#504 Gene Lamont and Don Baylor

About the Front: Don Baylor looks like he could have still been some American League team's DH at age 44...and to be fair, he'd just finished his playing career five years earlier with the A's. Gene Lamont, on the other hand, is a few years older and looks like your high school biology teacher.

About the Back: It's cool to see the random trivia about the Rockies. As you probably know, they moved from Mile High Stadium (the longtime home of the NFL's Broncos) to Coors Field in 1995. Can you imagine a baseball team today playing in a 76,000-seat football stadium?

Triple Play:

1. Gene Lamont was a first-round draft pick of the Tigers in 1965 as a high school catcher. He played parts of five big league seasons with Detroit (1970-1972, 1974-1975), but totaled only 87 games with a .233/.278/.371 batting line. He managed the White Sox from 1992 through early 1995, then helmed the Pirates from 1997 through 2000. He had a record of 553-562 (.496). Gene also spent over 20 years as a big league coach, most of them under Jim Leyland. He's currently a special assistant to Royals' GM Dayton Moore.

2. Don Baylor had a long and accomplished playing career with the Orioles, Athletics, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, and Twins, spanning from 1970 through 1988. He was the American League MVP in 1979, when he batted .296/.371/.530 with 36 home runs and league-leading totals of 120 runs scored and 139 RBI for the West Division Champion Angels. Overall, he had a career stat line of .260/.342/.436 (118 OPS+), 338 homers, and 1,276 RBI. Of course, he also led the AL in times hit by pitch in eight different seasons, and held the post-1900 career record by being plunked 267 times, until Craig Biggio passed him in 2005.

3. Baylor lasted six seasons as the Rockies' first manager, leading them to the National League Wild Card in 1995. He was also the skipper of the Cubs from 2000 to midseason 2002. Overall, he had a managerial record of 627-689 (.476). He served as a hitting coach for several teams, most recently the Angels (2014-2015). Unfortunately, he passed away at age 68 last August after battling multiple myeloma.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I probably would've been surprised if you'd told me that the White Sox would fire Gene Lamont a month into the 1995 season. They were two wins away from the World Series in 1993, and were on track to become the first-ever AL Central Champions when the strike hit in 1994. What have you done for me lately, right?

On This Date in 1993: March 15. Michael Fulmer is born. In 2016, he will pitch his way to AL Rookie of the Year honors for the Tigers (11-7, 3.06 ERA, 139 ERA+).

#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...

#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.

#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.

#463 Scott Aldred

About the Front: I'd like to imagine that Scott Aldred is pitching to a raccoon and receiving signs from a grizzly bear in a catcher's mask.

About the Back: Aldred didn't even have particularly impressive minor league numbers. I wonder what it was that compelled the Rockies to tab him in the expansion draft.

Triple Play:

1. Scott was a winner in his big league debut on September 9, 1990, somehow keeping the Brewers from scoring despite walking five and yielding four hits in five innings.

2. Aldred hung around for parts of nine major league seasons, with his best overall performance coming in a lefty specialist role out of the Devil Rays' bullpen in 1998 (3.73 ERA, 128 ERA+ in 31.1 innings and 48 games).

3. He has spent the last decade coaching in the Yankee farm system, including six seasons in his current position as pitching coach of the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre club.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I don't think it ever occurred to me just how strange it was to stage baseball card photos in the middle of the forest.

Bill James Said: "A hard-throwing lefthander who knows as much about pitching as a giraffe knows about NAFTA." Ouch. I guess the first part of that sentence answers my question about why the Rockies drafted him.

On This Date in 1993: August 6. Cecil "Tex" Hughson, a three-time All-Star who pitched for the Red Sox from 1941-1944 and 1946-1949, dies of kidney failure at age 77.

#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.

#451 Ramon Caraballo, Jon Shave, Brent Gates, and Quinton McCracken

About the Front: Woah, Brent Gates was only in A-ball in 1992? The A's pushed him hard in 1993, as he spent most of the year in the big leagues.

About the Back: Let me try to fill in the blanks on these prospects, and at least give you their 1992 minor league stats. Caraballo batted .287/.338/.382 with 29 steals (in 51 tries, yuck) while splitting time between AA Greenville and AAA Richmond. Shave hit .287/.343/.373 at AA Tulsa. Gates had a line of .321/.414/.465 with 39 doubles and 88 RBI at high-A Modesto. And McCracken batted .280/.347/.353 in 67 games at low-A Bend, with 18 steals in 24 attempts.

Triple Play:

1. Aside from a six-game stint as a pinch runner and defensive replacement with the Braves in 1993, Ramon Caraballo's lone big league experience came in 1995, when he batted .202/.269/.323 in 34 games with the Cardinals. In recent years, he's coached for the Orioles' Dominican Summer League club.

2. Jon Shave had an interesting stat line for his 17-game introduction with the Rangers in 1993. He batted .319, but drew no walks and had a pair of sac flies and three bunts, giving him an on-base percentage of just .306. He didn't re-emerge in the majors until 1998, when he played 19 games in Minnesota. He returned to Texas in 1999, batting .288 in 43 games while playing all over the infield. He spent the following two years at AAA (Oklahoma City in 2000, Pawtucket in 2001) before retiring.

3. Gates is the star of this group, relatively speaking. He jumped to the bigs in 1993 after a dozen games each at AA and AAA. Though he played seven seasons in MLB, he peaked as a rookie, hitting .290/.357/.391 with 29 doubles, seven homers, and 69 RBI. He had an OPS+ of 107, but didn't top 89 in any other season with Oakland, Seattle, and Minnesota. He managed the West Michigan Whitecaps, a low-level affiliate of the Tigers, in 2001. After leaving baseball, he began working in insurance in Grand Rapids, MI.

3a. Quinton McCracken actually played in parts of 12 major league seasons, spanning from 1995 through 2006 with the Rockies, Devil Rays, Twins, Diamondbacks, Mariners, and Reds. He was just a Marlins stint short of representing every 1990s expansion team. 2002 was his standout year, as he batted .309/.367/.458 (107 OPS+) in 400 plate appearances with Arizona. He also collected four hits in 11 at-bats (.364) in the Diamondbacks' NLDS loss to the Cardinals that fall. Quinton worked in player development for Arizona in 2011-2012, and has been the Astros' Director of Player Development since 2013.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Of all of the prospects on these four-player cards, I'm glad that somebody named "Quinton McCracken" was on the fringes of the major leagues for more than a decade.

Bill James Said: Caraballo - "Mark Lemke is not exactly Roberto Alomar, but Caraballo's batting average wouldn't be a lot better than Lemke's, he has no power, and his poor strikeout/walk ratio and stolen base percentages are significant liabilities."

Shave - "An unspectacular talent, 26 years old with no power and limited speed, but a good fielder with good work habits, and should hit around .275."

Gates - "An argument can be made that a good second baseman who hits .290 with collateral contributions has had a better rookie season than an outfielder who hits 30 homers." It certainly sounds like Bill would've considered voting for Gates (who finished sixth in Rookie of the Year balloting) over Tim Salmon.

On This Date in 1993: July 13. MLB Players Association chief Donald Fehr warns of a possible player strike in September if negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement between ownership and players don't start gaining momentum. The 1993 season remained intact, but we wouldn't be so lucky in 1994.

#447 Keith Shepherd

About the Front: Well, here's a rarity: a Series Two Rockies card that was shot on a baseball field!

About the Back: As you can see, Keith Shepherd had an altogether different path to Colorado than his teammate David Nied. Entering his eighth pro season, the Rockies would be Keith's six MLB organization.

Triple Play:

1. Shepherd earned his first big league save with two scoreless innings of relief against the Expos on September 14, 1992.

2. On June 8, 1993, he earned his third and final career save the hard way, tossing four innings of hitless relief in support of starter Bruce Ruffin in a 4-1 Rockies victory over the Pirates.

3. If Wikipedia is to be trusted (and why not?), Keith has pitched in the Fort Wayne, IN 18-and-over league since his pro career ended in 1997, and has also been an assistant baseball coach at Wabash High School.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Shepherd's final taste of the majors came in a monstrously terrible 13-game stint with the 1996 Orioles. While pitching in low-leverage situations, he gave up a whopping 31 hits (six homers), 27 runs (20 earned), and 18 walks in 20.2 innings...that's an 8.71 ERA. It's baffling to me that he got two separate looks on the roster.

Bill James Said: "Another Rockies Pitcher Horror Show, posted a 3.00 ERA on the road, but 10.45 in Denver, which abbreviated his stay."

On This Date in 1993: July 7. I'll drop in a quote from the Baseball-Reference Bullpen: "Mets P Bret Saberhagen throws a firecracker under a table near reporters at Shea Stadium, but no one is hurt."

#444 David Nied

About the Front: Topps harkens back to its past with a classic "hands-over-the-head" pitching pose for David Nied. Of course, nobody actually pitches like that any more.

About the Back: Nied won his September 1, 1992 debut with seven innings of one-run ball against the Mets, scattering four hits and four walks.

Triple Play:

1. He took the loss in the Rockies' first-ever game, allowing two runs on six hits and six walks (!) as the Mets prevailed, 3-0. He would collect a few less dubious franchise milestones as well, earning Colorado's first complete-game victory (5-3 over those same Mets on April 15) and first complete-game shutout (4-0 against the Astros on June 21, 1994).

2. Injuries curtailed Nied's career, and he was completely finished at age 27. In parts of five seasons, he had a record of 17-18 with a 5.06 ERA (95 ERA+, because Colorado) in 241.2 innings.

3. After hanging up his spikes, David returned to the Dallas area and worked for his father's company, Cylinder Heads International. He is married to the former Heather Cranford, a one-time contestant on The Bachelor, and has four sons.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Before I'd ever heard of the acronym "TINSTAAPP" (There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect), Nied was a cautionary tale.

Bill James Said: "He was expected to be the ace of the Rockies staff after being the first player picked in the expansion draft, but his season was derailed by an elbow injury." Cue the ominous music.

On This Date in 1993: June 24. The Giants batter Rockies pitching for 20 hits in a 17-2 rout...at Candlestick Park, believe it or not. Robby Thompson, who had previously never hit two home runs in a single game, does it for the second straight day as part of a 5-for-5 outburst. Other San Francisco homers come from Barry Bonds, Will Clark, and Mark Carreon. Colorado reliever Mark Grant allows hits to all five batters he faces, including a pair of longballs. All five score, though two are driven home after Grant is pulled.

#433 Roger Bailey and Tom Schmidt

About the Front: Topps wanted to cram just as many Rockies and Marlins into Series Two as they possibly could, so this is the first of several two-player cards featuring minor leaguers from the two brand new organizations. Dig the casual look from Roger Bailey, as the photographer seems to have captured him on a stroll through the local park.

About the Back: Since space was at a premium, Topps chose not to include draft and acquistion information on the card backs. Otherwise, you'd learn that Bailey was the team's third-round draft pick in 1992 out of Florida State University. Schmidt was a 24th-rounder that year out of Brevard Community College in Florida.

Triple Play:

1. Bailey pitched for the Rockies from 1995-1997. Considering that he was making his home starts at Coors Field, his 1997 season (9-10, 4.24 ERA, 5 CG, 121 ERA+) was pretty impressive.

2. Roger's career ended abruptly in the spring of 1998, when he suffered back injuries as a passenger in teammate Mike Munoz's car; they were rear-ended at a red light in Tucson. He later worked as an advance scout for Colorado for four years.

3. Schmidt played six seasons of minor league ball, stalling out at AA, and finished with a career batting line of .238/.308/.378, 61 home runs, and 277 RBI.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Hey, I know where Towson and Perry Hall are! In the future, I may even live smack in the middle of the two.

Bill James Said: Nothing, as both players were still in the low minors at the time.

On This Date in 1993: June 5. In Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, portions of the Holbeck Hall Hotel fall into the sea after a landslide. The entire hotel had to be demolished after the incident.

#425 Joe Girardi

About the Front: Expansion Player Backdrop Number Two is a brick wall. I can only imagine how poorly rated "Joe Girardi's Def Comedy Jam" would be.

About the Back: Do you suppose that Joe's engineering professors at Northwestern thought he was wasting his potential by playing baseball?

Triple Play:

1. He caught Dwight Gooden's no-hitter on May 14, 1996 and David Cone's perfect game on July 18, 1999.

2. At age 35, Joe was a surprise All-Star selection in 2000, as he batted .302/.374/.415 for the Cubs in the first half before slumping down the stretch.

3. He has worked as an analyst on Yankee broadcasts, and also coached for New York. As a rookie manager in 2006, he led the Marlins to a 78-84 record, keeping them in contention for much of the season despite having the league's lowest payroll. He was named NL Manager of the Year, and promptly fired by meddling team owner Jeff Loria. Girardi has managed the Yankees since 2008, piloting the club to a World Series win over the Phillies in 2009.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I had no idea that Girardi would become an Oriole adversary as the joyless, sour-faced manager of the Yankees.

Bill James Said: "A truly awful player, even for an expansion team. He hit .290, but that's .266 if you adjust for the park, and there was no production there - no power, no walks, no runs, no RBI."

On This Date in 1993: May 13. Romelu Lukaku is born in Belgium. He will go on to play professional football (soccer) with Chelsea and Everton, and represent his native country in the World Cup.

#419 Mark Thompson

About the Front: I'm sure the expression that Mark Thompson was going for was "deep concentration", but all I can see is "utterly terrified".

About the Back: As you can see, Thompson wasn't the first-ever Rockies draft pick. In the first round (27th overall), they took another college righthander named John Burke. Burke pitched 28 games for Colorado in 1996-1997, going 4-6 with a 6.75 ERA. Yikes.

Triple Play:

1. Mark earned the save in Colorado's only win of the 1995 NLDS, pitching a perfect tenth inning in Game Three in Atlanta. He was the seventh pitcher used by the Rockies that day.

2. The bulk of his big league experience came in 1996, when he pitched in 34 games (28 starts) for the Rockies and went 9-11 with a 5.30 ERA...and a 98 ERA+, because pitching in Denver in '96 was a monstrous task. His home ERA was 6.41, compared to 4.32 on the road.

3. He coached for the Rookie-level Casper Rockies in 2006.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I'm pretty sure that I mixed him up with John Thomson, another righty who pitched for the Rockies (1997-1999, 2001-2002), on more than one occasion.

Bill James Said: "Thompson, the Rockies' second-round draft pick in 1992, has progressed rapidly, and will probably be thrown to the wolves (pardon, called up) by mid-season, if he continues to pitch well." Whaddaya know? He debuted on July 26, 1994.

On This Date in 1993: May 5. Three eight-year-old boys are reported missing in West Memphis, AR. Their bodies would be found the next day, and three teenaged boys (dubbed the "West Memphis Three") were convicted of their murders the following year. The West Memphis Three were released from prison in 2011 following the introduction of new DNA evidence.