44 - Steve Avery

#44 - Steve Avery

Front photo: Pretty generic pitching photo.

Back photo: Pitcher at the plate!

Better photo?: Not even close - PATP!

Ties to my personal collections: He was the starting pitcher in Game 6 of the 1992 World Series - he's got to be referenced on some cards, right?

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 14, not counting the disambiguation portion, which includes the always welcome phrase "For the convicted murderer, see Steven Avery."

Wiki-facts: "His final pitch was a double play caused when Paul Konerko lined to Avery and he threw Magglio Ordóñez out before he was able to get back to first base."

Google it: Although images show up on the 2nd page, his only appearance in the Top 50 is a fangraphs link on the third page. Maybe if I'd gotten to this Steve Avery before Netflix got to another one, that would be different.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? A good W-L record, going 8 and 3, but did so with an ERA of 4.04.

Birthday boy: April 14, 1970. The only other person at any of the *-reference sites listed as being born that date was former Phoenix Cardinals QB Tony Sacca. Via wikipedia, rapper Redman was also born 4-14-1970, and the Apollo XIII returned to earth on that date.

Up Next: #45 - Bob Ayrault

43 - Brad Ausmus

#43 - Brad Ausmus

Front photo: Starting down the first base line.

Back photo: Celebrating something.

Better photo?: I always pick the more Collector's Choice-y photo of the two. With that as the decider, this one is an easy win for the back photo.

Ties to my personal collections: Never managed to play for either the Mets or Jays, but was part of trades that included future Mets and Blue Jays with Roger Cedeno, Trever Miller and Jose Lima.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 58 (give or take one or two missed or double counted as I scrolled)

Wiki-facts: His father is a retired professor of European history at Southern Connecticut State University, and the author of A Schopenhauerian Critique of Nietzsche's Thought, which Ausmus calls his "favorite book."

Google it: Another PC tie, since one of the auto-completes is "brad ausmus daniel norris".

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Batted .251 (7/24) over 101 games,

Birthday boy: April 14, 1969. Brad Pennington, who appears in this set as Card #227 was born that same date. I should get to posting his card sometime in 2019 at this rate. Former NBAer Mark Macon and former NFLer Tim Roberts were also born on 4-14-69. Also born that date was Martyn LeNoble of  Porno for Pyros.

Up Next: #44 - Steve Avery. Interestingly, he was born exactly one year later than Brad.

#42 - Rich Audé

Front photo: Playing the infield.

Back photo: Ditto.

Better photo?: This one is a draw. And in the dullest way imaginable.

Parallel: I recently picked up a lot of about 50 of the silver signature parallels. Of them, 2 have already been posted (Luis Ortiz and Kurt Abbott). Rich Aude is the first one to get posted, and he, at least in facsimile form, has pretty good penmanship. Plus, look for the accent on the 'E' to get the proper pronunciation of his name. This also means I have to use ALT+233 for two straight players to get their names right.

Ties to my personal collections: None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 1

Wiki-facts: "He is the brother of acclaimed producer, house DJ and remixer Dave Audé."

Google it: He auto completed as "Rich Audé bat flip".

Not quite Joey Bats, but still pretty impressive flip, especially considering its walk-off status.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Spent it in AAA with the Buffalo Bisons. 15HR, 79 RBi with a .281 average.

Birthday boy: July 13, 1971. The only person on any of the other *-reference sites is 3 game NHLer Brian Wiseman. Although one of my frequent trade partners would note that Wiseman is a U of Michigan alum, and his only cards have him pictured with the Wolverines.

Up next: #43 - Brad Ausmus