Butch Henry Autographed Card

Today I thought I could check off a second player for #27 from my Expos Numbers Project. No, I never got an autograph from Vladimir Guerrero, possibly the most talented Expo of all time, but I did get one from Butch Henry:

That's card #518 from Pinnacle Brands' 1995 Score set, which he signed in black sharpie.

Henry's best season came in 1994, as was the case with many players who donned the grey version of the away uniform. That year, he went 8-3 with a 2.43 ERA with one save in 24 games (15 starts).

He finished his seven-year season with a 33-33 record and 3.89 ERA after also suiting up for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Expos, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners. He had to retire early (in 2003) because of arm injuries.

He then turned into managing in the minor leagues, winning manager of the year for the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball in 2006.

Tim Raines: Two Autographed Cards

Today, I thought I'd feature two cards of Tim "Rock" Raines with the Chicago White Sox' black uniform, because it's a bad, dark day for the Baseball Hall Of Fame, seeing as they have snubbed him once again, leaving him with just one more shot of making it, next year.

As I wrote a little over a year ago, his numbers should have made a case for themselves:

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.

He stole 70 or more bases in each of his first seven seasons, and ranks fourth of all-time in the category, but he's also overlooked in other categories where speed was a factor: his doubles total (430) is better than Kirby Puckett's (414) and Willie Stargell's (423), and his triples totals (113) bests Puckett (57) and Stargell (55), for sure, but also the likes of Rickey Henderson (66), Dave Winfield (88), Tony Gwynn (85) and Reggie Jackson (49).

What wins a baseball game? Runs. Raines had 1571, better than Puckett (1071), Stargell (1195), Gwynn (1393) and Jackson (1551).

Freebies are fun, and walks are a sign that pitchers fear you enough to not throw you good pitches. Raines was walked 1330 times, ahead of Brock (761), Puckett (450), Stargell (937), Winfield (1216), Gwynn (790).

Chicago Cubs second basement Ryne Sandberg is in, though Raines beats him in every possible category:

Add two World Series titles with the New York Yankees and you've got yourself a memorable career.
Fix this, Cooperstown.

In the meantime, here's a closer look at the cards, first from Fleer's 1995 Fleer Ultra set (card #33), showing him attempting one of his signature surprise bunts, which he signed in black sharpie:

And here he is with his trademark smile, from Pinnacle Brands' 1996 Score set (card #449), which he signed in blue sharpie:

And here's a ballad singing his praise and talking up some of his achievements:


He remains my favourite baseball player of all time, and was the main reason why I loved the Montréal Expos so much. He likely signed those cards for me in his second stint with the team.

Gil Heredia Autographed Card

I fell on some signed baseball cards while unpacking, so I figured I'd keep up with the theme I started with the Wilfredo Cordero card and add Gil Heredia to the mix.

Heredia was a fine middle relief pitcher for the mid-1990s, most notably on the Montréal Expos. As for the rest of the team, his 1994 season was particularly great, with a 3.46 ERA and a 6-3 record, 62 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 39 games.

When he joined the Oakland Athletics (A's) in 1998, they made him a starter, a role in which he was also quite efficient, going 13-8 (with 117 Ks and 34 walks) in 1999 and 15-11 (with a 4.12 ERA, 101 Ks and 66 walks) in 2000.

As a matter of fact, he led the American League in 1999 for walks per nine innings and finished second for strikeout/walk ratio. Honestly, I didn't think he had that kind of domination in him.

He signed this card for me in blue sharpie prior to a game in 1995:

It's from Fleer's Fleer '95 set (card #353), picturing him in the Expos' grey (away) uniform. The card has a pseudo-foil effect, but it's more like pre-photoshop extra colours than actual foil.

Wil Cordero Autographed Card

Writing the words ''Puerto Rco'' and ''baseball'' on my regular blog earlier today inspired me to revert back to America's Pastime today and feature this card of the Montréal Expos' Wilfredo Cordero:

It's from Pinnacle Brands' 1995 Score collection (card #386), back when he was an All-Star shortstop. After moving on from the Expos, he was turned into a (fine) outfielder, but never again went to the mid-summer classic.

Then again, he looked good on the 1994 Expos because, well, everyone did. They had the best record in baseball (ahead of the New York Yankees, and well ahead of everyone else) on the strength of one of the best outfields in history (Moises Alou, Larry Walker and Marquis Grissom), so strong that Cliff Floyd had to play first base. Budding star Rondell White - also on the rise - was confined to the bench for pinch-hitting presences, still hitting .278, while the pitching rotation included Jeff Fassero, Ken Hill, eventual multiple-Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez, Butch Henry and Kirk Rueter, while the bullpen included one of the best closers in history in John Wetteland, and the best set-up man of his generation (turned fine closer in his own right) Mel Rojas.

Jeff Shaw, Tim Scott, Gil Heredia and Denis Boucher rounded out the pitching staff of a team favoured to win the World Series had it not been for a season-ending strike. Most Montrealers felt their love of the game end at that time, while the rest of us waited until Jeffrey Loria bought the team and dismantled it while collecting government grants and pushing out local investors who went from owning 67% of the team to 10% just by not answering Loria's multiple calls for extra capital.

Cordero came back to the Expos amidst this power struggle in 2002 and 2003, no longer an elite player on a team that struggled a bit on the field carried only by powerhouse slugger Vladimir Guerrero rather than a whole cast of star players, finishing an impressive 2nd in the East in 2002, but 4th in 2003 - they would end in last place (5th) in their final season of existence, not even attracting a million spectators, as people were fed up with being played as pawns in a game that didn't give a rat's ass about them other than squeeze out the last possible bit of money possible out of their pockets, knowing full well every dime spent on the team didn't even go to the players - the lowest-paid in the Majors - but instead went directly to Loria and son-in-law David Samson, who were going to spent it on the purchase of the Florida Marlins, whose fans are destined to be played in the same manner.

It was during that period that I met Cordero, who was nice enough to sign this card for me in black sharpie. In his second stint with the team, he was no longer wearing #12, though; he sported #26.