Johnny Paredes, Four Hits - 71

(This is the second of two posts on this card. The player is identified on the card as Jesus Paredes, who played in the Expos system, but did not play for Indianapolis in 1990. He was featured Saturday. The card was apparently intended for Johnny Paredes, who did play for Indianapolis in 1990. Johnny Paredes is featured today.)
When Johnny Paredes came to bat in the eighth inning of this July 1993 game, the outcome of the game had already been decided, his AAA Toledo team was up 8-0.

Paredes just wanted to continue what he'd been doing throughout the game, that was get hit, The Toledo Blade wrote.

"I knew I needed a home run for the cycle, but I didn't want to do it. I was looking for five hits," Paredes told The Blade after the game. "I did it one time in 1987 and I wanted to do it again."

Paredes ended up flying out to left, The Blade wrote. He would get few other chances to achieve the feat again. Paredes was playing at the end of an 11-season professional career, one where he'd made the majors in parts of three seasons.

Paredes' career began in 1982, signed by the Phillies out of his native Venezuela. He played two seasons in the Philadelphia system, playing at rookie league Helena and single-A Spartanburg, then was released.

Signing with the Expos for 1984, Paredes played the year at single-A West Palm Beach.
He hit .253 on the season, knocking in the winning run in a June game with an 11th inning double. He returned to West Palm Beach in 1985. He also briefly made AA Jacksonville in 1985.

At West Palm Beach that year, Paredes got off to a hot start. According to The Palm Beach Post, that start included hitting .348 by the end of May.

"Right now, he's one of the team leaders in almost every aspect," West Palm Beach manager Junior Miner told The Post in late May. "He's always getting on base, he's a good defensive player, and his batting average for this time of year is outstanding."

Paredes hit .315 at Jacksonville in 21 games that year. His average at West Palm Beach, however, sank to .261. Nonetheless, it was back to Jacksonville for 1986 and then AAA Indianapolis and that five-hit game in 1987.

It was in April 1988 that Paredes made his major league debut, going 1 for 3 April 29 at Houston. Paredes went on to play 35 games for the Expos that year, hitting just .187. He got two of his hits in a May game against the Dodgers, singling twice with the bases loaded and knocking in three. Paredes stayed up through the end of May, returning in September, called up with another Expos prospect, Randy Johnson.

Elbow problems sidelined Paredes for 1989. He returned in 1990, selected by the Tigers in the Rule 5 draft. In six games for the Tigers, Paredes hit just .125 and was offered back to the Expos. He returned to Indianapolis by May. Three more late-September games and Paredes' Expos career was over.

Released, Paredes signed back on with the Tigers, Paredes played another 16 games with Detroit in 1991, getting a total of six hits. Four of those hits came in one game, his first start after the call-up, matching his four-hit feat he would accomplish two years later at Toledo. But this feat was in the majors.

He had four singles in four at-bats, according to the wire account. He also scored three times. Those were Paredes' final games in the majors. He played most of 1992 in Japan and returned to Toledo for 1993 and that four-hit game, ending his career.

• West Palm Beach, May 30, 1985: Expos' Paredes Does It His Way
• Lewiston Sun Journal, Associated Press, Sept. 12, 1991: Tigers slow charging Sox, Part 2
• Toledo Blade, July 9, 1993: Mud Hens feed on home cooking

1990 CMC TallyCards Reviewed: 300/880 - 34.1%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 307
Made the Majors: 208 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 99 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 89
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84

Vacation 2010 - Omaha Wrapup, With Cards

Don't miss today's player: Jesus Paredes

Rosenblatt Stadium scoreboard from Aug. 25, 2010 with James Adduci stats. Adduci is the son of a CMC set player.

Getting back to our August vacation, I've got a few posts still to get up from that. Today, I'll wrap up our visit to the now-closed Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.

I already briefly touched on our visit back in September. I rushed the post to coincide with the final game at Rosenblatt. But there were a couple other things I wanted to talk about. First, it was Vietnam Veteran's Appreciation Night and the Disabled American Veterans sponsored an Omaha Royals card set that was given away. We picked up two.

Then there was the CMC connection at the game, the son of a CMC player and a coach from the set that was supposed to be there, but that I'm not sure was. The son of the CMC player was Iowa Cubs left fielder James Adduci, son of CMC player Jim Adduci. The coach was Iowa Cubs hitting coach Von Joshua.

Back to the cards, the set sponsored by the Disable American Veterans. There were 15 cards in the set. Right on top was, perhaps, along with Alex Gordon, the most famous in the set, Rick Ankiel. Ankiel signed with the Royals in the off-season, but played only 27 games in Kansas City. He played another 18 with Omaha, getting him a card in this set.

Ankiel, of course, went on to be traded to the Braves at the deadline. He also hit the game-winning home run in Atlanta's only win in the division series. Ankiel has his own CMC connections. He was referenced in my January feature of one-time Louisville pitching coach Mark Riggins.

Each of the cards has the Disabled American Veterans logo on the front. The backs are all the same, with information on the DAV group, what they do and their Web site. There's also a photo of a veteran with a bat. I would have liked to have a quick blurb about the veteran pictured, though.

The longest-serving minor leaguers in the set who have yet to make the majors were these two guys, Cody Clark and Irving Falu. Both have spent eight seasons in the minors without making the majors.

Clark has been with the Royals since 2007, playing at some point with AAA Omaha in all four seasons. He started with Texas, not making it higher than single-A, played a year with the Braves at single-A Rome in 2006 then joined the Royals system.

Falu has spent his entire minor league career with the Royals system. He made AA for good in 2007 at Wichita, then Omaha for good in 2009. This past year, he hit .272 in 119 games.

The longest-serving player was Matt Herges. Herges has been playing professionally since 1992, when he played at short-season Yakama with the Dodgers. He first made the majors seven years later, in 1999. He has since played in 11 major league seasons, his most recent in 2009. With Omaha, Herges got into 43 games and had a 4.63 ERA.

The other guy there is Scott Thorman, a veteran of two major league seasons, both with the Braves in 2006 and 2007. With Omaha in 2010, Thorman hit .280 and 22 home runs. One of those home runs came on our visit, a walk-off shot. A video of the shot is embedded in my previous Rosenblatt post.

To wrap up our August visit to Omaha, I went hoping to see Von Joshua, whom I'd recently featured here. He made the set as a coach for the Albuquerque Dukes. Joshua was the hitting coach this past year at Iowa. I didn't have a chance to really look for him, but in running over the player numbers, I didn't see his. So I never was sure if he was there.

But I was sure that James Adduci was there. Adduci's father Jim was a member of the CMC set as a player on the 1990 Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons. I featured the father back in March as the son fought for a spot on the Cubs' roster. The son didn't make the Cubs, spending the year at Iowa. With the Iowa Cubs, the son hit .248 with three home runs. When we were there, Adduci went 0 for 5.

Jesus Paredes, Stolen Bases and Errors - 71

(This is the first of two posts on this card. The player is identified on the card as Jesus Paredes, who played in the Expos system, but did not play for Indianapolis in 1990. The card was apparently intended for Johnny Paredes, who did play for Indianapolis in 1990. The feature on Johnny Paredes: Johnny Paredes, Four Hits.)

It was late June in 1988 and infielder Jesus Paredes' West Palm Beach Expos were taking on the St. Lucie Mets.

Jesus Paredes started off helping his Expos to a lead. He would ultimately help lead to a loss, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Paredes led off the third with a single, then stole second. It was another single by teammate Quinn Mack that gave the Expos a 1-0 lead, The Sun-Sentinel wrote.

Two innings later, it was Paredes' glove that failed him. Playing second base, Paredes booted a ball, allowing St. Lucie hitter Fritz Polka on. Polka ultimately scored, leading to a 2-1 Expos loss.

That third inning hit was one of four Paredes had with West Palm Beach in seven games that summer. He also had three other stolen bases.

But that error was also one of two Paredes had in those seven West Palm Beach games. Including two other stops on the year, Paredes was credited with 14 on the year.

The next year, at single-A Rockford, Paredes booted another 14 chances. It was his final year, his professional career ending short of AA and well short of the majors.

That year in 1988 was Paredes' third in the minors. Signed for 1986 out of his native Dominican Republic, Paredes spent his first year in rookie ball, in the Gulf Coast League. Paredes hit .298 there. He also had a triple and 51 total hits in 171 at-bats for the rookie league team. He also had 19 stolen bases.

For 1987, Paredes returned to the Gulf Coast League, playing 50 games and hitting .250 with another 21 swipes. A short 8-game stint at short-season Jamestown produced two more stolen bases, but also a .150 average.

It was Jamestown, Rockford and that stint at West Palm Beach in 1988. Paredes hit .290 in 24 games at Jamestown. Between the three, he hit just .235, but did steal 25 bases.

At Rockford in 1989, his final year, Paredes' average dropped to .214 with 20 stolen bases. He did not return for 1990.

• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, June 29, 1988: Error Helps Mets Down Expos 2-1

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Reviewed: 299.5/880 - 34.0%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 306
Made the Majors: 207 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 99 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 89
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84

Tales of Two Paredeses

Tonight's post was supposed to be the completion of my 300th card featured. I hit 300 total reviews a few days ago. The discrepancy lies in multi-player cards and cards intended for one player but naming another.

But the completion of the 300th card will have to wait until tomorrow. That is because the card the randomizer selected as the 300th is another error card, intended for one player but naming another.

This is the card identified as Jesus Paredes, member of the 1990 Indianapolis Indians. The problem is, the player Jesus Paredes, a member of the Expos system, never played for the Indianapolis Indians in 1990 or any other time. In fact, he didn't play anywhere in 1990. He was out of baseball, according to his Baseball Reference stats.

Who did play for Indianapolis in 1990 was infielder Johnny Paredes, according to Baseball Reference. Johnny Paredes played briefly in the majors in three seasons, with Montreal and with Detroit. A comparison with his 1989 Donruss card appears to show a photo match.

So I'll handle this one like the other error cards, with a separate feature on both intended players. The tale of Jesus Paredes is scheduled for this evening, with the tale of Johnny Paredes, and the official completion of my 300 card, scheduled for Sunday.

Along the lines of CMC names, anyone notice my feature of Alan Sadler the other day? His card lists him simply as Al Sadler. But, after doing several searches, and finding the listing for Alan Sadler on Baseball Reference, it was obvious that this 'Al' went by 'Alan'. There is an Al Sadler listed in the B-R database.

That Al Sadler didn't start playing until 1992, not to mention the different birth date. Since that Al Sadler came afterward and the CMC guys couldn't have intended the card for him, that Al Sadler doesn't get a feature.

In Jesus Paredes' case, he came before and was clearly mixed up with Johnny Paredes, with Jesus' name and stats and Johnny's photo. In that case, both Jesus and Johnny get features.

One other note. Maybe CMC could be forgiven for mixing up the Paredeses. Johnny Paredes hadn't been with the team long. Some of these players' transaction histories can help suggest when the team set rosters were set, what part of the season the photographers came to snap all the pictures.

With Johnny Parades, he didn't make it to Indianapolis until May 1, at the earliest. He'd spent April on a brief stint with the Tigers, before being returned to Montreal, who promptly sent him to AAA Indianapolis in time for CMC to confuse him with the other Paredes.

John Flaherty, Show Them - 262

John Flaherty was in a different spot in 1995 than he was a season earlier. In 1994, he was out to prove his old team made wrong decisions in bringing in other catchers to compete for the starting and backup jobs.

"I want to show them that my hitting's come on and, hopefully, make them think twice about some things," Flaherty told The Associated Press in March 1994, two weeks before being shipped to the Tigers.

But with the Tigers, he found a home. He only played 34 games for the Tigers that year. But the next, in 1995, Flaherty was in 112, hitting 11 home runs. By the end of June, his Tigers were going to Fenway.

He told The Hartford Courant he felt he'd already proven the trade was a mistake for the Red Sox. It was time to move on.

"This is my first time back at Fenway and I saw a lot of good people I played with in the minors,'' Flaherty told The Courant. "This is the organization that signed me and gave me the opportunity to play in the major leagues. My feelings for the Red Sox are nothing but positive.''

Flaherty went on to a career that spanned 14 major league seasons, and went through Detroit, San Diego, Tampa and the Bronx. His career is continuing today as a reporter and analyst for the YES Network.

Flaherty's career began in 1988, taken by the Red Sox in the 25th round of the draft out of George Washington University. He hit AAA Pawtucket in 1990 and then debuted with Boston in April 1992.

That first year with Boston resulted in only 35 appearances for Flaherty. He hit just .197. His second year was worse. He got into only 13 games and hit .120. Then came spring 1994 and the trade to the Tigers.

Getting daily playing time with the Tigers in 1995, Flaherty improved his average to .243. In 1996, he hit .284 on the year in 119 games. Mid-year, Flaherty was sent to the Padres, hitting .303 in 72 games. He was also in the middle of a pennant race.

"Obviously, I was excited," Flaherty told The New York Times of the trade. "I think that's an understatement. For me, it's the first time being in a pennant race. It's something every player looks forward to in his career."

Flaherty hit .273 in 129 games for the Padres in 1997. After the season, the Padres sent Flaherty to the fledgling Devil Rays, where he stayed through 2002.

With the Rays, Flaherty broke up a Pedro Martinez no-hit bid in late August 2000. Earlier in that month, Flaherty hit a walk-off against the White Sox. "I was probably as focused on that at-bat as I've ever been in my career," Flaherty told The AP after his walk-off.

Flaherty signed with the Yankees for 2003, staying with the Bombers through 2005. According to his YES profile, he is best remembered for another walk-off, a walk-off single in 2004, beating the Red Sox. It was the same game as Derek Jeter's famous dive into the stands.

"That was one of the craziest wins we've seen," Flaherty told reporters afterward.

• Meriden Record-Journal, Associated Press, March 16, 1994: Clemens continues to impress
• Hartford Courant, June 30, 1995: Flaherty Turns Out To Be Catch
• New York Times, July 28, 1996: From Also-Rans to Pennant Contenders in a Day
• CBSNews.com, Associated Press, Aug. 12, 2000: D-Rays Walk Off With Win
• WSOCTV.com, SportsNetwork, July 2, 2004: Yankees Sweep BoSox

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Reviewed: 299/880 - 34.0%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 305
Made the Majors: 207 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 98 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 89
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84

Matt Kinzer, Last Chance - 382

The Tigers were already down to the White Sox 6-4. If they had hopes of coming back, they needed a stop. Matt Kinzer was called on to do that. It didn't turn out as Kinzer or the Tigers had hoped.

Two singles, two walks and a double later and the White Sox had scored four more. Kinzer quieted down in the ninth, but by then it was too late.

"I'm down right now, but I know it won't be my last chance," Kinzer told The Toledo Blade afterward. "Hopefully, I'll come on in a better situation next time and get the job done. I know I definitely didn't impress anybody."

Aside from his second inning, Kinzer didn't impress anybody. He also didn't get another chance. Kinzer's outing that day was his first and last with the Tigers. It was also his ninth and last appearance in the majors.

Kinzer's career began in 1984, taken by the Cardinals in the second round of the draft out of Purdue. Kinzer came out of Purdue, where he played both baseball and football, his football time spent as a punter. The punter part would later make him the answer to a trivia question.

His baseball career began with the Cardinals at AA Arkansas. He went 5-6 with a 4.46 ERA with the Travelers. He wouldn't see AA again until 1987. In the meantime, he pitched at single-A Springfield in 1985 and single-A St. Petersburg in 1986.

At Springfield, Kinzer suffered a torn rotator cuff, surgery cutting short his season, according to the St. Petersburg Times. At St. Petersburg, Kinzer routinely worked six innings, though his numbers weren't the best, The Times wrote in June.

After a September six-inning playoff outing, where his team won 4-1, Kinzer told The Times he didn't feel on that night. "I didn't have a good fastball and I'm a fastball, power pitcher," Kinzer told The Times.

It was in fall 1987 that Kinzer got the first part of his trivia question. During the National Football League strike, Kinzer served as a replacement punter for the Detroit Lions. The second part came in his outing in 1990 for the Tigers, with Kinzer playing for both the Detroit football team and the baseball team.

Returning to baseball for 1988, Kinzer returned to AA Arkansas, then hit AAA Louisville. It was in May 1989 that Kinzer made his major league debut with the Cardinals.

Kinzer had two scoreless relief appearances, The Associated Press wrote, before getting his first start May 23. He gave up seven hits and six runs in just over two innings against the Reds.

"The Reds hit a pitcher who didn't quite have his stuff," Kinzer told The AP. "I was real nervous, real anxious. I'm not making excuses, but that might have been part of it."

That outing was Kinzer's only start. He stayed with the Cardinals through early June, then returned in September for two more outings in relief. One of those September outings came against the Mets. In one inning, Kinzer gave up three earned runs. He had an ERA of 12.83 on the year.

That off season, the Cardinals sent Kinzer and another player to the Tigers for three players in return. Kinzer had 15 outings at Toledo, plus the one with Detroit. before being released by The Tigers in July. Kinzer signed briefly with Baltimore, playing three games at AA Hagerstown, ending his career.

Kinzer later became a scout for the Devil Rays, then an agent. He has also served as assistant baseball coach for Taylor University. His son, Taylor Kinzer, was drafted by the Angels in 2009 and played last year in rookie ball.

Among his clients as an agent has been pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, or "Hawk." The Houston Chronicle wrote in 2009 how Kinzer used his pitching experience to help Hawkins extend his career.

"With Hawk, or with any pitcher, if there's a little bit of error, it offsets tempo and rhythm,” Kinzer told The Chronicle. "It's more trusting the mechanics. He's brilliant on the mental side. He's been in the game long enough to know how to compete and adapt. It was just getting his mechanics worked out."

• St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 4, 1986: Silver, Amante lift City Cards into series lead
• Meriden Record-Journal, Associated Press, May 24, 1989: Dibble tossed for tossing bat
• Toledo Blade, May 26, 1990: Chicago defeats Tigers, Part 2
• Houston Chronicle, July 1, 2009: Commentary: Luck changes with scenery for Hawkins

1990 CMC Tally 
Cards Reviewed: 298/880 - 33.9%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 304
Made the Majors: 206 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 98 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 88
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84

Alan Sadler punted in college, saw 8 seasons in pro baseball

The fifth metatarsal of Alan Sadler's left foot had been broken four times since the past season, The Palm Beach Post wrote. There were the two times he broke it playing basketball, the one time running and the fourth time just walking on a golf course.

But he was still being looked at to start -- as the punter on the football team.

"The only way he can break it again," University of Maryland trainer J.J. Bush told The Post in September 1982, "is to break the stainless steel screw Dr. (Stanford) Lavine put in recently. If it's not one thing it's another with this guy."

And, if it wasn't football with Sadler, it was baseball. Sadler also pitched on the University of Maryland baseball team, finally choosing baseball as his full-time sport, turning pro and starting eight seasons as a professional. He just wouldn't start, or do anything else, in the majors.

Sadler started his pro career in 1984, selected by the Brewers in the 11th round. He signed with Milwaukee, giving up his final year of eligibility at Maryland, The Baltimore Sun wrote.

Sadler spent his first year at rookie-league Paintsville. He hit single-A Beloit in 1985 then single-A Stockton and AA El Paso in 1986. He didn't first make AAA until 1989 with Denver.

But he also got into his share of injuries as a pitcher, according to The Milwaukee Sentinel. He pitched in just 14 games in 1987 and another 14 in 1988. At AAA Denver in 1989, Sadler was 8-10 with a 4.25 ERA. In a May game, Sadler threw 7.2 innings, striking out six in a 4-1 Denver win.

By August, Brewers manager Tom Trebelhorn threw Sadler's name, among others, as a possible September call-up. But Sadler wasn't called up. Still, in November 1989, Sadler was placed on the Brewers 40-man roster.

"The injuries have held him back, but we still feel he has a good enough arm and stuff to pitch in the major leagues," Brewers assistant GM Bruce Manno told The Sentinel. "He could be a late bloomer."

Invited to spring training for 1990, Sadler found himself sent back down to Denver before the spring was out. At Denver in 1990, Sadler pitched in just 12 games with an ERA of 5.50. Contributing to his sparse year were more arm problems, The Milwaukee Journal wrote.

Sadler continued rehabbing into 1991, returning to Denver. But he got into just two more games and 5.1 innings. He gave up seven earned runs. His career ended short of the majors.

• Palm Beach Post, Sept. 9, 1982: Second-Guessers Might Have Feasted on Gators' Strategy
• Milwaukee Sentinel, Nov. 18, 1989: Three openings on Brewer roster

More: The 1990 Denver Zephyrs

1990 CMC Tally 

Cards Reviewed: 297/880 - 33.8%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 303
Made the Majors: 205 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 98 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 88
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84

CMC WS Tally and Derby Honeymoon

I stopped by the local pharmacy the other day to print out some pictures from our August vacation and picked up one of those 24-packs of Topps cards, you know, the one with the gum. It was a rather uninteresting pack, for those Elvis Andrus and Vladimir Guerrero cards.

Of course, both are integral parts of the 2010 American League Champion Texas Rangers. And both will be playing right there at AT&T Park tonight for Game 1 of the World Series.

The vacation photos remind me that I still have some vacation posts to write about, a vacation we went on two months ago. Among the posts, probably the least pressing, are some 2010 Topps cards I picked up at a couple Casey's General Stores back home.

They also remind me of another vacation, three years ago, the one where that photo of AT&T Park is from. That vacation was actually our honeymoon, that included attendance at the 2007 All Star Game and Home Run Derby. I'll get to that a little bit more later.

For now, I've got a couple World Series thoughts and notes. There are the CMC-related thoughts and the non-CMC-related thoughts.

The CMC-related thoughts center around the World Series teams' extended coaching staffs. I've already covered Ron Washington, now the first CMC set member to pilot a team to the Fall Classic. But there are other CMC set members on the extended coaching staffs. Including Washington, there are five in all. And Washington is the only one yet featured here.
Washington is joined on the Rangers by two other set members, pitching coach Mike Maddux and, on the extended staff, baserunning coordinator Wayne Kirby.

On the Giants' side are batting coach Hensley Meulens and then catching coordinator Kirt Manwaring.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy might be considered an honorary CMC set member. In 1990, Bochy was managing the single-A Riverside Red Wave. Only managers in AAA made the CMC set. But he did play a prominent role in my April feature of Vince Harris. Harris praised future two-time World Series manager to the Los Angeles Times, saying he was a good manager to play for.

Back to tonight's game, and that Guerrero I pulled from that pack of 2010 Topps I picked up. Some has been noted of the Rangers hitters having few, if any, looks at Giants pitchers. But some, notably Guerrero, have seen the park and had success there.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to spend our Honeymoon in San Francisco for the 2007 All-Star festivities. We got to go to both the Home Run Derby and the game itself. I remember none of the home runs went into the bay. The big feature of the park and the derby and it didn't happen once.

I also remember trying to heckle the throng of kids in the outfield for dropping fly balls. That was fun. Of course, with my voice and how far away we were (second row from the top) I was lucky if the people in the next row heard me. But, really, I know you're kids and all, but you've got to catch those.

And I just remembered, looking over our pictures from the derby, the coolest shirt we saw there. It read simply "Baseball isn't boring. You are." Awesome.

Then there was Guerrero's big win, in the park that now three years later, he's playing his first World Series game at. I just checked Wikipedia to refresh my memory on the home run total, Guerrero hit 17 total, and three in the final for the win. We'll see if he can continue that success tonight.

And here is a wide shot of the field. Sorry, somehow we got a few fingers in the frame.

Rusty Richards, Hometown Pitcher - 280

Rusty Richards was pitching that night, his second major league start, in Houston for the visiting Braves. But it might as well have been a home game for the right-hander.

Richards grew up in Houston. Everyone he knew, or so it seemed, was there.

"I had 32 passes and I'm sure there were a lot more (friends) here," Richards told The Associated Press.

All those friends, however, didn't see a good outing from their hometown pitcher. He went just four innings and gave up three runs. But, what no one knew at the time, was that that night, they saw Richards pass the halfway point in a major league career that spanned just three games.

Richards made the majors that September after four seasons in the minors. He began in 1986, taken that January in the seventh round of the draft.

He played that first year at the rookie Gulf Coast League Braves. In 1987, he hit single-A Sumter and single-A Durham, going 9-13 between them, with an ERA of 4.16.

At Sumter, in May 1987, Richards threw seven innings, giving up two runs, but got the loss. Richards was 3-3 with a 3.19 ERA before being sent to Durham.

Richards made AA Greenville in 1988 and then AAA Richmond in 1989. At Richmond, Richards was 11-11 with a 3.81 ERA. He got his first call-up to Atlanta that September, making his debut against the Astros in Atlanta.

In his debut, Richards went 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and two runs. His braves were up 6-2 when he left. That soon turned into a 7-6 loss, depriving Richards of his first win, something he would never get.

That Richards and other rookie Braves were even playing in games that had an impact on the pennant race, had some upset, including Padres manager Jack McKeon.

But Richards got his two starts and it was back to Richmond for 1990. But he got his call back on July 1. It was a brief call-back. Richards got into only one game and one inning on this final trip to the majors. On July 6, Richards pitched the ninth, the Braves down 7-3. When he was done, it was 10-3.

Richards finished out the year at Richmond. He returned briefly to Richmond for 1991, but then was off to the Twins system, playing at AA Orlando. It was Orlando again for 1992, going 4-7 with a 5.12 ERA, ending his professional career.

Back in that second major league game, at the Astrodome, Richards started off the game with a walk and a Craig Biggio two-run home run. Richards was hard on himself later, speaking to The AP.

"The pitch to Biggio was a fast ball with no juice on it," Richards told The AP. "I haven't pitched to my capabilities up here but I'm trying to throw strikes."

• Waycross Journal-Herald, Associated Press, Sept. 26, 1989: Braves' Texans Master Astros

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Reviewed: 296/880 - 33.6%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 302
Made the Majors: 205 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 97 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 88
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84

1982 Topps - Hoofdklasse Honkbal Edition

I was fully prepared to start off this post with a breakdown of some Hoofdklasse Honkbal, but that will have to wait for a little later. But first, I have to note the big change in the Yankees coaching staff. That change was the firing of CMC set member Dave Eiland.

Eiland was among my first features on this blog and, as such, it was a pretty sparse feature. So I'll have to get back to it again, hopefully after he finds another team.

But, back to 1982 Topps and the Hoofdklasse Honkbal. This Topps pack was the last pack I picked up on our recent trip to Cooperstown. It was also the most expensive, marked at $6. There's a good reason for that, of course. That's the possibility of getting the Ripken rookie. Before anyone asks, no I didn't get the Ripken rookie. I did get the coveted Kent Hrbek rookie, though.

There are actually two reasons this is the Hoofdklasse Honkbal Edition. The first is because of the guy to the left, Stan Bahnsen. Bahnsen was a veteran of 16 major league seasons and a pitcher sometimes referred to by the nickname The Bahnsen Burner, according to Baseball Reference's Bullpen.

Bahnsen's final appearance in the majors came the year his card came out, in 1982. But he continued pitching long afterward. In 1989, according to B-R's Bullpen, Bahnsen returned to play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association, along with several CMC set members, including Ron Washington and Danny Boone, as well as his pack-mate and former Expo teammate Grant Jackson.

But it was his time after that, when he was 46 that makes this post the Hoofdklasse Honkbal Edition. Hoofdklasse Honkbal is the a Dutch professional baseball league. And it's actually been around since the 1920s. According to B-R's Bullpen, the league plays a short, 42-game schedule, mostly on the weekends. But that was apparently a good schedule for a 46-year-old.

Bahnsen's packmate Grant Jackson had his own long career, 18 seasons in the majors. He only pitched for the Expos briefly, 10 games in 1981. His most wins came in 1969 with 14. That year he also got his most losses, 18.

As far as Hall of Famers, there weren't any in the pack. I did get the guy to the right, an expected future Hall member, Bert Blyleven. Blyleven is, of course the other Honkbal connection. While he never played in the league, Blyleven is the most famous Honkbal player from the country. And, of course, he has also been on the brink of becoming the first Dutch-native in the Hall of Fame.

Ron Cey's In action card was there, as well. Apparently, he had no worthy highlights after 1978, with All-Star, Championship Series and World Series highlights on the back of his card all from then or before.

Unlike the last 1981 Fleer pack, there were no direct CMC set members in the 1982 Topps pack. A direct reference did come in the Twins checklist. There, No. 438, is Pete Mackanin, who would go on to manage the Nashville Sounds. Note the absence from the checklist of the Hrbek rookie, along with his cardmates Lenny Faedo and Tim Laudner.

Other last things to note, I got this sticker of Larry Herndon. The sticker is actually smaller than it appears, maybe the mini of its day. I'm sure I've seen the stickers before, but I didn't realize they actually came in packs. The sticker back reads to "ask your dealer" about the Topps sticker album.
I also got the Dale Murphy entry in the set, which brought to mind Larry over at Emerald City Diamond Gems. He's a Murphy collector. I see he's looking for the 1980 and 1983 Murphys, but not the 1982 one. He's also a Tony Gwynn collector and I pulled an 84 Topps Gwynn from one of my original Cooperstown packs and shipped that one off to him a while back.

Alex Diaz, Type of Game - 374

Alex Diaz was no Ken Griffey Jr., that was clear. But, when Griffey went down for three months with a wrist injury in the summer of 1995, there Diaz was, patrolling Griffey's center field in Seattle's Kingdome.

Diaz just went out to play his own type of game.

"They need to understand what type of game I play," Diaz told The Associated Press just over a week after Griffey went down. "I'm not a power hitter like Ken Griffey Jr. I play pretty good defense, I have a pretty good arm and I can run. I'm the type of guy who plays hard and tries to help my team in every game."

Diaz played in 103 games for the Mariners that year, his fourth in the majors. He got 27 RBIs on the year and stole 18 bases. His average was .248. But he did help get the Mariners along to Griffey's August return, en route to Seattle's first division championship.

That season in 1995 came Diaz' ninth season in professional baseball. Diaz was signed by the Mets in 1986 as an undrafted free agent. His first playing time came the next year, in 1987 at rookie league Kingsport and short-season Little Falls.

Diaz first made AA in 1989 at Jackson then AAA Tidewater for 1990. With the Tides, Diaz hit .256 with 36 RBI and 26 stolen bases. Then it was off to the Expos system, traded there in a four-player deal that included Terrel Hansen. Assigned to AAA Indianapolis, Diaz had two RBIs in an early April game.

Another trade, in October 1991, and Diaz was with the Brewers, the organization his father Mario Diaz played for in the 1970s, according to The Milwaukee Journal. Diaz played much of 1992 at AAA Denver, but he did receive two looks at the majors, getting into 22 games.

That next spring, Diaz got a longer look, and he impressed.

"He's been one of the guys who has been lighting up my eyes," Brewers manager Phil Garner told The Journal that spring. "He comes to spring training, he's put about 10 pounds on and he's knocking balls off the walls and in the gaps. He still runs good and his arm is outstanding."

But it was a rocky start to the regular season. The speedy Diaz got his first start in center field April 12, then hit into two double plays. That slow start continued in to early May, when he broke his ankle in his own run-in with an outfield wall. He returned for September, heating up enough to bring his average up to .319.

By way of an injury to another player, Diaz was in the Brewers' opening day lineup for 1994, getting two hits and batting in three.

"Everybody wants to start the first game of the season," Diaz told The Journal. "I called all of my family and told them to watch the game on TV."

Diaz played nearly the full season with the Brewers, going on the disabled list in early August with a strained elbow, according to the Associated Press. But he didn't miss much. The strike started shortly afterward.

But his time with the Brewers was done. Milwaukee placed him on waivers and that's when the Mariners claimed him, just in time for Diaz to take over for Griffey.

With Griffey healthy again, Diaz was only needed for 38 games in Seattle in 1996 and was released. After briefly going back to the Mets, Diaz signed with the Rangers. It was the Giants for 1998 and the Astros for 1999, his major league career ending after parts of eight seasons.

Diaz went on to be credited with three Mexican League seasons, his last in 2003, his professional career finally coming to a close.

• Milwaukee Journal, March 8, 1993: 1st helping at 2nd is hard to swallow
• Milwaukee Journal, April 6, 1994: Opportunistic Diaz is an unlikely hero, Part 2
• Bowling Green Daily News, Associated Press, June 4, 1995: Mariners' Diaz taking advantage of opportunity

1990 CMC TallyCards Reviewed: 295/880 - 33.5%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 301
Made the Majors: 204 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 97 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 88
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84

1981 Fleer: CMC Jackpot

As I mentioned earlier, the 1981 Fleer set obviously came out nine years before my CMC set. But there are players from the 1981 set in the CMC set, either still as players or as coaches.

I'm not sure exactly how many, I tried to figure that out, but got bored quickly. But there there, trust me. In my first two packs of 1981 Fleer I picked up in Cooperstown, I struck out completely, having to rely on checklists or derivative CMC connections.

This third and final pack, however, fittingly was last. There were not one, but two, count them, two direct CMC set members in this pack. That's them up top. Aurelio Rodriguez and Harry Spilman.

I featured Spilman back in June, actually just before Manny Ramirez' return to Fenway. That was fitting because Spilman was right there at the beginning for Ramirez, getting young Manny to call his mom.

That's the 1981 and 1990 Spilmans side-by-side. Those observant enough to notice might see an extra 'l' on Spilman's CMC card. That was CMC's mistake, not the only spelling error in the set.

As far as Rodriguez, I have yet to feature him. A quick preview for sometime in the future: Rodriguez played 17 years in the majors as a player, his last year in 1983. He started 1990 as a coach on the Toledo Mud Hens. The side-by-side CMC and Fleer cards are there. But he soon left Toledo with the start of the New York-Penn league in June, managing the Niagara Falls Rapids.

Elsewhere in this cool pack was the guy right there, who was just all over the place. That's Bob Cox, manager of the Braves in 1981 and manager of the Braves in 2010. Actually, the back of his card uses his more familiar first name, Bobby. But on the front, Bob it is.

Cox would also be the only Hall of Famer in the pack. Garvey there didn't make the baseball Hall, the closest he got was north of 40 percent in his first try. But, according to Wikipedia, Garvey is a member of two other Halls of Fame, the Michigan State Athletics hall and the Irish American Hall.

One of these last two is a player I pointed out recently, yesterday in fact. That's Gary Lucas. I just got his 1985 Topps card in that pack and the very next pack, from four years earlier, I got him again. That's after I'd already gotten a card of his autographed back in the 90s and was at a game that he was at just this past season.

Lucas was coaching then for Beloit of the Midwest League, at Burlington. Also in the Midwest League this past season, as well. That's John Tamargo. He has enjoyed a long coaching career after his playing days ended. This past year, he managed the Clinton LumberKings, a team we considered seeing this past year before deciding on Burlington.

Hugh Kemp showed college competitiveness, saw 8 pro seasons

The big story of the day was the pitching of Georgia's Hugh Kemp, according to The Gainsville Sun. Kemp struck out 11 Florida Gators and gave up only three hits in this April 1983 contest, the first of two on the day.

"We had our chances in the first game, but the credit has to go to Kemp," Florida coach Jack Rhine told The Sun. "The kid's a competitor and a first-class guy."

Kemp became the story enough for the Reds to take notice. Cincinnati selected him that June in the 13th round of the draft. But, while his story would include eight seasons in professional baseball, his story ended without him reaching the majors.

Kemp started that first year for the Reds at short-season Billings and he pitched well. He went 9-3 with a 2.21 ERA. The next year, he made single-A Cedar Rapids, going 11-9 with a promising 2.79 pitching mark.

For 1985, Kemp divided time between three levels, single-A Tampa, AA Vermont and AAA Denver. His ERAs at AA and AAA increased, but they were still respectable.

His promotion to Vermont came amid a personal scoreless streak, according to the Schenectady Gazette. Kemp was sent to Vermont by mid-June, after 44-straight scoreless frames there. At Vermont, Kemp added another 13 scoreless frames, The Gazette wrote.

The Greatest 21 Days caught up with Hugh Kemp in March 2011, read the interview: Hugh Kemp, Lessons Learned

His 3.12 mark at Denver came in seven starts. Not helping his ERA was an August outing. Against Iowa, Kemp gave up four runs by the second inning. He worked five innings and gave up those four runs, according to an Associated Press account.

By November, the Reds promoted Kemp to their 40-man winter roster, The AP wrote. But it was back to AAA Denver for 1986, the entire year. It was AAA that Kemp would see for the remainder of his professional career, a total of five-straight seasons.

His ERA would also stay north of 4 for the remainder of his professional career. At Denver in 1986, Kemp was 10-7 in 28 starts with a 4.11 ERA. He took one of his losses in an August game. It was a 3-2 loss to Omaha, the O-Royals rallying in the seventh, according to The AP.

Kemp stayed with the Reds' system through 1989, putting in three seasons at AAA Nashville. By 1989, Kemp's ERA had ballooned to 5.34 in 31 starts. His record stood at 6-9.

By December 1989, Kemp had signed with the Pirates. Another year at AAA, this time at Buffalo, and Kemp was done. He returned for spring training 1991, but the Pirates released him before camp was out.

• Gainsville Sun, April 24, 1983: 2nd-Game Win Earns Gators Split, Part 2
• Schenectady Gazette, June 15, 1985: Bradley Getting Back on Track

More: The 1990 Buffalo Bisons

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Reviewed: 294/880 - 33.4%
Players/Coaches Reviewed: 300
Made the Majors: 203 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 97 - 32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 87
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 84