1998 Topps All-Star Rookie Catcher A.J. Hinch

A.J. Hinch had all the trappings of a future star - he was a high school superstar, an Olympian, and a college standout. combine that with a quick run through the minors and you get a player ripe for Topps All-Star Rookie status. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was the only rookie catcher to play over 100 games in 1998.

The Oakland A's in 1998 were still looking for their next franchise catcher. Long-time catcher Terry Steinbach, a holdover from the great A's teams of the late 80s, left the team to play for his hometown Twins in 1997. Without him, the A's split their catching duties between 29 year old Brent Mayne, 28 year old switch hitter George Williams, and Izzy Molina (no relation). Williams actually had a pretty good season, with an OPS+ of 111 and an OBP of .397. Of course, Moneyball was still a few seasons away, so the A's were looking for power from the catching position. A.J. Hinch was poised to be the man for the job after a hot season in the minors, in which he hit 24 homers across two levels. 

For the big league club in 1998, Hinch struggled to adjust to major league stuff. He did have 9 homers and added 10 doubles, but slugged just .341 for the season. The big issue, which had not been hinted at in his amateur or minor league career, were the strikeouts. Hinch whiffed 89 times in that first year, good for a K rate of 22.8%. He displayed some decent skills behind the plate, throwing out 35 base stealers and committing just 9 errors in 120 games. 

 

Hinch came of age in Oklahoma, winning the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the Year. He had starred on the Junior Team USA squad in 1991 and 1992, and he would join the big boys for Team USA in the 1996 Olympics, where he shared in a Bronze medal finish. He was drafted out of high school by the White Sox, but opted instead to retain amateur status with Team USA and his college of choice, Stanford. He stayed in school all 4 years, despite being drafted again following his Junior year, when was named the PAC-10 player of the Year. He would repeat the feat as a Senior, before being drafted a third time, now by the Oakland A's in the 3rd round of the June MLB draft. 
     

                                                            

His rookie season would be his best in terms of games played and several offensive categories. In 2000, Hinch was sent back to Triple-A to try to right the ship after a rough 1999. He was part of the 3 team deal in the 2001 off-season that sent Johnny Damon to Oakland and Ben Grieve to Tampa Bay. Hinch landed in Kansas City, where he would serve as Brent Mayne's backup - the same Brent Mayne he succeeded in Oakland back in 1998. Hinch would bounce around the league for a couple years as a backup in Detroit and Philadelphia, playing a majority of his games in Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. He retired following the 2005 season, but had already started making plans for his next steps as early as 2003 when he attended the Winter Meetings and met with several General Managers. 

After his retirement, he served with the Diamondbacks as a minor league director of operations, then as the team's director of player development. In 2009, he was given the opportunity to be the team's manager. This learning experience would lead to a scouting gig and assistant general Manager role with the Padres, before the now controversial tenure as manager of the Houston Astros. Taking over for Bo Porter in 2014, Hinch inherited a team that was expected to lose, but more importantly, expected to learn how to win. The team exceeded expectations and made it to the post season for the first time in a decade with a Wild Card berth. The Astros remained competitive in the next few years while gaining experience. The good news is that they did learn to win, the bad news is how they won. The Astros won the 2017 World Series, but later were discovered to have done so with the benefit of an elaborate system for intercepting and relaying the opponent's pitches. For his part, Hinch did express regret and was the first to publicly apologize for the scandal. He listed as his biggest regret that he did not do more to curb the sign stealing when he first became aware of it. 

Hinch has been given another chance to show his integrity - following the retirement of Ron Gardenhire, Hinch was hired to be the manager of the Detroit Tigers for the 2021 season. 

Do you have any A.J. Hinch memories? I'd love to read them in the comments below. Uh... please be civil!

Thanks for reading!

1998 Topps All-Star Rookie Outfielder Ben Grieve

 

Many profiles of our next Topps All-Star Rookie want to know "What happened to Ben Grieve?" If you follow the trajectory of many phenoms / "can't miss" prospects, his story is probably a familiar one. Grieve had an MLB lineage (his father was a first round pick, too), to go along with a stellar prep career that had the scouts ready to fall all over themselves. Grieve backed up the hype in his rookie season with the A's - he set a franchise record for hits by a rookie, and made the MLB All-Star team en route to Rookie of the Year honors in the AL. Of course, that made him an ideal candidate for the Topps All-Star Rookie squad as well.

To give some perspective about how highly the A's thought of Grieve, he had more plate appearances that season than Rickey Henderson. Grieve's 41 doubles led the A's, as did his 168 base hits. Just 22 years old, Grieve was ready to take his place in Oakland A's history. 

The Oakland A's selected Grieve #2 Overall out of high school in Arlington, TX. He grew up with his father Tom Grieve as a 9 year veteran MLB pitcher and later coach and GM. Ben's older brother Tim was also a talented pitcher, and Ben even got the chance to face off against him in the minor leagues. The MLB connection included getting hitting instruction from the then Texas Rangers hitting coach Tom Robson while Ben was in high school. 

As prospects go, few were hotter than Grieve - he was the 1997 Minor League Player of the Year, have forced his way onto the MLB roster to finish the season. He slugged .610 with 24 homers in double A, then surpassed that with a SLG north of .700 in a handful of games in AAA Edmonton. He had already made an impression in 1996, hitting .356 for the season in Modesto. There was little doubt that Grieve was on his way to star status.

Despite the fact that Grieve's 1998 season was his only All-Star Appearance, his entire A's career was a success. Grieve follow up his Rookie of the Year campaign with a career high 28 homers. In 2000 he once again reached 40 doubles, this time with 27 homers, making it the highest slugging of his MLB career to date. He also topped 100 RBI for the first time, finishing the year with 104. That season marked his first appearance in post season play, where he struggled with a 2-17 with 7 strikeouts performance in the ALDS against the Yankees. Over the first 3 full seasons in the big leagues, Grieve was averaging 35 doubles, 25 homers, and over 90 RBI. 

Before the 2001 season began, Grieve was traded to Tampa in a wild three team deal that sent Johnny Damon to Oakland, Angel Berroa and Roberto Hernandez to Kansas City, along with several other players flipping between Oakland and KC. Grieve was the lone player coming to Tampa Bay, and they certainly thought they were getting a steal. It's about this time when people started the "what happened to Ben Grieve" narratives, with his first season with Rays just 11 homers and a 100 point drop in his slugging percentage. After the trade, Grieve had gone from second banana behind Jason Giambi to top dog in Tampa. He was hitting 5th in the order after an older Fred McGriff and Greg Vaughn. He was making less contact in Tampa (certainly the roof in St. Pete was less inviting than California sun), setting a career high with 159 strikeouts. The positives? He still rattled off a pair of 30 double seasons, and his walk rate had improved considerably. Maybe the opposition was willing (and able) to pitch around Grieve now that he was the main focus of the lineup? 2003 added injury to insult, as a blood clot in his shoulder required surgery. He would play in just 55 games that year, his last in Tampa. 

He was entering a free agent season after the injury, and was left with fewer options than a former ROY would normally expect. He landed in Milwaukee, where he was used in platoon situations for 108 games. He was on the move again the next year, taking a brief tour of the NL Central division. While the Pirates signed him initially, he would end up playing for the Cubs for a handful of games in 2004 and 2005. He moved to the south side after that, playing minor league ball for the White Sox for two more seasons. 

Do you have any Ben Grieve memories? I'd love to read them in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading!

1998 Topps All-Star Rookie Outfielder Mark Kotsay

 

In College, Mark Kotsay was the Big Man on Campus, starring for the Cal State Fullerton Titans in the 1995 College World Series. In 1998 with the Marlins, he looked like he might be a fish out of water. Young and unproven, Kotsay was given the tall order of taking over Right Field in place of Gary Sheffield. He finished the season with more games played than any other Marlin, and was near the top of the list in most of the team's offensive leaderboards. His 20 outfield assists were the most in the National League. You better believe that was enough to make Mark a member of the 1998 Topps All-Star Rookie team.

Kotsay found success at every level of play - in 1994 he played in the Cape Cod league following his freshman year at baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton. 1995 saw him set a record with a .517 average in the 1995 College World Series. His team would win their 3rd straight CWS, and he walked away with the Golden Spikes award. In 1996, he was selected by the Marlins as the #9 Overall pick in the June draft, played on Team USA in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, and made his pro debut for the Kane County Cougars. By 1997, he had made it all the way up to the big leagues for a two week cup of coffee in July. The Marlins organization had big plans for Kotsay - little did he know that the team would win it all in 1997 - then blow it all up for the next season, totally re-making the outfield from the season before.

Kotsay would play 3 full seasons for the Marlins, playing a combo of Centerfield, Right, and 1st base. He didn't have the power numbers he displayed in college, but he definitely still had the contact skills. Kotsay was used near the top of the lineup and he piled up the hits. In the field, he continued to show off a cannon for an arm, leading the NL in assists in his rookie year and again in 1999. He would be traded to San Diego just before the 2001 season began. 

The Padres made Kotsay their everyday Centerfielder, and he continued to display line drive power to the gaps and excellent contact numbers. His outfield assists dwindled down to just 4 in his first season in San Diego, but that was mostly due to the word getting around that trying to take the extra base against him would usually end in embarrassment for the runner. From 2002 through 2004 he would again lead the league in assists as a Centerfielder, surpassing double digits each year. 2002 would also prove to be one of his best offensive seasons, hitting .292 with 17 homers and a 122 OPS+. Following the 2003 season, Kotsay was on the move again, as the Oakland A's traded Terrance Long and Ramon Hernandez to make him their leadoff man and centerfielder. 

Kotsay responded with a career high 190 hits, which was the most by a lefty in Oakland in more than 40 years. He also set a career high batting average, hitting .314 despite playing half of his games with the huge foul territory in Oakland, known to suppress those stats. One reason he was so successful in Oakland was his ability to limit strikeouts. In 2005 he struck out at a rate of once per 11.4 ABs, which was the 2nd best K rate in the American League. He'd get his first taste of post season play in 2006, hitting a home run against the Twins in the ALDS, and adding 4 more hits in the ALCS in a losing effort against the Tigers. The injury bug bit him in 2007, playing in just 56 games and a career low .214 average over that span. 

Kotsay was on the move again after that lost season, traded to Atlanta in January. He'd have a rare highlight for Atlanta in August of 2008, going 5-5 and hitting for the cycle. With Atlanta uncharacteristically out of post season contention, Kotsay was dealt again mid-season, going to the Red Sox to help their playoff push. Kotsay was happy to join Boston, as he listed playing in a World Series as his few remaining goals. He was quoted as saying after the trade "the respect of your peers is what you play the game for, and nothing else." He was eager for another shot at a championship with a talented team. He provided depth in the outfield and a valuable bat in the post season, hitting .300 in the ALDS and adding 7 more hits in the ALCS, but the Red Sox were bounced out by the Rays. He would be used as a reserve in 2009 by the Red Sox, then was dealt at the trade deadline again to Chicago. With the White Sox, he would spend more time as a DH than at any time in his career, and was no longer the everyday player he once was. His reputation was that of a "grinder / gamer" but at this point his goal was to provide leadership and defense when called upon. He'd get another post season shot in 2011 with Milwaukee reaching the LCS again, but falling just shy of the World Series.

He'd finish out his career back in San Diego, closer to his wife and kids in Southern California. He had been not so subtly hinting at a reunion for the past few years with the Padres, stating in an interview that he would call the team himself and inquire about an opening in the offseason. The veteran leadership would segue perfectly into coaching. He would retire in 2014, then return in 2015 as the Padres new hitting coach. He would move on to Oakland in 2015 as a bench coach, and recently has been one of the top names for managerial jobs in Boston, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh recently. Another spot opened up today on the South Side, could he be in line again for the role?

For his MLB career, Kotsay had 1,784 hits, scored 790 runs and drove in 720 more. He had 123 outfield assists, and was widely regarded as one of the better outfield defenders in the league by his peers. He was named to the Omaha (College World Series) Hall of Fame in 2014, and was named College Baseball's Player of the Decade for the 1990s. 

Do you have any Mark Kotsay memories? I'd love to read them in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading!

1997 Topps All-Star Rookie Short Stop Nomar Garciaparra

  

With some players, there's very little mystery. Will they have what it takes to perform at the highest level? Do skills at a young age translate to the big leagues? In the case of Nomar Garciaparra, it was obvious from the beginning that something special was happening. Nomar's rookie season was among the best of all-time. He was a complete player right out of the box. He was the AL leader in hits and triples. He hit .306 with 30 homers and he scored 122 runs. He stole 22 bases, while playing excellent defense at a premium position. He ran away with the Rookie of the Year award, so of course he was the selection at Short Stop for the 1997 Topps All-Star Rookie team.

He was an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger award, finished 8th in the MVP vote, and was a unanimous Rookie of the Year for the Red Sox. All of this came after a rough 24 games in 1996 at the big league level. That short stint was all he needed to make the necessary adjustments. He was no stranger to taking a big leap into unfamiliar waters. 

As a college freshman, Nomar was a walk-on with the Team USA Olympic baseball team. He ended up as their starting short stop, and the team finished 4th in the 1992 Summer Games. His college career at Georgia Tech was fairly impressive. He was the 1992 ACC Rookie of the Year, and his 1994 season is one for the ages. He hit .427 with 26 doubles, 11 triples, 16 homers, 73 RBI and 33 stolen bases. Not too shabby.

Nomar was selected 12th overall by the Red Sox in the 1994 MLB June draft. His first taste of pro ball wasn't overly impressive. In 28 games for the Sarasota Sox, he hit a respectable .295 with one homer and 5 stolen bases. The following year his hitting took another step back, with a .267 average at AA Trenton, but he did flash the glove and the wheels, stealing 35 bases. Nomar was being promoted each season, but hadn't really had a breakout performance by 1996. In AAA Pawtucket, everything came together quickly. He torched the ball to the tune of .343/.387/.733 in 43 games. The torrid pace forced the Red Sox to make a move, calling the youngster up to the big leagues in August. 

Nomar's rookie season was tremendous, but he wasn't just a one hit wonder. He excelled in his time at Fenway Park, hitting a robust .323/.370/.553 over 9 seasons. His second year, he was the AL MVP runner-up, leading the Red Sox in runs scored and runs batted in. If not for the fact that he was splitting votes with his teammate Mo Vaughn, he might have been the outright winner that season. He followed that campaign up with a pair of batting titles, including an incredible .372 average for the year 2000. He led the AL in intentional walks that season as well. His best season in Beantown is hard to pick - was it his rookie year? His 2 batting title years? 2002, when he led the AL with 52 doubles? 2003 when he had 120 runs scored to go along with 13 triples, 37 doubles, and 28 homers? The Red Sox ran on Nomar for nearly a decade, and his play inspired the team despite not resulting in the ultimate prize of a World Series victory. A wrist injury limited him to just 21 games in 2001, snapping a string of 4 straight top-10 MVP finishes. Injuries would define the end of his Boston tenure, even though they were sandwiched between a pair of productive seasons. 2004 was truncated by an Achilles' heel injury, keeping Nomar out of the lineup until late June. He was hitting .321 for Boston when he was traded as part of a 4 team blockbuster with the Twins, Expos, and Cubs. Boston was after a defensive upgrade, securing the services of Doug Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar found himself heading to Wrigley Field. Nomar would miss out on the Red Sox' World Series win, though his former teammates voted to give him a partial share of the World Series pot and sent him a World Series ring. The fact is that the Red Sox might not have attracted the big name free agents like Pedro, Schilling, and Manny Ramirez without a star like Nomar to build around. Ironically the team's egos were mostly sidelined for the championship run, but Nomar's contract extension dispute was the lone exception. While he didn't play with arrogance, the Red Sox certainly treated him like a malcontent before shipping him out. 

The Cubs were disappointing in his year and a half in Chicago, and so was Nomar. He would play in just 62 games for the Cubs in 2005, missing 3 months due to a groin injury. The injuries that slowed Nomar at the end of his Red Sox career were not the same ones that derailed his Cubs career, but hurt his future earnings all the same. Thankfully for Nomar, the Dodgers had deep pockets, and were more than happy to pay for his services. Things were looking up for Nomar in his first full season in LA, and he was coming home after growing up in Southern California just minutes from Chavez Ravine. He would return to the All-Star game for the final time, and racked up 2.5 WAR, his highest total since his 2003 season. He had a 120 OPS+. which was decent, but still a shadow of his former self. The next year his production slipped and he was moved around the diamond to accommodate other players like James Loney at first base. Injuries towards the end of the year didn't help. 2008 was nearly lost before it began for Nomar, when he suffered a microfracture in his hand. He would return to Short Stop for the first time since 2005, but was now relegated to fill-in and bench duty. He would play in just 55 games as his playing time and production fell off dramatically.

He would play one final season in the big leagues, signing a one year deal with the Oakland A's in 2009. Over 65 games, Garciaparra hit .281 as a DH/first baseman. For his career, he was a .313/.361/.521 hitter. if not for several seasons derailed by injury and the general wear and tear, he might have reached 2,000 career hits. He was even better in the post season over his career, hitting .321/.386/.589 in 32 playoff games. His career was cut short by injuries, but his peak was certainly Hall of Fame worthy. He certainly falls short in counting stats over his career, but when he was at his best, there were few players that could match his skills on the diamond.

Any specific Nomar memories you'd like to share? I'd love to read them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

1997 Topps All-Star Rookie Catcher Scott Hatteberg

In his rookie season, Scott Hatteberg lived up to the expectations of a first round selection, hitting .277 with 10 homers for the Red Sox as their primary catcher. To make the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, you have to have a mix of potential and production, and Hatteberg was able to deliver both in 1997.

He had a brief visit to the big leagues in 1995, getting a hit in his first MLB plate appearance. Another cup of coffee came in 1996, but it was 1997 where Hatteberg got his first opportunity to make an impact at the big league level. He started the season as the personal catcher of Aaron Sele, but hit his way up from once every five days into a platoon with Bill Haselman, and eventually was the main man behind the dish. Haselman, who broke training camp as the presumptive starting catcher, finished the season playing in just 67 games to Hatteberg's 114. 

Hatteberg was selected 43rd Overall by the Red Sox, a supplemental first round pick that the Red Sox were granted for losing Mike Boddicker to free agency. Hatteberg was one of the catchers for Team USA in 1990 for the Goodwill Games and the World Cup. He was a star for Washington State (where he first teamed up with Aaron Sele), and was the team captain. Once he was drafted by the Red Sox, the organization took their time to develop their young prospect. He would make quick work of the Rookie league and Single A level, but would repeat AA twice, then AAA two more times. But by 1997, Hatteberg was out of minor league options, and he was all but guaranteed a spot on the 25 man roster. 

The timing for Hatteberg could have been better in Boston - just as he was getting a chance to be the man in Boston, an even bigger prospect was making his way through the ranks and would make his presence felt in 1998. Jason Varitek became the everyday catcher for the Red Sox by 1999, with Hatteberg playing in just 30 games. This was due in part to a serious elbow injury Hatteberg suffered which gave him nerve damage in his throwing arm. After a four month recovery period, Hatteberg was "back," but not the same. The book on Hatteberg was that you could steal bases against him - and that was before he had to re-learn how to grip and throw a baseball. His catching days (and by extension his baseball career) was in jeopardy. Despite this injury, the Red Sox continued with Hatteberg behind the plate for two more seasons. They even tried him at third base briefly in 2000, but his arm troubles were not improved by the longer distance. Following the 2001 season, the Red Sox traded Hatteberg to the Rockies for Pokey Reese. Two days later, Hatteberg was a free agent. 

One of the reasons the Red Sox kept him around for so long with a bum elbow was that he could still provide value on offense. He would become the prototypical example of "Moneyball" strategy when Oakland signed him in the 2001 off-season. As detailed in the Michael Lewis book and played for comedic effect in the film of the same name, Hatteberg was going to be able to continue his MLB career by converting to 1st Base, and provide his greatest skill - getting on base. The Moneyball approach was to identify those players that were undervalued by everyone else, but provided something that few other players could. Hatteberg was ostensibly replacing the big bopper Jason Giambi, who signed with the New York Yankees. But GM Billy Beane was not asking Hatteberg to hit 38 homers and drive in 120 like Giambi did in 2001. Instead, he just wanted Hatteberg to get on base. His first season with the A's he did exactly that - his .374 OBP was a then-career high for a full season. He did provide some bonus power, as well - he had 15 homers in the 2002 season, including a walk-off winner that clinched the A's 20th consecutive victory early in September. 

With Oakland, Hatteberg had some of his best offensive seasons, hitting double digit homers each year, a career high 82 RBI in 2004 and a .269/.355/.396 slash line across 3 seasons. 

Like many players in their later seasons, Hatteberg had honed and perfected the skills that made him a big leaguer in the first place. He actually posted a higher triple slash in his final 3 seasons in Cincinnati than he had in his years playing for Oakland. His OBP improved even more as he would provide a valuable bat in the lineup. The Reds made room for Hatteberg at First Base, trading Wily Mo Pena and moving Adam Dunn to the outfield. In 116 games in 2007 he slashed a career high .310/.394/.474 with 10 homers. Hatteberg had 1,153 career hits and a .361 OBP. He walked more times than he struck out, and more times than he drove in runs. Despite a reputation as a less than stellar defender behind the plate, he retired with a .992 fielding pct as a Catcher and First Baseman combined. 

Do you have any Scott Hatteberg Stories? I'd love to read them in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading!

I Love the 80s - 1982 Oakland Athletics

This is a series of posts on a 1980's Frankenset. Each page features a different team, with 9 of my personal favorite cards from that year's team. You might find players repeated, you'll definitely see brands repeated, but hopefully you'll agree that there are some interesting selections from the 1980s!

In 1981, Oakland won the AL West after a first place finish and a sweep of the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS. They would get a taste of their own medicine in the ALCS, as they were swept by the New York Yankees. Numerous articles and tributes have been written about the 1981 A's. Led by Billy Martin, the team won their first 11 games of the season and never really looked back. 

The following season featured Rickey Henderson's greatest base stealing display, but little else from the rest of the team. They finished in 5th place in the AL West, with a 68-94 record. Billy Martin was out following the season, with many questioning his over-reliance on his starting pitching, and wondering if the "Billy Ball" formula was only a short term solution. The June draft in 1982 also yielded some hope for the future -- in the 15th Round, the Athletics scooped up Jose Canseco out of high school in Miami.

The Cards:

Topps #610 Rickey Henderson - If it wasn't obvious to everyone already, 1982 was the year Rickey Henderson established himself as the best base-stealer of his generation. He was now firmly understood to be a superstar, though his power had yet to fully develop. He would go on to become not only the best base-stealer, but also the best lead-off hitter of all-time. His 1,406 career stolen bases is the most all time, with the next closest player, Lou Brock, 468 steals behind him. He is the all-time MLB leader in Runs Scored, and 2nd All-time in Walks. 

Topps #578 Shooty Babitt - Babitt had a good start to the 1981 season, hitting over .300 through the month of May. His bat cooled off in the weeks following the return from the strike, and he would find his role diminish not only due to a slumping bat, but also poor play at second base. He turned just 5 double plays for the A's in 1981, and lost the confidence of Billy Martin. When Billy doesn't trust a player, it is very unlikely that he will get playing time. In Oakland, Martin was also the team's general manager - so Babitt found himself in AAA in 1982, then he was released by the A's and spent time in Montreal's minor league system. He stayed in baseball as a long time scout for the Diamondbacks and Mets. 

Topps #187 Jeff Newman - I picked this mostly for the good shot of the A's white unis with the Gold trim... Jeff Newman was an All-Star in 1979 for the A's, and was used as a utility player in 81/82. He was a Catcher, 1st Baseman, and pinch hitter for Billy Martin's A's, but did not have much success at the plate. His OPS+ for those 2 seasons combined was just 64. He hit .199 in 1982 for the season, and was included with Tony Armas in the trade to Boston that brought Carney Lansford out west prior to the 1983 season. In his All-Star season, he hit 22 homers as the A's primary Catcher.

Fleer #109 Tom Underwood - This was another card selected first and foremost for the photo - Underwood has a little bat rack action going on behind him. Underwood split 1981 between the Yankees and the A's, used mostly out of the bullpen. In '82 Underwood was the swingman, starting 10 games and finishing 20 others. He made 56 appearances for the '82 A's, as one of Martin's most used arms out of the bullpen. He was a mid rotation starter for most of his career up to that point, pitching in Philadelphia, Saint Louis, and Toronto on his way to the Yankees. In 1982 he finished with a 10-6 record and 7 saves. Underwood was a Topps All-Star Rookie in 1975, and once pitched a complete game against his brother Pat, losing 1-0 to his little bro and the rest of the Detroit Tigers.

Donruss #491 Billy Martin - He's been mentioned several times already, and with good reason. The 1981 and 1982 A's were exemplified by the rising and falling fortunes of Billy Martin as a manager and as a man. Martin came into the A's job with big chip on his shoulder. His brand of baseball included a long leash on starting pitchers and aggressive moves on the bases. Both of those traits fit well with the 1981 A's, as the team rallied behind their fiery skipper. Whether it was fatigue or injury or just too much of a good thing, 1982 saw the team fail to repeat their success on the field, despite essentially riding the same strategy into battle. Martin had a way of making a quick impression on a team, followed by a quick exit. He led the Twins to an AL West Pennant in 1969, his only season managing the team. In 1972, his 2nd season with the Tigers, he won the AL East Pennant. In 1974, his first season with the Rangers, he led the team to a 2nd place finish. He was on hand for the Yankees' AL East titles in 1976 and 77 - but was fired in each case before getting the chance to go further. The A's fired Martin after the 1982 season.

Fleer #106 Rob Picciolo - Rob was a glove first SS for the A's, getting his first taste of big league action in 1977 as their everyday starter. He was still the team's primary starting shortstop in 1981, despite having hit just .228 in the big leagues to that point. He would defy expectations and hit a career high .268 for the A's in 1981, and also continued to display his signature skills on defense, ranking 3rd in the AL in fielding pct. Picciolo was traded to the Brewers in 1982, and was fortunate to once again be in a pennant race. With Milwaukee he was behind Hall of Famer Robin Yount on the depth chart, so he was used sparingly. Following his playing days, Picciolo was a manager in the minors and major league bench coach for the Padres and Angels. Sadly, he passed away in 2018 following a heart attack.

Donruss #339 Cliff Johnson - Johnson was the A's primary DH in 1981, hitting .260 with 17 homers, then platooned with Jeff Burroughs in 1982 in that same role. Already a decade into his career, his best seasons were yet to come. In 1983 and 84 he was the DH for the up and coming Toronto Blue Jays, 66 of his 196 career homers came in the final 4 years of his career. For the A's Johnson had an OPS+ of 119. Prior to his late career fireworks, he was a Catcher/First Baseman. He was a member of the 1977 and 1978 Yankees world series teams, mostly used as a backup for Thurman Munson, though he did hit 22 homers in 1977. He was the Yankees DH during the 77 ALCS, hitting his lone post season Home run. Despite a low career average, Johnson was adept at getting on base, an underappreciated asset in his playing days. His career .355 OBP dwarfed his .258 career batting average, but illustrated his worth to his ballclub.

TCMA Baseball's Greatest Pitchers #45 Charles Albert Bender - Bender was born in Minnesota to a German father and a Chippewa/Ojibwe mother in 1884. Bender grew up on the White Earth Reservation, and was sent to boarding school in Carlisle. PA in his early teens. Bender was both an accomplished student at school, but also a talented multi-sport athlete. Racial prejudice was part and parcel of the baseball world in the early 1900s, and despite his distaste for the moniker, the media shortened his name to "Chief" and often based their analysis of his playing on tired and baseless stereotypes regarding his "Indian Blood." It is debatable who "invented" the pitch, but Bender was one of the first pitchers in the major leagues to regularly throw a slider, which he used to devastating effect - in 1910, he went 23-5 with a 1.58 ERA, as well as pitching 2 complete games in the 1910 World Series. His Athletics won the championship in 1910, 1911, and 1913 due in no small part to his pitching. He was also known for his ability to study opposing pitchers and pick up subtle tells in their delivery that would tip their pitches. A's Manager Connie Mack would often place Bender at 3rd or 1st base in the coaches box when not pitching to relay signs to hitters and baserunners. Bender was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953 by the veteran's committee. He finished his career with a 2.46 ERA and 212 victories in 16 MLB seasons.

Donruss #113 Rickey Henderson - When Rickey stole 130 bases in 1982, the 2nd place base stealer Damaso Garcia had 54. Harold Reynolds actually won the stolen base crown in 1987 with 60 steals, when Rickey missed significant time due to injury. It was the only year that Rickey did not win the stolen base crown between 1980 and 1992. Reynolds tells the story quite well of getting a call from Rickey after the season - "60 steals? You oughta be ashamed of yourself. I had that at the All-Star break." In fact in 1982, Henderson had 84 at the All-Star Break. An odd fact - Rickey hit right handed but threw left handed - can you imagine his stats if Rickey had that extra step head start from the left handed batters box? 

 

1997 Topps All-Star Rookie Outfielder Jose Guillen

Jose Guillen  has one of the better All-Star Rookie cards of all time. Posing with the statue of the great Roberto Clemente, and poised to become the Pirates' right fielder of the future, Guillen beamed. He shared some of the same skills that made Clemente so good, in particular a throwing arm that dazzled and delighted fans. He was a Topps All-Star rookie at just the age of 20, with a long and productive MLB career ahead of him.

Guillen would have a decent season for the Pirates as their everyday Right Fielder in 1997. He hit 14 homers and drove in 70 runs. He was the 4th youngest player in the league but was still entrusted with the second most plate appearances on the Pirates' squad. While he had a great arm (9 assists as a rookie), he struggled a bit with the leather, ranking 2nd in errors among right fielders. He ranked below league average in rate stats, however was still learning the finer points of the game.

Guillen was signed in 1993 by the Pirates as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He would spent his minor league career in Single A clubs, with an MVP season in 1996 for the high A Lynchburg Hillcats. His final minor league season, he hit .322 with 21 homers and 24 stolen bases. The steals were somewhat of a mirage, as he never stole more than 5 bases in a season before or since. He followed up his 1997 season with a nearly identical 1998 season. He performed even better in the field, and led the NL in RF assists. Despite two seasons with 14 homers and nearly as many errors, Guillen was still considered a top prospect by many observers, who were more than willing to compare him to Roberto Clemente or Dave Winfield, who did have somewhat slow starts to their Hall of Fame careers. 

After leaving Pittsburgh, Guillen began a whirlwind tour of the big leagues, never stopping in one place for more than a couple seasons. He was either burning bridges or providing tantalizing potential at seemingly every stop along the way. Tampa picked him up in 1999 near the trade deadline, and he would muster just 15 homers over the next 2 and a half seasons before being released. The Arizona Diamondbacks gave him a chance, and after hitting .229 over 54 games, he was cut loose. The Rockies had him for just two days, and decided to go in  another direction before he hooked up with the Reds in Cincinnati to finish the 2002 season. He actually played his best baseball in Cincy, including a torrid first half in 2003, when he slashed .337/.385/.629 with a 165 OPS+. He found his power stroke, hitting 23 homers for the Reds before becoming a deadline deal to the Oakland A's. It was in Oakland the he had his only taste of post season play, hitting .455 in 4 games against Boston in the 2003 ALDS. 

He then signed a deal with AL West rivals the Angels, but butted heads with Mike Scioscia on numerous occasions. Even with a career high 104 RBI, he was on the move again after one season in Anaheim. Now in D.C., Guillen had a good season, followed by an atrocious one in which he hit just .216 with just 9 homers. The next year he was in Seattle, and managed to knock in 99 runs, but wore out his welcome there just as quickly. He then signed a 3 year deal with Kansas City, and nearly fulfilled the whole contract before being traded midway through the 2010 season to San Francisco. By that point he had publicly called his teammates babies and openly complained about K.C.'s losing culture. 

His final MLB stop was a stretch run in San Francisco for the Giants team that finally got over the hump and won a championship. Guillen missed the on field celebration, he had been left off the post season roster while being investigated for the alleged use of HGH. He hit .266 with 5 homers and 13 RBI for the Giants in the closing months of the 2010 season, and they would be the last games he would play in the league.

His Career MLB Totals

I'll leave you with a more positive note, here's video of Guillen's tremendous throwing arm taken from a game in 1998. 

Do you have any Jose Guillen Stories? I'd love to read them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

1996 Topps All Star Rookie Second Baseman Tony Batista

To make the Topps All-Star Rookie roster, you don't need to play in every game, you just need to shine at the right time. For Tony Batista, it was a torrid second half that made him the perfect choice for the 1996 Topps All-Star Rookie Second Baseman. He played in just 74 games for the A's in 1996, but they came late in the season. He became the team's regular starting second sacker in July, hitting .298 with 6 homers and 25 RBI.

Batista was signed by Oakland as a minor league free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1991, when he was just 17 years old. After playing in the Dominican Winter League, Batista made his way the United States and was ready to take on new challenges in Single A. His career was nearly ended early in his minor league days, when he suffered a fractured skull following a collision in the outfield. Upon his return to the lineup, Batista began to show the early signs of the power hitter he would become. in 1994, Batista was making big gains in High A Modesto. He would hit 17 homers and 26 doubles for the club. He would hit 18 more in AA the following season, and his power up the middle was enough to earn him a call to the big leagues. The A's had been relying upon Brent Gates and Rafael Bournigal at second, so a little offense would go a long way.

Unfortunately for Batista, the league figured out how to pitch to him. Batista would struggle early on in his sophomore season, hitting under .200 early on, which led to a demotion back to AAA. Still just 23 years old. Batista still had plenty of work to do and plenty to prove.

The Expansion Arizona Diamondbacks selected Batista with the 27th pick of the expansion draft, and he would expect to see regular playing time for Arizona in their inaugural season. It was over the offseason that year that Batista developed his unorthodox batting stance, which involved standing parallel to the pitcher's mound and facing the pitcher head on. He did fare well in his time in the desert, clubbing 5 homers in 44 games, but he would be traded to Toronto in exchange for pitching, the one thing that expansion teams can never get enough of.

Batista would have his best individual season of his career with Toronto in 2000. He had already hit 26 homers following his trade to the Jays in 1999, but he would tear the cover off the ball in 2000, hitting 41 homers (4th best in the AL) . He had career highs in Runs Scored, hits, doubles, homers, RBI and total bases. he was also named to his first All-Star game. By June of 2001, Batista had Team records for homers by a SS and homers by a 3B in a season. He was a fan favorite in Toronto, despite being a fairly one dimensional all or nothing hitter.

Inexplicably, the Blue Jays placed Batista on waivers. This may have been an attempt to send Batista to the minors to improve his batting average, but the plan backfired as he was promptly claimed by the Baltimore Orioles. Cal Ripken was playing in his final MLB season, and Batista provided a capable reserve. He would also see a fair amount of time as a DH and as the team's shortstop. The first game of 2002, with Ripken now retired, featured Batista as the team's primary 3rd baseman. He crushed a Grand Slam, the first time the O's had an Opening Day Grand Slam since another Baltimore legend, Eddie Murray, hit one in 1986. Here's a fun article on him from Baltimore, which includes his hitting drill of hitting popcorn kernels

He would sign with the Montreal Expos in their final season, and was one of the team's few bright spots. He was ostensibly replacing Vlad Guerrero's bat in the lineup, and he filled in admirably in terms of power numbers, but they couldn't expect him to fill Vladdy's shoes. He had 32 homers and 110 RBI over 157 games with the Expos.

While Batista was hitting for power, he never in his career hit for average, and was not one to take a walk. So it was not surprising that he was unable to find a taker following the 2004 season, and ended up playing for a season in Japan with the SoftBank Hawks.

The Minnesota Twins took a flier on him in 2006, but 50 games later, they were ready to move on. He would return to Expos franchise again in 2007, and served as a pinch hitter and bench player for the Nationals.

Disappointingly, none of the cards I have of Batista in the batter's box. Thankfully YouTube has my back - check out this clip of Batista at the plate while he was playing for the Blue Jays, diving away from a brushback, then responding with a homer on the next pitch.

Batista finished his career in the majors with over 1,100 hits, 221 homers and a .299 OBP.  What are some of your memories of Tony Batista?

1996 Topps All Star Rookie Outfielder Jermaine Dye

The Topps All-Star Rookie Team loves the guy who can shine in an unexpected role. Jermaine Dye got the opportunity to start in Atlanta in his rookie year due to an injury to Braves' star outfielder David Justice. Though he appeared in just 96 games for Atlanta, he came up big -- hitting a dozen homers and racking up 134 total bases. He also came to the big leagues ready to hit - his very first plate appearance was a home run! He was the first Brave to hit a homer in their first plate appearance since Chuck Tanner in 1955 (when the team was still in Milwaukee!)

Dye finished in 6th place in the NL Rookie of the year voting, thanks to his key role on a playoff team. Dye homered in the NLDS, though his post season as a whole left a little to be desired at the plate. He was just 22 years old, however, and would use that experience to his advantage.

Jermaine Dye was a 17th round selection by the Braves in the 1993 MLB Draft. He was a three sport (Baseball, Basketball, and Football) at Wood High School in Vacaville, CA. Dye had scholarship offers to play football for BYU, basketball for UNLV. But he grew up idolizing Chili Davis with the Giants, who he could watch often. His father drove the Bay Area Muni bus, and his route would take him past Candlestick Park every day. Jermaine and his sister would get a ride to the game from their dad, who was also Jermaine's primary hitting coach and mentor.  Dye grew to be 6'4" tall and promised power to all fields. Jermaine's primary position in High school and College, however, was as a dominant pitcher. After a season in college, the Braves drafted Dye, ultimately deciding that hitting would take him further than his arm alone. He did boast a cannon from the outfield, throwing out runners with ease.  Dye would jump a level every year, hitting at each stop along the way. His debut with the Braves may have come out of necessity with the injury to Justice, but Dye made the most of it.

Following that promising 1996 season, Dye was traded to the Royals for Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart. The first couple years in Kansas City could be called disappointing - he was tagged with the label of being injury prone. It turned out that he was just snake-bitten and a victim of some bad luck. Once he was able to play a full season, Dye proved the detractors wrong. His tremendous 1999 led to an All-Star selection in 2000. He made the roster as a starter - the first Royal to be elected to the All-Star Game by the fans since Bo Jackson in 1989. He would also earn a Gold Glove for his solid defensive work in the outfield. His final two and a half seasons in Kansas City made him a rising star, hitting over 100 RBI and scoring over 100 runs in 2000 to go with a .321 batting average.

Dye would be traded mid-season in 2001 to the Oakland A's. He responded in his first full month back in the Bay Area where he grew up by being named the AL player of the month. He hit .330 with 7 homers, 32 RBI, and scored 22 runs in the month of August. The A's would make the playoffs in each of the next three seasons with Dye patrolling the outfield. The injury bug would bite him again in Oakland. He was not much of a base stealer, but Dye's running game was all but shut down at this point in his career due to various leg and knee injuries. Though the lost time made some critical of Jermaine's production in Oakland, he did play better than league average at the plate and in the field over his time in Oakland. He also hit .400 with a pair of doubles in the 2002 ALDS against the Twins, and contributed another homer in the 2003 ALDS despite only playing in 65 regular season games.

The best years of his pro career came in Chicago. He signed with the White Sox after the 2004 season and made an instant impact, as the team went all the way to the World Series. Dye was the World Series MVP, hitting .438 with a homer and 3 RBI in the Series sweep over Houston. Dye would follow that MVP performance with his best full Season in the bigs. He hit 44 homers and drove in 120 Runs with a career high 1.006 OPS. He won a Silver Slugger, made his 2nd All-Star team, and finished 5th in the league MVP voting. Over the 3 year stretch from '05 through '07, no AL outfielder hit more homers than Jermaine Dye. For his Chicago career, Dye crushed 164 home runs and slugged .525. His OPS+ over that span was a robust 121.

Though injuries delayed his emergence as a star and interrupted his career in Oakland, he still had a tremendous 14 year career that included over 1,750 career hits, 325 Homers, and over 1,000 RBI. He was not one to take a walk, with a walk rate of just 8.3% vs a k Rate of 18.1%. Despite those numbers he still had a Career OPS+ of 111, well above league average.

Let's hear your Jermaine Dye stories!