm, and pitches well for a few weeks at a time."

On This Date in 1993: January 2. The Sri Lanka Navy kills 35 to 100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon in the latest skirmish of the Sri Lankan Civil War, which has been ongoing for the past decade.

#120 Ramon Martinez

About the Front: Here's another good example of a photo fit for its horizontal orientation. Ramon Martinez looks like he's bent down low so he doesn't hit his head on the top border of the card.

About the Back: I have a vague notion of 1990 as a rare pitcher-dominated season in its decade, but I'm still surprised to see 20 wins and 223 strikeouts for Martinez.

Triple Play:

1. Today Ramon is perhaps best known as Pedro's big brother. The younger Martinez will be appearing several hundred cards from now.

2. On June 4, 1990, Martinez struck out 18 Braves in a three-hit shutout.

3. Ramon is currently a senior advisor in Latin America for the Dodgers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: He was so skinny, with long arms and legs, that he appeared even taller than his listed height of 6'4".

Bill James Said: "Pitches substantially better with long rest than on four days rest." In 1993, this holds true: 1-6, 4.02 ERA with four days rest; 9-6, 3.15 ERA with five or more days rest. His overall career stats don't indicate strong splits, though.

On This Date in 1993: December 4. A sad day for music fans, as Frank Zappa died at age 52 of prostate cancer.

#93 Pedro Astacio

About the Front: Pedro Astacio knows that the smart pitcher accessorizes. Check out his glove, with its lovely shade of Dodger blue.

About the Back: Seriously? Pedro tosses four shutouts in his first 11 career starts and you're giving shout-outs to his high school and the scouts who signed him? Bad form, Topps.

Triple Play:

1. Astacio spent parts of five seasons in the middle of his career pitching for the Rockies, an unenviable task. How out-of-whack was the offensive environment in Denver before the humidor? In 1999, Pedro went 17-11 with an ERA+ of 115, struck out 210 batters in 232 innings, set a team record with seven complete games...and had an earned run average of 5.04.

2. He owns a ranch in Quisqueya in the Dominican Republic. It is reportedly adjacent to the ranch of former Orioles/Mets/etc. closer Armando Benitez.

3. Wikipedia tells me that Astacio applied for Pakistani citizenship because of his amateur interest in jai alai, but this is unsourced. A Google search turned up a message board post from a Padres' fan in 2008. I'm gonna say that this is probably bunk, but it's also too weird to go unmentioned.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I was always amused because his name reminded me of pistachios.

Bill James Said: "He embodies most of the things you look for in a young pitcher - a power pitcher working in a pitcher's park, whose arm was not abused at an early age." Yeah, moving from Dodger Stadium to Coors Field must have been a shock to the system.

On This Date in 1993: October 23. Blue Jays 8, Phillies 6. Back-to-back World Champions for Toronto. "Touch 'em all, Joe!"

#65 Brett Butler

About the Front: Brett Butler looks every bit the 35-year-old veteran that he was at the time of this picture...and that's even with the cap covering up the shock of silver hair on top of his head.

About the Back: Since Topps didn't see fit to list on-base percentage on their cards in 1993, it'd be easy to overlook Butler's value as a selective hitter. He had just posted a career-high .413 OBP in 1992; his career number was .377, which just eked out his career slugging percentage of .376.

Triple Play:

1. Brett was part of one of the more lopsided trades of the 1980s, as the Braves sent him to the Indians along with Brook Jacoby and Rick Behenna in exchange for pitcher Len Barker in 1983. Barker pitched only 47 games for Atlanta (10-20, 4.64 ERA), while Butler and Jacoby flourished in Cleveland.

2. In May 1996, Butler was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that affects the tonsils. He underwent surgery to remove a tumor, received intensive treatment to combat the disease, and returned to the field in September. He was also able to play regularly for the Dodgers in 1997, batting .283 and getting on base at a .363 clip in 105 games at age 40.

3. He has managed in the minor leagues since 2004, and has spent the past five seasons piloting Arizona's AAA Reno Aces. Last year the club won the Pacific Coast League championship.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought it was weird that there was also a female comedian and actress named Brett Butler. She was born a year after Brett the outfielder.

Bill James Said: "Bunted 82 times in '93; no other major league player was over 50." Butler was credited with 14 sac bunts in 1993, which gives you a rough idea of how many times he laid one down for a hit. He was pretty fast, alright.

On This Date in 1993: August 26. Actress and pop singer Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee) was born.

#39 Roger McDowell

About the Front: There's nothing behind Roger McDowell but the wild blue yonder of Dodger Stadium. It's a pretty lonely-looking backdrop, considering that it's the middle of a ballgame.

About the Back: It's odd to see Topps digging for Roger's minor league stats in the writeup, considering that he'd been a dependable major league reliever for eight seasons by the start of 1993.

Triple Play:

1. McDowell is credited with three games played in the outfield in his career. On July 22, 1986, Mets skipper Davey Johnson got creative by necessity after Ray Knight and Kevin Mitchell were ejected in extra innings in Cincinnati. He shuttled Roger and lefty Jesse Orosco between the mound and the outfield corners, keeping the pitchers away from each batter's dominant field. The pair combined for four shutout innings, with McDowell getting the win when Orosco walked in the top of the 14th and scored on a Howard Johnson three-run homer. On October 1, 1991, he kept left field warm for one at-bat as John Candelaria struck out Fred McGriff in the ninth inning of a tight game; Roger then returned to the bump and finished off the save. Finally, on October 6, 1991, Tommy Lasorda let McDowell play the final inning of the season in left field; alas, nobody hit the ball to him.

2. Roger was a notorious prankster and showman during his career; I mentioned some of his greatest hits on my Orioles blog a few years back. Don't forget the time he spit on Kramer on Seinfeld.

3. He has been the pitching coach of the Braves since 2006, ably replacing the legendary Leo Mazzone...with the exception of an ugly interaction with a handful of Giants fans in early 2011.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: My first impression of McDowell came from his typically goofy 1993 Upper Deck card. (Source: Night Owl Cards)

Bill James Said: "His ERA for '93 looks good, but what this doesn't tell you is that he gave up 15 un-earned runs, so that altogether he was giving up 4.24 runs per nine innings." That's quite a difference from Roger's 2.25 ERA in 68 innings.

On This Date in 1993: July 19. U. S. President Bill Clinton announces his regrettable "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding homosexuality in the American military. DADT was finally repealed in 2011.

#11 Eric Karros

About the Front: (Oops! I forgot to post this before I ducked out to Oriole Park yesterday. Just pretend it's still May 29...)Here's another first in the set - first Rookie Cup! Topps has been designating an "All-Star Rookie Team" since 1960, and in most years a trophy or cup logo has appeared on the front of the chosen players' cards. There was a full batter-on-top-hat trophy design from 1961 through 1972, and a simple gold or silver cup from 1975-1978, and again from 1987-present.

You'll also notice Eric Karros' jersey number (23) written on the knob of his bat. It's always amusing to see a player's name, nickname, or number scrawled on a piece of equipment. It's an easy way to keep your teammates from walking off with your stuff, and it saves needless guesswork by clubhouse managers, but it's one of the few informal touches that keeps pro baseball tethered to its childhood origins.

About the Back: Here's the box score from the game featuring Karros' walk-off three-run pinch homer, served up by Stan Belinda. Eric went on to hit 284 career home runs, but only three of those were game-enders. The others were a two-run shot off of the Reds' Rob Dibble on August 6, 1993 and a solo bomb off of Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim on September 20, 2000. The latter home run resolved a scoreless tie.

Triple Play:

1. The Dodgers have traditionally had more than their share of Rookie of the Year winners. Jackie Robinson won the first award in 1947, and the boys in blue have taken home the prize 16 times total. Los Angeles had four straight ROtYs from 1979 through 1982, but Karros was the first of FIVE straight Rookies of the Year for the Dodgers. He was followed by Mike Piazza (1993), Raul Mondesi (1994), Hideo Nomo (1995), and Todd Hollandsworth (1996). Funnily enough, the team hasn't had another player win the award since.

2. In his first two postseason series, Eric's performance varied wildly. In the 1995 NLDS, he batted .500 (6-for-12) with a pair of homers, a double, and four RBI, but the Dodgers were swept by the Reds. The following year, he went 0-for-9 with a pair of walks, and this time the Braves swept L.A. out of the NLDS.

3. Karros now covers MLB games as a color commentator for Fox, where he has gained attention for his gravity-defying helmet of hair.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: It was always an extra little thrill to see that gold Rookie Cup on the front of a card. It was a shorthand way of telling you that this guy was something special. As we'll see later, that wasn't so much true. (Looking at you, Pat Listach.)

Bill James Said: "I would see him as a minor star, at best, and I suspect that he might be better cast as a platoon player." Karros had a short peak and a slightly above-average 107 OPS+ for his career, but he did finish fifth in MVP voting in 1995, when he hit .298/.369/.535 with 32 home runs and 105 RBI.

On This Date in 1993: May 29. Jose Canseco made his infamous pitching debut for the Texas Rangers, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks in mop-up work. Boston romped 15-1, and Jose underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in July.