Bobby Bo and the Sport’s Most Famous Contract
A contract so good it gave rise to the semi-official New York holiday of “Bobby Bonnilla Day.”
1993 Finest Profile
The Closest Thing to a Rookie Pitcher in ’93 Finest
Topps generally avoided putting rookies in the ’93 Finest set. Cal Eldred’s incredible rookie performance in 1992 got him into the checklist.
1993 Finest: Darryl Hamilton
A hidden ball trick, sneaky trade demands, and a murderous girlfriend.
VIEW From the Mound
My first 1993 refractor features the lead singer of two different alternative rock bands.
Looking at 1993 Finest: John Jaha
Here’s a stat that summarizes the career of John Jaha: He led the 1995 Milwaukee Brewers in homeruns despite appearing in only 88 games that season. Injuries were a regular feature of Jaha’s decade in the majors. Of the 1,620 games scheduled during his 1992-2001 career, he appeared in just 826 of them (51%).
Moonwalking With Sandy
There’s a favorite stat that gets passed around whenever Mariano Rivera is discussed: More people have walked on the moon than scored against him in 16 years of postseason play. Taking the story further, fewer players homered off of Rivera in the postseason than travelled with the Apollo 11 spacecraft in the first lunar mission. Neil Armstrong became the first to touch the lunar surface, and Cleveland Indians catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr. became the first to touch Rivera for a postseason homerun in 1997.
Mapping a Nomadic Summer Road Trip
Mike Morgan nearly set a record for the number of teams played for. Could the dozen teams he pitched with be assembled into an epic road trip?
The Reigning AL MVP in ’93 Finest
Yep. MLB voters gave the 1992 American League MVP award to a relief pitcher, one who coined the term “walk-off” to describe homeruns he had personally given up.
A Player Agent That Can Say “I’ve Been There”
Reggie Jefferson had several formative run-ins with MLB roster management led to his career as a sports agent.
Wait, You Can Just Try Out for the Astros?
Joining the Astros the way I joined my Little League team.