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