#141 Dennis Cook

About the Front: This is Dennis Cook's last Topps card until 2001, despite the fact that he pitched at least 25 games in every season from 1992 through 2002. No respect for middle relievers.

About the Back: The Indians acquired Cook and Mike Christopher from the Dodgers for young pitcher Rudy Seanez. It was one of six times in Dennis' career that he was traded.

Triple Play:

1. Dennis was unscored upon in 19 postseason appearances totaling 16.1 innings with the Rangers, Marlins, and Mets. He did, however, allow four of 12 inherited runners to score.

2. I remember quite a few cards depicting Cook with a bat in his hands. It's no wonder: in 122 career plate appearances, the lefty hit .264 (29-for-110) with a pair of home runs and nine RBI.

3. Dennis is of Swedish descent, and coached for the Swedes in the 2009 Baseball World Cup and managed their team in the 2010 European Championship.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Cook's 1993 Upper Deck card had one of the more disturbing images I've ever seen on cardboard.

Bill James Said: "Cook is a lefthander who rarely throws the ball below the belt, and who gives up a tremendous number of home runs."

On This Date in 1993: January 14. The Polish ferry MS Jan Heweliusz sinks off the coast of Rugen in the Baltic Sea, causing 54 fatalities.

#140 Gary Sheffield

About the Front: Is it fair or is it foul? Whichever the case may be, I'd bet that the opposing pitcher was a little cranky about Gary Sheffield stopping to watch the ball.

About the Back: By the time he retired in 2009, Sheff had 13 career grand slams among his total of 509 home runs.

Triple Play:

1. You may have heard that Gary is the nephew of veteran pitcher and onetime Mets phenom Dwight Gooden. Sheffield, who is just four years younger than Gooden, batted .286 (6-for-21) with a pair of walks and no extra-base hits against his uncle.

2. He was just the third player in MLB history to hit home runs both as a teenager (he was two months shy of his 20th birthday when he took Mark Langston deep on September 9, 1988) and as a 40-year-old. The first two men on that list were Ty Cobb and Rusty Staub.

3. Gary is now a player agent, most notably representing Pirates' reliever Jason Grilli.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember the uproar surrounding San Diego's fire sale in midseason 1993. They unloaded Greg Harris, Bruce Hurst, and Fred McGriff, but it was the deal that sent Sheffield to the Marlins that started it all. Of course, that's the trade that brought Trevor Hoffman to the Padres.

Bill James Said: "Made 34 errors at third base, giving him an .899 fielding percentage, the worst in the major leagues at any position in several years."

On This Date in 1993: January 13. How about a crop of middling free agent signings? The Giants add first baseman Todd Benzinger and outfielder Mark Carreon to the fold, and pitcher Craig Lefferts signs with the Rangers.

#139 Gary Gaetti

About the Front: Firstly, yes, this card features an uncorrected error. Gary Gaetti's name should be in red letters, not white. It's worth the same as any other card in this set, which is to say not much at all. But don't let Topps' goof-up distract you from a great action photo. In a sparsely-attended game at Cleveland Stadium (that really narrows it down...), Indians' catcher Junior Ortiz is attempting to tag a sliding Gaetti, whose facial features look even more rodentlike than usual here. Call it a cheap shot, but Baseball Reference lists the guy's nickname as "The Rat". Anyhow, I was able to pick out the boxscore by process of elimination: Saturday, May 2, 1992. In the top of the fourth inning, Gaetti hit a one-out single to left field against Dennis Cook to score Junior Felix, giving the Halos a 2-1 lead. Gary moved to second base on the throw home, but was cut down at the plate on Mike Fitzgerald's single. The Tribe kept California off of the scoreboard after that, pulling out a 3-2 win.

About the Back: That's a pretty goofy stat, but if you're curious it appears that Gaetti scored the 20,000th run in Angels history on his own three-run homer, a fifth-inning shot off of Mark Davis that provided the winning margin in a 3-1 victory over Kansas City.

Triple Play:

1. Gary homered in his first career at-bat, taking Charlie Hough deep on September 20, 1981. His 360 career home runs are the most among players who touched 'em all in their first at-bat.

2. His career hardware includes a 1987 ALCS trophy, four Gold Gloves at the hot corner, and a Silver Slugger Award that he captured at age 36 after leading the Royals with 35 home runs in 137 games in 1995.

3. He coached in the Astros' organization at both the minor and major league levels and also served as hitting coach of Tampa Bay's AAA club, the Durham Bulls. For the past two seasons he has managed the independent Atlantic League's Sugar Land Skeeters. In 2013, the Skeeters had a 95-45 record but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Somerset Patriots.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought it was funny that Gaetti and Greg Gagne teamed together in Minnesota and Kansas City. For years, those two teams had a pair of G.G.'s on the left side of the infield.

Bill James Said: "Had a .477 slugging percentage after joining Kansas City in mid-season, which from my standpoint as a Royals fan, will keep his miserable carcass in the lineup another year." Two more, actually, and they were his best performances since 1988. It was part of a late-career revival that saw Gary remain a regular through 1999, his age-40 season.

On This Date in 1993: January 10. In postseason NFL action, the Cowboys rout the Eagles 34-10 and the Dolphins shut out the Chargers 31-0. Next week, Dallas will face the 49ers and the Dolphins will square off with the Bills to determine the matchup for Super Bowl XXVII.

#138 Joe Oliver

About the Front: Check it out! Joe Oliver's throwing up the heavy metal horns!

About the Back: The referenced game-winner in Game Two of the 1990 World Series was a walkoff single against none other than Dennis Eckersley.

Triple Play:

1. His first full season as the Reds' starting catcher was the championship year of 1990. He made a good first impression by throwing out 12 of the first 20 runners who tried to steal on him.

2. After spending eight of his first nine major league seasons in Cincinnati, Joe bounced amongst five teams in the final four years of his career: Tigers, Mariners, Pirates, Mariners again, Yankees, and Red Sox.

3. Oliver lives in Orlando, FL, where he sells real estate and coaches the varsity baseball team at Bishop Moore Catholic High School.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: One of the many ways I kept myself busy during my lonely Little League innings in right field was to count the outs using hand gestures like the one Joe is expressing above. It helped me feel like that much more of a true ballplayer.

Bill James Said: "He's not much of a player, for a regular - a sub-.250 hitter who is slow even for a catcher, has a poor strikeout/walk ratio and just an average arm."

On This Date in 1993: January 9. The soundtrack for the Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner film The Bodyguard becomes the first album to sell a million copies in one week in the U.S. since the Nielsen SoundScan produced the computerized technology to track sales.

#137 Alan Mills

About the Front: So many great little details. The tried-and-true Alan Mills "horseshoe" mustache, the cap brim pulled low over his eyes (though I've seen him go even lower), the oddball #75 jersey, and the tin of what I assume is chewing tobacco protruding from the back pants pocket.

About the Back: The Yankees give an award for the best rookie performance...in Spring Training? Does any other team do that?

Triple Play:

1. His first love was football, but he turned to baseball after doctors discovered that he had been born with only one kidney.

2. During a bench-clearing brawl between the Orioles and the Yankees on May 19, 1998, Mills famously bloodied Darryl Strawberry with a mean right cross in the New York dugout.

3. Alan is currently a pitching coach in the Baltimore farm system.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I had an Orioles game program from 1993 that included an article on Mills and his baseball card collecting hobby. There were pictures of him rooting through stacks of 1991 Topps in his home. It's always fun to find common ground with pro athletes.

Bill James Said: "Limited hitters to a .187 batting average when there were men on base, best in the American League."

On This Date in 1993: January 8. The comedic horror B-movie Leprechaun premieres, starring Warwick Davis and a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston.

#136 Jeff King

About the Front: Do you think Jeff King ever tried to pick up women by telling them he was Don Mattingly?

About the Back: King was the first overall pick in the 1986 draft, chosen ahead of future stars such as Greg Swindell, Matt Williams, Kevin Brown, and Gary Sheffield.

Triple Play:

1. Jeff had a career year in 1996, bashing 36 doubles and 30 home runs and driving in 111. He slugged .497, had an OPS+ of 117, and even stole 15 bases in 16 tries.

2. In what might be the only trade of its kind, he was sent to the Royals in December 1996 with Jay Bell for Joe Randa and three other players named Jeff - pitchers Granger, Martin, and Wallace.

3. King was only 21 games into his third season in Kansas City when he abruptly retired on May 23, 1999. He had suffered from chronic back problems throughout his career, but sportswriter Joe Posnanski has long maintained that the infielder disliked baseball enough to walk away just one day after accruing enough service time to be eligible for a guaranteed MLB pension.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I read an article about first-overall picks and was surprised to see a player as seemingly ordinary as Jeff King among their number. But by the end of his career, I think he'd justified the selection.

Bill James Said: "His control of the strike zone improved dramatically in '93, as he struck out 24% less often, and walked 72% more often."

On This Date in 1993: January 7. The Detroit Tigers re-up with first baseman Cecil Fielder, giving him a five-year, $36 million contract to make him the highest-paid player in MLB for the time being.

#135 Mickey Tettleton

About the Front: As much as I love cards that heavily feature catchers' gear, any photo of Mickey Tettleton that doesn't feature him swatting home runs and working on a pinch of chaw is an opportunity wasted.

About the Back: I swear that I wrote the sentence above before flipping the card over. Well played, Topps. The smeared eye black is a nice flourish.

Triple Play:

1. Mickey became a cult hero in Baltimore in 1989, slugging 20 home runs by midseason to earn his first All-Star selection and sparking the team's rise from dead last in 1988 to postseason contention. His famous superstition that fueled the power surge? Froot Loops, everyone's favorite toucan-endorsed cereal.

2. Despite four 30-homer seasons in a five-year span (1991-1995) and career marks of .369 on-base, .818 OPS, and 122 OPS+, Tettleton was underrated during his career. This is due in large part to his low batting average (.241 career) and high strikeout totals (1,307 career).

3. His son Tyler just concluded his collegiate career as quarterback of the Ohio University Bobcats, setting 27 school records.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I can't tell you how many times I've watched and rewatched the Orioles' 1989 "Why Not?" season recap VHS. It's got a delightfully goofy music video about the team's catcher featuring the song "I Love Mickey", co-written and performed in 1956 by pop singer Teresa Brewer for Tettleton's namesake, fellow Oklahoman Mickey Mantle.

Bill James Said: "He's no longer a catcher; he played 56 games last year behind the plate (mostly early in the season), 59 games at first base, 39 in right field, also played left and DH."

On This Date in 1993: January 6. Famed trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie dies at age 75.

#134 Lee Guetterman

About the Front: It looks like the Mets are hosting the Astros, judging from the ghost runner on first base. Also, Lee Guetterman is a tall dude. He looks every inch of his listed height of 6'8".

About the Back: This is one of my favorite two-sentence bios so far. We learn that Lee has a fallback career option of teaching, that Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University, it was founded by Bible-thumping blowhard Jerry Falwell) somehow produced a pair of contemporary big leaguers, and that Guetterman is a European travel enthusiast. Much better than just listing off a handful of big home runs or complete games.

Triple Play:

1. In 1987, Lee won his first five decisions and eight of his first nine. Including his 5-1 start to the season at AAA Calgary, he posted 16 wins against five losses that year.

2. Pitching out of the Yankee bullpen in 1989, Guetterman was unscored upon in his first 19 appearances of the season. His record-setting streak reached 30.2 shutout innings before the Angels hung a five-spot on him in the ninth inning on May 24. Chili Davis' leadoff homer was the bagel-buster.

3. He now lives in Lenoir City, TN with his wife Drew.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: To my unrefined eyes and ears, his name was pronounced "Gooter-men". As I got older, I read it as "Gwetter-men". According to this site, it should actually be "Getter-men". Let's call the whole thing off!

Bill James Said: "I had Lee Guetterman, who was out of work, valued at $3. He pitched 40 times, and pitched well." Always nice to see a guy put up a 2.93 ERA (135 ERA+) as a middle reliever a year after being dumped by both New York teams.

On This Date in 1993: January 3. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine premieres as a syndicated TV series in the United States. It is the third distinct series in the Star Trek franchise; at current writing, there are five total.

#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.