Everyday Normal Guys – Barry Jones

1992 Donruss – Barry Jones

Barry Jones – just try to spell that name wrong, I dare you – was born in Centerville, Indiana in 1963 and attended Centerville High School.  Sounds like the name of a fictional American town from a 1950’s movie.

I’m not kidding.  Centerville, Indiana.  Real place.  Here is the first line from Centerville’s Wikipedia entry: “Centerville is a town in Center Township, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,552 at the 2010 census.”  The excitement.  The intrigue.

Jones pitched for five Major League teams, and other than leading the NL in games pitched in 1991 with 77, had a pretty average career toiling away in middle relief.  He even finished his career with a 33-33 win-loss record.  That’s pretty much the definition of average.

Way to keep it real, Barry.

Gary Carter, 1954-2012

1981 Donruss - Gary Carter

Tough loss for baseball today with the death of Gary Carter.  He’s remembered in a lot of places as a New York Met, and rightfully so, but for those of us in Canada, we’ll always think of him as a Montreal Expo.  In fact, he was such an Expo that the hometown on his baseball cards during those years was listed as Kirkland, Quebec, a Montreal suburb.  I wonder if he liked poutine and Labatt 50 too?  Thanks for all the great years.

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.

Badass Beards – Bryn Smith

1987 Topps - Bryn Smith

Bryn Smith (not Bryan, Bryn) was an underrated pitcher.  He went 18-5 with a 2.91 ERA with the 1985 Montreal Expos.  Bryn Smith also had an underrated beard.  What it lacked in dark colour it made up for in depth and thickness.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Too Cool For Cardboard – Tom Foley

1987 Topps - Tom Foley

Look at what’s going on here with Tom Foley:

-Powder blue uniform
-Tight pants, high stirrups
-Cement-like, neon green AstroTurf
-One batting glove
-Classic one-knee pose

I feel like I’m being screamed at by the 1980’s when I look at this card.

Foley is pulling the look off in a big way.  The photo reminds me of a quote I saw at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown a couple of weeks ago: “I stand at the plate in Philadelphia and I don’t honestly know whether I’m in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, or Philly.  They all look alike.” – Richie Hebner, Pirates Third Baseman

I think this one is Pittsburgh.  I really don’t know though.

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Fantastic Fashions – Montreal Expos Logo

1987 Fleer - Vance Law

I never understood this logo as a kid.  I always thought it was a J and a B together, and I could never figure out why that made sense for “Montreal Expos.”  Was it in French, maybe “joueurs de baseball?”

The best explanation I’ve found comes from the FAQ section at Uni Watch, which is a great site to check out if you’re OCD about shit like this… here it is:

What’s the Expos’ logo supposed to be?

Actually, there are two separate interpretations — one in English and one in French. English version: The overall outline of the logo is a stylized “M” for “Montreal” (you kinda have to squint to see this). The red “e” on the left is for “Expos,” and the blue “b” on the right is for “baseball.” Add it all up and you’ve got “Montreal Expos baseball.” The strip of white next to the “e” is essentially just wasted space — it’s not an “l” or anything like that. French version: The red symbol on the left is a “c,” which combines with the white strip to form a “d.” Toss in the “b” on the right and outlined “m” and you’ve got c-d-b-m, for Club de Baseball Montreal.

There you go.

Thanks, Vance Law, compliments of 1987 Fleer, for serving as our Expos model today.

Two Teams, One Player – 1990 Upper Deck, Oil Can Boyd

1990 Upper Deck - Oil Can Boyd (Lo Series)

1990 Upper Deck - Oil Can Boyd (Hi Series)

Things that need to be pointed out here:

-Awesome name… Oil Can.  You just don’t see that anymore, it’s too bad.
-Red Sox uniform: hat perched way up high for that “I can do whatever the fuck I want” effect
-Expos uniform: glasses off for that “Clark Kent/Superman” effect
-Both cards: just a hint of the mass of gold chains Oil Can was famous for wearing.  I remember one big delay in a game against the Blue Jays when someone had to come out and take them off for him, the umpires said it was distracting or something.

Two Teams, One Player – Bill Gullickson

I’ve always liked seeing two cards of the same player in the same set, playing for different teams.  I’m not sure why, I guess I just always thought it was cool that there could be two cards exactly the same, except with a different team logo and updated photo.  This section will be the place that I share some of the ones I like and find interesting.  Welcome aboard.

Leading us off in this category is Bill Gullickson from 1986 Topps.  Gullickson won 162 games in his career, including an AL-leading 20 in 1991 with the Detroit Tigers, after he’d played a few years in Japan.

1986 Topps - Bill Gullickson

Here is Bill’s base 1986 Topps card, number 229.  He is doing his best to make that Expos clown cap look good.

1986 Topps Traded - Bill Gullickson

Here is Bill’s 1986 Topps Traded card, number 42T.  I like that it’s the same style photo as the Expos card – cap, team jacket, no baseball action anywhere in sight.  The stats on the back are the same, but the “Talkin’ Baseball” feature now has a Reds fact instead of an Expos fact, and it shows that he was acquired via trade on 12-19-85.

1986 O-Pee-Chee - Bill Gullickson

1986 O-Pee-Chee - Bill Gullickson (Back)

Now, here is the unique twist to the Topps/O-Pee-Chee days, when the two companies shared similar designs – the 1986 O-Pee-Chee base card, number 229.  This one features the same photo as the Topps base card, but with the Reds team name and some text indicating “Now with Reds.”  The card back, however, is the Expos card back, not the Reds back – except bilingual, of course.  It needs to be bilingual for us Canadians to understand it – we get confused when something is printed with in just one language.

See?  Damn cool.

Names I Can’t Believe Aren’t Famous – Razor Shines

1986 Topps - Razor Shines

So I was tearing through an $8 box of 1986 Topps baseball, when I came across this card.  I was already thinking life was grand because of the glory of the ’86 Topps set, but this put it over the top for me that day.  I literally laughed out loud when I saw the name.  Razor Shines.  How the hell have I gone my whole life without knowing who this man is?

Seriously, look at the photo – this guy oozes cool.  You can just tell he’s pissed that the photographer made him take his aviators off before he took the photo, and you know he’s going to hold out as long as he can before he starts wearing batting helmets with the ear cover.  Those mutton chops creeping onto his cheeks are spectacular as well.

Razor actually never suited up for a game in 1986, but finished his illustrious career with two hits in 11 at-bats for the Expos in 1987.  Total Major League at-bats: 88.  Total Major League runs: zero.

Razor is now the first base coach for the New York Mets and is something of a Minor League legend, apparently.  Oh, the joys I find with Google.

Razor Shines is further proof that 1986 Topps may be the greatest set of all time with almost no financial value.