126 - Greg W. Harris

 

Front: I'm suddenly hungry for sunflower seeds.

Back: Pitcher at the plate!

Better side: Both are really good and perfect for the Collector's Choice line. Given the fact recent photos of pitchers at the plate will disappear from cards shortly, I'll pick that one.

Ties to my personal collections: None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 5, including one dedicated to botched surgeries and financial mismanagement. The lawsuits seem to have netted him $16,000,000.

Wiki-facts: The 'W' stands for Wade.

Google it: The first Greg Harris you get while googling is the other pitcher named Greg Harris. There are three baseball players named Greg Harris on the first page, including a former minor leaguer during the 2010s.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Went 3-12 with an ERA of 6.65. Ouch. 

Birthday boy:  December 1, 1963. No former MLBers were born that date. There's a rare NBA match, with a former member of the Miami Heat in Billy Thompson. Former Browns/Chiefs center Tom Baugh provides NFL content. The world of short-track speed skating provides a more notable member of the 12/1/63 club with 3-time Olympic medalist and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame member Nathalie Lambert. The list of her medals takes up a full screen at wikipedia. Cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga is another one, and his wiki includes the sentence "he was regarded as one of the fattest cricketers to have played at international level".

Next up: Bryan Harvey

125 - Gene Harris

Front: Pitching from the side.

Back: Pitching from the front. 

Better side: He looks a little derpy on the reverse, so I'll pick the front photo.

Ties to my personal collections: Debuted with the Expos, before being traded to Seattle as part of the Mark Langston/Randy Johnson trade. His only major card as an Expo was in 1990 Pro Debut.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 3

Wiki-facts: "During the 1994 season, an injured and ineffective Harris lost his closer role with the San Diego Padres to Trevor Hoffman in mid-April"

Google it: It wasn't until the 8th page that I got a link for the pitcher, as opposed to the jazz pianist.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Didn't the Wiki-Facts hint at it enough? 1-1 with a 8.03 ERA with the Padres. Was traded to Detroit, where he went 0-0 with 7.15 as his ERA. 

Birthday boy: December 5, 1964. NHL journeyman Perry Berezan was born that date, and he's the only player in the *-reference universe born that date. I was an English major, so I have no idea what this means in a technical sense, but this sounds really important medically: "Lloyd J. Old discovers the first linkage between the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and disease—mouse leukemia—opening the way for the recognition of the importance of the MHC in the immune response."

Next up: Greg W. Harris