Todd Edward Zeile

Nickname: Big Z, The Man
Career Stats: .265 AVG, .346 OBP, .423 SLG, 2004 H, 253 HR, 1110 RBI, 397 2B, 23 3B, 53 SB, 1279 K, 945 BB
DYK: Played for 11 different teams during his 16 year career. He’s the only player in history to hit a home run for over 10 teams. Led the majors in errors in the 90’s. In ’99 while with the Rangers, he was part of the first team since 1916 to have 4 players whose last names began with the letter "Z." Hit a three run homer in his final at bat as a Major Leaguer vs. the Expos in '04which makes him the last person to hit a homerun off an Expos pitcher. Has the most home runs for a player whose last name begins with the letter "Z." He’s married to a former Olympic gymnast. He has an IMDB page with acting and producing credits, and the Onion even wrote an article referencing him. Todd Zeile is a lot more interesting than I thought he was.

Tanner Joe Meyer

Nickname: Joey, Big Stick
Career Stats: .251 AVG, .300 OBP, .416 SLG, 18 HR, 74 RBI, 119 H, 24 2B, 1 SB, 124 K
DYK: The first player to hit a walk-off homerun off of Roger Clemens. Had more strike outs than hits during his two seasons with the Brewers. Joey Meyer, Rob Deer and Gary Sheffield were supposed to lead the Brewers to many World Series titles in the late 80’s and early 90’s. That didn't really go according to plan. He hit .297 with 120 homers in 464 minor league games from ’84 to ’87, but only hit .251 with 18 homers in 156 games for the Brewers.

Frederick Wayne Honeycutt

Nickname: Rick, Ricky Ricardo, Free Willy
Career Stats: 109-143, 3.72 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 2160 IP, 1038 K, 657 BB
DYK: 2 time All-Star. Won the World Series with the A’s in ’89. Currently the Dodgers pitching coach. Oldest player in MLB during the ’96 and ’97 seasons. Led the AL with a 2.42 ERA in ’83. Caught hiding a thumbtack in a bandaged finger and suspended for 10 days in ’80.

Stephen Louis Sax

Nickname: Saxy, Steve, Nice Pants, The Steve
Career Stats: .281 AVG, .335 OBP, .358 SLG, 54 HR, 550 RBI, 913 R, 1949 H, 278 2B, 47 3B, 444 SB
DYK: 5 time All-Star. Rookie of the Year in ’82 and Silver Slugger award winner in ’86. Caught stealing 30 times in ’83. Ranked in the top ten in outs made 10 of his 11 full seasons. Hit two triples and stole home in a game against the Cubs in ’84. Sax is probably most famous for contracting Steve Blass Disease during the ’83 season in which he committed 30 errors.

Willie Dean McGee

Nickname: The Big Ugly, E.T.
Career Stats: .295 AVG, .333 OBP, .396 SLG, 79 HR, 856 RBI, 1010 R, 2254 H, 350 2B, 94 3B, 352 SB, 1238 K
DYK: 4 time All-Star and 3 time Gold Glove winner. Won the NL MVP and Silver Slugger in ’85. Led the NL in GIDP in ’87. Only had 79 career homers, but somehow hit two in Game 3 of the ’82 World Series to break the hearts of Brewers fans everywhere. Hit for the cycle in ’84 vs. the Cubs. Went to school at Diablo College. Anybody who was a fan of baseball in the 80’s should sign the petition to get Willie’s number retired at Busch Stadium.

Ruben Angel Sierra

Nickname: El Indio, El Caballo, El Ruben, Big Rube, Ruben Slam-wich
Career Stats: .268 AVG, .315 OBP, .450 SLG, 306 HR, 1322 RBI, 1084 R, 2152 H, 428 2B, 59 3B, 142 SB, 1239 K
DYK: 4 time All-Star. Won the Silver Slugger in ’89. Led the AL in sacrifice flies in ’87 and in outs made in ’87, ’88 and ’93. Hit a homerun in his second MLB at bat. I didn’t know this before, but he made some really bad music in the 90’s.

Gary Carter

Nickname: Kid, Kid Carter, Captain Nice Guy
Career Stats: .262 AVG, .439 SLG, 324 HR, 1225 RBI, 1025 R, 371 2B
DYK: Growing up Gary Carter seemed like the nicest guy in baseball. I'm not sure if he was or wasn't but his smile sure made him seem somewhere between genuine and snake-oil salesman. Regardless of the dude's persona, he was a heck of Catcher. He was definitely my favorite growing up. He played 19 seasons, he's in the Hall of Fame, he played for the Expos. Prior to suiting up for the Expos, he signed a letter of intent to play football at UCLA.

Rickey Eugene Reuschel

Nickname: Big Daddy, Chubs
Career Stats: 214-191, 3.37 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 5 SV, 3548.1 IP, 2015 K 935 BB
DYK: 3 time All-Star and 2 time Gold Glove winner. Gave up back to back jacks to Bo Jackson and Wade Boggs to start the 1989 All-Star Game. Named the 31st best Cubbie of all time by BleedCubbieBlue.com.

Pedro Guerrero

Nickname: Big P, Cokey
Career Stats: .300 AVG, .370 OBP, .480 SLG, 215 HR, 898 RBI, 730 R, 1618 H, 267 2B, 97 SB
DYK: 5 time All-Star. Won the Silver Slugger in ’82. World Series MVP in ’81. He was arrested in 1999 for trying to buy 33 pounds of cocaine. He was later acquitted however, because with an IQ of 70 it was decided that he was too dumb to arrange something that complicated. Apparently he’s so dumb, according to his lawyer, that he’s unable to write a check or make his bed. Also apparently liked to do drugs with OJ’s girlfriend.

Craig Alan Biggio

Nickname: Bags, Dirt
Career Stats: .281 AVG, .363 OBP, .433 SLG, 291 HR, 1175 RBI, 1844 R, 3060 H, 668 2B, 55 3B, 414 SB, 1753 K, 285 HBP
DYK: 7 time All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves and 5 Silver Sluggers awards. Led the league in HBP five times. Earned over $82 million during his 20 year career. He is the only player in the history of baseball to have 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases and 250 homeruns. I’ve got to be honest, the main reason I wanted to feature Craig Biggio today was so I could share this.

Stephen Charles Balboni

Nickname: Bye Bye, Bruno, Big Stache, Bones
Career Stats: .229 AVG, .293 OBP, .451 SLG, 181 HR, 495 RBI, 351 R, 127 2B, 856 K
DYK: What a gem "Bye Bye" Balboni was. The guy could hit the ball a mile, always swung for the fences, and, most often, struck out. To this day he's got the record for single season home runs in a Royals uniform (36) under his belt. When I'm playing RBI Baseball on the original Nintendo I like to keep "Bones" on the bench for his pinch hit power. Ironically, his animated player mirrors his playing days to perfection - lots of long balls, lots of strike outs. If you ever wanted to "learn from a pro," I encourage you to consider mastering your craft under the direction of Balboni.

Jose Antonio Rijo

Nickname: The Hose
Career Stats: 116-91, 3.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 3 SV, 1606 K, 663 BB
DYK: Son-in-law of Juan Marichal. All-Star in ’94. World Series MVP in ’90. Made his major league debut with the Yankees when he was 18 years old. Recently fired from the Nationals after one of his scouting finds was discovered to be 4 years older than previously thought.

Peter Joseph Incaviglia

Nickname: Pistol, Inky
Years Played: 1986-1998
Teams: Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees
Highlights/Awards: Led the league in strikeouts in ’86 and ‘88
Career Stats: .246 AVG, .448 SLG, 206 HR, 655 RBI, 194 2B, 33 SB, 1277 K
Best Season: 1986; .250 AVG, .320 OBP, .463 SLG, 30 HR, 88 RBI, 21 2B, 185 K
DYK: Made his major league debut before playing a game in the minors. Owns the NCAA single season home run (43) and RBI (143) records. Has a rule named after him, the Pete Incaviglia Rule.
Thoughts: The first time I heard about Inky was in an article describing how he hit a ball through the outfield wall, I instantly liked him. He was my second favorite player in the 80’s, behind Rob Deer. Hit 30 homeruns as a rookie and didn’t ever receive a vote for Rookie of the Year, how did that happen?

Joaquin Andujar

Nickname: One Tough Dominican, El Loco
Years Played: 1976-1988
Teams: Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s
Highlights/Awards: 4 Time All-Star (77,79,84,85), World Series Champion in ’82, GoldGlove in ‘84
Career Stats: 127-118, 3.58 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 1032 K, 731 BB, 9 SV
Best Season: 1984; 20-14, 3.52 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 147 K, 70 BB
DYK: Led the NL in hit batsmen in ’84 and ’85. Really enjoyed cocaine. Once removed himself from a game because of jock itch.
Thoughts: Lots of memories of Andujar from my younger years. The two most prominent are him winning two games in the ’82 World Series including Game 7, and his meltdown in Game 7 of the ’85 World Series. This guy was a quote machine, I’ll leave you with some of his better ones:
"How can I play baseball if I'm stupid? If I was stupid I wouldn't have pitched in the World Series. I'd be playing ball in Mexico or Yugoslavia or on Pluto."
"It wasn't my arm (that was injured). It was my forearm."
"I win or I die."
"That's why I don't talk. Because I talk too much."
"There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, 'You never know.'"
"You can't worry if it's cold; you can't worry if it's hot; you only worry if you get sick. Because then if you don't get well, you die."

Ronald Joseph Karkovice

Nickname: Ron, Carp
Years Played: 1986 - 1997
Teams: Chicago White Sox
Highlights/Awards: Went 0 for 15 w/ 7 strikeouts in his only postseason appearance.
Career Stats: .221 AVG, .289 OBP, 96 HR, 335 RBI, 336 R, 120 2B, 24 SB
Best Season: 1996; .228 AVG, .424 SLG, 20 HR, 54 RBI, 60 R
DYK: Hit an inside the park grand slam in the Metrodome. Caught Wilson Alvarez’s no hitter in 1991.
Thoughts: Not sure why I thought Korkovice was a good power hitter, he clearly wasn’t. The guy didn’t like to walk either, as evidenced by his career .289 OBP. He had a great blonde stache though, you don’t see enough of those.

Ellis Rena Burks

Nickname: Smooth
Years Played: 1987 - 2004
Teams: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians
Highlights/Awards: Two time All-Star (90, 96), Two time Silver Slugger winner (90,96), Gold Glove in 1990
Career Stats: .291 AVG, .510 SLG, 352 HR, 1206 RBI, 1253 R, 402 2B, 181 SB
Best Season: 1996; .344 AVG, .408 OBP, .639 SLG, 40 HR, 128 RBI, 142R, 45 2B, 32 SB
DYK: Second player in Red Sox history to hit two homers in one inning. Currently works as a special assistant to the general manager for the Indians.
Thoughts: Got ripped in the ’96 MVP voting, finishing behind Caminiti’s steroids and Piazza. Playing in Colorado undoubtedly hurt him with the voters. Look at those numbers though, how can he not be the MVP that year?

Timothy Raines

Nickname: Rock, Tim
Years Played: 1979 - 2002
Teams: Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins
Highlights/Awards: 7 time All Star (81-87), Won the Silver Slugger in 1986, 2 time World Series Champion (96, 98)
Career Stats: .294 AVG, .385 OBP, 170 HR, 980 RBI, 808 SB, 1571 R, 430 2B, 113 3B, 2608 H
Best Season: 1983; .298 AVG, .393 OBP, 11 HR, 71 RBI, 90 SB, 133 R, 32 2B, 8 3B
DYK: Played his first game with Montreal when he was 19. Carried his cocaine in his hip pocket and slid headfirst so are to avoid losing any, smart man.
Thoughts: Probably the second greatest leadoff hitter of my time, and somehow can’t get any love for the Hall of Fame, but we don't debate HOF credentials here at Foam Finger. Another favorite team of mine to play Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball with was the Chicago White Sox. Raines led off and was unstoppable. You also had Ventura, The Big Hurt, Ellis Burks and Ron Karkovic in the lineup with Black Jack McDowell on the mound.

Charles Sidney Fernandez

Nickname: El Sid, Fat
Years Played: 1983 - 1997
Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros
Highlights/Awards: Two time All-Star (86, 87), Won the World Series in 1986
Career Stats: 114-96, 3.36 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 1743 K, 715 BB, 1866 IP
Best Season: 1989; 14-5, 2.83 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 198 K, 75 BB, 219 IP
DYK: Sid wore #50 in honor of his favorite television program, "Hawaii Five-0." Made a comeback attempt in 2001, but pitched in only one minor league game before re-retiring.
Thoughts: We’re sticking with the pitchers from the ’86 Mets theme today. My main memory of Sid Fernandez is my friend giving him the nickname “Fat Sid.” I don’t know why, but to an 11 year old kid, that was hilarious. He was a rotund fellow, but also a very good pitcher. Had some knee problems that limited his innings later, but still had a solid career and could strike some people out.

Jesse Russell Orosco

Name: Jesse Russell Orosco

Nickname: Chief, Sidewinder

Years Played: 1979 - 2003

Teams: New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins

Highlights/Awards: 2 time All-Star (83, 84), World Series Champion in ‘86

Career Stats: 87-80, 3.16 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 1179 K, 581 BB, 144 SV

Best Season: 1984; 10-6, 31 SV, 2.59 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 85 K, 34 BB

DYK: Career leader in games by a pitcher. Oldest player in the league from ’99 to ’03. Had an RBI single in Game 7 of the ’86 World Series. Last player who played in the 70’s to play in a major league game.

Thoughts: Probably the first guy to have a spot on the roster for the sole purpose of getting out left handed hitters, now almost every team has one. Chief made over $15 million in his career while rarely throwing over 50 innings a year for the last 15 or so years. Pretty good work if you can get it.

Ricardo Bones

Nickname: Ricky, Bones,
Years Played: 1991 - 2001
Teams: San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins
Highlights/Awards: AL All-Star (1994)
Career Stats: 63-82, 4.85 ERA, 564 K's, 11 Complete Games, 1 Shutout.
Best Season: 1994; 11-11, 3.43 ERA
DYK: Bones is the pitching coach of the Mets' Triple-A farm team, the Buffalo Bisons.
Thoughts: What a gem Ricky was. I would venture a guess that nobody outside of Brewer die-hards even remembers this. He had a long mane of hair, a pencil-thin stache and a penchant for sucking. Only once in his career did he win more games than he lost and he enjoyed five double-digit loss season. He did make an all-star team, but he never saw the field.

Karl Derrick Rhodes

Nickname: Tuffy
Years Played: 1990 - 1995
Teams: Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox
Highlights/Awards: None
Career Stats: .224 AVG, .310 OBP, .349 SLG, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 74 R, 14 SB
Best Season: 1994; .234 AVG, .318 OBP, .387 SLG, 8 HR, 19 RBI, 39 R, 6 SB
DYK: First NL player to hit three homeruns on opening day. All-time leader for foreign-born players with 442 home runs in Japan. Hit 55 homeruns in 2001 to tie Sadaharu Oh’s Japanese League record. Holds the all-time Japanese record for ejections.
Thoughts: He’s still playing and dominating in Japan, I had no idea. I knew he played in Japan, but thought his career ended years ago. Last year he hit 40 bombs with 118 RBI and a .277 average at the age of 40! Up until now my only memory of Tuffy was taking Gooden deep three times on opening day in ’94. I remember that game well, I hate the Cubs but I couldn’t tear myself away from the TV.

Michael Warren Scott

Nickname: Scooter
Years Played: 1979 - 1991
Teams: New York Mets, Houston Astros
Highlights/Awards: Cy Young in ’86. Three time All Star (86, 87, 89).
Career Stats: 124-108, 3.54 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 1469 K, 627 BB, 3 SV
Best Season: 1986; 18-10, 2.22 ERA, .92 WHIP, 306 K, 72 BB
DYK: Led the NL in ERA, WHIP, K/9, Innings, Strikeouts and Shutouts in ’86.
Threw a no-hitter vs. Giants in ’86. One of the writers of The Office was a big Astros fan, hence the name Michael Scott for the lead character.
Thoughts: The 1986 Astros had a nice top of the rotation with Scott, Nolan Ryan and Bob Knepper. Scott was a devastating pitcher from ’85 to ’90, logging more than 200 innings every year and a ton of strike outs. Apparently it was because he learned how to throw a split-finger fastball when traded to the Astros, because he sucked when he was with the Mets. He struck out 306 batters in’86, since then only Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling have struck out more than 300 in one season. There were some accusations of Scott doctoring the ball over his career, but it was never proven.

Randall Max Ready

Nickname: Rerun, Randy

Years Played: 1983 - 1995
Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland A’s, Montreal Expos
Highlights/Awards: Earned almost $2.5 during his career
Career Stats: .259 AVG, .359 OBP, .387 SLG, 40 HR, 239 RBI, 312 R, 27 SB
Best Season: 1987; .309 AVG, .423 OBP, .520 SLG, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 69 R, 7SB
DYK: Was traded with John Kruk to the Phillies in ‘89. Named New York-Penn League Manager of the year in ’03. Two time minor league batting champion.
Thoughts: How did Randy Ready stick around for 13 seasons? He tore up the minors w/ a .343 average in 689 games, but it never really transferred to the big leagues. I only remember him because of his fantastic name. He seems to be a pretty good minor league manager though, so it must have been his smarts that kept getting him roster spots until he was 37 years old.

David Francis Dravecky

Nickname: Double D
Years Played: 1982 - 1989
Teams: San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
Highlights/Awards: All Star in ’83, Hutch Award winner in ‘89
Career Stats: 64-57, 3.13 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 558 K, 315 BB, 10 SV
Best Season: 1985; 13-11, 2.93 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 105 K, 57 BB
DYK: Currently a Christian motivational speaker and author. Had his left shoulder and arm amputated in 1991. Was teammates with Kevin Mitchell. Played in the 80’s but never sported a stache.
Thoughts: The ultimate soft-tosser, he pitched to contact, as evidenced by his 558 stirkeouts in 1062 career innings. He was a pretty good pitcher though, it was difficult to pick his best season because they were all pretty much the same. But like many people, the main memory I have of Dravecky is seeing his arm snap in two while pitching. I can’t even think of the name “Dave Dravecky” without wincing.

Jesse Lee Barfield

Nickname: Rifleman

Years Played: 1981 - 1992
Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees
Highlights/Awards: All-Star in 1986, 2 time Gold Glove winner (86,87), Won Silver Slugger Award in 1986
Career Stats: .256 BA, .466 SLG, 241 HR, 716 RBI, 715 R, 216 2B, 1234 K
Best Season: 1986; .289 BA, .559 SLG, 40 HR, 108 RBI, 107 R, 35 2B
DYK: Led American League outfielders in assists three times (85-87). First Blue Jay to hit a pinch hit grand slam. Apparently there’s a statue of him in his hometown of Joliet, Illinois. Hospitalized in 2006 after a fight with his son. Writes a blog http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/barfield
Thoughts: Barfield had a cannon for a right arm, and nobody looked better in the Blue Jays powder blue unis than him. Played on some teams in the late 80’s that could score a lot of runs, but unfortunately for Barfield he got traded to the Yankees before the Blue Jays got really good in the early 90’s under Cito Gaston. He did however get to play for the immortal Stump Merrill for a season and a half in New York, so he’s got that going for him.

Steven John Wendell

Nickname: Turk
Years Played: 1993-2004
Teams: Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies
Highlights/Awards: World Series Appearance (2000)
Career Stats: 36-33, 3.93 ERA, 552 Games, 6 Complete Games, 33 Saves, 551 Strike-outs
Best Season: 2000; 3.59 ERA, 8-6, 77 Games, 82.7 IP , 73 SO, 1.222 WHIP
DYK: Wendell is probably best known for his baseball-related eccentricities, which included: (1) Whenever he entred or left the baseball field, he would leap over the baseline. (2) Wendell insisted that the upmire roll the ball to the mound rather than simply throw it to him. If an umpire would ignorantly throw the ball to him, Wendell was known to let it go past him, or even to let it bounce off his chest, after which he would retrieve it from the ground.

(3) Whenever he began a new inning, Wendell would turn and wave to the center fielder and wait for him to wave back before proceeding. (4) At the beginning of each inning, Wendell would reportedly draw three crosses in the pitcher's mound dirt. (5) Whenever his catcher stood, Wendell would crouch down. (6)Wendell would chew black licorice while pitching. (7) Wendell often brushed his teeth between innings (some claim that he brushed between every inning). (8) Wendell wore number 99, in honor of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn, the main character in the movie Major League. (9) Wendell wore a necklace made from the claws and teeth of various animals he had hunted and killed. (10) Wendell sometimes threw his glove into the stands when leaving a game.
Thoughts: I remember really wanting this guy to be good. In truth, his antics probably kept him in the big time longer than he should have been. Had he been a reliever his entire career he could have been a decent closer. He was a strange cat.

Charles Theodore Davis

Nickname: Chili, Jamaican Sensation
Years Played: 1981-1999
Teams: San Francisco Giants, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees
Highlights/Awards: 3 time All-Star, Led the AL in Sac Flies in 1988 with 10, 4th in ROY voting in 1982
Career Stats: .274, 350 HR, 1372 RBI, 1240 R, 2380 H, 424 2B, 142 SB, .451 SLG
Best Season: 1991; .277 AVG, .507 SLG, 29 HR, 93 RBI, 84 R, 34 2B
DYK: He is the first ballplayer born in Jamaica to appear in a major league game. Got the nickname Chili Bowl as a child after a bad haircut. 4th highest amount of homeruns for a switch hitter, behind only Eddie Murray, Mickey Mantle, and Chipper Jones.
Thoughts: Not sure why I was a big Chili Davis fan, I didn't follow any of the teams he played on. It probably has something to do with his nicknames, I’m a sucker for a good nickname. I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I found out the name Chili didn’t have anything to with a chili dog though. I can’t believe he never hit more than 30 bombs in a season, I always thought he was more of a power hitter.

Dean Palmer

Name: Dean William Palmer
Nickname: Fred
Years Played: 1989 - 2003
Teams: Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers
Highlights/Awards: All-Star in 1998, Won 2 Silver Slugger Awards, Led the AL in strikeouts in 1992 with 154
Career Stats: .251 BA, 275 HR, 849 RBI, 231 2B, .472 SLG, 1332 K
Best Season: 1996; .280 BA, .527 SLG, 38 HR, 107 RBI
DYK: Made his Major League debut when he was 20 years old.
Thoughts: No real memories of Dean Palmer stand out, just that he was a slugging third baseman who struck out a lot, my favorite kind of player. I did find it interesting that his Wikipedia entry claims that he’s now living in London studying for a degree in Computer Science. I’m pretty sure that’s not correct, but if it is, kudos to you Mr. Palmer. Of course it also says that his middle name is Richard.

Ray Lankford

Name: Raymond Lewis Lankford

Nickname: Ray, Sweet Baby Ray

Years Played: 1990 - 2004

Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres

Highlights/Awards: 1997 All-Star, Hit for the cycle in his Rookie Year (1991)

Career Stats: .272 BA, .477 SLG, 238 HR, 874 RBI, 968 R, 356 2B, 258 SB

Best Season: 1998; .293 BA, 156 Hits, .540 SLG, 31 HR, 105 RBI, 94 R, 26 SB

DYK: Lankford hit more home runs at Busch Stadium (123) than any other player, Hit a pinch hit home run in his last major league at bat.

Thoughts: Ray Lankford was the St. Louis Cardinals saving grace in the 1990’s. He was a ferocious leadoff man early in his career who developed significant power as his career progressed. It’s hard to imagine what success the franchise would have had through the 1990’s without Lankford in the line-up. Joe Torre owes a little bit of his his job with the Yankee’s to Lankford’s because of his selfless play. He batted 4th behind Mark McGuire the year (1998) that Big Mac went for 70 homers in a season. Suspisciously, that was also Lankford’s best season as well.

Jay Buhner

Name: Jay Campbell Buhner

Nickname: Bone

Years Played: 1987 - 2001

Teams: New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners

Highlights/Awards: All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 1996. Led the AL in strikeouts in 1996 and 1997

Career Stats: .254 BA, .494 SLG, 310 HR, 965 RBI, 798 R, 233 2B, 6 SB, 24 CS, 1406 K

Best Season: 1996; .271 BA, .557 SLG, 44 HR, 138 RBI, 107 R

DYK: Has the lowest career stolen base percentage since 1954. Holds the Mariners record for strikeouts. Can vomit on command.

Thoughts: Does the name J. Hutt ring any bells? If I’m not mistaken that was Buhner’s alias in the 2nd greatest baseball game ever made, Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents MLB. They weren’t licensed to use real names, except for Griffey’s, so every player was given a fake name. Seattle was unstoppable with Buhner, Griffey, Tino and Edgar Martinez, and the speedy Mike Felder on offense and Randy Johnson, Chris Bosio and Norm Charlton shutting down the opposition. He also has a great nickname.

Billy Jo Robidoux

Name: William Jo Robidoux

Nickname: Billy Jo, Frenchy

Years Played: 1985 - 1990

Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox

Highlights/Awards: 1985 team MVP for the El Paso Diablos.

Career Stats: .209 BA, .286 SLG, .313 OBP, 5 HR, 43 RBI, 43 R

Best Season: 1986; .227 BA, .344 OBP, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 15 R

Did You Know: He has a Wikipedia entry.

Thoughts: Billy Jo Robidoux? Seriously? At some point in your life don’t you just drop the “Jo” and ask people to call you Billy, or Bill, or William, or Will? Billy Jo was actually a pretty decent prospect after hitting .342 with 23 homers in ‘85 for the Diablos. I thought I’d hit the jackpot when I got multiple Robidoux cards ‘86, but obviously Topps knew more than I did at that time. Unfortunately, he’ll always be more well known for his name than his game.

Jerome Walton

Name: Jerome Walton

Nickname: Rome, Wally

Years Played: 1989 - 1998

Teams: Chicago Cubs, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Highlights/Awards: National League Rooke of the Year (1989), 30-game hitting streak (1989).

Career Stats: .269, 423 Hits, 77 2B, 8 3B, 25 HR, 132 RBI, 58 SB

Best Season: 1989; .293 AVG, 139 Hits, 23 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 46 RBI, 24 SB

Thoughts: Walton emerged in 1989 and quickly became the talk of the windy city along with fellow rookie, Dwight Smith. Smith had the better mustache, but Walton had the better numbers (at least in 1989). I was a Cubs fan during these years and eagerly asked my father daily if Jerome had continued his hitting streak. As much as I wanted him succeed, I never wanted him to surpass Paul Molitor’s 39-game hitting streak. He didn’t. I do feel that Walton owes me a little bit of money. On three different occassions, I put down more than $10 on his 1989 Upper Deck Rookie Card. Walton still remains a fan-favorite in Chicago, but they’re still drinking Old Style, so that isn’t saying much.

Brett Butler

Name: Brett Morgan Butler

Nickname: Spike

Years Played: 1981 - 1997

Teams: Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets

Highlights/Awards: All Star in 1991, Branch Rickey Award in 1996, Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 1996, Led the NL in walks in 1991, Led the league in caught stealing in 1984, 1985 and 1991

Career Stats: .290, 54 HR, 578 RBI, 558 SB, 257 CS, 2375 Hits, 277 2B, 131 3B, 1359 R, 1129 BB

Best Season: 1990; .309 AVG, .397 OBP, 108 R, 192 H, 9 3B, 51 SB, 90 BB

Did You Know: He became the first batter Roger Clemens would face in the big leagues. Brett Butler is the only player to lead the National League in singles in four consecutive seasons (1990-1993).

Thoughts: Even though I followed the Dodgers in the early 90’s, I couldn’t stand Brett Butler. I imagine he must have been really annoying to play against. He’s like the guy who plays chuck-and-duck softball and just slaps the opposite field singles all day. He had one fo the weakest outfield arms ever to play in the majors. I’d like to see Juan Pierre and Butler on the radar gun, I bet neither of them could reach 65 MPH. He could sure lay down a bunt and get on base though, too bad he got thrown out stealing about 30% of the time.

Howard Johnson

Name: Howard Michael Johnson

Nickname: HoJo

Years Played: 1982 - 1995

Teams: Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs

Highlights/Awards: Won 2 Silver Slugger Awards, 2 All-Star Games, Led the NL in Home Runs, RBI, XBH and Sac Flies in 1991, Led the NL in Runs in 1989

Career Stats: .249 BA, .446 SLG, 228 HR, 760 RBI, 247 2B, 231 SB, 1053 K

Best Season: 1989; .287 BA, .559 SLG, 36 HR, 101 RBI, 41 2B, 41 SB

Did You Know: Three time member of the 30-30 club. First switch-hitter to lead the league in RBI. Current Mets hitting coach.

Thoughts: Loved the Mets in the 80’s and I remember HoJo as a scruffy looking, paunchy guy, not the kind of player you would expect to steal a lot of bases. He got ripped in the MVP voting in 1989 finishing 5^th. I’m alright with Kevin Mitchell winning it that year, he did hit 47 bombs, but HoJo should have been ahead of Clark, Guerrero and my least favorite player or all time, Sandberg. Last thought: How does a guy w/ a .249 career BA become the hitting coach for a major league team? That might explain some of the Mets problems in recent years.

Glenn Braggs

Name: Glenn Braggs

Nickname: Braggo, The Hulk

Years Played: 1986 - 1992

Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds

Highlights/Awards: Played Major League Ball, World Series Champ 1990

Career Stats: .270, 601 Hits, 102 2B, 16 3B, 70 HR, 321 RBI, 58 SB

Best Season: 1987; .269, 136 Hits, 28 2B, 7 3B, 13 HR, 77 RBI, 12 SB

Did You Know: Glenn Braggs is married to Cindy Herron, an original member of the female R&B group En Vogue. Braggs was a huge dude. He once swung so hard at a pitch that the bat broke on his back on the follow-through. He also broke a bat over his knee after striking out.

Thoughts: Though Glenn’s tenure in Milwaukee ended before he got quasi-famous for his strength and bat-breaking, I always thought he never lived up to his full potential. If he could have only been a better hitter, and less of a fence swinger, he probably would have stuck around a little longer. I once met him in the parking lot of County Stadium in Milwaukee, got his autograph somewhere.

Dennis Martinez

Name: Jose Dennis (Emilia) Martinez

Nickname: El Presidente

Years Played: 1976 - 1998

Teams: Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves

Highlights/Awards: 4 time All-Star (90,91,92,95), Oldest player in the league for 3 straight seasons (96-98)

Career Stats: 245-193, 3.70 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 2149 K, 3999 2/3 IP, 8 SV

Best Season: 1992; 16-11, 2.47 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 147 K, 226 1/3 IP

Did You Know: First Nicaraguan baseball player to play in MLB. Threw a perfect game on July 28, 1991 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. Was the last man to pitch to Kirby Puckett in a regular season game; he hit Puckett in the face and broke his jaw.

Thoughts: Good ol’ Rubber Arm Martinez. He’s no Jamie Moyer, but the guy was old. I don’t have many memories of Martinez other than his perfect game, I was a big Strawberry fan back in the day, so I remember it well. Other than that, I just remember that he pitched a lot.

Mark Gubicza

Name: Mark Steven Gubicza

Nickname: Goobs, Space

Years Played: 1984 - 1997

Teams: Kansas City Royals, Anaheim Angels

Highlights/Awards: 2 time All-Star, 3^rd in Cy Young voting in 1988, Led the AL in BB/9IP in 1994

Career Stats: 132-136 3.96 ERA, 42 CG, 1371 K, 786 BB, 58 HBP, 107 WP, 1.36 WHIP

Best Season: 1988; 20-8, 2.70 ERA, 183 K, 1.18 WHIP

Did You Know: He is the Royals career leader in Walks Allowed, Wild Pitches and Hit Batsmen

Thoughts: Most memories from my childhood turn out to be not totally accurate when revisited years later, but the three things I remember about Mark Gubicza: 1) hard throwing 2) wild 3) fantastic mullet, are absolutely true. Goobs had a couple of good/great years from 86 to 89, but he also logged 947 IP during those seasons. All of those innings obviously took a toll, because in the eight following years he only pitched a total of 910 innings.

Delino DeShields

Name: Delino DeShields

Nickname: Donny

Years Played: 1990 - 2002

Teams: Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs

Highlights/Awards: Placed second in Rookie of the Year Award voting in 1990, Led NL in triples in 1997 with 14

Career Stats: .268, 1548 Hits, 80 HR, 561 RBI, 244 2B, 74 3B, 463 SB

Best Season: [2000] .296, 166 Hits, 10 HR, 86 RBI, 37 SB

Did You Know: In 2001, he was the last out in Hideo Nomo’s no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles. He is currently the hitting coach for the Billings Mustangs in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Has a non-related blog named after him.

Sixto Lezcano

Name: Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras

Nickname: Six-Toe

Years Played: 1974 - 1985

Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates

Highlights/Awards: led American League outfielders in assists in 1978, won a Gold Glove in 1979, only player in Major League Baseball history to hit a grand slam on Opening Day twice

Career Stats: .271, 148 HR, 591 RBI, 184 2B, 34 3B, 37 SB

Best Season: 1979; .321, 28 HR, 101 RBI

Did You Know: he was part of a blockbuster 7-player trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, being one of four players traded in exchange for Rollie Fingers, Pete Vukovich, and Ted Simmons. Lezcano is presently the batting coach for the Danville Braves.

Doug DeCinces

Name: Douglas DeCinces

Nickname: Doug

Years Played: 1973-1987

Teams: Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, St. Louis Cardinals

Highlights/Awards: 1983 All Star, 3rd Place in MVP voting in 1982, 1982 Silver Slugger award for 3B, 2nd in the AL in Sac Flies in 1984 w/ 12

Career Stats: .259, 237 HR, 879 RBI, 312 2B, 29 3B, 58 SB

Best Season: 1982; .301, 30 HR, 97 RBI, 42 2B, 7 SB

Did You Know: Played one season in Japan before retiring in 1988. Was the agent for Troy Glaus.

Dave Winfield

Name: Dave Winfield
Nicknames: Winnie, Big Dave, Mr. Jay
Years Played: 1973 - 1995
Teams: San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians
Highlights/Awards: Hall of Fame 1st Ballot Inductee (2001), 12 Time All-Star, 7 Time Gold Glove, 6 Time Silver Slugger.
Career Stats: AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG .283 2,973 11,003 1,669 3,110 540 88 465 1,833 1,216 1,686 223 96 .355 .475
Best Season: 1979; .308, 34 HR, 118 RBI, 97 Runs, 15 Steals
Did You Know:

• Dave earned a full scholarship to the University of Minnesota in 1969, where he starred in basketball and baseball for the Golden Gophers.
• Winfield was the first San Diego Padre to enter the Hall of Fame.
• ESPN named Winfield the third-best all-around athlete of all time in any sport (2004).
• In 1983 Winfield was involved in a bird-killing incident during a game.

Chris Sabo

Name: Chris Sabo
Nickname: Spuds

Years Played: 1988 - 1996

Teams: Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals

Highlights/Awards: 3 time All-Star selection (1988, 1990, 1991), World Series Champ 1990, 1988 NL Rookie of the Year.

Career Stats: .268 | 116 HR | 428 RBI

Best Season: 1991; .301, 26 HR, 88 RBI, 175 Hits