It's a Fanatics X-Mess! (No Really...)
I think it would be fair to say the month of January 2026, can kiss my ass!
So let’s look back on the happier times of just five weeks ago!
Not even being ironic.
Under our X-Mess tree was a nice holiday bounty. Which was celebrated a few days after the actual holiday. Attending separate events with our respective families on the Eve and Day, we needed a break before going back at it for personal reasons.
Amongst my X-Mess gifts was a Fanatics gift card, from Laura’s niece. Laura gave me one a few years ago, that I hadn’t redeemed. Wasn’t sure what to do with these, but I had enough to buy something cool. Fanatics has left such an awful taste after their takeover of seemingly all professional sports merchandising. Other than overpriced Hobby and Retail boxes, and obnoxious case breaks, I didn’t know what else they had to offer in terms of cards. Figured if nothing else, I could use it on some 2025 Stadium Club, whenever that came out. I’d never set up an account with Fanatics, so I had no idea what to expect when I started digging in. I went to the baseball cards page, entered “Expos” into the search bar and the very first card to come up was…
1987 ProCards - Burlington Expos - Kent Bottenfield
Well that result was completely unexpected…
Bottenfield was drafted by the Montreal Expos, in the 4th round of the 1986 MLB Draft. He spent the 1987 season in Burlington, Iowa, pitching for the Low A Expos. He eventually made it to Montreal in July 1992, but didn’t do a whole lot with the Expos. He was traded to the Colorado Rockies, midway through the 1993 season. Didn’t last with the Rockies either, as they released him in June of 1994. Bottenfield did pitch parts of nine seasons in the major leagues, through the 2001 season.
Still, when entering something as vague as “Expos” into the search, this being the first result was intriguing. Perhaps Fanatics does have something I’d really want to spend these gift cards on. Instead of my planned: “I guess that’s good enough…” gift redemptions. Soon, several hours went by as I was finding all sorts of cool minor league cards from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Not to mention some major league cards needed for various PC’s. My cart had close to 150 cards in it, before I decided to narrow it down.
1987 ProCards - Burlington Expos - James Vincent Olson
And this was the second… This card is so minor league… From the bizarre cropping to the strange angles to the strange re-touching done to the background. Olson was a prospect with the Phillies, making it to AA as a 21 year old, but he missed the 1986 season. He signed with the Expos for 1987, and was assigned to Burlington, pitching in the same rotation as Kent Bottenfield. But that was it for Olson’s career. He didn’t pitch professionally after 1987.
I had never heard of James Vincent Olson before seeing this card. But after seeing it, I had to own it.
Suddenly, my first Fanatics foray turned into a scavenger hunt for late 1980’s and early 1990’s minor league card of Expos and Twins prospects. Cards I hadn’t thought of looking for, but when presented a convenient option, I found many I wanted.
1988 ProCards - Jacksonville Expos - Jeff Huson
Man… The Jacksonville Expos logo just looks lazy and sad. Huson played parts of 12 seasons in the majors, 4 of which with the Texas Rangers. After retiring as a player, Huson has had a lengthy career as the Colorado Rockies TV color analyst. Never noticed him as a player, but I did like him on the TV.
1988 ProCards - Jacksonville Expos - Mike Blowers
I completely forgot Blowers was with the Expos. They traded him to the New York Yankees, as a prospect for veteran reliever John Candeleria. The 1989 Yankees were out of the pennant chase, but the Expos were very much in it. Probably the last time that happened… Blowers kind of blew for the Yankees, and didn’t really take off until 1993, when he’d moved on to the Seattle Mariners.
1988 ProCards - Jacksonville Expos - Sam Wolfson Park
Fell in love with this card as soon as I saw it… Sam Wolfson Park in Jacksonville, Florida, opened in 1955. It was used for minor league baseball through the 2002 season, and demolished just a few weeks after the final game was played inside. Practice fields for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars were built on the land, after the stadium was cleared.
I didn’t have to go too deep into my generic “Expos” search to find cards from a set I’d never seen in person before. Most of the 1983 team set looked to be available (though far cheaper options are available online for complete sets), but at 99 cents each, I went with a sampler group of three cards. Just to get a taste.
1983 Stuart - Montreal Expos - Charlie Lea
Charlie Lea was chosen for his Twins connection. From 1980 through the 1984 season, Lea was one of the top young pitchers in baseball. Posting a 55-41 record, with a 3.32 ERA, in nearly 800 innings. But he blew out his arm and missed the 1985 and 1986 seasons. He started his comeback in 1987, rehabbing in the Expos minor league system, but wasn’t re-signed after the season. Lea signed with the Minnesota Twins in February, 1988. He spent the entire 1988 season in the Twins rotation, but was pretty cooked, and retired after the 1988 season. It’s a shame how injuries took away what could have been a pretty decent career.
Until I found these cards, I didn’t know what Stuart was. Looking it up on the Googles wasn’t as easy as my typical half-assed research goes. Stuart is a very common name for both businesses and people. Whatever company this was, isn’t a current thing. So that didn’t help either. Finally I found an online listing for this card set as: “1983 Stuart BAKERY Montreal Expos”.
There we go!
Thank you Photo C.U.M. The Stuart Company was a bakery based in Montreal, responsible for some popular snack cakes. Stuart Ltd. was eventually bought out by their competitor, Vachon Inc., in 1979. They continued marketing the popular snack cakes under the Stuart name, before retiring it in favor of the Vachon Bakery name. Vachon has since been bought and sold since all that happened.
1983 Stuart - Montreal Expos - Jim Wohlford
And I just liked this photo. Batting cage shot…
For a few years in the 1980’s, Stuart Bakery sponsored several Montreal Expos team sets. I like them, and will make it a point to buy them. But not from Fanatics…
1983 Stuart - Montreal Expos - Scott Sanderson
How does one actually get their legs to work in this fashion, without dislocating a hip? There’s been several pitchers over my lifetime of collecting, that always have some of the most unnatural looking movement freeze framed on their cards. Sanderson was always a big one for that. Kirk McCaskill of the Angels and White Sox was another. He has an Upper Deck card where it looks like he rolled his ankle while kicking his leg up, before making the pitch.
Basic 1983 Stuart Montreal Expos card back.
The card stock is pretty thin, about 20 point, bringing up 1981 Donruss flashbacks. Card back is 2 color printed on an uncoated stock. Printed in both French and English.
I found this image of a Stuart Fiesta Snack Cakes box from 1987. The lid advertises a promotion for Wrestlemania III tickets. Meaning they were still using the Stuart name in 1987…
X-Mess 2025 brought not only a Fanatics bounty, but also a nice Amazon Gift Card haul. Not all of these were from this year, and I still have more unredeemed Amazon cards. I have a thing about gift cards. I get them and forget about them. Then I forget where I put them. Well, I found a stash in my office a couple months ago when looking for Video Vision in Winona, MN, stuff. Now I have a few hundred dollars in free stuff from Amazon!
Well, I need some new underwear, but I’m not going to show you that…
But I will show you the Big League Chew Boxer Briefs, Laura got me for X-Mess!
Whatever…
******
Besides the minor league baseball card buffet I was enjoying on the Fanatics site, I was also finding some other desired singles to add to the Twins and Expos collections. At first I thought about mixing the minor league stuff in with the major league cards, but they represent different segments of the PC. So I decided to keep them separate. I’ll give the minor league cards their spotlight, while the major league stuff gets the full Whatever treatment. (Whatever = Ranked by how much I like them. Just a judgement call by my tastes/personal relvance.)
So this will be kind of a clumpy Whatever… Groups of cards mixed in with ranked singles. With more X-Mess 2025 booty sprinkled in. Without further ado, here is the…
Top 48 Cards From My 2025 Fanatics X-Mess Spree!
Starting off with a Twins card I’d never seen…
#48 - 2001 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects Building Blocks - Brad Radke / Adam Johnson
I bought a few packs of 2001 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects here and there back in the day, but I was always suspicious those packs were searched. They contained very few inserts and zero hits. Pretty sure I never pulled any of the Building Blocks inserts. Brad Radke was absolute a building block for the Twins. Adam Johnson was a head case with no control, who quickly flamed out.
Johnson goes down as a wasted 2nd overall first round draft pick (2000).
#47 - 2001 Upper Deck Reserve - Fernando Tatis
Around 2000, Upper Deck really leaned into incorporating lower case letters into their card designs. It’s a little thing that really bothered me about their cards.
#46 - 1992 Classic - John Vander Wal
I have a 1992 Classic set, but it doesn’t have borders like this. Classic was a tough company to keep track of, since their cards were sold as trivia games, not in traditional packs. Let’s flip it over…
Card back shows a number of T32, so I guess this was from a trivia Traded set or something.
Including an illustration of the team’s home uniform is an odd choice to fill space.
#45 - 1999 Topps Gallery Artisans - Brad Fullmer
Fullmer was a top Expos prospect in 1998-1999, so he gave card companies someone other than Vladimir Guerrero to make Expos inserts of. Compared to many of that time, this effort is pretty weak.
#44 - 1998 Leaf Rookie & Stars Freshman Foundation - Brad Fullmer
This insert set would have been so much better if that flag element at the bottom had some depth or perspective to it. The solid color dominates the design, in a bad way. These cards are serial numbered out of 5,000, which used to be a big deal. Then again, 1998 Leaf Rookie & Stars wasn’t exactly an overproduced set to begin with.
#43 - 1998 Ex2001 Stardate2001 - Brad Fullmer
At least they put some depth and perspective into this solid color image. Neon green is definitely a choice…
Looks to me like Brad Fullmer is standing in front of a giant smokers lung cookie.
#42 - 2025 Topps ProDebut Road To The Show - Walker Jenkins
Yeah, I’ll pick up something current. It’s Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins, wearing a Fort. Myers Mighty Mussels jersey, with a picture of Hammond Stadium. Laura and I saw two spring training games there in 2025, so I needed this card for 99 cents. Finishing the 2025 season in AAA St. Paul, Walker Jenkins has shortened his road to the show from 1,715 miles, to 11 miles. The distance from CHS Field in St. Paul, to Target Field in Minneapolis.
I’m pretty sure we’ll see Jenkins in Minneapolis at some point this season. Under what circumstances and what will the results be, are the major questions. Not like I’m overly optimistic about the 2026 Minnesota Twins…
******
1989 was the first season I started understanding how minor league teams worked with major league teams, and the talent pipeline from draft pick to major leaguer. Between daily radio coverage and the uncommon TV games, I followed the 1989 Twins team pretty close. I was becoming aware of how players were doing in the minor leagues, and how the AAA teams are typically stocked with major league veterans, to varying degrees. Which would then help fill inevitable holes in the major league roster. Helped immensely by finding ProSet minor league team sets on sale at the Metrodome, for Twins games in 1989.
Minor league Fanatics searches eventually led to Junk Wax Era Twins players…
1988 ProCards - Kenosha Twins - Lenny Webster
Webster was just a youngster in High A ball for the 1988 season. Years before backup catcher duties with the Twins and Expos. Always thought that Cranky Tom Kelly should have worn a Kenosha Twins cap, while the rest of the team wore the underlined, lower case m.
But none of the above could compete with the awesome logo of the AAA Portland Beavers.
Who were affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, from 1987-1993.
1988 ProCards - Portland Beavers - Allen Anderson
A few years ago, I watched a documentary on Portland baseball. A lot of which dealt with their ballpark, then named simply Portland Civic Stadium. Built in 1926, and after multiple renovations, is still in steady use today for the MLS Portland Timbers. Most of the quirkiness of the baseball park is gone. A new permanent grandstand has been built across left and center field, so baseball could not be played here again.
Most of the cards in the team set feature posed photos taken at this corner of the dugout. Fan seats stretched onto the field, above the dugouts, which were accessible on the ends, but chain link fenced off the front.
1988 ProCards - Portland Beavers - Brian Harper
Harper made his major league debut in 1979, with the Angels. He then spent the next 8 seasons shuttling between the majors and minors, without ever getting a real shot. Minnesota sent him to Portland, after signing him to a minor league deal, in January 1988. In Minnesota, the Twins were fine with starting catcher, Tim Laudner, but got absolutely nothing from backups, Tom Nieto and Dwight Lowery. Harper was destroying AAA pitching, batting .353/.403/.653 with the Beavers. The Twins called him up and never sent him back down.
From 1988 to the end of the 1993 season, Harper batted .306/.342/.431 with the Twins. He never took a walk, but only had 128 strikeouts in 2691 plate appearances. While carrying a .300 average as a catcher. Can’t get more underrated than that… All he needed was a chance to play, and the Twins caught the lightning in a bottle for a change.
1988 ProCards - Portland Beavers - Roy Smith
Roy Smith bears a strong resemblance to Mr. Rux. But you don’t know who that is. Smith came to the trade in a 1986 trade with Cleveland. And bounced between the Beavers and Twins, before finally sticking in 1988. He was pretty good in 1989, but regressed in 1990.
Smith threw one complete game shutout in his major league career. It came on Friday, May 25, 1990, against the Boston Red Sox. Smith pitched the Twins to a 16-0 victory. Strangely enough, Minnesota scored 16 runs, but did not hit a home run. I ran into Roy Smith in the Metrodome parking lot after the game, and had him sign my card, noting the 16-0 win. He also wrote the date on the card, but it looks like he wrote the year as 1988. Unless he was having difficulty with the Sharpie…
The backs of the Portland Beavers cards all feature the same advertisement for Taco Time. “Taste the real difference.”
Taco Time is still a thing in the northwest corner of the country. I’ve never had their food, but I wish they’d come to Minnesota. I want a good cheap Mexican drive thru chain. What Taco Bell serves is no longer food and I cannot in good conscience, pay money for that nasty slop. I miss the shit out of Del Taco, but read they pulled out of Colorado a few years ago.
1988 ProCards - Portland Beavers - Fred Toliver
Fast Freddie Toliver got his picture taken in a different part of Portland Civic Stadium, with the rows of blue, red and tan seats, behind him. Every picture I’ve seen of Toliver has him looking either sad, scared or both. He wasn’t bad for the 1988 Twins, stepping into a rotation full of Frank Viola and “Why is he here?” A 43 year old Steve Carlton? An also 43 year old Joe Niekro? I already talked about Charlie Lea…
Whatever…
#41 - 2025 Topps Chrome Youthquake - Brooks Lee
I bought two Blasters of 2025 Topps Chrome this year, which caused the Riverdale WalMarts to close. But I didn’t get a single Minnesota Twins card. Thanks to Fanatics, I picked up three of Brooks Lee’s insert cards, for less than a back a piece. This one is the weakest of the three. Youthquake sounds to me like a lame middle school program from the 1980’s, not a term I’d put on a card. The design is pretty uninspired as well…
#40 - 1993 Stadium Club Jack Murphy - Everett Stull
Stull was recently drafted, given an Expose practice jersey and told to stand there so Topps can take his picture. That has to be a strange experience for kids fresh out of high school or college. We’ll see more of Suill in a bit.
#39 - 1998 Pacific Paramount - Brad Radke - Red Foil
Often said I needed to add more Brad Radke cards to my Twins PC. Fanatics helped me add a few to the binders. Wasn’t collecting much of the Pacific card lines, as I couldn’t really keep them straight. So I don’t have any clue how the Red Foil parallel stacks up against the base set, in terms of rarity. I’m normally not a fan of a lot of foil added on top of a full-bleed photo, but there’s enough cut out, that I kind of like this.
#38 - 2003 Donruss Team Heroes - Bartolo Colon
Much like Radke, I’m always needing more Big Sexy as an Expo cards.
And much like Radke, Fanatics provided a few more that I didn’t have before.
#37 - 2003 Fleer Tradition - Bartolo Colon - SP
I guess this one is a short print.
Okay then…
#36 - 2002 Upper Deck MVP - Brad Radke
Hey! It’s Brad Radke again!
Kind of thinking I already had this card. But it was apparently too much effort to check before I placed my order. Just as it is too much effort to check, after the order was delivered.
#35 - 2025 Topps Chrome Fortune 15 - Brooks Lee
Hey! It’s Brooks Lee again!
Second of three 2025 Topps Chrome Brooks Lee insert cards. Not sure what Fortune 15 means in reference to Brooks Lee. But I do know the 2026 Minnesota Twins are counting on him taking a big step forward. And this team looks like it has zero margin for error. Lee needs to have more competitive plate appearances. Take more walks, cut back the weak contact, improve the effort in the field.
Who am I kidding… The 2026 Minnesota Twins are doomed…
#34 - 1990 Donruss Baseball’s Best - Allen Anderson
1990 Donruss’s bright red borders are some of the least appealing cards I’ve ever seen. Had they gone with this shade of blue for the flagship set, 1990 Donruss would rank as one of my favorite 1990 sets. There’s also big time bonus points awarded for the blurry wall from the bleacher section of old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, in the background.
Also in the background is Twins second baseman, Wally Backman. Because I’m a dork, I decided to figure out what day this picture was taken. Allen Anderson pitched 2 games in Cleveland in 1989. The first game was May 7, the day side of a day/night doubleheader. Anderson threw 6 innings, but Wally Backman didn’t enter the game until the 9th inning, as a defensive replacement. Anderson’s next start in Cleveland came on June 20. He pitched into the 8th inning, giving up only two runs. Wally Backman played all 9 innings at second base. The Twins won the game, 7-4.
So this photo was taken on June 20, 1989.
Thank you Baseball Reference for allowing me to indulge in stuff this stupid!
#33 - 2003 Upper Deck 40 Man - Joey Eischen
Eischen was a favorite dating back to the Junk Wax Prospector days. He came up through the Expos system as a left handed starting pitcher. I envisioned him becoming a rotation staple. Stepping in to fill the roles of Jeff Fassaro and Butch Henry, when they inevitably became too expensive. Eischen made one appearance with the 1994 Montreal Expos, then was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He developed into a valuable setup reliever, that also dealt with multiple arm injuries. He returned to the Montreal Expos in 2001, and stayed with the team through the move to Washington DC., retiring after the 2006 season.
******
I’m not going to show any new Joey Eischen minor league cards yet, because now it’s time to look at what the Star company was putting out in 1988…
1988 Star - West Palm Beach Expos - Kent Bottenfield
Another West Palm Beach Expos team set, meaning another Kent Bottenfield in low A ball card. Like the teal to whiter teal gradient. None of it quite Skull Crushing however…
1988 Star - FSL All Stars - John Vander Wal
Star’s set of Florida State League All-Stars, uses a gold to whiter gold gradient, to differentiate between base and All Star. This copy happens to be a little scuffy at the bottom. Do I care? Absolutely not.
Back of Vander Wal’s FSL All-Star Star card.
Because nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.
1989 Best - Jacksonville Expos - John Vander Wal
Have some more Vander Wal! This time it’s The Best company’s minor league team set. I do like this design a lot for a minor league set. And I’m still laughing at the ridiculous Jacksonville Expos logo. Which is completely NOT phallic…
Whatever…
#32 - 1993 Pacific - John Vander Wal
Oh look! It’s John Vander Wal!
#31 - 1993 Pacific - Archi Cianfrocco
Happy to acquire a new Archi Cianfrocco Expos card. This one (and the last John Vander Wal) is from Pacific’s debut set of Spanish baseball cards. I talked about these a few months back, when I covered new additions to the Jeff Innis collection. Also, Pacific spelled his first name as “Arci”, leaving the “h” out. That’s a weird error… I wonder what’s behind that? I’d really like an explanation, from anyone…
#30 - 1999 Finest - Fernando Seguignol - Refractor
The Montreal Expos had to quickly break up the great 1994 team, in quick fashion when the strike ended. There was little time to properly shop talent for the best offer. This was: “These guys gotta go NOW. What’ll you give?” Which is also a key factor in the death of the Expos. They shipped out superstar players for little to no return. Fernando Seguignol was who they got from the New York Yankees for star closer, John Wetteland.
Seguignol was a promising power hitter, who never fully developed in the Majors. Largely due to stretches missed to injury. After the 2003 season (spent in the Yankees system), Seguignol moved onto Japan and put up 4 monster seasons with the Orix Blue Wave.
#29 - 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Franchise Futures - Keoni Cavaco / Matt Wallner
That Franchise Futures graphic kind of ruins the card when it’s scanned. You can’t read it at all, and the regular card doesn’t look much better. Keoni Cavaco was Minnesota’s first round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. The less said about him, the better… Matt Wallner (Minnesota’s second round pick) has been a borderline productive hitter for Minnesota, for a couple years. Nothing special, but miles ahead of Cavaco…
#28 - 2025 Finest - Brooks Lee
Now I own exactly one card from 2025 Finest!
It's all sorts of ugly.
#27 - 1992 Score Rookie & Traded - Archi Cianfrocco
Another new Cianfrocco card for the Expos binders! I never bought the 1992 Score Rookie & Traded box set, nor had I ever seen a checklist, to learn there was a needed Cianfrocco inside. Funny the Expos assigned Cianfrocco the number 14. Which for years was worn by Expos superstar (and future Colorado Rockie), Andres Galarraga. Who had just been traded during the 1991-1992 offseason.
Let’s flip this one over and see what Score has to say about Archi Cianfrocco…
Wow!
All these years I’ve been blaming Harry Caray for being drunk, back in 1992 when he pronounced Archi Cianfrocco’s name, at least 10 different ways. Turns out he was drunk AND had shitty information! This also explains why I heard his first name pronounced “ar-KEY”, from numerous media outlets. Explains the Pacific card I showed earlier as well.
#26 - 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man - TJ Tucker
I really hate those red Expos caps…
#25 - 1998 Pacific Revolution - Brad Fullmer
It’s Brad Fullmer time!
#24 - 1999 Pacific Invincible - Brad Fullmer
The Fullmer head in the baseball, is printed on a translucent plastic. Pacific made some unique cards in the late 1990’s. Ironically, none of them stood out. If you laid out an assortment of late 1990’s Pacific cards, you’d see all of the flashy designs, colored foil embossing, loud colors and vaguely masculine product names. But it would all kind of blend together. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all pretty nice looking cards. But it’s kind of a redundant excess. Which burns you out quickly.
#23 - 1998 UD3 - Brad Fullmer
Yes… Upper Deck could be guilty of this as well… But Upper Deck had a 10 year tradition of putting out a high quality base set every year, in addition to their other flashier sets.
#22 - 1998 Ultra - Greg Colbrunn
This card has been on my wantlist for many years. One of only five players to suit up for the Expos, Twins and Rockies.
Perhaps now I should write a Greg Colbrunn story?
Yeah… That’ll put butts in seats…
******
So would a little snack from our feast of musical wonderness!
The Amazon X-Mess gift card spending spree brought on some more of The Residents pREServed Edition CD’s. Which are basically 2 CD sets of classic albums by The Residents, packed with demos and live recordings. Stuff that would cause me to droll and my eyes to roll back into my head, with a deadpan Baaaaaauaaaaaaa… Bootlist….
I’m a huge fan of pretty much all the albums The Residents released in the 1970’s, so that’s my focus. I picked up the pREServed Edition of 1978’s Not Available, back around X-Mess of 2019. It was an absolutely fascinating collection. Now seemed like the time to pick up some more of these…
1974 - Meet The Residents pREServed Edition
Re-release of their debut album, from 1974.
I bought my copy of Meet The Residents in the late fall of 1999, shortly before a drive from Denver to Minnesota. Albums that properly filled a stretch of night, driving through South Dakota under only moonlight, the only car on the road, will always stand out. Meet The Residents is 2am, just outside of Murdo, SD. Enjoyed a hightened sense of reality… With taillights from a semi miles ahead, only visible every once in a while.
Yup… This is EXACTLY where my head was during those drives…
1980 - The Commercial Album pREServed Edition
An album of 40 songs, each of them exactly 60 seconds long. Now a version packed with rare demos and live records. For a little sample, here’s a song that made a guy I went to Overpriced Art School with, immediate drop out! (And I’m not going to tell that story today!)
Well, who do you think you are Neil?
Still awaiting delivery from the Amazonz, are the pREServed Editions of 1976’s The Third Reich 'N Roll and Leftovers 1970-1988. I’d hoped to have them before this story was finished…
Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life… Sorry Laura, this is the only way I can tolerate the Beatles….
******
Whatever..
After recovering from that little musical interlude, let’s take a look at some more Junk Wax Era Minnesota Twins prospects!
1989 Best - Orlando Twins - Mark Guthrie
Guthrie was a 7th round pick in the 1987 MLB Draft, and was in the Major Leagues, exactly two years and one month after signing his first Twins contract. His 1990 season was real bright spot on a terrible team. By the end of the 1991 season, Cranky Tom Kelly decided he was a reliever, and that was what he would do, through the end of the 2003 season. He stayed in Minnesota until July 1995, when he was traded (along with Kevin Tapani) to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Never posted great numbers, but kept getting over a million dollars a year to be a situational lefty, in bullpens of the Blue Jays, Devil Rays, Red Sox, Athletics, Mets and Cubs. Always liked Mark Guthrie.
1989 Best - Orlando Twins - Paul Sorrento
After the 1988 season, the Twins traded future Hall of Famer, Bert Blyleven, to the California Angels for prospects, headlined by Sorrento. Who had a big season with the 1989 class AA Orlando Twins, posting an .857 OPS, in 140 games. He was a September call-up at the end of the season, getting into 14 games. Sorrento didn’t get much playing time behind Kent Hrbek, and was traded to the Cleveland Indians for prospects, in March, 1992. He was solid for Cleveland over the next 4 seasons, then had two big years with the Seattle Mariners, in 1996 and 1997. Sorrento turned those big Seattle seasons into a 2 year deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and was the DH in their inaugural game in 1998.
1989 Star - Elizabethton Twins - Mike Misuraca
A name I distinctly remember from “Down on the Farm” segments of Twins radio broadcasts, back in the day. Misuraca was dominant in his 1989 season with the Elizabethton Twins. The Twins brought him along slowly, and he was okay. Never as dominant as he pitched in Rookie League. He eventually made it to the major leagues. A five game stretch with the Milwaukee Brewers, in July and August, 1997. At age 28. Misuraca retired from baseball after the 1997 season.
1989 Star - Elizabethton Twins - Marty Cordova
The 1995 American League Rookie of the Year was another player Cranky Tom Kelly wasn’t a big fan of. Remember reading that his hair was too long, which meant he couldn’t play. Or something… Cordova had a lot of injury issues that sabotaged his career. The Twins 10th round pick in the 1989 MLB Draft made his debut in the back country of Tennessee. Luckily, Star was there to commemorate it with this card!
Whatever…
******
#21 - 1994 Score Minnesota Twins - Team Checklist
It would take five more seasons before Marty Cordova would play here. Actually left field, so his vantage point would be a little different from this. For whatever reason, this card eluded me in 1994 (and beyond). It’s just a simple base card… Score used a shot of the 1987 World Series for this card. Wise choice, as the dome hadn’t been that full in 1994. Or 1993 for that matter.
Looking at this brings a certain degree of nostalgia. None of which borders on “warm fuzzies”.
#20 - 1993 Stadium Club Jack Murphy - Chuck Knoblauch
Perhaps feeling burned by overbuying cases of 1992 Stadium Club Skydome sets, I don’t recall seeing any 1993 Stadium Club Jack Murphy sets around in 1993. Likely would have bought one, just because of the prospects inside. So I missed out on this set. Which sucks because it has a lot of cards that I would like to have, but one of those cards makes buying one today at a reasonable price, unrealistic. I would have no problem paying $10-$20 or so for a set missing Derek Jeter. I don’t really need that card.
#19 - 1999 Pacific Revolution - Brad Radke
There’s Brad Radke again… On another nice looking and utterly forgettable Pacific card.
#18 - 2025 Topps Chrome Power Players - Brooks Lee
There’s Brooks Lee again… On another nice looking and utterly forgettable 2025 Topps Chrome insert card.
#17 - 2003 Fleer Platinum - Brad Wilkerson
I liked that several year run where Fleer used the Platinum brand to revisit old designs. In this case, the 1988 Fleer Baseball All Stars box set. Still haven’t picked up any cards from whatever set had the throwbacks to regular 1988 Fleer base. Still one of my favorite sets of the 1980’s.
#16 - 2003 Playoff Prestige - Bartolo Colon
Playoff Prestige is commemorating the BS trade where Montreal sends Big Sexy to the Chicago White Sox. The Expos would receive a big shiny bag of nothing in return. Rocky Biddle and an injured Orlando Hernandez? Yeah, that sounds fair, MLB…
#15 - 2003 Studio - Brad Wilkerson
Playoff had acquired all of the old Donruss/Leaf trademarks, in order to keep producing cards under familiar brand names. With a Playoff twist… More inserts! This is just a base Studio card from 2003. It does a pretty good job of capturing what Studio looked like as a brand, a decade or so earlier. This is pretty much a design Donruss/Leaf would have used for Studio, at some point.
And I’d still like to know why the city of Montreal is wasting nearly a billion dollars to upgrade Olympic Stadium.
Cut your losses, Montreal…
******
Actually, now it’s time for some of their various minor league affiliate teams of the early 1990’s, for another installment of favorite Expos cards, before they were Montreal Expos cards.
1990 Best - Jacksonville Expos - Greg Colbrunn
1990 Best was getting a little bit closer to their goal of 1984 Topps. Just a few more tweaks…
In case you were curious, Steve Lucas Honda in Jacksonville is still a thing. So are Barnett Bank and Rawlings. Eastern Airlines however, collapsed as a company only a year after this card was printed.
1990 ProCards - Jacksonville Expos - Greg Colbrunn
Forgot Colbrunn was a catching prospect coming up, as he pretty much only played first base in his 13 year major league career. As a major leaguer, he only caught the grand total of 1 inning. Coming in 1998, with the Colorado Rockies. He wasn’t an every day starter after the 1996 season. Injuries took a toll, leaving him to backup duty and pinch hitting appearances. He did leave the game with a career .289/.338/.460 slash line, in just over 3,000 plate appearances. Those are some pretty good numbers, for a part timer.
1990 Best - Jacksonville Expos - Boi Rodriguez
Pronounced “BOY”. Which I thought was a strange first name. I don’t remember why this guy popped into my head while searching for Expos cards. I was familiar with him, but I didn’t remember why… I’m going with remembering it from an old Baseball America story, as this era would line up with my subscription.
Boi never made the majors, spending 4 seasons in the Expos system, then 3 with the Braves, and a season apiece with the Pirates and Royals, before moving onto various leagues in China, Korea and Mexico, for another 9 seasons. Calling it a career in 2005. He put up some big numbers in the Mexican league, between 1997-2001.
1990 ProCards - Jacksonville Expos - Archi Cianfrocco
Cianfrocco with the Jacksonville Expos? Absolutely!
Ignoring the stupid Jacksonville Expos logo, I want to talk about that stupid looking scoreboard over Archi’s left shoulder. (Also seen on the previous two cards.) What year does that design make you think of? If you guessed 1980, you’d be absolutely correct! That scoreboard is an absolute tragedy compared to what it replaced…
Sam Wolfson Park’s classic sun shaped Scoreboard, June 1980. (Photo from the Florida Times-Union.) Shortly after this photo was taken, the old sun shaped scoreboard was taken down, and the new, lame one was put up on the other side of the batter’s eye.
But I think an even bigger tragedy is that at some point, Crazy Elliot’s wall advertisement was painted over.
1990 Best - Jacksonville Expos - Kent Bottenfield
Kent Bottenfield. Victim of some truly bad minor league card photography. That grass doesn’t look right, and the J part of the stupid Jacksonville Expos logo has been bleached out. There’s also some weird halo thing going on, if you follow the outline of his shoulders, over his head.
I’m starting to think he was never in Jacksonville…
1990 Best - Jacksonville Expos - John Vander Wal
We arrive again at a John Vander Wal card. Well, the former Expo was also a former Rookie…
1991 ProCards - Triple A All Stars - John Vander Wal
By 1991, John Vander Wal was a Triple A All Star, with the Indianapolis Indians. Those are some extra large letters on the back of his jersey. Typiclally, they’d be several hundred points smaller than half the size of the uniform number.
And I really like the ballpark John is standing in…
1990 ProCards - Indianapolis Indians - Dale Mohorcic
Dale Mohorcic was a long time minor leaguer, before catching a break with the Texas Rangers in 1986. He made his major league debut at age 30, and put in a few decent years with the Rangers, Yankees and Expos. He retired after the 1990 season with the Expos.
Now what appealed to me about this card was the shot of old Owen J. Bush Stadium behind him. The Indianapolis Indians played at Owen J. Bush Stadium, from 1931-1996, before moving into a new downtown ballpark. In 1987, the park was dressed up as both Crosley Field and Comiskey Park, for the movie 8 Men Out. Despite its flaws, still one of my all time favorite baseball movies. By 1990, Owen J. Bush was falling apart, and had gotten so bad the city was threatened with losing the team if improvements were not made. After the Indians moved out of the Owen, It saw use as a dirt racing track for a couple years, until that didn’t work long term.
The old stadium officially closed in 2001, and was left to sit and deteriorate.
There’s some nice video of the abandoned ballpark on the YouTubes, if you feel like some additional material, that I don’t feel like providing.
Between 2008-2011, the old ballpark was used to store cars traded in the Cash for Clunkers program.
In 2011, a plan was set forward to convert the former stadium into lofts and apartments. Plans included keeping the outer facade of the main grandstand, roof, stadium lights and a modified playing field. Interior demolition of the grandstands started in March, 2012, and the residential complex opened in July, 2013. It was fully leased when it opened. Most important, it still looked like Owen J. Bush Stadium. They did a commendable job!
Whatever…
******
#14 - 2025 Topps - Brooks Lee - Celebration Confetti
Celebration Confetti?
Why… Just why…
There’s your little Twins break before going right back to more Expos cards!
Says a lot of for my Fanatics X-Mess shopping spree…
#13 - 1998 Topps Gold Label - Brad Fullmer
Well, we haven’t seen Brad Fullmer in a while… This is a really nice looking card, in its brilliant Refractoriness.
#12 - 2002 Fleer Maximum - Fernando Tatis - To The Max
Never bought any of the Fleer Maximum line. Don’t know if I didn’t see it, or if I just didn’t care. The late 1990’s and early 2000’s saw the card manufacturers produce countless similar and somewhat lazy sets. I’ve been singling out Pacific, but all of them were guilty. I wouldn’t have bothered with this card, had it just been a base. But it’s a “To The Max” parallel, printed in the color of sick. That makes it numbered out of 298.
#11 - 2001 Donruss - Fernando Tatis - Stat Line Career
Picked up another card of Fernando Tatis Jr.’s father, this one is numbered out of 258.
So it’s 40 cards cooler than “To The Max”.
#10 - 1996 Leaf Signature Extended - Tim Spehr - Autograph
1996 Leaf Signature was a ground breaking release. One autographed card per pack, with a $12 retail. Granted, there are far more Tim Spehr’s than Derek Jeter’s, from a collectors standpoint, which is why I was able to get this for a buck! Another signature newcomer to the Expos Top Loader box!
#9 - 2002 Leaf Rookies & Stars - Bartolo Colon
Finally, Playoff (Leaf/Donruss) printed a Bartolo Colon Expos card, with a largely unobstructed bit of Olympic Stadium, in all its Primary and Secondary colored glory. Bright green astroturf, bright yellow dugout bench, bright orange colors, dark royal blue railings and dugout. Olympic Stadium was absolutely unique.
And a dump…
#8 - 1998 Finest - Ugueth Urbina - No Protector Refractor
In 1995, Topps started putting a protective peel on some of the Chrome cards they printed. That way the surface wouldn’t get scuffed in the process of finishing to packaging. The collector could then pull the protective peel off, when they opened their packs. Finest got that treatment until 1999.
Now when you establish the card protector gimmick as a selling point, what is the next logical step in marketing? Now you advertise a parallel, where the card DOESN’T have the protective peel… Yes, Topps was trolling collectors back in 1998, as well… In order to not cheapen the unprotected parallel’s integrity, Topps added the Refractor treatment to the card back as well. That was so you couldn’t get a Refractor, rip the peel off, and claim that now you have the rarer parallel.
This was really stupid and I’m glad it only lasted one year.
******
Now how about some Ugueth Urbina from his minor league days?
Fleer bought ProCards in 1991, and would continue to produce minor league teams sets through 1994. The MLB Players Strike pretty much slammed the door on the Junk Wax Era, and all those 150+ minor league team sets became a cost reducing casualty. Their first co-branded effort was 1992. I remember seeing these all over the Becketts Focus on Future Stars magazine (which was a fun read, back in the day), but I never picked any team sets or broken single cards up.
The 1992 Fleer/ProCards run saw them release five teams sets for Montreal Expos farm teams. I bought one card from each, with the exception of the Class AA Harrisburg Senators.
1992 - Fleer/ProCards - Albany Polecats - Ugueth Urbina
Ugueth was the logical representative for the Albany (GA) Polecats. One of four A ball teams affiliated with the Expos in 1992.
1992 - Fleer/ProCards - West Palm Beach Expos - Joey Eischen
West Palm Beach was considered their High A ball team, and is represented by old pal, Joey Eischen.
1992 - Fleer/ProCards - Jamestown Expos - Everett Stull
Jamestown, NY, was home to Montreal’s short season Low A ball team. I’m happy they didn’t adapt the terrible Jacksonville Expos erect penis logo. Yeah it would have worked, but that logo needed to not make it out of the 1980’s.
1994 - Fleer/ProCards - West Palm Beach Expos - Everett Stull
Here’s Stull a couple years later, as he’s moved up to the High A West Palm Beach Expos. Fleer/ProCards 1994 design is pretty uninspired in comparison to the 1992 sets.
1992 - Fleer/ProCards - Indianapolis Indians - Kent Bottenfield
Too many Bottenfields…
But this was a must own for the outfield fence view of Owen J. Bush Stadium. This view shows the Ivy covered brick outfield wall, which was planted in 1932. When Chicago Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley say the outfield fence of Owen J. Bush Stadium, he had Ivy planted to grow up the outfield walls of Wrigley Field.
Bottenfield doesn’t look too happy here… Likely because he was in AAA, but wasn’t allowed to flush a toilet inside his home ballpark. (Due to plumbing issues with the stadium… Nothing Bottenfield did himself…)
The Montreal Expos left their Class AAA Indianapolis affiliate, after the 1992 season. For 1993, the Expos shifted their AAA operations to a city far closer to Montreal…
1992 - SkyBox - Ottawa Lynx
I’d never seen this card before, and it was an instant must-own. As everyone knows, the major leagues expanded in 1993, adding the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins. When you add major league teams, you also have to add new minor league teams, at the same time. Two new AAA teams would enter the league for 1993, the Charlotte (NC) Knights and the Ottawa (ON, Canada) Lynx. The Knights would be a White Sox affiliate, while the Lynx would sign on with the Expos.
Montreal’s top farm team stayed in Ottawa through the 2002 season, when the Expos couldn’t assure the city of Ottawa how long they would remain in Montreal. Unable to reach an agreement with the Expos, the Ottawa Lynx became the AAA team for the Baltimore Orioles, from 2003-2006. For the 2007 season, Ottawa was the top team for the Philadelphia Phillies. But after the season, the team was sold and moved to Allentown, PA. Now they’re the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
Yup… The Ottawa Lynx is far cooler…
Looks like the Ottawa Lynx hadn’t yet developed their logo, when this card was printed. That Ottawa Triple-A mock-up logo is hilarious. That My Little Pony script is certainly a choice…
Circa 1993 Ottawa Lynx logo. (Where’s Jerry?)
Still mad at Name Redacted Star for taking my hat…
1993 - Classic/Best - B.J. Wallace
When the Expose drafted Wallace, 3rd overall, in the 1992 MLB Draft, I was super jazzed. He should dominate the minors, and make the big league rotation, become a star and I can buy an Expos jersey with “Wallace” across the back. Well, that was off to a good start in 1993. B.J. went 11-8, with a 3.28 ERA, in 137 innings. Promoted to AA Harrisburg in 1994, he pitched 43 innings and blew out his arm. He missed the entire 1995 season, then was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the minor league phase of the Rule V draft. B.J. Wallace threw 63 innings for the Clearwater Phillies, in 1996, but that was the end of his professional career.
1994 - Fleer/ProCards - Salt Lake Buzz - Scott Stahoviak
Because I had nowhere else to put this card… Stahoviak was the Twins second first round pick in the 1991 MLB Draft, also the second first baseman from that same first round. Neither Stahoviak, nor David McCarty really panned out. Though Stahoviak posted a decent .845 OPS, over 469 plate appearances in 1996. He stuck with the Twins through the 1998 season. McCarty was gone in 1995, though he did run into some success down the road. David McCarty was a member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who ended Boston’s long run of not winning a World Series.
******
Whatever…
Due to the way free agent compensation was handled in this era, teams could load up on additional first round picks, depending on who signed where. In the 1990 MLB Draft, the Oakland A’s had their own pick (26th overall), plus the Milwaukee Brewers pick (14th overall) and a Supplemental pick (36th overall), for the Brewers signing free agent, Dave Parker. They also got another Supplemental pick (34th overall), when the Kansas City Royals signed free agent pitcher, Storm Davis.
Oakland used these four picks on Todd Van Poppel (whom I’ve already written about), a high school power pitcher, out of Arlington Texas. Their next three picks were all high upside, college pitchers. Thought process being, the Athletics had an excellent, but aging, pitching staff. These prospects would all develop as a group, and replace the aging rotation in a couple of years.
#7 - 1991 Classic - Four Aces
Don Peters (26th overall), blew out his arm during the 1991 season, and missed the next three and a half seasons. He never made the major leagues. Dave Zancanaro stayed healthy, and pitched in the minors through the 2001 season. But Like Peter’s, he never appeared in a major league game. Kirk Dressendorfer (36th overall) did pitch in 7 games with Oakland, in the spring of 1991. That aggressive promotion may have been his undoing. Dressendorfer battled arm problems for the next 6 seasons, and never made it back to the majors.
And we all know how Todd Van Popped fared. He was the most hyped prospect on this card, and while it was assumed he would have the best career of the four, he did live up to those expectations. Just the numbers he put up, were not all that good. I still blame his agent for insisting on Van Popped signing a major league contract, for ruining his career.
As promising as this draft was supposed to be for Oakland, it was pretty much an all around bust.
#6 - 1995 Select Certified - Shane Andrews - Mirror Gold
Shane Andrews was drafted by the Expos, a few picks (11th) before Van Popped went to the A’s (14th). As much I would have loved to collect Todd Van Poppel Expos cards, they made the right choice in taking Andrews. (The Minnesota Twins also had a shot at Van Poppel, but took pitcher Todd Ritchie, 12th overall.) If you believe in WAR, these three players would rank: 1. Todd Ritchie (6.1 career WAR) 2. Shane Andrews (2.0 career WAR) 3. Todd Van Poppel (-0.3 career WAR).
None of that really matters, but this is a really cool Andrews card. These Mirror Gold cards are very attractive.
#5 - 2006 Bowman Chrome - Brad Radke - Refractor
Was happy to pick up more Brad Radke cards for the Twins PC. Of the new Radke arrivals, this was by far the best.
#4 - 2025 Topps ProDebut - Khadim Diaw - Purple Foil
Of course I’ll need to add a shiny purple parallel of last Summer’s new friend, Khadim Diaw! Wearing Fort Myers Mighty Mussels colors, under that purple foil treatment. He didn’t play much last summer due to Injury, and the Twins picked up their hot new catching prospect, Edwardo Tait, from the Phillies in the Jhoan Duran trade. Where that places Diaw on the prospect depth chart, depends entirely on what Tait and Diaw do in 2026. I see Diaw starting the season in High A Cedar Rapids, with Tait replacing him in Fort Myers.
But who has any clue what the Twins are doing these days?
Tom Pohlad… Would you trust this man in any matter relating to business?
I mean, even Joe Pohlad had the charm of wearing a ridiculously tiny sport coat. This guy looks like the main villain in a bad Lifetime drama, in a moment of trying to look sincere… I just ain’t buying it.
In the last 6 months, there’s been an ownership restructuring, a fire sale to save money on current and future payroll, followed by a piecemeal management shakeup. Now the new owner is publicly screaming about transparency and being “all-in”, contacting lapsed season ticket holders, begging them to come back. Behind the scenes the President of Baseball Operations is given orders to compete for a championship, while given less resources to work with -over $50 million less than 2023’s payroll- and he quits out of frustration with the team.
They’re starting to resemble the Colorado Rockies in terms of ownership/management being one horribly misguided disaster. 2026 is going to be an ugly season of Twins baseball. Even worse than the last two seasons.
Probably for the best. The Pohlad’s don’t deserve Byron Buxton. Hate to see him go, but he shouldn’t have to put up with this, given his dedication to this poorly run franchise. I just hope they will follow through of the plan of selling the team after that questionable debt is paid, and the new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
Almost makes me nostalgic for the simpler days of their grandfather messing with the team…
Like trying to contract the 2001 Minnesota Twins for $250 million?
#3 - 2001 Fleer Autographics - Eric Milton - Silver
Eric Milton remembers… He was one of many players asked questions about it, from reporters all over the league. Didn’t have, and needed, a Milton autograph. On a card that is…
Already had Eric Milton’s autograph on a baseball, from a signing at Twins Fest. This ball inscribed with the date of his no-hitter against the Angels. He struck out 13 that day.
After all this, we’re finally up to #2 on the Whatever!
#2 - 2015 Bowman’s Best Mirror Image - Byron Buxton & Charlie Blackmon
Another card that I didn’t know existed! My Favorite current Twins center fielder, paired with my favorite Rockies (then) center fielder. This one set my Fanatics gift cards back a whole $5, but is completely worth it for the Twins box. Which won the placement debate until I get a second copy of this card, for the Blackmon collection.
Before getting to #1 on the Whatever, we have to go back down on the farm, one last time… I am compelled to check on the second Junk Wax Prospector feature (don’t read it, it’s terrible…), the New York Yankees left-handed starting pitcher, Kevin Mmahat!
1988 - Star - Ft. Lauderdale Yankees - Kevin Mmahat
Back in 1988, he was pitching with is Ft. Lauderdale, at what looks to be a spring training complex.
Just as a storm is rolling in. Or rolling out.
1988 - Star - FSL All Stars - Kevin Mmahat
Mmahat was a Florida State League All Star in 1988. I’m thinking this photo was taken within minutes of his regular team set card. Doesn’t look like he’s moved very far from that spot.
1989 - Star - Albany-Colonie Yankees - Kevin Mmahat
New York started him in Double A, with the Albany-Colonie Yankees, for the 1989 season. He did well and was moved up to Triple A Columbus. Before the summer was over, Mmahat would pitch in 4 games for the New York Yankees. That didn’t go so well…
Pretty standard card back for 1989 Star Company.
Oh cool! I found Kevin Mmahat on the YouTubes!
He’s now selling “House Painting Alternatives for Louisiana Homes” (or was in 2014)! I know it’s him because he tacked on a little bit of his baseball footage at the end of this video (starting around 2:20).
Hate that I got a tiny bit of “My Pillow” vibes from it…
I just won’t watch it again!
Unlike the Superstore complete series DVD box set, that I redeemed with some more of my X-Mess Amazon gift cards. Really enjoyed watching this series last fall, as I was sorting cards and scanning Becketts. Now I can go back and rewatch all the bits I missed, because I wasn’t looking at the TV. Because I was sorting cards and scanning Becketts.
One of my New Years resolutions -oh, who am I kidding, I don’t do New Years resolutions- was to watch less news. Just can’t deal with seeing what’s going on. I didn’t sit and focus on the TV. It was background noise for writing, or sorting cards and scanning Becketts. Much to Laura’s dismay, that’s meant more listening to my obnoxious music. But I plan on digging up some of my TV sets on DVD, so put on for background noise. While I’m writing way too long of stories about stuff only I care about, I’d rather watch reruns of Dave Attell’s Insomniac, than listen to clips of President Pig Shit’s attempts to speak coherently.
Thought it was supposed to be the other guy who wasn’t mentally fit to be president?
Thanks, assholes.
It’s time for #1!!!
The number one card redeemed from my Fanatics X-Mess gift cards is…
#1 - 2019 Topps Archives Expos Anniversary - Coco Laboy - Autograph
Highly doubt there are any other certified Coco Laboy autographed cards, so I’m absolutely not turning this one down for $13.
Jose Alberto “Coco” Laboy was a minor league journey who first signed with the San Francisco Giants “before the 1959 season”, and was released by the Giants “before the 1963 season”. Baseball Reference was pretty vague here, they must not have the specific dates. He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, in February, 1963. He stayed in the Cardinals farm system until October 14, 1968. That was the date of the 1968 Expansion Draft, to fill out rosters for the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Pilots and Montreal Expos.
Coco Laboy was the 54th pick in the draft, and immediately became the Expos starting third baseman. Despite never playing a game in the major leagues, before 1969. His first season was pretty good, with a slash line of .258/.308/409, slugging 18 home runs in 157 games. He finished 2nd in the 1969 National League Rookie of the Year voting. Unfortunately for Coco, his hitting dropped off a cliff in 1970, and continued spiraling through his last major league game, in May, 1973.
For an insert set focused on the history of the Montreal Expos, Laboy is a definite deep cut. And I absolutely love that he gets a certified autographed card.
Now if I could have only learned he had a son, named Boi…
Whatever…
So that was the list of what I redeemed my Fanatics X-Mess gift cards to acquire. And it was a lot of fun. For as much as I blame Fanatics for taking a great deal of fun away from the hobby, Fanatics gave me a really fun evening of shopping for cards. Not valuable, but somewhat obscure. And I could see doing something like this again. It was pretty comparable to some ebay card shopping sprees. I absolutely didn’t expect that from Fanatics.
******
I got one other gift card for X-Mess, this one a little more personalized.
Laura wasn’t aware of my Jeff Innis superfandom, until the flood of Innis minor league cards started coming in from the ebays, last fall. Why would she? He wasn’t a star, and his last major game came when we were both 18. We were in our late 30’s when we got together.
For X-Mess she made me a personalized Gift Card for Jeff Innis memorabilia. Her idea was I could buy a Mets jersey, and get it customized with Jeff Innis’ name and uniform number 40. I’m not sure how easily that can be done with Fanatics calling the merchandise shots, and retired players possibly being off limits due to licensing agreements I’m unaware of. Which really didn’t matter, because I already knew EXACTLY the piece of Jeff Innis memorabilia, I wanted.
Provided the ebay listing was still available… It was!
An official game used Jeff Innis bat, from between 1991-1993! All for less than half the price of an authentic jersey, with no name or numbers on it. Whereas this piece was actually used and held by Jeff Innis himself. Of course I can’t complete know that it was, I’m trusting the C.O.A. on that one…
Really have no reason to believe this isn’t true. If you’re an unscrupulous dealer looking to make a quick buck on fake New York Mets paraphernalia, Jeff Innis isn’t the name you’re going to forge. (I would strongly question the authenticity of a Darryl Strawberry game used mirror, for example). Chances are, this bat was sold by the team, after one of those three seasons, to collectors or in a charity auction.
I remember in the early 1990’s, the Minnesota Twins had several retail storefronts around town that sold tickets, Twins merchandise and game used bats, balls, jerseys, etc. for prices that weren’t at all unreasonable. I bought game used bats used by Junior Ortiz, Gene Larkin and Jaimie Quirk, for less than $20 apiece. Plus an autographed game used bat from former Twins catching prospect, Derek Parks, for $45, in 1994.
I can only assume this Jeff Innis bat was a similar deal.
As a relief pitcher, Jeff Innis would rarely take an at-bat. He pitched in 288 major league games, yet only had 12 career plate appearances. He never recorded a base hit, but had 3 sacrifice bunts and only struck out twice. Did he use this bat in a game? I’ll never know… Could have been one used for pitchers batting practice during spring training. Don’t know… Don’t care… Because this is awesome..
Since it can’t be disproven, I’m going to assign this bat its own history…
Saturday, August 31, 1991.
The New York Mets are in Cincinnati, playing the Reds in a night game at Riverfront Stadium. Mets starter, Pete Schourek, set down the Reds in the bottom of the first, but ran into trouble in the second. Double… Walk… Single… Double… Strikeout… Lineout… Single… Then a walk to Hal Morris, loading the bases, with 2 out. Reds up 3-0. Schourek can’t throw a strike and is down in the count 3-0, to Reds shortstop and future Hall of Famer, Barry Larkin. Mets manager, Jeff Torborg, has seen enough and calls Jeff Innis into the game to finish the Larkin at-bat.
Innis throws one pitch that misses, walking Morris, scoring Paul O’Neill, making it 4-0 Reds. (That walk and run goes on Schourek’s record, not Innis’s.) Chris Sabo up next, he led the inning off with a double. Innis throws a strike, then gets Sabo to ground into a force out, shortstop Howard Johnson tosses to second baseman Gregg Jefferies, to retire the Reds.
Now comes the important part. Since he was brought into the game early, the Mets need some innings, and do not pinch hit for Jeff Innis in the top of the third. He steps (carrying the bat I now own) in after third baseman, Chris Donnels grounded out. He steps in to face Reds pitcher, Mo Sanford.
He doesn’t know this yet, but Innis is seeking prevenge on Mo Sanford. In March 1994, Innis and Sanford would be fighting for the last bullpen spot, in Minnesota Twins Spring Training camp. Cranky Tom Kelly would award that spot to Brett Merriman (after a trade with the Colorado Rockies), sending Jeff Innis (and Mo Sanford) to Triple A Salt Lake City, to play with the Buzz (and be teammates with Scott Stahoviak).
But on this night, Jeff Innis controls his destiny… Sanford misses the zone on his first two pitches (something he would do on seemingly EVERY pitch with the 1995 Twins), then gets a called strike. Up 2-1 in the count, the pitch comes toward the plate, Jeff Innis takes a mighty swing… and hits a fly ball to Reds center fielder, Eric Davis. That’s pretty anti-climactic… Okay, Innis takes a mighty hack and send a rocket to the deepest part of center field. Eric Davis sprints toward the warning track, times his jump perfectly, and robs Jeff Innis of a home run.
Yeah… That most likely didn’t happen. But I see nothing telling me this didn’t happen that way.
Jeff Innis pitched the bottom of the third and 4th innings, though he didn’t finish the 4th. Coming out of the game with two outs and runners at 1st and second. Reliever Tony Castillo, recorded the final out of the inning with no further damage. zDespite their early lead, the Mets beat Cincinnati 8-7, on this night. Jeff innis didn’t pitch very well, going 2 total innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk. He did strike out Paul O’Neill looking, in the third.
I love Baseball-Reference.com!
Just as much as I love having this bat!
Harley just wants us to end all of this X-Mess, clean up the X-Mess mess, and feed him dinner.
So he can go take another nap.
Not a bad idea…
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