Lou Brissie
Nearly blown up by Nazis, this pitcher practically dragged himself to the forefront of the Philadelphia Athletics’ pitching rotation. He even had a racehorse named after him.
Set Collecting
Where Are All The Greg Swindell Collectors?
Will the Greg Swindell collectors in the room please raise their hand? Seriously, Swindell is not a player I would expect to have zero player collectors chasing his cards.
I Might Just Start Making Up Cards
Mike Devereaux turned in the best baseball season of his life in 1992 with more than 300 total bases and was rewarded with **this** unflattering picture on the front of his 1993 Finest baseball card. It could have been so much better.
1993 Finest: Pete Harnisch
This guy looks familiar. He found himself in a lot of lineups: Baseball and otherwise.
Adding the 1952 Topps Willie Mays
My quest to build a ’52 Topps set meets the first (and best) name on this landmark set’s Mt. Rushmore of baseball cards. It’s a card so good I have owned it twice.
Frank Viola is the Guy That Fights SkyNet?
No one expected a kid to take on SkyNet and its robotic assassins in The Terminator. Somehow it would be a pitcher who looked 10 years below his age who would lead the charge against robo-umps in baseball.
Off to the Races in DC
If you need to sum up outfielder Gil Coan in a single word it would be “speed.” Before the Washington Nationals entertained fans with presidential mascots running footraces, one of their predecessor teams was sending Coan out to run laps against track stars. He even raced a horse (and won!) from right field to home plate. Perhaps the fact that he was missing one of his thumbs made him more aerodynamic.
When It Rains It Pours
Sam Zoldak was a big league pitcher whose abilities seemed to be just a hair above average. There’s not a lot to write about when a player shows up and just does his job competently. There are, however, two small items from his story that make me take notice.
1993 Finest: Alex Fernandez
My daughter makes a Pokemon trade, I get flashbacks of trying to understand something new, and the Marlins burn down a pitcher’s arm for the insurance money.
Cards Through Rose Colored Glasses
The world came oh so close to getting a ’52 Topps card with an image of a pitcher wearing sunglasses.