#416 Randy Tomlin

About the Front: Randy Tomlin's arms look disproportionately long, possibly even moreso than Mike Hartley's.

About the Back: Wow, somebody really mailed in the bio. Spun, spun, spun...get a thesaurus.

Triple Play:

1. Tomlin threw a "Vulcan changeup", so called because it was held between the middle and ring fingers, making a 'V' shape similar to the Vulcan salute.

2. He was the National League's Pitcher of the Month in June 1992, when he went 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA and walked only five batters in 44.2 innings.

3. After hanging up his spikes, Randy spent a decade at his alma mater (Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA) as pitching coach. Afterward, he coached in the Nationals organization for five seasons.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Tomlin is from Bainbridge, MD, but I have no idea where that is. Let me check...ah, Cecil County. I've heard the locals pronounce it as "Sissle" County.

Bill James Said: "Tomlin posted a 2.55 ERA as a rookie in 1990, but this has gone up each year since then, putting his career in jeopardy." His earned run average spiked to 4.85 in 1993, and settled at 3.92 in 10 appearances in 1994, which turned out to be his last year in the majors.

On This Date in 1993: April 30. The Phillies improve to an MLB-best 17-5 with a 7-6 win on the road vs. the Dodgers. Darren Daulton's eighth-inning two-run homer off of rookie Omar Daal provides the winning runs.

#415 Todd Frohwirth

About the Front: Here's a first-person glimpse at the unenviable task of facing a submarine-style pitcher. You can't even see the ball in Todd Frohwirth's hand.

About the Back: Todd split most of the 1987 season between AA Reading and AAA Maine, posting a 2.09 ERA and saving 22 games. Oh, and Topps shows criminal negligence by not mentioning the circumstances of the pitcher's debut on August 10. He replaced Kevin Gross when the Phillies' starter was caught with sandpaper in his glove and ejected. Frohwirth tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and was awarded the win.

Triple Play:

1. Todd was a workhorse for the Orioles, with 32 relief appearances of three or more innings from 1991 through 1993. On July 4, 1992, he entered in the 10th inning and held the Twins without a run through the 14th, but his five innings of work were for naught as Gregg Olson lost the game in the 15th.

2. Frohwirth faced Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett 22 times, more than any other batter. In their meetings, Puckett batted just .105/.227/.263, with two hits in 19 at-bats and three walks.

3. He served as pitching coach for Milwaukee's Beloit Snappers minor league club in 1999, and has also coached varsity basketball at Marquette High School in Milwaukee. He is currently a scout for the Orioles.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Todd is largely responsible for my longtime fascination with sidearm and submarine pitchers. Mark Eichhorn, Chad Bradford, and Darren O'Day have been among my favorite unheralded relievers as an O's fan.

Bill James Said: "His career has degenerated to a puzzling extent over the last two years; I suspect he is not getting the support he needs from his organization." Frohwirth's ERA climbed to 3.83 in 1993, which proved to be his last full season in the majors, but I'm not sure what James meant by the last remark. Was he blaming the O's coaches for Todd's decline?

On This Date in 1993: April 29. Dave Stieb wins the penultimate game of his career, as the White Sox top the Brewers 7-4. His next (and final) big league win would come five years later, during a brief comeback with the Blue Jays.

#414 Juan Guerrero

About the Front: Juan Guerrero appears to be totally alone on the field. If that ball takes a bad hop, nobody will be there to get him a bag of ice.

About the Back: Guerrero was a Rule 5 pick by the Astros prior to the 1992 season.

Triple Play:

1. His only big league home run was a walkoff shot off of Roger Mason in the bottom of the 12th inning on July 21, 1992.

2. The glamorous life of a Rule 5 pick in the National League: Juan played a game at second base, 10 at third, 19 at shortstop, two in left field, and 43 as a pinch hitter.

3. Guerrero never played in the majors again after 1992. However, he did bat .327/.365/.504 with 10 homers and 55 RBI in 76 games for the Catskill Cougars of the independent Northeast League. (I am a sucker for ex-big leaguers in the indies.)

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: This card provides a reminder that I haven't studied most of the set for 20 years. I could've sworn that Guerrero was listed as a shortstop. In my defense, he actually played the largest number of games at short in '92.

Bill James Said: N/A.

On This Date in 1993: April 28. Former NC State men's basketball coach Jim Valvano dies of metastatic cancer at age 47.

#413 Pete Smith

About the Front: You can see the "P" initial on Pete Smith's nameplate, distinguishing him from teammate Lonnie Smith.

About the Back: I'd forgotten that Pete Smith was drafted by the Phillies. He was traded to the Braves with catcher Ozzie Virgil in exchange for pitcher Steve Bedrosian and outfielder Milt Thompson. There's a handful of 1980s names for you.

Triple Play:

1. Pete fell just short of a complete-game effort in his big league debut on September 8, 1987, getting the hook with two outs in the ninth inning after giving up three San Diego hits to narrow the margin to 4-2. Jim Acker shut the door on the Padres, and young Pete had a win in his first start.

2. Smith could do no wrong once the Braves recalled him from AAA Richmond in August of 1992, winning seven of his 11 starts without a single loss. He reached the sixth inning in all but one of those appearances, averaging seven innings per start.

3. He provided a winning effort in a losing cause in the decisive sixth game of the 1992 World Series, replacing starter Steve Avery in the fifth inning and keeping Toronto scoreless for the next three frames. Atlanta finally tied the score in the bottom of the ninth before succumbing in the 11th.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Pete Smith's career ran aground for good with a trade to the Orioles in June of 1998. He allowed 57 hits, 16 walks, and 31 runs in 45 innings in Baltimore and never pitched in the majors again. He and Kent Mercker served as proof to me that if the Braves let a pitcher go, there was usually a good reason.

Bill James Said: "Smith, after pitching well in April, went 0-5 with a 6.25 ERA in May and June, which helped put the Braves in a deep hole."

On This Date in 1993: April 27. The entire Zambian national football team dies when their plane crashes in Gabon. They had been travelling to Senegal for a scheduled qualifying match for the 1994 World Cup.

#412 Jamie McAndrew

About the Front: Lookie here, it's our first Marlins card! Topps got on their horses after November 1992's expansion draft and snapped portrait photos of bunches of players in their spanking new Florida and Colorado duds. A lot of the settings for these photos are incredible, in a funny and cheesy sort of way. Here, Jamie McAndrew is playing peek-a-boo in the park!

About the Back: Jim McAndrew pitched in 161 games (110 starts), primarily for the Mets. He peaked in 1972 with an 11-8 record and a 2.80 ERA for New York.

Triple Play:

1. McAndrew played baseball and football for the University of Florida, spending two years as the Gators' starting punter.

2. Jamie signed with the Dodgers after being drafted 28th overall in 1989. He was scouted by Bill Pleis, who had pitched for the Twins from 1961-1966.

3. He debuted with Milwaukee in 1995, and earned his first career win on August 17, limiting the Indians to a pair of runs on seven hits. He walked one batter and struck out four.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I never even realized that McAndrew was with the Brewers by the time I got this card. On April 2, 1993, the Marlins traded him for a minor league lefty named Tom McGraw.

Bill James Said: No, he didn't. Jamie spent all of 1993 at AAA New Orleans.

On This Date in 1993: April 24. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonates a truck bomb on Bishopsgate in London's financial district. A news photographer is killed in the explosion and 44 people are injured.

#411 Lee Smith and Dennis Eckersley

About the Front: These two All-Star closers have more vastly diverging body types than any other duo in this subset. I do like the way their photos capture their pitching deliveries at nearly the same point.

About the Back: Want to know how much baseball has changed over the years? As late as 1964, the single-season saves record was 29, co-held by Dick Radatz and Luis Arroyo. In 1992, Dennis Eckersley topped that number by the All-Star break.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: It would probably be intimidating enough to face either Lee or Eck in a game...imagine both of them rocking back and firing towards you at once!

On This Date in 1993: April 23. The Mariners rally for four runs against Jim Abbott and the Yankees in the bottom of the seventh inning to win, 6-3. Seattle's rookie lefthander Mike Hampton, appearing in his second major league game, tosses two and two-thirds scoreless innings to earn credit for the victory. He'll win 148 games in total before retiring in 2010.

#410 Tom Glavine and Dave Fleming

About the Front: In hindsight, it looks like Topps was picking on poor Dave Fleming by putting him alongside Tom Glavine, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux. But in 1992, the Seattle rookie really was the best lefty on a team that included a still-wild Randy Johnson.

About the Back: It would be cruel of me to point out that Glavine's five first-half shutouts equaled Fleming's career total. Instead I'll point out that Cliff Lee (with six shutouts in 2011) is the only pitcher in the 2000s to top that number over a full season.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Even to a new fan, the name Dave Fleming seemed out of place. He didn't have the notoriety of a Clemens.

On This Date in 1993: April 22. Version 1.0 of the Mosaic web browser is released, an important milestone in the Internet boom of the 1990s.

#409 Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens

About the Front: Here are a couple of right-handed starters who combined for 709 wins and 8,043 strikeouts. No big deal.

About the Back: Greg Maddux was about to enter another plane of existence when it came to control of his pitches. In 12 of his final 15 full seasons (1994-2008), Mad Dog issued less than the 38 free passes that he totaled in the first half of 1992.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Both of these guys would still be pitching (and pitching well) when I reached my mid-twenties. That would've probably surprised me 20+ years ago.

On This Date in 1993: April 21. Walker, Texas Ranger premieres on CBS. It would air for eight seasons and 203 episodes, helping to cement Chuck Norris' legacy as a cult hero.

#408 Darren Daulton and Brian Harper

About the Front: Darren Daulton is perplexed by the giant baseball hurtling down from Outer Space, but Brian Harper is preoccupied with the regulation-sized baseball directly in front of him.

About the Back: Brian Harper never actually made an All-Star team. Sandy Alomar Jr. was the American League starter at catcher in the 1992 Midsummer Classic, but batted an underwhelming .241/.284/.316 with two home runs and 23 RBI in the first half.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I don't think I realized as a kid that Topps chose the All-Stars in their sets at their own discretion, and not necessarily based on the previous year's starters.

On This Date in 1993: April 20. Here's a glimpse at the day's games. Four extra-innings contests, and wins from some notable pitchers, including David Wells, Kevin Appier, Goose Gossage, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, and Dave Righetti.