147 - Domingo Jean

 

Front: Pitching

Back: Pitching

Better side: The front looks like spring training, the back looks like regular season. I love the indifference of the player with his back to the pitcher. The front photo wins. 

Ties to my personal collections: None. 

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 8

Wiki-facts: "Jean was the last active New York Yankee player to wear number 42 before Mariano Rivera donned it in 1995."

Google it: The image that comes up when Domingo Jean autocompletes is his 1992 Bowman card. You know the one...

How was his strike-shortened 1994? He'd already pitched his last MLB game at this point.

Birthday boy: January 9, 1969. A very boring date. Nobody on the -reference sites. Nobody on the January 9 wiki entry. Zzzzzzzz.

Next up: 148 - Gregg Jefferies

146 - John Jaha

 146 - John Jaha

Front:  Doing something defensively.

Back: At the plate.

Silver Sig:

Better side: The front not only works with the horizontal format, but with the design of the card as well.

Ties to my personal collections: None. 

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 7

Wiki-facts: "Jaha became only the second player (after Joey Meyer) to hit a ball into the upper deck at Mile High Stadium."

Google it: Nothing out of the ordinary. Just baseball stuff. Normal is good.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Went .241 with 12 HR and 39 RBIs. 

Birthday boy:  May 27, 1966. NHLer Ray Sheppard, who put together a solid 14 year career was born that date, and the NBA has another journeyman type born that date - Eric Leckner. 

Next up: 147 - Domingo Jean

145 - Danny Jackson

 Front - Almost flat on the ground after the delivery. Which was his style

Back - Generic pitching photo

Silver sig - 

Better side: The first one really shows Jackson's methodology of pitching. This one was easy!

Ties to my personal collections: None

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 6

Wiki-facts: "pitched, as of 2021, the only immaculate inning in World Series play"

Google it:  Watch said inning! 

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Went 14-6 with an ERA of 3.26, made the All-Star team.

Birthday boy:  January 5, 1962. Butch Graves, who played in 4 games for the Cavaliers in 84-85, was born on that date, but that's all the *-reference world has. Actress Suzy Amis Cameron (Titanic, The Usual Suspects) accompanies Danny on the wikipedia list of people born that day.

Next up: 146 - John Jaha

144 - Pete Incaviglia

Front: Rounding the bases, sporting a throwback.

Back: Swinging, also with a throwback.

Silver Sig:

Better side: I love the ever-so-slight whip on the bat on the reverse, but the front photo gives a better look at the uniform. The front by a nose. 

Ties to my personal collections: None, although he was drafted by the Expos.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 12

Wiki-facts: "As a result of the Expos trading Incaviglia immediately after signing him, Major League Baseball instituted a rule whereby a team cannot trade a drafted player until he has been under contract to the club for at least one calendar year. This was known as the Pete Incaviglia Rule."

Google it: "In 1999, Pete Incaviglia was voted as the NCAA Player of the Century by Baseball America."

How was his strike-shortened 1994? Hit .230 with 13 HR and 32 RBI. He'd spend 1995 in Japan before returning.

Birthday boy: April 2, 1964. A good day for Football Reference, with Lee Getz, John Brandes and Brendan Folmar matching that date, but no other sports have players there that do. Wikipedia lists former pro-wrestler "Jonathan Sharkey", whose entry includes this "He was also jailed in Tennessee for making threats against an Indiana judge. Investigators confiscated two rifles and a wooden stake with spikes at his house". Fun!

Next up: Danny Jackson

143 - Todd Hundley

 

Front: Throwing.

Back: Signaling.

Better side: The back is a little more unique, and therefore more Collectors-Choice-esque.

Ties to my personal collections: He's a Met! And was the man behind home plate until they traded for some guy named Piazza.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 15

Wiki-facts: "His father, Randy, was a catcher for the Chicago Cubs"

Google it: He had the Mets team home run record. Here he is concerning Pete Alonso breaking it:

https://sny.tv/articles/watch-todd-hundley-weighs-in-on-pete-alonso-breaking-his-mets-home-run-record

How was his strike-shortened 1994? 16 HR, 42 RBI, but only a .237 average.

Birthday boy: May 27, 1969. He's one year late for a couple Hall of Famers, Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas. The only other person in the *reference world born that specific date is one time Charlotte Hornet Travis Williams. Wikipedia lists former NASCAR racer Jeremy Mayfield was also born that day.

Next up: 144 - Pete Incaviglia

142 - David Hulse

 

142 - David Hulse

Back-to-back Daves! (They all have their own hands but they come from different mums)

Front: Sliding! And is that a throwback uniform? 

Back: On the bases, with the glove blocking the view of anybody wanting to see some booty.

Better side: Even if booty was visible, I gotta vote for the front.

Ties to my personal collections: None.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 6 

Wiki-facts: "In a game against the Cleveland Indians on May 26, 1993, Hulse was in center field when the Indians' Carlos Martínez hit a ball to deep right-center field that bounced off the head of right fielder Jose Canseco and over the fence for a home run."

Google it: There's a "Certified Vibrational Sound Master Teacher" by the same name.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? 1 HR, 19 RBI with a .255 average.

Birthday boy:  February 25, 1968. 1 season NBAer James Blackwell was born that date. The NHL provides Darrin Madeley, who spent 3 seasons with the expansion Senators, which comprised his entire NHL career. Pretty bland date. 

Next up: 143 - Todd Hundley

141 - Dave Hollins

 

Front: Rounding the bases in spring training, but looking like he might be struck with a batted ball and ruled out. 

Back: Throwback uni! 

Better side: It is really hard to vote against a throwback uniform, especially considering this photo is from the 90s, but everything seems so random about the front. So, I vote for the front.

Ties to my personal collections: Spent part of the 1999 season with the Blue Jays, and was a hitting coach for the AAA Binghamton Mets.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 5.

Wiki-facts: "Hollins has been named a member of the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame."

Google it: He was from the Buffalo area, and former Bills WR Cole Beasley used to live in his former home. Cole retired earlier this month.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? 

Birthday boy:  May 25, 1966. Another MLBer with a double-digit worth of seasons, Bill Haselman, was born that date. He's card #552 in this set. The NFL provides Natu Tuatagaloa. Outside the sporting world, there is former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, whose wiki entry is something else. It includes the phrases "went into exile" and "Witch hunting campaign".

Next up: 142 - David Hulse