Pitching sequences. Cal Eldred x2.

I think that within another 5-7 years the role of the starting pitcher will be very different. I see each team having 7-8 guys who could go 3 innings each every 2nd or 3rd day. No more expecting the starter to go 6 or 7.

Swing sequences. Paul Molitor.

Blue Jays version.

Brewers version.

Sorry, no Twins version. I pretty much stopped collecting before he got to the Twins.

Somewhere I have a nice TTM 8x10 of Paul with the World Series MVP trophy from 1993. If I ever find it, I'll post it for sure.

Guest star card. Tony Fernandez (John Jaha)

I know this is just another common in another set, but for some reason it really strikes me as being a great card. Great action shot, great colors, and just look at how long Tony's fingers are. He could have been a pianist.

Tony was a great player to watch, especially during his first stint with the Jays. He had this great fake bunt play, where he'd square up as if to bunt, drawing in the 3rd baseman, then he'd chop at the ball and poke it over or through the left side of the infield.

Getting Tony back during the 1993 season was a great move by the Jays, and he was a big contributor to the 2nd World Series winners. He had 50 RBI in his 94 regular season games, and added 9 in the 6 World Series games.

Tony had FOUR separate stints with the Jays, and had career stats and achievements that warranted a lot more than 1 shot on the Hall of Fame ballot.

WTF cards. Cito Gaston & Tommy Harper.

So, both these guys "virtually rewrote their team's record books" in 1970. And in fact, they both had spectacular seasons. Cito never got near to that level again, and while Tommy had some other good seasons, 1970 was also his best.

So where's the WTF?

Well, rewriting a team's record book isn't really that big of a deal when in both cases, the team was only in its second season! Silly rabbits.

Career stats card. Robin Yount.

Not just any card, it's the Gold Rush parallel! 

Robin was a great player, and he sure was durable as well. Too bad he never got a ring.

Random cards. Cal Eldred & Mike Mussina.

In a couple of years the talk will start about whether Mike Mussina belongs in the Hall of Fame. I think he's got a good shot, and probably will get in after 4-5 ballots. Not getting a ring might work against him a bit, but I don't think it'll stop him.

Remember the 1997 ALCS vs Cleveland? Mussina gets 2 no decisions despite these stats.
15 IP, 4 hits, 1 run (earned), 4 walks and 25 K's.  Unreal. And the Orioles lost both those games.

Cal Eldred debuted the same season as the Moose. I though he was going to be the next big thing. I saw him pitch on TV a couple of times, and he just had "it", whatever "it" is.

Unfortunately, arm problems derailed Cal's potentially brilliant career. He did a nice job of reinventing himself as a reliever with the Cardinals later on, but I guess that 258 innings at age 25 was a bit much.

I requested autographs from both these guys through the mail back in the day, and they both replied. I would usually send doubles of the cards if I had them, and I'd let the player know in my little letter that they should keep the doubles for their own collection or to send out to others that maybe hadn't sent a card. Cal signed all 6 I sent him and sent them all back, which was a pretty nice thing to do.

That 1993 Flair set was one of the best ever for signatures. It had the perfect finish and never had any problems with beading like some other cards would.