1989 Topps Major League Debut #131: Jose Vizcaino

Jose Vizcaino

PHOTO: Is there some rule about how badly a rookie's cap must fit?

STAT: Among players with at least 5000 at-bats since 1989, Vizcaino has the 3rd-worst OPS+.

ANAGRAM: Jose Vizcaino, Infield, Dodgers = Con is if jailed - oversized dong

CAREER: 5/10

Vizcaino hit for a decent average but had no extra-base power to speak of. Still, he was a good defensive player, played all 4 infield positions, stuck around in the majors for a long time, and made it to the post-season a whole bunch.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #124: Doug Strange

Doug Strange

PHOTO: Here's a rare case of a player's own name serving as a suitable adjective for his photo, as the expression on Strange's face is nothing if not strange.

I'm very curious about the Tiger in the background. At first glimpse, it looks like Cecil Fielder, but Big Daddy was playing in Japan in 1989 and wasn't with Detroit until 1990 (after this card image was taken, surely.)

STAT: Strange had 1 career inside-the-park home run, coming in this game against the Mets, one of Corey Lidle's first major-league games.

ANAGRAM: Lots of good ones for Doug Strange, such as "tugs, groaned", "gets aground", "drags tongue", "gangster duo", "dung storage"....seriously there are probably 50 more good ones.

CAREER: 3/10

Strange was absolutely a no-hit kind of guy, finishing with an OBP under .300 (terrible) and a career OPS+ of 69 (horrible.) However he was versatile, playing lots of games at 2B and 3B, as well as a bunch in the OF, SS, and 1B. Of course, he wasn't a very good fielder either, posting for example a .927 fielding percentage at 3B compared to a league average of .950.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #117: Greg Smith

Greg Smith

Here's our second straight Cub named Smith.

PHOTO: This is not a bad photo although I have to say I wish they used a different kind of lens that allowed the stuff in the background to be more in focus. This is a great shot showing what a typical spring training stadium looks like, but you can't really see it all that well.

STAT: Smtih's most meaningful plate appearance probably came in this game where his 11th-inning bunt off John Franco advanced a runner that would eventually score the go-ahead run. (Of course, Mike Marshall hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the inning although the Cubs did go on to win in 13 innings.)

ANAGRAM: Greg Smith = Right gems

CAREER: 1/10

Just 58 career big-league plate appearances.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #106: Bobby Rose

Bobby Rose

PHOTO: He's got the Michael Jackson look going on.

STAT: Get this...Rose hit only 5 major league homers but TWO of them were pinch-hit jobs off the late Steve Howe. And two of his other jacks were off Randy Johnson and Jack McDowell. He should be proud of that resume, limited as it may be.

ANAGRAM: Bob Rose, Angels = Enlarges boobs

CAREER: 2/10

Rose, one of the few majors leagues with that surname who wasn't either a gutless cheat or terrible player, was nevertheless only average in bits of four seasons in the majors.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #80: Jeff McKnight

Jeff McKnight

I strongly urge you to click on McKnight's name above and read the sponsorship banner on his page.

PHOTO: This picture should be called Jeff "As Black As" McKnight. I would so much prefer a daytime and/or action shot.

STAT: Get this. Since 1901, McKnight is one of just two players to appear in at least 30 games at 1B, 2B, and SS while playing in no more than 300 total games. If you increase the limit to 500 games, you add Lou Merloni, as well as a guy we just saw: Greg Litton.

Turns out, as you can see below on the back of the card, that McKnight's full first name is Jefferson. The only other guy to play MLB with that first name is Jeff McCleskey.

CAREER: 2/10

I begrudgingly give McKnight a 2 since he stuck around for parts of 6 seasons.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #72: Greg Litton

Greg Litton

PHOTO: Nice power batting shot of Litton, although I'd like to see more of his face. I'd like to see a little less of the weirdos in the dugout. Seriously...look at those two people.

STAT: Litton had just 13 career homers, but he made them count with 6 either tying the game or putting his team ahead, including a grand slam in the top of the 13th of a game against the Reds.

ANAGRAM: Maybe this is why he didn't steal so many bases....Greg Litton = Rotting leg

CAREER: 3/10

Litton stuck around with the Giants for 5 seasons and gets a 3 thanks to his homer and 3 RBI in the 1989 World Series.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #50: Chip Hale

Chip Hale

Here's our second Twin in a row, this time a far less successful one.

PHOTO: This is also kind of a worthless photo of Hale, but I'm curious about that banner in the background. Does anybody know what it says or which stadium it's from?

STAT: Of Hale's 7 career homers, 4 came off guys who played for the Yankees, although only Scott Kamieniecki was a Yankee at the time of the homer.

CAREER: 2/10

Hale has the distinction of being traded from one team to another team after his final major-league appearance. Obviously he was trying to make it back to the big leagues, but after being released by the Dodgers and signing with the Angels, the Angels traded him to the Cardinals in 1998.

Also, not too many guys in history have their two leading positions as DH and 2B.

Not to much else to say about Walter William Hale.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #13: Juan Bell

Juan Bell

PHOTO: For some odd reason, I didn't know until after Bell retired that he is the younger brother of George Bell, which is pretty obvious from the above photo as they bear quite a resemblance to each other. Want to see? Check out the elder Bell's 1988 Topps All-star card.

STAT: The Baseball-Reference PI is down right now as 1954 and 1955 are being added to the database, so I can't search on this. However, I noticed that Bell began his career with two seasons where he didn't get on base at all and produced an OPS+ of -100. True, he appeared in only 13 games total, but it's still pretty impressive.

CAREER: 1/10

Bell had a very disappointing career, especially as one of the star prospects the Orioles acquired when they traded Eddie Murray to the Dodgers. Bell was fairly unusual in that he was really bad with both his bat and his glove.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #9: Billy Bates

PHOTO: That's a nice fielding action shot of Bates, although he doesn't look terribly confident. the background, though, just looks like an empty stadium. Blah.

STAT: Bates' only career extra base hit was a double in this game. It led off an inning against Rob Murphy, and Bates ended up scoring the go-ahead (and eventual winning) run of the game. Bates certainly did not have a notable major-league career, but at least he did that much, which is more than the rest of us can say.

CAREER: 1/10

48 career at-bats in the big leagues....ho hum.