Bad Wax

No new news on the HOA front, I still am anxiously awaiting their decision on my fence situation.  I was speaking to one of my college friends Jeff and although we were both upset over the WV smackdown that University of Arizona took in the first round of the tournament, we spoke about the popularity of baseball.  I told him how rough a time I was having drumming up players for fantasy baseball this year, that’s when he said that baseball is a dying sport.  I couldn’t agree more with that assessment.  He said that unless something is done for more parity in the league (salary cap), and have the season shortened, it would be tough for the game to receive more notoriety and it will continue to lose fans to football. I agree with the salary cap issue.  The luxury tax is a joke, you need a hard minimum and maximum cap, it should be set for 60 – 100 million.  This should satisfy the players and it would force teams to spend at least 60 million a year.  If you can’t afford that, then you shouldn’t be in the league.  If this means reducing the number of teams, the so be it.  But if the games in a season ever does get cut back, there will be less players needed anyway. I’ll continue on this tomorrow, but let’s rip into pack 44.

1. Glenn Davis – 1B – Astros – 389 – The Astros seem to know about judging first base talent.  Ever since the emergence of Davis, they have always had a very good hitting first baseman.  In 1984 Glenn had a cup of joe in the majors, but in 1985 he had his first starting season when he hit 0.271/20/64, so it goes without a doubt that they expected a monster season from him in 1986.  They weren’t disappointed, he hit 0.265/31/101 and came in second in NL MVP voting. A monster was born.

2. Sid Bream – 1B – Pirates – 589 – Then you have the opposite side of the spectrum for Sid Bream. Sid’s first three years in the bigs was quite disappointing. He came up with the Dodgers but was traded to the Pirates in 1985.  In 1986 the Pirates decided to give him a shot at first.  They were glad they did, because this former light hitting infielder went 0.268/16/77/13 in route to becoming the Pirates starting first basemen.  He becomes a bigger name once he moves on to Atalnta, but that’s going to eb for another set.

3. Mike Krukow – P – Giants – 752 – I like this picture because he is giving one of his best beefcake poses he could muster.  What is interesting, is if you look at his hat, it’s foam and mesh style.  I find this interesting because I always thought all the caps they wore were all cotton, but I guess, during practice they just used the foam and mesh kind.  Overall Mike was a sub 0.500 pitcher, that is until 1986 and he went crazy posting a 20-9/3.05/1.06 season, where he finished third in Cy Young voting that year and made is only All Star appearance.

4. Craig Gerber – SS – Angels – 222 – This was Craig’s rookie card, ooooo.  This would be Craig’s only card because 1985 would be the only time served in the bigs, he hit 0.264/0/6 in 91 glorious at bats.

5. Nate Snall – P – Orioles – 521 – Nate was drafted in 1976 and it took him until 1985 to make it to the bigs. In 1986 he was still a middle reliever and went 2-1/3.86/1.26, which isn’t too terrible and he would get one more year in the majors because of it.

6. Don Robinson – P – Pirates – 731 – Much like Krukow above, Don was also a sub 0.500 pitcher, but unlike Krukow, Don was a middle reliever and in 1986 he threw a 3-4/3.38/1.27 season.  Not bad and he would continue to be in the majors for another 10 years.  I like this picture because the Pirates hat is completely mesh and you can see his ‘fro through the mesh.

7. Kurt Kepshire – P – Cardinals – 256 – Kurt had a brief stint in the majors from 1984-1986 but 1986 was definitely his last year and in 2 games he went 0-1/4.50/1.50.

8. Lynn Jones – OF – Royals – 671 – Big glasses alert, but because of the way his head is shaped, these work pretty well for him.  Lynn had been a backup his entire career entering 1986 and I guess by 1986 he had worn out his welcome because it would be his final year in the pros.  He went 0.128/0/1 in 47 at bats.  Lynn has since moved on to become a coach and has worked in both the minor and majors as a hitting instructor.  Ironic isn’t it?

9. Bob Rodgers – MGR – Expos – 141 – Bob was better known as Buck, but who wants to be known as Buck Rogders, do you know how many jokes he must have heard in the mid 80’s when that show was popular. He coached various MLB teams from 1980 until 1994 .  By the way there is a screw up on the back of the card,  they have his place of birth as Delaware, O. and it should have been OH.

10. Mike Fischlin – SS/2B – Indians – 283 – This pack is getting more and more dismal by the second. 1986 would be Mike’s last year with over 100 at bats.  He was mainly a backup for any position in the infield which is why he lasted in the bigs as long as he did.  In 1986 he hit  0.206/0/3 with the Yankees.

11. Bob Clark – OF – Brewers – 452 – Double, first reviewed in pack 12.

12. Dan Schatzeder – P – Expos – 324 – Double, first reviewed in pack 30.
13. Alan Trammell – SS – Tigers – 130 – Double, first reviewed in pack pack 30.

14. Dale Berra – 3B – Yankees -  692 – Double, first reviewed in pack 8.

15. Jose Cruz – OF – Astros – 640 – Double, first reviewed in pack 32.

Overall this pack was crappy.  I had almost nothing to say about these guys who were mostly backups and in the last years of their careers.  I’ll give the pack a 1 star rating and it’s only because of the doubles.  Other than that, this is a great look at my fortitude as I push on to complete the set!  Don’t forget my fanasty baseball draft is today and if you want to play scroll down the pack 43 (next post) all the league info you need is there.