130 - Charlie Hayes

130 - Charlie Hayes

Front: Snagging the ball, although it does look like practice, thanks to the casualness of the player behind him.

Back: Hitting

Silver Sig:

Better side: Still the more unique photo is the front one.

Ties to my personal collections: Would sign with the Mets in 2000, but be released during spring training.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 18

Wiki-facts: His son is Ke'Bryan Hayes of the Pirates.

Google it: The Society for American Baseball Research calls him a 'solid journeyman'.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Batted .288 with 10 HR and 50 RBI.

Birthday boy:  May 29, 1965. Jarmo Myllys, formerly of the San Jose Sharks, was borth that date as well. The day also claims NFLer David Braxton, who mostly played for the Cardinals. 

Next up: Rickey Henderson

129 - Hilly Hathaway

 

129 - Hilly Hathaway

Front: Pitching.

Back: Dugout boredom.

Better side: Nice use of a horizontal format gives the nod to the front.

Ties to my personal collections: None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 2

Wiki-facts: Real, full name is Hillary Houston Hathaway. The original Triple H!

Google it: Nothing of note, although you can learn that it is short for Hillary there as well.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? His last MLB experience was in 1993.

Birthday boy:  September 12, 1969. The *-reference world has nobody else on that date. Wiki is a little more helpful. Author James Frey, famous (infamous) for the fabrications in A Million Little Pieces was born that date. So is former Masters winner Angel Cabrera Sr. That would be nice, but he's currently serving time for domestic violence. Shigeki Maruyama, another golfer with 3 PGA wins, albeit in less well-known tournaments may not be as notable as the other two, but he's the least sketch of this group.

Next up: Charlie Hayes

128 - Billy Hatcher

 

Front: Dugout pose.

Back: Dancing? 

Silver Sig parallel:

Better side: I don't know quite what he is doing on the back, but it is definitely the more interesting of the two.

Ties to my personal collections: None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 13

Wiki-facts: Middle name is Augustus. 

Google it: There is a Game Cube game called Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. No relation to the player.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? He'd be traded to the Phillies. Overall, batted .245 with 3 HR and 31 RBI.

Birthday boy:  October 4, 1960. Fellow MLBer Joe Boever was born that date. He was active with Detroit this season, but did not get a card in this, or any other UD release this year. Or next year. He'd get a Collector's Choice card in 1996. It is also the birth date of NFLers Tom Jelesky and Dan McQuaid. The NBA claims Jim Grandholm, and there were no NHLers. Henry Worsley, an explorer who passed away after trying to make a solo crossing of the Antarctic, was also born on that date outside of the *-reference world. In the news, Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 crashed at Logan Airport, killing 62 of the 72 people on board.

Next up: Hilly Hathaway

127 - Bryan Harvey

Front: Rather generic pitching photo.

Back: Looks to be celebrating one of his 45 saves.

Better side: An easy win for the back.

Ties to my personal collections: None, but I do have his autograph out of 1996 Leaf Signature.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 6.

Wiki-facts: "named Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News" (1988)

Google it: There was a musician with the same name. He was murdered, along with his family, in a spree killing in Richmond.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? A 5.23 ERA with 6 saves in 10 games. His 1995 would be even worse - 1 game, and an ERA of infinity. 

Birthday boy:  June 2, 1963. No other MLBers were born that date. One-game NHLer Jeff Eatough also was. Doug Evans played 354 more games with stops in Winnipeg, St. Louis and Philly. Of the three NFLers born that day, Vic Bellamy, Dana Wright and Larry Roberts, Larry was easily the most successful on the field, with two Super Bowl championships over 8 years with the 49ers.

Next up: Billy Hatcher

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

124 - Erik Hanson

 Posting two of these in a single month?! What's wrong with me?

Front: Releasing the pitch at Yankee Stadium

Back: On its way.

Better side: If the two photos are sequential, then it has to be a draw. If not, then I'll take the back due to the framing of the ball right at the top of the screen.

Ties to my personal collections: Signed with the Jays in 1996. Finished 1 season and 2 part seasons with a 13-20 record and a 5.68 ERA. Ouch.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 3.

Wiki-facts: He attended Wake Forest University.

Google it: There's an artist with the same name.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Was with the Reds, going 5-5 with a 4.11 ERA. 

Birthday boy: May 18, 1965. Former NFLers Greg Rakoczy and Rufus Porter were born that date, with the latter having a 10-year career despite going undrafted. Outside the sporting world, Israeli spy Eli Cohen was hanged in Syria on that date.

Next up: Gene Harris