#506 Sparky Anderson and Art Howe

About the Front: Funny, that doesn't look like Philip Seymour Hoffman on the right.

About the Back: Sparky Anderson is listed as a former second baseman, but what Topps doesn't tell you is that he played one (and only one) full season in the big leagues. In 1959, he earned a starting role for the cellar-dwelling Phillies, after six years in the talent-rich Dodgers organization. The 25-year-old batted a paltry .218/.282/.249 (43 OPS+) with no home runs and 34 RBI, and never got a second look.

Triple Play:

1. After just five years as a minor league manager and an additional season as a major league coach, Anderson was hired at age 35 to manage the Reds in 1970. In nine years in Cincinnati, Sparky's teams won five National League West titles, four NL pennants, and back-to-back World Series in 1975 and 1976. After the Reds fired him in 1978, he moved on to Detroit and helped build another winner. The Tigers were World Champions in 1984 and added an AL East crown in 1987. Anderson retired after the 1995 season, his 26th as an MLB manager, with 2,194 wins and 1,834 losses (.545 winning percentage). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000, and passed away at age 76 in 2010.

2. Art Howe spent parts of 11 seasons (1974-1982, 1984-1985) as an active MLB player, and was primarily a corner infielder with the Astros. He batted .260/.329/.379 (102 OPS+) with 43 home runs and 293 RBI.

3. Howe managed for 14 seasons with the Astros (1989-1993), Athletics (1996-2002), and Mets (2003-2004). He had a record of 1,129-1,137 (.498), and as I alluded to earlier, he's now best known as the manager of the "Moneyball"-era A's. He led that low-payroll Oakland team to three straight postseasons, but lost in the Division Series each time.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I always thought that Sparky Anderson was ancient. He was actually 58 when this photo was taken!

On This Date in 1993: April 3. The NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four takes place. Michigan outlasts Kentucky in overtime, 81-78. Chris Webber leads all scorers with 27 points, and Jamal Mashburn is the top UK scorer with 26. In the other semifinal, North Carolina beats Kansas, 78-68, with Donald Williams scoring 25 for the Tar Heels and Adonis Jordan and Rex Walters each tallying 19 for the Jayhawks.

#491 Shawn Hare

About the Front: I don't trust that orange Gatorade cooler lurking in the background. He's up to something...

About the Back: Pitchers Kevin Tapani and Curt Young are probably the most notable CMU Chippewas in recent years. Current Diamondbacks pitcher Josh Collmenter also attended Central Michigan, as did former Yankee Tom Tresh, who was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1962.

Triple Play:

1. On May 31,1994, Hare had the first multi-hit game of his big league career, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and a run scored in the Mets' 3-2 loss to the Rockies.

2. His career ended with a fruitless 29-game stint in South Korea with the Haitai Tigers in 1998, batting just .206 with no home runs and three RBI.

3. Shawn now works as a financial advisor for Wells Fargo out in Woodland Hills, CA.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Do you think Shawn Hare's favorite Hall of Famer is Rabbit Maranville? Huh? Eh?

Bill James Said: Bill didn't evaluate Shawn prior to the 1994 season, as the outfielder spent all of 1993 at AAA Toledo, batting .264/.313/.466 with 20 home runs and 76 RBI.

On This Date in 1993: October 9. The White Sox battle back to tie up the ALCS at two games apiece with a 7-4 win in Toronto. Lance Johnson tripled and homered, and Frank Thomas went deep as well. The Chicago bullpen held the Blue Jays to a single run in 6.2 innings after rookie starter Jason Bere got the early hook.

#429 Milt Cuyler

First of all, I'm sorry for the two-week hiatus. I was travelling...and then recovering from travel. Let's get back to Series Two.

About the Front: Milt Cuyler wears his uniform number (22) on his wristbands. That's a good way to keep teammates from wandering off with your equipment.

About the Back: Cuyler had only ten career home runs, but drove in 21 runs on those round-trippers. That's getting the most out of it.

Triple Play:

1. Milt finished fifth in the American League in stolen bases in 1991, and was third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Chuck Knoblauch and Juan Guzman. However, he never exceeded 89 games played in any subsequent big league season, and his career was essentially over after a 50-game stint in Boston in 1996.

2. On May 11, 1993, he set the tone for a 12-7 Tigers win over Toronto with a career-high four hits in six at-bats from the leadoff spot, including a double and a triple. He scored three runs and stole a base.

3. Cuyler has spent several years coaching rookie-level hitters with the Twins' Gulf Coast League affiliate.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Milt may have shared a last name with Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler, but he finished his career with 1,970 less hits.

Bill James Said: "Appears to be suffering from Jerome Walton's Disease; played very well as a rookie but has failed to hold his ground."

On This Date in 1993: June 1. The Expos sign 18-year-old Orlando Cabrera as an amateur free agent from Colombia. He will go on to enjoy a 15-year career as a big league shortstop, winning a pair of Gold Gloves as well as a World Series ring with the 2004 Red Sox.

#423 Ryan Klesko, Ivan Cruz, Bubba Smith, and Larry Sutton

About the Front: This is our first glimpse at the design for 1993's Top Prospects cards. In an interesting twist, Topps has selected one prospect per position from each minor league level, so you have some idea of how close the players are to the major leagues. They also chose to place these four player portraits over a background image of dirt, as a subtle way of telling you not to pin all of your hopes on unproven minor leaguers. Or maybe I'm reading too much into things.

About the Back: No minor league stats? Not even one line per player for 1992 or career numbers? That's weak sauce.

Triple Play:

1. Ryan Klesko was the only one of these four to have an appreciable big league career, batting .279/.370/.500 (128 OPS+) with 278 homers and 987 RBI in parts of 16 seasons with Atlanta, San Diego, and San Francisco. He was an All-Star with the 2001 Padres, as he bashed 34 doubles and 30 home runs, drove in a career-high 113 runs, and even stole 23 bases in 27 tries.

2. Ivan Cruz had cups of coffee with the Yankees (1997), Pirates (1999-2000), and Cardinals (2002), totaling 41 games. He was the first pro player ever interviewed by Night Owl, one of my favorite journalist/blogger types. In all, Ivan hit 281 home runs in professional baseball, which includes stints in Mexico and Japan.

3. Charles Lee "Bubba" Smith never reached MLB, but spent 16 years playing ball professionally. Some of his statistics from Mexican leagues are not available, but he clubbed at least 367 home runs, with a single-season high of 40 in 123 games for the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization in 1999. 61 of his 117 hits that year went for extra bases.

3a. Larry Sutton's big league career spanned from 1997-2004, but 111 of his 252 total games played came in 1998 with the Royals. Overall he batted .236/.302/.346 (67 OPS+) with 12 home runs and 78 RBI. Like Smith, he had a successful stint in Korea, leading the KBO with 35 dingers in 119 for the Hyundai Unicorns (!) in 2005.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I absolutely didn't think that Ivan Cruz was within three years of the age of the other three men on this card. Maybe it was the mustache.

Bill James Said: Klesko - "A young, white Fred McGriff - a lefthanded power-hitting first baseman, capable of hitting 25-30 home runs in a season."

On This Date in 1993: May 11. Miguel Sano is born in San Pedro de Macoris, D. R. Despite missing all of 2014 with Tommy John surgery, the third base prospect for the Twins would still be listed as Baseball America's #13 overall minor league player entering the 2015 season.

#404 Barry Larkin and Travis Fryman

About the Front: Eye black for everybody!

About the Back: Barry Larkin actually had a much better second half than the first in 1992. After the break, he batted .321/.395/.487 with eight homers and 41 RBI in 72 games. Fryman, however, slumped to .235/.296/.359 with seven home runs and 39 RBI in 73 games.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I was surprised to see an American League shortstop other than Cal Ripken on this All-Star card. Of course, '92 was the worst season yet in the Orioles star's career (.251/.323/.366, 14 HR, 72 RBI).

On This Date in 1993: April 13. American historian, novelist, and environmentalist Wallace Stegner, who won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for Angle of Repose, dies at age 84.

#392 Travis Fryman

About the Front: The orange "D" on the Tigers' road caps and helmets (as opposed to white on their home duds) was always a neat little design touch.

About the Back: It's been a while since I fact-checked Topps' wonky draft information. In this case, Travis Fryman was Detroit's third pick in 1987, but thanks to free agent compensation, he was still taken in the first round (30th overall). Sheesh.

Triple Play:

1. He hit for the cycle in a 12-7 loss to the Yankees on July 28, 1993, going 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a triple, a homer, and five RBI.

2. Fryman had his best season in 2000 with Cleveland, batting .321/.392/.516 with 38 doubles, 22 home runs, and 106 RBI. He made the All-Star team for the fifth and final time in his career, and won his only Gold Glove at third base.

3. Travis has been managing and coaching in the Indians' organization since 2008.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember Fryman being one of the seeming dozens of power hitters assembled by the Tigers. Even today, I was shocked to review his career stats and see that he never had a 30-homer season.

Bill James Said: "One of the best players in baseball over the next five years." I guess I wasn't the only one fooled by Travis. He averaged 21 home runs and 93 RBI over the following five seasons (1994-1998), batted .274/.334/.452, and his OPS+ was a middling 101.

On This Date in 1993: March 16. Kid Rock releases his second album, The Polyfuze Method.

#379 Mike Munoz

About the Front: Topps just photographed the entire Tigers pitching staff on Turn Back the Clock Day and called it a wrap, didn't they? Nevertheless, that's an excellent view of the center field fence and stands at Tiger Stadium.

About the Back: Mike Munoz was the first college player drafted by the Dodgers in 1986. With their first two picks, they took high school outfielder Michael White, who never made the majors, and shortstop Dave Hansen, who we'll see in the second series of this set.

Triple Play:

1. Munoz earned his first career save on August 15, 1992, shutting out the Rangers for the final three innings of a 10-3 Tigers win.

2. He appeared in 300 games spanning six seasons for the Rockies, despite an unsightly 5.50 ERA (94 ERA+) in that span. It's hard to pitch in Denver, y'all.

3. Mike collected his only big league hit on May 28, 1995, socking a run-scoring double against Jim Gott of the Pirates.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Munoz's thick black mustache probably reminded me of Super Mario, even if the lefty pitcher didn't have the right build.

Bill James Said: "Was the Tigers top lefthanded reliever in '92, but started out slowly last year, was designated for assignment and found himself the property of the Rockies."

On This Date in 1993: February 20. Jurickson Profar is born. In 2012, he will make his big league debut with the Rangers as a top middle infield prospect.

#353 Buddy Groom

About the Front: The dugouts in Tiger Stadium were in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint in 1992.

About the Back: Here you see evidence of the first dozen of Buddy Groom's eventual career total of 786 games pitched, and yet this was the only base set card that he ever got from Topps. Heck, he even holds the record for most career games without a single plate appearance. Say it with me: LOOGYs are people too!

Triple Play:

1. After losing his first nine career decisions, he finally earned a win in his fourth big league season, with 5.2 innings of one-hit ball against the Rangers on May 12, 1995. He also walked four and struck out only two, but who's counting?

2. As I hinted above, Buddy found a niche as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen, primarily for the Athletics and Orioles. He averaged 70 appearances (and 59 innings pitched) for those two clubs from 1996 through 2004.

3. Groom signed with the Yankees in 2005, but was shipped out in July after crafting a 4.91 ERA and 1.52 ERA in 24 appearances. He bashed manager Joe Torre on his way out, complaining that he was only used for mop-up work because he wasn't one of "Joe's boys".

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I can swear that I saw his named misprinted as "Bubby" Groom somewhere, whether it was a Beckett checklist, a card itself, or something else. I was very amused.

Bill James Said: "His real name is 'Wedsel', which is a good excuse to skip Mother's Day."

On This Date in 1993: January 9. British track and field Olympian Katarina Johnson-Thompson is born in Liverpool.

#325 Bill Gullickson

About the Front: Bill Gullickson's expression says, "Cecil Fielder just let a ground ball scoot through his legs, and I need to turn around and stare off into space before my eyes roll out of my head."

About the Back: Gullickson led the Giants in wins in 1988, with a sharp 3.10 ERA in 203.1 innings. He made only 15 starts in 1989, dropping to 7-5 with a 3.65 ERA. His manager with Yomiuri in 1988 was Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh.

Triple Play:

1. He was drafted second overall in 1977, right behind top pick Harold Baines. (We'll visit with Harold later.)

2. On September 10, 1980, Bill set a big league rookie record by striking out 18 Cubs in a four-hit, two-run complete game victory. He allowed only two walks, and his record stood until Kerry Wood whiffed 20 Astros in 1998.

3. Gullickson and his wife Sandy have six children, all of whom became involved in athletics. Most notably, daughter Carly is a former professional tennis player. She was active from 2003-2013, peaking with a #123 world ranking in singles and #52 in doubles. Carly and partner Travis Parrott were mixed doubles champions at the 2009 US Open.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Another card from my modest early childhood (pre-fandom) collection that still sticks with me years later is Bill's 1988 Topps card, featuring a tight closeup on his grimacing face, cloaked in shadow from the underbill of his Yankees cap.

Bill James Said: "Opened the season on the disabled list following off-season surgery to both his knee and his shoulder, and struggled most of the year." Gullickson had the worst season yet in his career, with a run support-inflated 13-9 record offset by his 5.37 ERA and 28 homers allowed in 159.1 innings. The 1994 season (4-5, 5.93 ERA, 24 HR in 115.1 IP) would be his last.

On This Date in 1993: November 20. LPGA golfer Heather Farr dies at age 28 after a four-year battle with breast cancer.

#298 Scott Livingstone

About the Front: The sleeves on Scott Livingstone's undershirt are an unusual length. They're much longer than his jersey sleeves, which looks kind of sloppy.

About the Back: Livingstone played 44 games (127 at-bats) for the Tigers in 1991, and in fact had a card in the 1992 Topps set. It seems like they were playing fast and loose with the "All-Star Rookie" designation.

Triple Play:

1. Scott made 246 pinch hit appearances in his big league career, with modest success: .277/.309/.375 with 16 doubles, two homers, and 36 RBI.

2. In 213 trips to the plate with the Padres in 1995, he hit .337/.380/.490 with a personal best of five home runs.

3. Livingstone opened the Stars Academy of Baseball in Southlake, TX in 2006.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: "Scott Livingstone, I presume?" I had heard the famous "Dr. Livingstone" quote somewhere or another, and linked it to this young ballplayer. Such are the connections our minds make.

Bill James Said: "The odd man out in the Detroit infield, where Gomez has taken over at shortstop, Fryman and Trammell both play third when they can't play short, and Tony Phillips is liable to play anywhere."

On This Date in 1993: October 10. The Blue Jays push the White Sox to the brink of elimination with a 5-3 win in the fifth game of the ALCS. Juan Guzman ran his career postseason record to 5-0 as the winning pitcher, and Robin Ventura's two-run, two-out homer in the ninth inning was too little, too late. Toronto chased White Sox starter and 1993 Cy Young winner Jack McDowell in the third inning, touching him up for three runs on five hits and three walks.

#272 Kurt Knudsen

About the Front: I like the simple difference between Detroit's white "D" on the home caps, and the orange "D" on the road caps.

About the Back: That's an impressive cleft in Kurt Knudsen's chin. Downright Jesse Ventura-esque.

Triple Play:

1. He earned his first big league save on June 8, 1992 with four shutout innings of relief in a 9-2 win over Cleveland.

2. Kurt's big league career ended with a disastrous four-game stint in 1994. He allowed seven hits, 11 walks, and eight runs in 5.1 innings, and only struck out a single batter.

3. Knudsen pitched in the minors through 1997, finishing in the Angels' organization.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I had the pleasure of witnessing Kurt's penultimate game in the majors. The Orioles torched him for six runs in four innings of relief on June 2, 1994, including a Cal Ripken three-run homer.

Bill James Said: "The slugging percentage against him was .500, and lefthanded batters hit him at a .392 clip, with a .725 slugging percentage."

On This Date in 1993: August 29. The Royals outlast the Red Sox, 5-4, in 12 innings. Greg Gagne singles home Wally Joyner with the winning run. George Brett steals second base in the third inning, making him only the third player in MLB history with 3,000 hits, 300 homers, and 200 steals. Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were the first two to perform the feat.

#243 Rob Deer

About the Front: There's so much to like here. Rob Deer taking a big, powerful swing, as was his wont, while wearing his jersey half-unbuttoned and practically streaking his eye black from cheek to cheek. Few cards in this set or any other capture the essence of their subject so well.

About the Back: Those low batting averages. All those dingers. All those whiffs. Deer, Adam Dunn, and Mark Reynolds are all kindred spirits on the same all-or-nothing plane.

Triple Play:

1. Rob's game-tying three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth on Easter Sunday, 1987 spurred a walkoff win, the 12th straight to open the season for Milwaukee. It was his second longball of the game and landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

2. Some fun Rob Deer tater facts: 21 career multi-homer games, five grand slams, four pinch-hit jobs, four walkoff shots. He also hit one round-tripper from the leadoff slot in the batting order, though sadly, it was as a mid-game substitute for Tony Phillips. Not even Sparky Anderson was adventurous enough to make Rob his leadoff hitter for a full game.

3. Deer had an unsuccessful 70-game stint in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers in 1994, then spent most of 1995-1996 riding the buses in AAA with the Angels' and Padres' farm clubs. His last glimpse of the majors was a 25-game swing with San Diego in 1996; he hit a positively Deerian .180/.359/.480 in 64 trips to the plate, with four homers and three doubles among his nine hits. 30 of his 41 outs came on strikeouts.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: A little bonus Bill James: in his 1994 Player Ratings Book, he said that Steve Balboni "strikes out like a Deer and runs like a file cabinet". I thought that was hilarious...still do.

Bill James Said: "I wish somebody would let him play 162 games, just to see how many times he could strike out." This was after Rob fanned a league-leading 169 times in just 128 games in his final season as a regular.

On This Date in 1993: July 2. In a seesaw game at Mile High Stadium, the Cubs outslug the Rockies 11-8. Sammy Sosa has a 6-for-6 day with a double, two runs scored, two RBI, and three steals in four tries. The teams combine for 34 hits (including 21 by Chicago), and the Rox lose despite rapping eight doubles.

#233 Rick Greene

About the Front: Rick Greene's athletic footwear of choice is Converse. Sadly, they're not Chuck Taylor All-Stars.

About the Back: At 6'5" and 200 pounds, I'd say that Rick might have needed to fill out a bit.

Triple Play:

1. Greene pitched for Team USA in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, posting a 3.18 ERA despite allowing 11 hits and five walks in five and two-thirds innings.

2. He spent a decade in pro ball, tossing 547 innings in 455 minor league games with a 4.23 ERA. In his lone major league appearance, on June 19, 1999, he tossed 5.2 innings of relief for the Reds after starter Ron Villone retired only one of the seven Milwaukee batters he faced. Rick allowed a three-run homer to his first batter, Jose Valentin, and three more runs in the ensuing innings (two of those earned).

3. In 2012, Rick established the 2 Seam Dream Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to cancer research and patient recovery.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I thought it was pretty cool that the Tigers drafted him from the Tigers.

Bill James Said: He didn't say.

On This Date in 1993: June 13. Comings and goings. Eddie Guardado makes his big league debut for the Twins, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks and striking out three in a three and one-third-inning start. Oakland beats Minnesota in a 7-6 seesaw of a game. "Everyday Eddie" will hang around for 17 years and make two All-Star teams as a closer. Meanwhile, 1983 ALCS MVP Mike Boddicker makes his last big league appearance, getting knocked out in the third inning of a Milwaukee loss to the Yankees and giving up five runs.

#216 Mark Leiter

About the Front: Now that's an interesting windup. Both of Mark Leiter's arms as well as his left leg are parallel to each other, at a 45 degree angle to the field.

About the Back: Wow. How often does a pitcher miss three entire seasons of minor league ball and come back to have a long major league career? Two shoulder surgeries in the mid-1980s were the culprit for Leiter.

Triple Play:

1. His younger brother Al pitched for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Marlins, and Mets from 1987 through 2005. Mark Leiter, Jr. was a 22nd-round draft pick of the Phillies last June and is currently pitching for the Lakewood BlueClaws in the single-A South Atlantic League.

2. His best season in the majors was 1998, when he appeared in 69 games as a reliever for the Phillies, who had been his favorite team as a child. Leiter went 7-5 with a 3.55 ERA and a team-high 23 saves, just one year after leading the National League with 17 losses.

3. Mark currently offers private coaching to young pitchers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: In April 1994, Mark's nine-month-old son Ryan died of Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, a childhood form of ALS. It's an incredibly sad thing that's always stuck with me when Leiter's name is mentioned.

Bill James Said: "Righthander, throws fastball with good movement, slider, and changeup."

On This Date in 1993: May 16. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey chooses Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel as the country's new president.

#189 Tony Phillips

About the Front: Tony Phillips looks like he's running against a stiff wind. Cue the Bob Seger...

About the Back: That's a helluva one-two punch for the '61 Tigers. They won 101 games, but that was a firm second place behind the 109-win Maris-Mantle Yankees. How frustrating for Detroit.

Triple Play:

1. Tony switched to #73 with the White Sox in 1997 when Albert Belle joined the club and requested the #8 jersey that had previously belonged to Phillips. The utility player said that he picked a number that nobody else would ever want.

2. On August 10, 1997, Phillips was arrested in an Anaheim hotel room while in possession of $30 of free-base cocaine and a pipe. The charges were dismissed after he attended counseling and remained drug-free for a year.

3. As recently as 2012, a 53-year-old Phillips could be found playing in the independent North American League, where he maintained a .355 on-base percentage in 16 games with the Edinburg (TX) Roadrunners. The previous season, Tony made headlines as a member of the NABL's Yuma Scorpions after he brawled with ex-Dodgers outfielder Mike Marshall, who was managing the rival Chico Outlaws.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember Tony Phillips being a pesky guy that you hated to see your team face. A check of his career splits shows that he batted .257/.352/.378 in 150 career games against my Orioles, which is actually a bit below his .266/.374/.389 overall stat line. Go figure.

Bill James Said: "He doesn't just play five positions; he plays five positions well, even spectacularly well."

On This Date in 1993: April 8. The Republic of Macedonia is admitted to the United Nations. Two years earlier, the tiny central Balkan state had declared its independence from the former Yugoslavia.

#160 Lou Whitaker

About the Front: Lou Whitaker is giving someone the side-eye. Whoever it is, they probably pointed out that Lou's black wristband doesn't fit Detroit's navy-and-orange color scheme.

About the Back: It's odd to see Whitaker's 109 games played in 1981 in red italics, indicating that he tied for the league lead. The midseason strike that year is to blame, of course.

Triple Play:

1. He partnered with shortstop Alan Trammell to form the longest-tenured double play combo in MLB history, as they both played in the Tigers' middle infield regularly from 1978 through 1995.

2. Lou made it to the 1985 All-Star Game in Minnesota, but most of his uniform did not. He left it in his car at the airport in Detroit, and a replacement uniform got lost in transit. He wound up wearing a mesh cap and replica jersey from a merchandise stand at the Metrodome, with a clubhouse attendant stenciling a #1 on the back of the shirt with marker. The second baseman borrowed an Indians batting helmet from Bert Blyleven and got a fielding glove on loan from Cal Ripken, Jr.

3. Whitaker was criminally overlooked by Hall of Fame voters, failing to reach even the 5% mark necessary to stay on the ballot beyond his first year of eligibility. It'll be up to the Veterans Committee to right that wrong in the coming years.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: In the odd hodgepodge of late 1980s cards that kick-started my collection, there was a 1988 Topps Big card of Lou Whitaker. That's how I learned of his unusual middle name, "Rodman".

Bill James Said: "Father time will catch him sooner or later, but there is no sign that it's ready to happen."

On This Date in 1993: February 11. President Clinton names Janet Reno Attorney General of the U.S.

#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.

#107 John Kiely

About the Front: Could I interest you in a serene shot of John Kiely staring pensively up at an empty Tiger Stadium from the dugout? I'll throw in the windbreaker-underneath-the-1931-throwback uni for free!

About the Back: 18 strikeouts, 28 walks, and a 2.13 ERA? Something tells me that Kiely got a little lucky in the batted-ball department. In his brief big league career, he punched out 24 batters while walking 50. That helps explain the brevity.

Triple Play:

1. John's big league debut was, shall we say, inauspicious. On July 26, 1991, he was brought into a 1-1 game to start the bottom of the eighth inning. His second pitch to Juan Gonzalez was roped down the line for a double, and he was pulled in favor of Paul Gibson. Gonzalez scored later in the inning; the Tigers came back to win in extras, but Kiely was left with an infinite ERA.

2. Jim Thome, Cal Ripken, Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle, Harold Baines, Robin Yount, Dave Winfield, Tim Raines, and Carlton Fisk never reached base against Kiely. Of course, that's a combined sample size of 13 plate appearances, but let's not split hairs.

3. He spent parts of five seasons with the Toledo Mud Hens. Klinger would have been proud.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I must not have paid close attention to the back of the card, because the tidbit about Kiely being a sidearmer is new to me. Topps went with a posed portrait on the front, and I was oblivious to his unconventional style.

Bill James Said: "He would benefit from being in an organization which can distinguish between a pitcher and a kumquat." Bonus points for the use of "kumquat".

On This Date in 1993: November 14. Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula sets an NFL record with his 325th career win, a 19-13 squeaker over the Philadelphia Eagles.

#80 Cecil Fielder

About the Front: Man, even Cecil Fielder's forearms were fat. By the way, does anybody know what brand Cecil the Vessel's cleats were? Those don't ring a bell with me.

About the Back: Fielder was the first player to lead the majors in RBI in three consecutive seasons since Babe Ruth (1919-1921). But he failed to lead the league in RBI for a fourth consecutive year in 1993, settling for fifth in the American League with 117 ribbies.

Triple Play:

1. Cecil made a huge splash when he returned to the majors in 1990 and became the first player since George Foster in 1977 to hit 50 home runs. He's still the only Detroit hitter besides Hank Greenberg to ever have a 50-homer season.

2. Fielder was a midsummer acquisition for the Yankees in 1996 and helped them to their first World Series triumph in 15 years. In postseason play, he batted .308/.390/.519 with three homers and 14 RBI in 14 games.

3. A botched hit-and-run gave Cecil his first career stolen base in his 1,096 career game, which set a big league record. The thievery occurred on April 2, 1996, and the victims were pitcher Dan Naulty and catcher Greg Myers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember watching Cecil's son Prince steal the show in the 1994 edition of MTV's Rock N' Jock softball game. Now the younger Fielder is a nine-year MLB veteran whose 285 home runs are just 34 behind his father's career total. When did we all get so old?

Bill James Said: "There's a place for him on a baseball team, but he's basically a big fat guy who hits home runs." This echoes Bill's more famous quote about Cecil: "Listed at 250 pounds, but one must wonder what would happen if he put his other foot on the scale."

On This Date in 1993: October 1. Carlos Delgado makes his MLB debut in a 7-2 Blue Jays loss to the Orioles in Baltimore. He subs for Randy Knorr at catcher in the sixth inning, and draws a walk against O's reliever Todd Frohwirth in his only plate appearance.

#53 Frank Tanana

About the Front: Frank Tanana is the first of several Tigers in this set who are pictured in 1931 throwbacks. We can't get a clean look here, but the cap features a true rarity - an orange block-letter "D" in lieu of the team's trademark white Olde English "D". I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the odd look on Tanana's face. It's like a half-leer, half-eyeroll that says, "Another day of this crap".

About the Back: Though this is Frank's last Topps card, it does not contain his entire career statistical record. He split 1993 between the two New York teams, putting up a combined 7-17 mark with a 4.35 ERA in 32 games. He retired in the offseason, and I guess Topps didn't see fit to squeeze him into their 1994 set.

Triple Play:

1. Tanana spent the early portion of his career as the lefty half of a hard-throwing duo for the Angels, complementing Nolan Ryan's righthanded heat. It was said that the Angels' starting rotation was "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'".

2. He started the first-ever games at both Seattle's Kingdome and Chicago's (new) Comiskey Park,
tossing a shutout in each game. He was also the starter and winning pitcher in the final game at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.

3. Frank and Rick Reuschel are the only two pitchers in MLB history to allow home runs to both Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Was his name pronounced like "Madonna" or "banana"? I'm still not sure.

Bill James Said: "Had exactly the same season that Warren Spahn had in '65, when Spahn was 44." Tanana was only 40 in 1993, but like Spahn, it turned out to be his final season.

On This Date in 1993: August 8. Lollapalooza '93 touches down in Los Angeles, with musical acts including Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine, Dinosaur Jr., Tool, Front 242, Fishbone, and Arrested Development.