16 - Manny Ramirez

Front photo: A nice in game photo from a home game, with the old Cleveland Stadium's blue walls in the background.

Back photo: N/A.

Ties to my personal collections: Nothing direct, but was part of a three-team trade that sent CanCon collection member Jason Bay to Boston. Might be the only person in the set with a regular base card last year as an active player, making an appearance in Topps Heritage Minor League as a player/coach with the Iowa Cubs. Shares a birthday with former Blue Jay Scott Eyre.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 66.

Wiki-facts:Full name is Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida. Was a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays as a youngster.

How was his strike-shortened 1994? One of the better ones so far among the rookies, as he finished 2nd in the AL ROY balloting behind Bob Hamelin. Batted .269 with 17 HR and 60 RBI.

Birthday boy: May 30, 1972. Only other MLBer to be born that date was Scott Eyre. In the NFL, there were Anthony Cook and Allen Aldridge. It was also the day of the Lod Airport Massacre.

 Next up: #17 - Johnny Ruffin.

#15 - Luis Ortiz.

Front photo: Not in game, obviously, but it is kinda nice to see those tarp like jackets make an appearance.

Back photo: N/A.

Ties to my personal collections: Nothing direct. Was part of a trade in which the others involved were future Blue Jays (and an Expo) Otis Nixon and Jose Canseco. Said trade sent Ortiz to the Rangers. Also shares an exact birthday with an Expos alumni in Joey Eischen. Would also end up in the Expos system, although without reaching the big club, later in his career.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 4.

Wiki-facts: Has a book on hitting available. He's currently in the Padres system as the field and hitting coordinator.

How was his strike-shortened 1994?: 7 games with a BA of .167.

Birthday boy:  May 25, 1970. The aforementioned Joey Eischen is the only one from the big 4 sports born that date. Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer (The Help) and comedian Jamie Kennedy were also born that date.

Next up: #15 - Manny Ramirez.

#14 - Marc Newfield

Front photo:  Another in-game photo, although this one could be from either spring training or a regular season game. The fans seem a little closer to the field than you'd expect in a big league game, so I'd wager on the former. Not too much money on it though.

Back photo: N/A.

Ties to my personal collections:  Nothing direct, as he never played for any of the teams I power collect. He was once part of a trade that sent Greg Vaughn from Milwaukee to San Diego. Greg's son Cory, is a prospect in the Mets system.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 3, each at one sentence.

Wiki-facts: He played baseball for Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California.

How was his strike-shortened 1994?: 12 games with 40 AB. Hit .184 with 1 HR and 4 RBI.

Birthday boy: October 19, 1972 is also the birthdate of former big leaguer Keith Foulke. Fromer Buffalo Bill Jason Bratton (1996 was his only season in the NFL) is another one born on the 19th. There do not appear to be any cards of Jason Bratton out there. Outside the sporting world, Pras of The Fugees was also born that date.

Next up: #15 - Luis Ortiz.

#13 - Steve Karsay

Front photo:  That sure looks like the Oakland Coliseum behind him! Along with #11 Mark Hutton, this is the second one in the set that really looks like it is from a big league game.

Back photo: N/A.

Ties to my personal collections: Was originally a Blue Jay - shipped west in the trade that brought Rickey Henderson to Toronto in 1993 for their post season run. It was a perfect example of a Rent-A-Player, as Rickey was back in Oakland for 1994. He was a very hyped player for the Jays, and did get some draft pick/prospect cards as a Blue Jay, but he never played for the big club, and made his major league debut with Oakland.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 7

Wiki-facts: Was part of a three-pitcher effort to throw a perfect game in 2005 while playing for Frisco in the Texas League. The other pitchers who were a part of this, Scott Feldman and A.J. Murray, also spent time in the big leagues. Karsay is now a pitching coach in the Indians system.

How was his strike-shortened 1994?: 4 games, all starts, and he finished with a 1-1 record.

Birthday boy: March 24, 1972 is also the birthdate of former big league reliever Jose Cabrera. Also born on that date was former Ottawa Senator Bruce Gardiner, another tie to one of my PCs.

Next up: #14 - Marc Newfield.

#12 - Miguel Jimenez

Front photo: As they would say in Wayne's World - Extreme Close Up!!

Back photo: N/A.

Ties to my personal collections: None, but was born the same date as former Met Matt Franco.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 2

Wiki-facts: I'll just make it a direct quote from one of the two paragraphs. "Currently Miguel Jimenez is the commissioner for the Bring Your Game Fantasy Baseball League. The league is a pretigeous (sic) fantasy baseball league based out of Arizona. He is the manager/owner of the Bangers in said league. He currently holds two championships for said league.". And this is the first wiki fact so far that might have been added by the player himself. And yes, prestigious was spelled wrong.

Searching deeper: Googling his name, with quotes, is more likely to bring up golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez. I had to go 4 pages deep in order to find this one, which also included a "Did I get his name right?" moment.

How was his strike-shortened 1994?: Went 1-4 with a 7.41 ERA. Never played in the majors after that.

Birthday boy: Born August 19, 1969. As said earlier, former Met Matt Franco was also born that date. Nobody else from the big 4 team sports, but actor Matthew Perry, rapper Nate Dogg and sportscaster Kirk Herbstreit (who was in the A&G 2012 set) were all born that date. Also, Ken Holtzman no-hit Atlanta on that date.

Next up: #13 - Steve Karsay.

#11 - Mark Hutton

Front photo: Looks like an actual game shot. The blue walls in the background might mean it was from an actual regular season game at Yankee Stadium. For some reason, the hologram on the back scanned all the way through to the front.

Back photo: N/A.

Ties to my personal collections:  None, so I have to start playing 6 degrees of Separation on this. He'd never play for any of the teams I'd collect. So, I'll try birthdays, and I can make a connection with birthdays. He shares a Feb 6th birthday with a quartet of future Raptors. Carlos Rogers. Shawn Respert. Antoine Wright. Kris Humphries. Considering only 11 NBAers in history were born on that date, that's mighty impressive.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 4

Wiki-facts: The fact Mark was the first Aussie to start a game in MLB, which leads off this card isn't even mentioned there. His playing for the 2000 Australian Olympic baseball team is as interesting as it gets.

How was his strike-shortened 1994?: Only 2 games and 3.2 innings with a 4.91 ERA.

Birthday boy:  Born February 6, 1970. Per Frandsen, who had a decent career in English soccer, and also represented Denmark at the '92 Summer Games. But., that's also the same as Chinese mass murderer Zhou Kehua. Maybe the various reference sites can make things better. Nothing at baseball. Nothing at baseball. The same for football and hockey. So, the soccer guy it is.

 Next up: #12 - Miguel Jimenez.

#10 - Butch Huskey

Front photo: An autograph signing photo. First one so far in this set with a different photo that really fits the Collector's Choice theme.

Back photo: N/A.

Paragraphs in wikipedia entry: 13.

Wiki-facts: Real name is Robert Leon Huskey.

Baseball miscellany: Was one of the players to be grandfathered in with regards to wearing #42. It also repeats the factoid from the back of the card about making his debut on the losing end of a no-hitter.

How was his strike-shortened 1994?: Spent the entire year in the minors.

Birthday boy: Born November 10, 1971. Shares a birthdate with former big leaguer Terry Pearson. Strangely, despite a far shorter big league career than Huskey's, Pearson makes the wiki list of people born that date.

Ties to my Personal Collections: Played for one of the teams I collect, and I have one of his autopgraphs out of Leaf Signatures.

Next up: #11 - Mark Hutton