Too Cool for Cardboard – Alex Cole

 

1993 Topps – Alex Cole

Alex Cole was so cool that the Cleveland Indians moved the fences back at old Municipal Stadium in order to accommodate his speed after a 40 steals in 63 games performance in 1990.  Well, the Indians went from 77-85 to 57-105 in 1991, they only hit 22 home runs at home in 1991, and Alex Cole went on to steal a grand total of 36 more bases for the Indians before moving on.

While things didn’t work out in Cleveland, or in Pittsburgh, Alex Cole showed in 1993 that he could still rock the shit out of a pair of sunglasses after being selected by Colorado with the 17^th pick in the 1992 Expansion Draft.  His one season with the Rockies wasn’t much to write home about, but at least he could pass for Willie Mays Hayes in a jam.  Now that’s cool.

Names I Can’t Believe Aren’t Famous – Howard Farmer

1990 Upper Deck - Howard Farmer

Do you think that somewhere in the Midwest or the Prairies there is a farmer working the fields with the last name Ballplayer?  Bit of a stretch, but if we’re going to have family names that describe an occupation, let’s at least try to get it right.  Howard Farmer was not a farmer, I think it is clear from his baseball card that he was a baseball player.  Gosh.

Interestingly, Howard Farmer and his younger brother Mike Farmer each pitched part of one season, but nothing more, in the Major Leagues – Howard pitched six games (and wore two jersey numbers) with the Montreal Expos in 1990, and Mike seven games with the Colorado Rockies in 1996.