#497 Matt Petersen and Willie Brown

About the Front: Many of these Marlins and Rockies "future stars" cards feature photos that wouldn't be out of place on Little League trading cards. This one is a prime example. Matt Petersen and Willie Brown even have wispy adolescent mustaches!

About the Back: Willie Brown was drafted in the 55th round by the hometown Braves in 1989, but didn't sign. In 1992, the Marlins took him in the fourth round. That'd be a bit of an upgrade. Matt Petersen, meanwhile, was a 27th round pick, but led the Erie Sailors in innings pitched in his first pro season. By the way, that Erie club was managed by future Marlins and Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez, who was already in his third season as a minor league manager at age 28.

Triple Play:

1. Willie Brown lasted four seasons in the minors, progressing to high-A Brevard County in 1995. He finished his career with a batting line of .225/.320/.400, 42 homers, and 146 RBI.

2. Matt Petersen was also in pro ball for four years, with AA stints in the Marlins and Cubs organizations. He won 32 games and lost 30, with a 4.35 ERA.

3. Brown played collegiate baseball at Florida A&M University. This HBCU also produced Hall of Famer Andre Dawson and star players Hal McRae, Vince Coleman, and Marquis Grissom.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I was a lot more credulous 25 years ago, but even then I probably would've looked askance at the "Future Star" label for a guy who batted .200 in the low minors.

Bill James Said: Zippo. These guys weren't within sniffing distance of the majors.

On This Date in 1993: February 20. The New York Islanders retire goalie Billy Smith's uniform number 31.

#494 Kevin Young, Adell Davenport, Eduardo Perez, and Lou Lucca

It's about time to reboot this blog, now that time has marched on and we're a full quarter-century past the release of 1993 Topps. I'll try not to disappear for another two years and change this time.

About the Front: That is one stylish shirt that Adell Davenport is wearing.

About the Back: Eduardo Perez was, of course, born in Cincinnati while his father Tony Perez was in the prime of his Hall of Fame career with the Reds.

Triple Play:

1. Kevin Young spent 12 seasons with the Pirates and Royals, batting .258/.324/.438. His best performance came in 1999, when he batted .298/.387/.522 (128 OPS+) with 41 doubles, 26 HR, 106 RBI, and 22 steals in 32 tries.

2. Adell Davenport had just batted .288/.340/.510 in his first full season at AA Shreveport, with 19 homers and 88 RBI. His 14 games at AAA Phoenix in 1993 proved to be the former 18th-round pick's ceiling as a pro; he was out of baseball after a stint with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League in 1995.

3. Eduardo Perez had a 13-year MLB career with the Angels, Reds, Cardinals, Devil Rays, Indians, and Mariners. He batted .247/.326/.431 with 79 homers and 394 RBI. Since retiring, he's worked for ESPN as a Baseball Tonight analyst and broadcaster, and had brief coaching stays with the Marlins and Astros. He's had some success as a manager in the winter leagues, winning in Puerto Rico and Venezuela in consecutive seasons.

3a. A 32nd round draftee out of Oklahoma State University, Lou Lucca climbed steadily through the minor league ranks before stalling out at AAA. He spent six-plus seasons at that highest rung of the minors, batting .274/.318/.434 with 71 homers and 342 RBI. From 2002 through 2007, he made stops in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Italy, and a number of American independent circuits. In the winter of 1999-2000, Lou was one of the leading hitters of the Roberto Clemente League in Puerto Rico, topping all hitters with 10 homers, 37 RBI, 32 runs scored (tied with Felipe Crespo), and 15 doubles (tied with Alex Diaz).

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: For some reason, I thought Lou Lucca looked a lot like Luke Perry. In hindsight, not so much.

Bill James Said: Young: "The under-achiever of the year; he's a .280 hitter, but fell into a slump, put pressure on himself, and didn't start to hit until September." Kevin batted .236/.300/.342 in 1993, his worst performance in a full season.

Perez: "Should hit .250 or better with double-figure homers, still learning at third but could be OK." He pretty much pegged the homer total. Eduardo had four seasons of double-digit homers despite never being a full-timer, and spent the biggest chunk of his time in the field at first base.

On This Date in 1993: February 8. General Motors sues NBC for a misleading report that aired on Dateline NBC that claimed that GM's pickup trucks could easily catch fire in collisions. The TV network settled the lawsuit the next day.

#493 Jeff Nelson

About the Front: Jeff Nelson switched from #40 to #43 in 1993, and wore the latter number for the duration of his 15-year career.

About the Back: 66 games pitched might seem like a lot for a rookie, but Nelson topped that total six times in subsequent seasons, with a high of 77 appearances in 1997.

Triple Play:

1. Jeff spent one-third of an inning in left field for the Mariners in Fenway Park on July 15, 1993. After coming on to pitch in the bottom of the eighth and retiring the first two batters, the righty gave up a single to Billy Hatcher. With Seattle clinging to a 3-2 lead and lefty batter Mike Greenwell due up, manager Lou Piniella summoned southpaw Dennis Powell to pitch. He didn't want to burn Nelson just yet, so he double-switched: Powell replaced left fielder Greg Litton, and Nelson "replaced" designated hitter Marc Newfield, who'd just made the last out in the top of the inning. Greenwell popped out to second, and Jeff returned to the mound in the ninth. He lost his shot at an unusual save on a two-out error by Tino Martinez, after which Mike Hampton took to the mound to retire Scott Cooper. Clear as mud?

2. He appeared in 16 World Series games in five Fall Classics with the Yankees, earning one win while striking out 18 batters in 16 innings with a 1.69 ERA.

3. Nelson underwent elbow surgery in 2002, and tried to sell bone chips that had been removed in the procedure on eBay; he planned to donate the proceeds to Bear Creek School (which his daughters attended) and to the Curtis Williams Foundation. Bidding reached $23,600 before eBay removed the listing. You can't sell body parts on eBay. A local radio station later conducted the auction, and matched the winning bid of $1,000, with all of the money going to the Curtis Williams Foundation. Williams was a former University of Washington football player who was paralyzed from the neck down in an on-field collision in 2000; he died two years later.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Hey, a Baltimore guy! He attended Catonsville High School and Catonsville Community College, both of which are a few miles away from where I work now (in 2015).

Bill James Said: "He's a ground ball pitcher, and Piniella uses him to try to get a double play, so he always comes in with men on base."

On This Date in 1993: October 14. The number one song in the U.S. is "Dreamlover" by Mariah Carey. Ugh.

#491 Shawn Hare

About the Front: I don't trust that orange Gatorade cooler lurking in the background. He's up to something...

About the Back: Pitchers Kevin Tapani and Curt Young are probably the most notable CMU Chippewas in recent years. Current Diamondbacks pitcher Josh Collmenter also attended Central Michigan, as did former Yankee Tom Tresh, who was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1962.

Triple Play:

1. On May 31,1994, Hare had the first multi-hit game of his big league career, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and a run scored in the Mets' 3-2 loss to the Rockies.

2. His career ended with a fruitless 29-game stint in South Korea with the Haitai Tigers in 1998, batting just .206 with no home runs and three RBI.

3. Shawn now works as a financial advisor for Wells Fargo out in Woodland Hills, CA.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Do you think Shawn Hare's favorite Hall of Famer is Rabbit Maranville? Huh? Eh?

Bill James Said: Bill didn't evaluate Shawn prior to the 1994 season, as the outfielder spent all of 1993 at AAA Toledo, batting .264/.313/.466 with 20 home runs and 76 RBI.

On This Date in 1993: October 9. The White Sox battle back to tie up the ALCS at two games apiece with a 7-4 win in Toronto. Lance Johnson tripled and homered, and Frank Thomas went deep as well. The Chicago bullpen held the Blue Jays to a single run in 6.2 innings after rookie starter Jason Bere got the early hook.

#489 Scott Fredrickson

About the Front: Isn't that the guy who plays Cam on Modern Family?

About the Back: Kevin Towers should ring a bell. He climbed the ranks to serve as the Padres' GM (1995-2009) before holding the same job in Arizona (2010-2014).

Triple Play:

1. Scott made his big league debut on April 29, 1993 with two perfect innings of relief against the Cardinals.

2. Fredrickson's 1993 season didn't turn out as well it began. The Rockies shipped him out after he racked up a 6.21 ERA in 29 innings of relief; that turned out to be his only experience in the big leagues.

3. He posted an 11-3 record with a 3.45 ERA at AAA Colorado Springs in 1995, but it went downhill from there. After ERAs over 6.00 in the minors in 1996 and 1997, he called it a career.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I probably suspected at the time that a number of these Rockies and Marlins in the 1993 Topps set wouldn't ever be seen in a Topps base set again. I should put together a total count at the end of this all.

Bill James Said: "Another pitcher from the University of Texas, like Clemens, Swindell, etc. Well, not too much like them..."

On This Date in 1993: October 4. American League owners unanimously approve the sale of the Baltimore Orioles to attorney Peter Angelos and his minority partners. And so it begins...

#487 Jessie Hollins

About the Front: That's a lot of blue. Who knew that a Cubs uniform could serve as camouflage?

About the Back: Interestingly, Jessie Hollins wasn't the only 40th-round pick from the 1988 draft to reach the majors. Righthander Paul Fletcher was chosen two picks after Jessie (1,029th overall) and made a dozen relief appearances in 1993, 1995, and 1996 for the Phillies and A's.

Triple Play:

1. His final big league appearance came on September 28, 1992; he tossed a scoreless ninth inning in a 10-3 loss to the Pirates.

2. A torn rotator cuff essentially ended Hollins' career; he made four minor league appearances in 1994 and four more in 1997, and that was it.

3. Jessie drowned while fishing with his brother Stacy and their sons on the bank of the Trinity River in Polk County, TX, on July 9, 2009. He was 39 years old.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I never bothered to check this before, but Hollins' birth name is actually "Jessie". It's not short for anything.

Bill James Said: Nothing, because Jessie was sidelined for the entire 1993 season.

On This Date in 1993: September 29. In what must have been a thrilling contest, the Mets won their 55th game of the year against 103 losses, outlasting the Cardinals by a 1-0 margin in 17 innings. The game took just four hours and 21 minutes to complete, as the teams collected only six hits each. Ray Lankford, Mark Whiten, Ryan Thompson, and Kevin Baez each went 0-for-7 at the plate, and Cards third baseman Stan Royer (3-for-4 with a double) was the only player with a multi-hit effort. Naturally, Royer was pinch-run for in the tenth inning. Jeff Kent finally drove in Eddie Murray with a two-out double off of Les Lancaster in the bottom of the 17th, making a winner out of reliever Kenny Greer in his big league debut. Mets rookie starter Bobby Jones got a no-decision and a hearty pat on the butt for his ten innings of shutout ball.

#486 Eric Wedge

About the Front: There's a fine line between "posed baseball card photo" and "online dating profile photo", and Eric Wedge is straddling that line.

About the Back: Aaaand now Eric has vaulted over the line.

Triple Play:

1. As the starting catcher for the 1989 College World Series champion Wichita State Shockers, Wedge led the NCAA in walks and total bases, and was second in runs and RBI. The Red Sox drafted him that summer in the third round; a round later, they picked Jeff Bagwell.

2. He played just 11 big league games after 1992, but his five homers in 68 at-bats as a rookie were no small feat. The list of opposing pitchers he took deep includes Mark Langston, Jimmy Key, and Frank Tanana.

3. Eric began a five-year stint as a minor league manager in the Cleveland organization in 1998, leading three clubs to the postseason in that span. In 2003, he was promoted to skipper of the major league club, a job he held through 2009. He was the A.L. Manager of the Year in 2007, when the Indians won 96 games in the regular season before blowing a 3-1 ALCS lead to Boston. He also managed the Mariners from 2011 through 2013.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: The name "Wedge" can be corrupted into "Wedgie" so easily.

Bill James Said: "Wedge, now 26, is a pretty good hitter for a catcher, but has had arm trouble and elbow surgery, so it's questionable whether he is going to be a major league receiver."

On This Date in 1993: September 25. Calvin and Hobbes. Read and enjoy.

#483 Brian Griffiths

About the Front: I always preferred this Marlins cap, with the teal crown and black contrast bill, to their all-teal and all-black looks.

About the Back: The Marlins acquired Griffiths and reliever Hector Carrasco from the Astros in exchange for another relief pitcher, Tom Edens. Feel the excitement!

Triple Play:

1. Brian was drafted in the ninth round in 1988; nine of the 26 players chosen in that round made it to the major leagues, though Brian was not among them. The most notable draftees were infielder Pat Kelly and righthanded pitcher Mark Clark.

2. At the end of spring training in 1993, Griffiths was swapped to the Giants
for infielder Andres Santana.

3. He went 5-11 with a 4.85 ERA at AA Shreveport in 1993, his final season in pro ball.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: The name "Brian Griffiths" makes me think of the offbeat comic strip Zippy, created by Bill Griffith. I used to read that strip on a regular basis, and it never made a lick of sense to me.

Bill James Said: Griffiths wasn't featured in James' 1994 player ratings book.

On This Date in 1993: September 16. The final season of In Living Color premieres on Fox. Nobody from the Wayans family is involved in this, the fifth season.

#482 Darren Reed

About the Front: Here's an oddity. This is Darren Reed's only Topps card in a base set, but he appeared in their 1990 ML Debut set (released in 1991) in a Mets uniform, and appeared in the 1992 Traded set and Stadium Club set, both times as an Expo.

About the Back: Reed missed the entire 1991 season after he took an Alejandro Pena fastball to the hand.

Triple Play:

1. He hit his first career home run and his first (and only) career triple in consecutive at-bats against the Cubs' Steve Wilson on September 30, 1990.

2. Darren had just six home runs in 82 career games, but three of those came in a four-game span, July 25-28, 1992.

3. He missed all of 1993 with a serious hamstring injury, and never made it back to the majors. In his final pro season (1996), Reed batted .345/.406/.534 in 54 games for the Duluth-Superior Dukes of the independent Northern League.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: For some reason, I always thought he was a catcher. Maybe I was confusing him with Jeff Reed.

Bill James Said: N/A.

On This Date in 1993: September 15. Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, disbands Parliament. Oh, no he didn't! But he totally did.

#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.

#480 Pat Listach

About the Front: Great photo! Pat Listach got sawed off; hopefully the photographer wasn't hit by a shard of his bat.

About the Back: Those 1992 stats represent an early peak for Listach, who played in just 354 MLB games for the rest of his career and never batted above .244, save for a 16-game stint in an injury-shortened 1994 season. In hindsight, Kenny Lofton probably was a better bet for '92 Rookie of the Year honors.

Triple Play:

1. Pat had the first four-hit game of his career on August 22, 1992, going 4-for-4 with a double, two steals, and two runs scored in a 5-1 win over Detroit.

2. In 1996, he became a phantom Yankee. New York sent outfielder Gerald Williams and pitcher Bob Wickman to Milwaukee in exchange for reliever Graeme Lloyd and Listach. But a bruised foot incurred shortly before the trade turned out to be a broken bone, and the Brewers subbed shortstop Gabby Martinez into the deal instead.

3. He got into coaching as soon as his playing career ended, spending nine seasons in the Cubs organization, including three-plus as a minor league manager. He's also coached at the big league level for the Nationals, Cubs, and Astros, and is currently in his first season as the manager for Seattle's AAA Tacoma Rainiers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: The luster was already off of Listach's rookie cup and ROTY plaque when I got my hands on this card. He batted .244 with 18 steals in 98 games in 1993.

Bill James Said: "He had a series of health problems in '93, beginning with a "root canal cyst" in spring training (I don't know what that is, but I don't think I want one) and progressing through the more usual hamstring pulls, etc."

On This Date in 1993: September 9. Atlanta's Kent Mercker holds the Padres hitless for six innings, but is pulled after throwing just 79 pitches. Doug Brocail also blanks the Braves for seven frames, and Deion Sanders pinch-hits for Mercker leading off the seventh. Luis Lopez breaks up the no-hitter with a ground ball single up the middle off of Mark Wohlers with two outs in the eighth. That turns out to be the only safety of the game for San Diego, and Ron Gant's solo homer off of rookie Trevor Hoffman gives the Braves a 1-0 win in ten innings.

#479 Todd Pratt

About the Front: The opposing catcher's left arm and mitt are peeking out at the bottom of the photo; I'm not sure I ever noticed that before.

About the Back: Ray Boone is of course the progenitor of the baseball-playing Boones, a two-time All-Star infielder who was active from 1948-1960. His son Bob made four All-Star teams while catching for the Phillies, Angels, and Royals (1972-1990), and grandsons Aaron and Bret had notable big league careers after this card was issued. Bret, in fact, will make his Topps debut at the tail end of this very set.

Triple Play:

1. After being cut by the Mariners in the spring of 1996, Todd was out of pro ball for the rest of the season. Instead, he worked as an instructor at Bucky Dent's baseball camp and supplemented his meager income by delivering pizzas for a Domino's in Boca Raton, FL. By the time he caught on with the Mets the following year, the slugging catcher had worked his way up to a manager's position at the pizza franchise.

2. His solo home run off of Arizona reliever Matt Mantei in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the Mets a walkoff win in the fourth game of the 1999 NLDS, clinching a trip to the NLCS.

3. He has been the only head baseball coach at West Georgia Technical College since the junior college began fielding a team in 2011.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I couldn't find Pratt's home base of Chula Vista on a map back then, but 16 years later, I bought my first packs of 2009 Topps at a Target in that southern California city while visiting friends in San Diego. How far I've come.

Bill James Said: "He doesn't get much work behind Daulton, but is perhaps the best-hitting backup catcher in baseball." That certainly was the case in '93, when he batted .287/.330/.529 with five home runs in 95 plate appearances.

On This Date in 1993: September 8. Roger Salkeld, the Mariners' first-round pick (third overall) in the 1989 draft, makes his big league debut as Seattle's starting pitcher in Baltimore. Jay Buhner's first-inning two-run homer off of Fernando Valenzuela gives Salkeld a lead, but he is yanked by manager Lou Piniella with two outs and two on in the fifth inning, with the M's clinging to a 3-2 advantage. The Birds pull out a 6-3 win against the Seattle bullpen, with a Chris Hoiles home run tying the game in the sixth inning and a two-run single by Hoiles putting the home team on top for good in the bottom of the eighth.

#476 Mark Voisard and Will Scalzitti

About the Front: Mark Voisard sort of resembles Michael Keaton. I hope some enterprising teammate nicknamed him "Batman" or "Beetlejuice".

About the Back: I never would've guessed that Voisard was 6'5" from his photo. After all, they cut him off at the waist. As for Scalzitti, he was a sixth-round pick in the 1992 draft. The most successful player chosen in that round was longtime Expos' second baseman Jose Vidro.

Triple Play:

1. In 1994, Voisard was 6-4 with a 1.70 ERA and 17 saves in 48 games split between Class A Central Valley and AA New Haven. But he stalled out there, and his last pro season was 1996.

2. Scalzitti's 1992 pro debut was also the peak of his career. Overall, he hit just .236/.287/.347 in five minor league seasons, and he too was out of baseball after 1996.

3. Fun fact about Will Scalzitti: he hit a grand slam for the Bend Rockies to clinch a win in the Colorado organization's first official game in 1992.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I never paid much attention to these expansion "future stars" cards. I couldn't have told you what position Scalzitti played, for instance.

Bill James Said: Nothing, since both guys were still in the low minors.

On This Date in 1993: August 26. Marlins reliever Richie Lewis earns a win the hard way, lacing a two-out walkoff single against Doug Jones in the bottom of the 13th inning in Miami. The Marlins beat the Astros 5-4 on the strength of eight and one-third shutout innings from their bullpen.

#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.

#468 Matt Whiteside

About the Front: Say what you will about the changes in baseball fashions over the past two decades, but at least the jackets look nicer now.

About the Back: It's good to see such drastically different composition in the front and back photos. At least Matt Whiteside is facing in the opposite direction. So, which is his good side, do you think?

Triple Play:

1. His nickname is "Whitey", proving once again how inventive ballplayers can be when it comes to monikers.

2. Matt was a guest judge for the 1996 Miss USA Pageant.

3. Whiteside now lives in Missouri and is a pitching instructor and owner of All-Star Performance Baseball Camps and Clinics.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I seem to recall confusing him with Dan Smith, another Texas rookie pitcher with a dull card in this set. We'll see him on card #607.

Bill James Said: "Excellent control, best pitch is a sinking fastball, doesn't throw 90."

On This Date in 1993: August 14. The Smashing Pumpkins play their entire Siamese Dream album live in concert at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago, IL.

#461 Steve Reed

About the Front: Steve Reed is lost in the inky black abyss.

About the Back: What does it take for an undrafted submarine-style pitcher to make it to the big leagues? Just five-plus seasons in the minors with a sub-2.00 ERA - including his 12.1 scoreless innings at AAA Colorado Springs in 1993, Reed had a career earned run average of 1.99 and 110 saves in 261 appearances in the minors.

Triple Play:

1. His personal-best season was 1995, when he appeared in a career-high 71 games for the Rockies, going 5-2 with a 2.14 ERA and three saves. He struck out 79 batters in 84 innings and had three scoreless appearances in the NLDS.

2. Reed earned his first big-league save on July 11, 1993. He relieved Gary Wayne after the latter had allowed an RBI pinch single to Mark Whiten, cutting Colorado's lead to 2-1 with no outs in the eighth inning. Danny Sheaffer threw out pinch runner Ozzie Smith attempting to steal second, and Reed struck out four of the final five St. Louis batters.

3. Steve lives in Golden, CO with his wife and two sons. He enjoys golf, fishing, and hunting.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I'll defer to 20-year-old Kevin, who had the misfortune of watching a 40-year-old Steve Reed run out of gas with the 2005 Orioles. That year, the reliever posted a 6.61 ERA in 30 appearances, allowing 24 runs on 41 hits and 11 walks in 32.2 innings. The O's released him in mid-July, signalling the end of his career.

Bill James Said: "If anybody can succeed despite this park, he's the man." In seven years with the Rockies, Reed had a 3.63 ERA and a 140 ERA+. Once you account for the offense-heavy era and ballpark in which he played, he was 40% better than the league average.

On This Date in 1993: August 4. Happy anniversary, Robin Ventura! It's been 22 years to the day since your ill-advised mound visit with Nolan Ryan.

#459 Derek Wallace

About the Front: Here's a very fresh-faced Derek Wallace, first-round draft pick (11th overall) of the Cubs. If you'll recall way back to the beginning of Series One, the Expos' first-round pick (third overall) was also a college pitcher with the surname of Wallace: lefty B. J. Eerie stuff.

About the Back: Derek shares his September 1 birthday with former big league outfielders Garry Maddox and Rico Carty, among others.

Triple Play:

1. He earned his first big league win on September 4, 1996, tossing two scoreless frames of relief as the Mets topped the Dodgers in 12 innings.

2. Nine days later - September 13, 1996 - Wallace earned an unusual save by striking out four Braves in the ninth inning of a 6-4 New York victory. He opened the inning by whiffing Terry Pendleton, but the veteran third baseman reached safely on a wild pitch on strike three. He then froze Chipper Jones for the first out before Fred McGriff doubled to put the tying runs in scoring position. The rookie responded by fanning Ryan Klesko and pinch hitter Mike Mordecai.

3. After an uneven debut with the Mets in late 1996 (2-3, three saves, 4.01 ERA, 1.74 WHIP), Derek didn't resurface in the majors until 1999, when he allowed four runs - three earned - in 8.1 innings for the Royals. That was his only other exposure to MLB.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I had never heard of Pepperdine University at that time, and didn't even know where it was located. Malibu, as it turns out. I'm not sure why I never did a campus visit there when I was college hunting.

Bill James Said: Zippo.

On This Date in 1993: July 27. The number of the day is five. John Kruk goes 5-for-5 with three RBI in a 10-7 Phillies win over the Cardinals. Tony Gwynn also has five hits in as many at-bats, doubling twice and driving in three runs in an 8-0 Padres rout against the Cubs.

#456 Scott Taylor

About the Front: Though this is pretty clearly a spring training photo, Scott Taylor did indeed wear #56 when he made his big league debut for Boston in September of 1992. According to Baseball Reference, he was only the second Red Sox player to ever wear that number, following pitcher Zach Crouch (1.1 IP in 1988).

About the Back: Only one other 28th-round signee from the 1988 draft made it to the majors. Toronto picked pitcher Woody Williams out of the University of Houston, and he went on to enjoy a 15-year career with the Jays, Padres, Cardinals, and Astros.

Triple Play:

1. Born Rodney Scott Taylor, he was one of three pro baseball players who went by "Scott Taylor" and played in the same era. Catcher Scott Michael Taylor played in the minors for the Cubs organization from 1987-1992, and pitcher Scott Michael Taylor spent a decade (1989-1998) in the minors with several organizations and had an MLB cup of coffee with the Rangers in 1995.

2. His first - and only - big league win came on October 3, 1992 when he tossed 6.2 innings of one-hit, one-walk, no-run relief against the Yankees.

3. Taylor last pitched professionally in 1995, going 5-8 with a 4.11 ERA in 27 games for Pittsburgh's AAA affiliate in Calgary.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Pro wrestling has been a guilty pleasure of mine for years, even predating my interest in baseball. If Taylor's career had endured for a few more years, people might have taken to calling him "Scotty 2 Hotty".

Bill James Said: "A sandy-haired 26-year-old lefthander, more of a survivor than an actual prospect."

On This Date in 1993: July 22. Royals shortstop Greg Gagne's ninth-inning home run off of Tigers pitcher Mark Leiter is the 10,000th base hit in the history of Tiger Stadium, the first time any ballpark has reached that milestone. Kansas City outslugs the Tigers, 12-6.

#454 John Johnstone

About the Front: I just noticed John Johnstone's thick forearm hair, and now I can't look away. It's positively Verlanderian.

About the Back: John led the Florida State League with his 15 wins and nine complete games in 1990.

Triple Play:

1. He earned his first big league win with two shutout innings of relief against the Braves on July 1, 1994, benefiting from a Kurt Abbott walkoff single in the bottom of the 11th.

2. Johnstone was an effective reliever for the Giants in 1998-1999, totaling 132 appearances over those two seasons with a 10-11 record, three saves, and a 2.87 ERA.

3. He retired from baseball due to a back injury in 2000, and spent a few years coaching at Baker High School in Baldwinsville, NY.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Seriously, who names their kid John Johnstone? That's just plain mean.

Bill James Said: "Taken from the Mets in the third round of the expansion draft, Johnstone didn't have a good year at Triple-A, but was called up in September anyway because, hey, who else were the Marlins going to take a look at?"

On This Date in 1993: July 20. Ben McDonald allows only a fourth-inning single by Gary Gaetti, one-hitting the Royals in a 7-0 victory. The Orioles' win, combined with losses by Toronto and the Yankees, gives Baltimore sole possession of first place in the American League East for the only time all season.

#453 Victor Cole

About the Front: Victor Cole is wearing #61. Surprisingly, Baseball Reference says that a dozen players have worn that number for the Pirates, most notably relievers Sean Burnett and Chan Ho Park.

About the Back: Going back to Baseball Reference, it looks like Victor was actually the eighth Russian-born player in MLB history. He was also the first since Izzy Goldstein got a cup of coffee with the Tigers in 1932. There haven't been any more native Russians in the majors since Cole's debut, and he is the only player born in Russia when it was known as the Soviet Union.

Triple Play:

1. After getting rocked for four runs on three hits and four walks in 1.1 innings in his big league debut, Victor strung together three straight scoreless relief outings to earn a look in the Pirates rotation.

2. Cole's father was born in Sierra Leone, but studied medicine in Russia and married a Russian woman.

3. He never pitched in the majors again after 1992, but pitched professionally through 2002, spending stints in the minor leagues, independent leagues, Taiwan, and South Korea.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Two years before this card was produced, the city name of Leningrad was changed back to St. Petersburg. I probably didn't know that at the time.

Bill James Said: Nothing, since Cole was busy getting lit up in the minors in 1993 (combined 1-9 record, 7.24 ERA at AA and AAA).

On This Date in 1993: July 17. Guns N' Roses performs in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the final date of their Use Your Illusion Tour. It's the last time that the original band will perform together.