Happy Birthday Tim Wallach: Two Autographed Cards

Well, it's my birthday, and as is customary on my birthday, I will be featuring a pair of cards from Tim Wallach, who was also born on September 14th, albeit over 20 years before me:

Since the last time I featured him, he's been named a bench coach for the Miami Marlins, a team I'm surprised still exists, considering it's owned by Jeffrey Loria. This Loria, and this one as well.

His son Chad was a Marlins draftee - which perhaps helped convince him to continue his coaching career there - while his two other sons, Matt and Brett, were drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Matt and Chad are both products of California State University Fullerton, as was their father, the first from that school to hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat.

At 260 career home runs, Wallach is tied with Derek Jeter, Eric Chavez, and Javier Lopez for 195th all-time. He is right outside the top-100 for career doubles and was a force defensively (click on the picture for higher resolution:

Most cards, however, picture him at bat, usually post-swing, wearing the Expos' powdered blue (away) 1980s uniform, as is the case with these two, which he signed in blue sharpie; first, here is card #263 from Fleer's 1983 Fleer set, one that carries a similar design to those of Donruss at the time:

And there's card #198 from Fleer's 1988 Fleer set, with what I felt was a wildly original yet hard on the eyes design at the time, that I now am blasé about in terms of a "wow" factor and just feel looks ridiculous:

I'll never feel blasé about Wallach, however, who definitely makes the starting third baseman position on my All-Expos All-Time team.

Jay Tibbs Autographed Card

Jay Tibbs was a pitcher who was best used as a middle reliever and sixth/backup starter. Many times, he could keep the opposition within reasonable distance, as can be attested by the four and a half times his ERA was below the 4.00 mark.

He only had two winning seasons (out of seven), but his two summers with the Montréal Expos - 1986 and 1987 - were close to that, as he posted 7-9 and 4-5 records, respectively, pitching a career-high 117 strikeouts in 1986.

He signed this 1988 Topps card (#464 in the collection by Topps) for me in thick black sharpie in the summer of 1988, when his Baltimore Orioles visited the Toronto Blue Jays - as did I:

(please forgive the cat hair that made its way onto my scan, and the checkmark that was on the penny sleeve)

He represents #50 in my Expos Numbers Project.

Fun fact: he played one of Ty Cobb's teammates in the 1994 biopic starring Tommy Lee Jones, in one of his finest performances.

Andy McGaffigan Autographed Card

As a kid, I generally preferred my baseball cards to be action shots, but this one of Andy McGaffigan's - from Topps' 1988 Topps set (card #488), which he signed in black sharpie - always makes me happy, firstly because of his terrific mustache, but also because of the look on his face, which shows a sense of humour:

McGaffigan holds the distinction of having played twice for both the Montréal Expos and San Francisco Giants and having also belonged to the Cincinnati Reds twice - they'd initially drafted him in 1974, left him unsigned, and traded for him in 1984.

He was a dependable reliever who could fill in as a starter on a whim, which was extremely helpful to managers.

He also had some decent dodging moves, as can be attested by this video:


He's also a welcome addition to my Expos Numbers Project, filling in at #27.

Mitch Webster: 3 Autographed Cards

Here's me checking off #23 from my Expos Numbers Project with these three cards of outfielder Mitch Webster:

I don't know about you, but to me, despite being from cards two years apart, the pictures seem like they're from the same at-bat, or at the very least the same game, judging by the shapes and colours of the people behind him compared to where he's at in his swing...

Webster played in the majors for 13 seasons, and was specifically with the Montréal Expos from 1985 until 1988; he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Dave Martinez when Hubie Brooks took over right field duties. Webster may have led the National League in triples (with 13) in 1986, but The Natural never batted for .300, and it was believed that Martinez might (and did twice with the Chicago White Sox a few years later) - and Martinez was more dependable defensively.

I keep forgetting Webster started out with the Toronto Blue Jays. That's icky. He's a scout for the Kansas City Royals nowadays - the Midwest Regional Scouting Supervisor, in fact.

But back to the cards. Here's card #523 from Leaf's 1986 Donruss set, of which I only bought singles (usually commons) in 1989-1991:

And here's card #257 from Leaf's 1988 Donruss collection, of which I bought tons of wax and cello packs while vacationing in Florida that summer:

As I said, the pictures are eerily similar, both showing him in the team's powder blue classic away uniform. He signed them in different blue sharpies, which dates them around 1995 to me - while he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers - and means he was using someone else's pens, probably during pre-game warmups.

Tim Raines: 5 Autographed Cards

I usually post personal stuff on my birthday, and this year I'd planned on doing the same as last year: feature Tim Wallach, who shares a birthday with me. Unfortunately, I haven't unpacked those cards yet, but I did find a dozen or so of Tim Raines, my favourite baseball player of all time. I chose to feature the following five cards first because, judging by the pen and signature, they may have been from the same period; I never get more than two signed at a time in person unless I know the person, or know it's totally cool - particularly if I plan on going for, say, three straight days, which may have been the case here in 2001. So here they are:

The Rock may very well have been the second-best lead-off hitter of all time; unfortunately for him, he was a contemporary of Rickey Henderson's, undoubtedly the best of all time, and the only player in Raines' career who could even come close to him in the stolen bases department.

Which hinders him when it comes to Hall Of Fame voters, obviously. There are, however, sites using advanced metrics to make a strong case for him. I'll tell you, 808 stolen bases, and a stealing percentage of 84.5% - second-best of all-time for players with at least 500 attempts - bests even Henderson. 2605 hits, 430 doubles, 170 home runs, 980 RBIs, 1330 walks for 966 strikeouts...

From the very beginning, in the strike-reduced 1981 season, Raines proved he was for real: sure, he was second for the Rookie Of The Year award, but he also garnered some MVP votes on the strength of 71 steals in just 88 games - the National League record was 75, by Benny Kauff, in a full season. His 27 steals in his first 27 attempts remains a record, though. In the American League, he set a record with 37 straight stolen bases in 1995.

The seven-time All-Star Game participant will be remembered for one of them in particular - in 1987 in Oakland - as he went 3-for-3, and produced both of his team's runs in a 2-0 victory with a two-out, 13th-inning triple against Jay Howell.

My own defining Raines moment came in the 1990s, when he must have been nine feet away from first base, in a stealing attempt, and the pitcher pretended four or five times to throw to the first baseman to get him out; not only wouldn't Raines budge, but he stared straight into the pitcher's eyes, not just daring him to, but pretty much defying him to throw the ball, and there probably was a beating going his way of he did. The pitcher eventually threw to home plate, and Raines stole second.

Raines got used to sliding into second head-first from the beginning, because he was a pretty big cocaine addict in 1982 (his stats did slip noticeably that year) and kept his vial in his back pocket, because had he kept in in his locker, he could have gotten caught; sliding feet first gives the runner the advantage of leading with his shoe, which strikes the fear of some pain in the second basement - but Raines had his drugs to protect, and was quick enough that he didn't need the extra intimidation that sliding cleats would have provided.

He also voluntarily checked himself into rehab following the season - after spending upwards of $40,000 on cocaine that summer (those are 1982 numbers, by the way).

Gary Carter was a legend, Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero were the purest raw talents, but Tim Raines, to me, defined the Montréal Expos. And, like Carter, he eventually came back in his twilight years. The Expos did him a favour by trading him to the Baltimore Orioles at the tail end of 2001 so he could play with his son, Tim Jr.

He won two World Series with the New York Yankees (1996 and 1998), and batted for .299 with them in three seasons of part-time work (a high of .321 in 1997, a high of 109 games in 1998).

He also played with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and 98 meaningless games with the Florida Marlins.

There are many ways I could get into the specifics of the cards - all of them signed in blue sharpie - but I decided to go my usual route and separate them by uniform, starting with the Expos' classic powdered-blue (away) uniform:

The card on the left is from Fleer's 1988 Fleer set (card #193), probably showing him during pre-game warm-ups or between innings; in the middle is card #40 from Score's 1989 Score, showing the ambidextrous hitter in his most common plate position, hitting lefty; on the right is a card from Leaf's 1990 Donruss set (card #BC-7 of the MVP insert sub-set).

Card companies rarely sent photographers to Montréal, probably because they were afraid of summer snow, igloos, and us not having electricity (or Doritos) and only speaking French; that's why when the powdered-blue uniform wasn't chosen on cards, it'd usually be the red t-shirt from Spring Training, which took place in Florida:

The card on the left is from Fleer's 1987 Fleer set (card #328) in an obvious ''pose for the camera, Tim'' shot, while the one on the right is from Leaf's 1988 Donruss (card #345) in another ''official team photo'' type of pose.

By the way, check out the consistency/lack of originality of the Donruss backs, two years apart:

If it wasn't that he gained 15 pounds and had two more career highlights to speak of, it'd be the exact same back; same design, same ''last five seasons'' statistics, same font...

I have never visited the (Baseball) Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown. And I don't plan to, any day soon. That might change if they come to their senses and induct Tim Raines.

Mike Fitzgerald: 2 Autographed Cards

Mike Fitzgerald started his career with a bit of pressure: drafted by the New York Mets, he hit a home run in his very first at-bat, then became the first rookie catcher ever to lead his position in field percentage, in 1984. Following that tremendous rookie campaign, he was traded to the Montréal Expos for future Hall Of Famer (and fan favourite) Gary Carter, which left the starting catcher's job wide open for Fitzgerald to fill.

And he filled in admirably. You could count on his fielding to be impeccable, he helped pitchers to wonderful seasons, he could be counted on for a decent .250 average (and had a career-high of .282 in 1986), was among the National League leaders in stolen bases against, (fewest) errors, double-plays and pretty much all areas of fielding.

He stayed with the Expos until he became a free agent, playing his final season with the California Angels in 1992. He must have signed a dozen cards for me from 1988 to 1991, mostly in ballpoint pen or black sharpie; for some reason, these are the two I'm left with, both signed in blue sharpie. I know why I held onto them, though: they show both of the team's classic uniforms.

First, a rare feat on a brand-name baseball card, sporting the Expos' white (home) uniform, from Leaf's 1987 Donruss set (card #345), showing him between pitches in full catcher regalia:

And from Topps' 1988 Topps set - perhaps my favourite baseball set of all time - here is card #674, showing him in the team's powdered-blue (away) uniform, probably warming up for his next at-bat:

I've seen Carter play before him - and he was amazing; I've seen Nelson Santovenia, Darren Fletcher and Michael Barrett after him; but Fitzgerald will always be my Expos catcher. He'd definitely make my All-Time 40-Man Roster:

C: Gary Carter, Mike Fitzgerald
1B: Andres Gallaraga, Al Oliver
2B: Jose Vidro, Delino DeShields, Ron Hunt
SS: Spike Owen, Wilfredo Cordero, Tom Foley
3B: Tim Wallach, Bob Bailey, Larry Parrish
LF: Tim Raines, Moises Alou, Warren Cromartie
CF: Andre Dawson, Marquis Grissom, Ellis Valentine, Rondell White
RF: Rusty Staub, Larry Walker, Vladimir Guerrero
Rotation: Pedro Martinez, Steve Rogers, Dennis Martinez, Bill Lee, Pascual Perez
Closers: John Wetteland, Tim Burke
Other Pitchers: Mel Rojas, Ugueth Urbina, Jeff Reardon, Jeff Fassero, Ken Hill, Carlos Perez, Dennis 'Oil Can' Boyd, Claude Raymond, Mark Langston, Woodie Fryman

Tom Foley: 4 Autographed Cards

Apparently, there's still a thing called baseball happening in the summer. I don't know: every time I look at Sports Illustrated, the only name I recognize is Derek Jeter's; when I was a kid, I could tell every player from the National League from every possible angle - and most guys from the American League too: from their uniform numbers, their batting stances, their defensive positioning, how they ran. I was a huge baseball fan.

Then came the 1994 players' strike, the multiple fire sales, the changes in ownerships, the games behind the game, and ultimately the death of a healthy franchise at the hands of a man who would end up owning another team in way too short a time span.

But back when hockey was merely a 9-month sport - October until June - my summers were filled with baseball, from May until October. The Montréal Expos would show promise, and they would have the three runners-up to the eventual NL Rookie Of The Year, one guy would finish in the top-5 for batting average, another in home runs, Tim Raines would hit 30 homers and steal over 30 bases (usually over 50, often over 70), a pitcher would finish in the top-5 in wins while another would be in the top-3 for saves, the team would compete with the New York Mets (early-to-mid 1980s), Philadelphia Phillies (end of 1980s) or Atlanta Braves (1990s) for best in the East, then implode come the end of August...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But through those times, whenever I was in town, I'd go see the Expos at least once a week, and watch the other games on TV. I'd arrive early to get autographs during warm-ups, I'd stay late for post-game signature sessions in the long hall connecting the Olympic Stadium to the subway system, and I'd go to events that players might attend. The Expos were so big back then that even Habs players played softball for charity in the summer - rather than golf.

And so I met Tom Foley a bunch of times between 1985 and 1992, and again in 1995 when he had his last go-round with the team before retiring and joining the Tampa Bay Rays' staff, where he still works today.

Foley was mostly a shortstop elsewhere, but played second base more often in Montréal. He didn't make many errors - the most he was credited with was 12, and his error percentage was better at second base (28 in 385 games) than at shortstop (46 in 463 games). In 1990, he played all infield positions at least once, and he even pitched to two hitters in 1989.

All told I probably had a dozen cards of his signed during his time here, but only seem to have these four handy. All of them show him wearing the Expos' classic light-blue (away) uniform and are signed in thin blue sharpie, which was unlikely to be mine; I'll start with these two from Score, where he is shown fielding:

On the left, ready for whatever the hitter brings his way, is card #159 of the 1988 Score set; on the right, having caught the ball and likely throwing it to first base, is card #405 of the 1989 Score collection.

And these two:

On the left, probably taken during warm-ups (empty seats, coach facing the other way, looking relaxed), is card #251 in the 1988 Topps set by Topps; on the right, throwing to first to complete a double-play against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, is from Upper Deck's 1991 Series 1 set (card #381).

The cards from 1988 were purchased in Florida and opened my eyes to the fact that there were more manufacturers out there than just O-Pee-Chee; they were all pretty basic until Upper Deck came along with great action shots on both sides of the card.

Tom Foley played a total of 13 seasons in the majors, all of them in the National League. Eight of those summers were spent in Montréal. His career batting average is at a respectable .244; he has as many career home runs as he does stolen bases, 32.

Two Tim Burke Autographed Cards

Before John Wetteland, the Montréal Expos' closer I was most accustomed to was Tim Burke, who held the job from 1987 until mid-way through 1991, when he was traded to the New York Mets, essentially for Ron Darling.

He led the majors in 1985 with 78 appearances on the mound (and tying a rookie record), and was an All-Star in 1989, giving up two hits (no runs) in two innings in a 5-3 loss.

I would guess I got these before a game in 1991, but I don't recall having owned a blue sharpie that early in my life. But since he retired at the end of the 1992 season and lived in Colorado afterwards, the only other opportunity I would have had to meet him (which I recall happening) would have been if the team had brought back alumni players prior to moving to Washington at the turn of the century.

Which brings me to the cards. This one is from Score's 1988 Score set (card #187), the first baseball card set I started collected in my life (along with the 1988 Topps one):

The next card is from Leaf/Donruss' 1986 Donruss set (card #421), one I was too young to collect when it was current, but I purchased singles from - including this one - in 1990 and 1991 at a local card shop:

Both cards show him wearing the Expos' classic powder-blue away uniform, one piching (1988), one watching from the bullpen (1986). He looks a bit like a 1980s actor, a cross between Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap) and Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver).

Happy Birthday Tim Wallach: 4 Autographed Cards

My birthday is September 14th. I share it with a number of celebrities, but one that was always somewhat available to me as a child was Montréal Expos five-time All-Star third baseman Tim Wallach. And in most seasons, there was an Expos home game at the Olympic Stadium on that day.

Over the years, I have gotten Wallach to sign a bunch of cards for me, usually during batting practice before games, at times in charity softball games some Expos players took part in with or against local celebrities, be they radio or TV personalities, actors, musicians, or even hockey players (Stéphane Richer was a particularly avid ball player).

I chose to feature these four cards first because, judging by the blue sharpie type of pen used and signature, they seem like they're from the same era. Also, they show him wearing a wide variety of uniforms, something I like.

Let's start with his rookie card, from Fleer's 1982 Fleer:

It's card #210 in the set, and on it he's sporting the Expos' red Grapefruit League (training camp) jersey, with the then-regular powder-blue pants. Oh, and an awesome mustache. You'll notice there's more white on one side of the card than the other; that's not part of the design, the card was just cut off-center - the back has the same defect, one usually more synonymous with the Topps brand...

Speaking of Fleer, there's this card:

It's card #291 in the 1984 Fleer set and shows him wearing the Expos' white (home) uniform. The back of the card mentions he hit a home run in his very first Major League at bat (he also did the same thing in the minors). It's a simple card design, but beautiful and clear; as a matter of fact, the Vachon line of Québec desserts made an Expos team set in the late 1980s using the same scheme, pretty much, as did the Provigo chain of supermarkets.

The next two cards are cool on a whole other level: Wallach was more than just a pretty boy who could hit homers and play in All-Star Games: he was also a three-time Gold Glove winner (1985, 1988 and 1990), in an era when Mike Schmidt, Terry Pendleton and Matt Williams were at their peak and playing in more baseball-friendly markets. They're also from sets I collected over the summer while vacationing in Florida with my parents when I was 9 years old.

On the first one, he has an almost goalie-like stance, reminiscent of Mike Veronon or Ron Hextall when they had that ''I dare you to shoot it glove-side'' look:

It's card 70 of Score's 1988 Score set. The dent at the top is from the plastic penny sleeve, not the card itself, though I'm surprised the card is in the condition it's in: I would actually play with them, laying them on the living room carpet as if it was a baseball field, two opposing teams, throwing a dice and hitting it with the cards, making them run around the makeshift diamond. Most cards I bought that summer have creases and round corners.

But this card really rocks:

Not as crouched, sunglasses under his cap, Wallach looks all-business here, fitting considering he led the Majors that year with 42 doubles and was second in the NL with 123 RBIs. His specialty, actually, was a stat no longer kept track of by MLB, called ''Game-Winning RBIs'', which is exactly what it sounds like, and at which he usually led the majors. Clutch player, right here.

As for the card, it's from Leaf's 1988 Donruss set (card #222).