#205 Gary Carter

About the Front: Gary Carter's final Topps card is excellent. He's back with the Expos, and he's down in the dirt and showing the umpire the ball. Was Fred McGriff safe or out? Out! It was the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday, July 5, 1992. Phil Stephenson hit a two-out single, and McGriff attempted to score from second but was cut down at the plate on a throw by left fielder John Vander Wal. It was a big play, as it kept the San Diego lead at one run. Montreal tied in the ninth and won it in the tenth.

About the Back: There you have Carter's complete career batting record. He hit 298 of those home runs as a catcher, still sixth-most all-time.

Triple Play:

1. He hit his first career home run off of Steve Carlton on September 28, 1974.

2. Gary drove in nine runs in the 1986 World Series against Boston, including back-to-back three-RBI efforts in the Mets' wins in Games Three and Four.

3. Carter was just 57 when he died in February 2012 after battling brain tumors for nearly a year.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: At that time, I didn't appreciate how cool it was to get a Gary Carter card in this set. Nor did I realize that I'd just missed out on witnessing the Kid's career.

Bill James Said: Carter was retired in 1993, and didn't appear in James' Player Ratings.

On This Date in 1993: April 30. Tennis star Monica Seles is ambushed and stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany. The assailant is a crazed fan of Seles' rival, Steffi Graf.

#204 Dan Pasqua

About the Front: Oh, those square-framed, oversized glasses. Dan Pasqua was a vestige from decades gone by, in which a large number of major leaguers looked like wood shop teachers or somebody's middle-aged dad.

About the Back: Dan's a fairly handsome dude under all of that glass. If only he'd found a pair of contact lenses that suited him.

Triple Play:

1. Pasqua faced Mike Moore 60 times, more than any other pitcher. He punished Moore to the tune of .429/.450/.696 with six doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBI.

2. Dan spoiled Danny Darwin's no-hit bid at Fenway Park on August 18, 1993 with a one-out triple in the eighth inning. It was the only three-bagger he hit that season, and the last of his career.

3. He was a minor-league teammate of John Elway (1982 Oneonta Yankees) and Michael Jordan (1994 Birmingham Barons).

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember nothing about Pasqua except for those glasses. Probably some residual self-loathing from my awkward bespectacled adolescent self.

Bill James Said: "Pasqua hit 11 to 20 homers a year from 1986 through 1991, but has had hamstring problems over the last two years, hasn't played as much and hasn't hit much of anything."

On This Date in 1993: April 29. The classic Simpsons' episode "Whacking Day" airs, featuring guest star Barry White.

#203 Bernard Gilkey

About the Front: Bernard Gilkey has his eyes on the ball. I appreciate it when the photo shows that sort of detail.

About the Back: Topps needs to check their facts. The game they describe actually took place on August 25, 1992. If you're curious, Craig Biggio and Andujar Cedeno were Gilkey's victims.

Triple Play:

1. Bernard's best asset as an outfielder was his throwing arm. He was credited with 102 assists in his career, and led the National League in baserunner kills in 1993 (19), 1996 (18), and 1997 (16).

2. Had a career year with the Mets in 1996, batting .317/.393/.562 (155 OPS+) with a team-record 44 doubles, as well as 30 homers and 117 RBI.

3. Gilkey played himself in a brief cameo in the 1997 film Men in Black. He was hit in the head with a fly ball after being distracted by a spaceship flying over Shea Stadium.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember Chris Berman calling him Bernard "Innocent Until Proven" Gilkey. It's hard to believe that I ever enjoyed his tired schtick.

Bill James Said: "Gilkey has made two giant steps in the last two years, and is about a half-step away from emerging as a star."

On This Date in 1993: April 28. An executive order requires the United States Air Force to allow female pilots to fly war planes.

#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.

#201 Jose Uribe

About the Front: I think this photo was taken during a spring training game. I certainly don't remember Candlestick Park having a grassy berm in the outfield.

About the Back: Uribe was Jose's mother's maiden name. Because his name change coincided with his trade from the Cardinals to the Giants, it was often said that he was the ultimate example of a "player to be named later".

Triple Play:

1. Prior to the 1987 season, Uribe trained back home in the Dominican by having his brother Narciso pitch peanuts in the shell and corn kernels to him from a distance of 15-20 feet. That year, Jose hit a career-high .291/.343/.424 in 95 games.

2. His younger cousin is current Dodgers infielder Juan Uribe.

3. Jose was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on December 8, 2006. He was 47 years old at the time. It's pretty sobering to have back-to-back deceased players in this two decades-old set.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Uribe was the only major leaguer at that time whose last name began with a "U", which made him stand out to me.

Bill James Said: "He's Alfredo Griffin, but without Alfredo's baserunning stunts - a 34-year-old switch hitter who was once a good shortstop, and can take the field and fill in there for a few innings or a few days."

On This Date in 1993: April 24. The Tigers slug five home runs in a 17-1 mauling of the Twins. Minnesota starter Pat Mahomes is battered for 10 runs on 11 hits in 2.2 innings. The Detroit bombers are Rob Deer, Kirk Gibson, Lou Whitaker, Chad Kreuter, and Mickey Tettleton (grand slam).

#200 Kirby Puckett

About the Front: That bat seems much too cumbersome to be an effective hitting tool. Kirby Puckett really needs to look for something smaller. On a different note, I love the Twins' "m" logo on the stirrups.

About the Back: Kirby had the most base hits in the American League four times in his first nine seasons. That's impressive, especially since he and Wade Boggs were contemporaries.

Triple Play:

1. Puckett briefly worked on an assembly line for the Ford Motor Company after graduating high school, as no four-year college had offered him a baseball scholarship. After being laid off, he attended a tryout camp in Chicago and was invited to play for Bradley University by coach Dewey Kalmer.

2. Kirby's career lasted only 12 seasons, as glaucoma blinded his vision in his right eye shortly before the 1996 season. He was so popular and so successful in his abbreviated career (10-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glover, six-time Silver Slugger, 1991 ALCS MVP) that he was still elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, in his first year of eligibility.

3. On March 5, 2006, Puckett suffered a stroke; he died a day later. He was only 45 years old.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Kirby re-signed with the Twins in December 1992, but I remember reading that the Phillies made a strong push to sign him. It's still hard for me to picture him in Phillies red.

Bill James Said: "Kirby swung at the first pitch 49% of the time, the highest in the American League."

On This Date in 1993: April 23. American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez dies at age 66 of natural causes.

#199 Junior Ortiz

About the Front: Now this is cool. This photo was taken moments before the photo that appeared on the front of Gary Gaetti's card. Yes, Gaetti was out.

About the Back: The current record holder for most consecutive games caught without an error is Mike Matheny, who went 252 games straight without a miscue.

Triple Play:

1. Junior's B-R Bullpen entry claims that he was known for wearing fur coats, even in the summer. I don't care if it's unsourced. That's just too good to ignore.

2. When asked if he was bothered by the prospect of Rickey Henderson breaking Lou Brock's career stolen bases record at Ortiz's expense, the backstop replied: "No, he's stolen lots of bases on good catchers too."

3. Junior hit a stunning total of five career home runs in 2,071 games. The last came off of Dennis Cook on July 30, 1989, meaning that the catcher ended his career on a 364-game homerless skein.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought "Junior" was a pretty silly nickname for a bearded guy in his thirties.

Bill James Said: "He's had on-base percentages and slugging percentages below .300 for three straight years, making him one of the worst hitters in baseball, plus he grounds into double plays all the time."

On This Date in 1993: April 22. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is dedicated in Washington, DC.

#198 Alejandro Pena

About the Front: The back of Alejandro Pena's jersey is partially obscured, but a quick Google search tells me that the Braves did put the tilde above the "n" in his last name.

About the Back: You could probably win a bar bet with the knowledge that Pena was the 1984 National League ERA champ.

Triple Play:

1. Alejandro's league-leading four shutouts in 1984 weren't cheapies. He had three five-hitters and a four-hitter.

2. The Braves acquired Pena for the stretch run in 1991 and he was a perfect 14 for 14 in saves with Atlanta through the NLCS. So naturally he blew his only save chance in the World Series in Game Three, then took the loss by allowing the only run in the decisive Game Seven.

3. He was the pitching coach for the Dodgers' Dominican Summer League team from 2010 through 2013.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Pena was one of those guys that always looked like he was about 50 years old.

Bill James Said: "The elbow went out in spring training, and he missed the season following surgery."

On This Date in 1993: April 21. The Bolivian Supreme Court sentences former dictator Luis Garcia Meza to 30 years in prison without parole for murder, theft, fraud, and violations of the Constitution. You know what they say: go big or go home.

#197 Jeff Frye

About the Front: Jeff Frye's one-legged batting stance could be an homage to his Rangers teammate Julio Franco.

About the Back: At first glance I thought this picture could have been taken during the same at-bat as the shot on the front, but this time Frye is sans eye black.

Triple Play:

1. In 1997, Jeff played in a career-high 127 games for the Red Sox and batted .312/.352/.433 with 36 doubles.

2. On August 17, 2001, he became the second player in Blue Jays history to hit for the cycle.

3. Frye currently works as a player agent, representing second baseman Ian Kinsler among others.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought Frye was a fitting surname, since Jeff was something of a small fry at 5'9".

Bill James Said: "After playing well as the Rangers second baseman in the second half of '92 he missed all of '93 with a knee injury, casting his future into doubt."

On This Date in 1993: April 18. The Giants outlast the Braves 13-12 in a wild 11-inning contest in San Francisco. Each team uses seven pitchers, and the Giants rally from early 5-0 and 11-6 deficits. With Atlanta leading 12-8 in the ninth, Mike Stanton allows all four batters he faces to reach base, and all four eventually score. Matt Williams goes deep on Steve Bedrosian's first pitch in the bottom of inning 11 to win it.