97 - Rikkert Faneyte

Front photo: Looks like he's enjoying some chaw.

Back photo: Posing.

Better photo?: The second has Dodger Stadium visible. While that would be perfect for a Dodger card, it is still OK for a Giants one.

Ties to my personal collections: None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 1.

Wiki-facts: "He was a member of the Dutch National Team which finished in fifth position at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia."

Google it: Had his number retired by the Amsterdam Pirates.

How was his strike shortened 1994? 26 AB with 3 hits for a .115 average. But they were all doubles and plated 4 runs. Efficiency!

Birthday boy: Born: May 31, 1969. Fellow MLBer Tim Van Egmond was also born that date. Mike Mooney, who played one more game in the NFL than  myself is a 5/31/69 baby. Keith Owens was a little more successful with his NBA career, playing in 20 games for the Lakers. The most successful of the lot was probably NHL enforcer Jeff Odgers, who played 821 games, and spent over 2300 minutes in the sin bin.

Up Next: Jeff Fassero

91 - Jim DeShaies

Front photo: Pitching.

Back photo: Jogging? Standing still?

Better photo?: A bland draw.

Silver Sig Parallel:

Ties to my personal collections:  None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 9.

Wiki-facts: "In 2001, Deshaies ran a tongue-in-cheek campaign urging Baseball Writers Association of America voters to elect him to the Baseball Hall of Fame, even though he knew that he was not qualified for the honor. His goal was to get one vote in the Hall of Fame election, which succeeded when Houston Chronicle writer John Lopez voted for him."

Google it: Watch him start a game with 8 straight strike outs:

How was his stike shortened 1994? 6-12 with a 7.39 ERA with the Twins. Lead the league in ERA and HR allowed. Ouch. But, he also lead the league with 25 starts with the Twins.

Birthday boy: June 23, 1960. Another former MLBer, John Rabb, was also born that day. Doug Rogers, who bounced around the NFL in the early/mid 90s, also claims that day. Finally, on 6/23/1960, Enovid, the first oral contraceptive (aka: the Pill) hit the market. That's quite a contrast to this section of the recap.

Up Next: 92 - Delino DeShields

80 - Royce Clayton

80 - Royce Clayton

Front photo: Seems to be staring back in disbelief at a call.

Back photo: Being waved home, but doesn't appear to be in a hurry.

Better photo?: The rear photo is nice that includes the coach waving him home at the side, and that gives it the slight edge over the closely-cropped front pic.

Ties to my personal collections: Played part of the 2007 season in Toronto. Got several photoshop special cards, although his Upper Deck card does look like it is a legit photo of him on the team. He finished that season with a handful of games in Boston, and got a World Series ring out of it.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 7

Wiki-facts: "Clayton portrayed Miguel Tejada in the 2011 film Moneyball"

Google it: Wanna buy his house?

How was his strike shortened 1994? 3 HR and 30 RBI with a .236 average.

Birthday boy:  January 2, 1970. The only person across the *-reference world born that day was 90s NFLer Glenn Cadrez.  Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre was also born that date.

Up Next: 81 - David Cone

68 - John Burkett

68 - John Burkett

Front photo: Pitching.

Back photo: Pitching.

Better photo?: It looks like he's smiling in the front photo, so I'll vote for that one.

Ties to my personal collections: Was once part of a trade that included Ryan Dempster, who makes numerous appearances in my CanCon collection.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 3

Wiki-facts: "Burkett is also a part-time professional bowler, and has 12 perfect games to his credit." His bowling acumen was also featured on a 1992 Pinnacle card.

Google it: His twitter avatar is that 1992 Pinnacle card.

How was his strike shortened 1994? Went 6-8, but his ERA was a respectable 3.62, down .03 from the 1993 when he picked up 22 wins.

Birthday boy: November 28, 1964. Craig Wilson (the Cardinals guy, not the Pirates early 00's OFer) was born that date. NBAer Roy Tarpley, who sadly had basketball career derailed by drug and alcohol addiction, before his death in Jan 2015 was born that date as well. No NFL or NHLers were born 11/28/64. Outside the sporting world, the Mariner 4 spacecraft was launched on its way to Mars.

Up Next: Jeromy Burnitz

67 - Dave Burba

67 - Dave Burba

Front photo: Pitching.

Back photo: Pitching.

Better photo?: Hard to go against any appearance of the Wrigley ivy. I didn't even need to change the sentence from my previous post. Back to back ivy appearances.

Parallel: Silver Signature

Ties to my personal collections: None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 10

Wiki-facts: "He is currently the pitching coach for the Hartford Yard Goats."

Google it: More minor league stuff, this time as an Ohio State article that focuses on his coaching time with the Tri-City Dust Devils.

How was his stike shortened 1994? Went 3-6 with a 4.38 ERA over 57 games and 74 innings.

Birthday boy: July 7, 1966. Jeff Shaw, who would be a teammate with Burba for 1996 and 1997 with the Reds was also born that date. Jack Capuano, who played 1, 3 and 2 games for the Leafs, Canucks and Bruins respectively was born that date as well. In the NBA, Tom Garrick, who spent most of his time with the Clippers during the late 80s/early 90s is a perfect match. For the NFL, you have one game QB Jeff Francis (Cleveland). First time in a bit (if ever) I've gotten perfect matches across the board on *-reference. Outside the sporting world, you have comedian Jim Gaffigan.

Edit: He is the first one to get a match across all four of the sites.

Up Next: Jeromy Burnitz

49 - Rod Beck

Front photo: Pitching photo

Back photo: The same.

Better photo?: The back of the card is more mullet-tastic than the front, and that's enough for me.

Parallel: Silver signature. There seem to be way more first half loops that you expect in a name like Rod Beck

Ties to my personal collections: See Google it.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 12

Wiki-facts: Was an all-star this season. Googling was far more interesting.

Google it: Helped start a (now annual) AIDS related event, "Until There's a Cure Day" with the Giants. A member of my 2/14 collection, Candice Wiggins, has appeared in ads for this organization. Her father, former MLBer Alan, died of AIDS.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Really good, with 28 saves, and no blown saves. ERA was 2.77.

Rest in Peace: Passed away on June 23, 2007.

Birthday boy: I won't be doing this portion of the write-up for those that have passed on at the time I write their card up.

Up Next: #50 - Ken Griffey Jr Promotional Card

24 - Steve Soderstrom

Front photo: Posed  photo, but at least you get some scenery in the background.

Back photo: Unless that ballpark has a fence within a few paces of the mound, I'll call this one posed as well.

Better photo?: Trees in the background are always nice. The front.

Ties to my personal collections: Was originally drafted by the Mets in 1990 in the 15th round. Didn't sign with them.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 4

Wiki-facts:  He currently runs a baseball teaching facility in Turlock, CA. Only had 3 big league appearances, all starts, going 2-0 with an ERA of 5.27 in 1996.

Google it: He's actually the co-owner of the Backyard Sports Academy.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Spent his time at Class A San Jose, where he went 2-3 with a 4.20 ERA.

Birthday boy: April 3, 1972. Matches up with nobody on any of the team sports reference sites. but does match up with former tennis player Sandrine Testud, who has 3 singles championships and was ranked #9 in the world at one point. In Hollywood, actresses Jennie Garth (90210) and Leigh-Allyn Baker (Will & Grace) were also born that date.

Up next: 25 - Trot Nixon.

19 - Solomon Torres

Well, it was one Expo ago I picked up this set. And I'm just at the 19th card 6 months later. Sounds about right for me. Time to get 1 card closer to the end.

Front photo: I'd lean with spring training on this, but the extreme close-up makes it impossible to tell for sure.

 Back photo: N/A. One card to go for a long time without a photo on the back.

Ties to my personal collections: Played a portion of the 1997 season with the Expos after being claimed of waivers. 12 appearances and a 7.25 ERA then. He then retired, and coached the Expos Dominican League team, before returning to baseball and having a good mid 00's run with the Pirates.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 9.

Wiki-facts: How about a quote? On being razzed my fans still bitter over a bad performance in 1993 " "They come to the park and they pay my salary, so they have the right to heckle me. " Is from San Pedro de Macoris, which might be the most famous place in the Dominican Republic, at least in a baseball sense.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Went 2-8 with an ERA over 5.

Birthday boy: March 11, 1972. Shares the date with former NFLer Carl Greenwood and Japanese singer Ua.

 Up next: 20 - Gabe White, wrapping up the first part of the Rookie Class subset