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 #111: Mike Schwabe

Mike Schwabe

PHOTO: Here's another in the long line of posed Tiger Stadium shots in this set. They are all a bit out of focus, too.

STAT: Schwabe had one of the worst WHIPs for 1989, minimum 40 IP.

ANAGRAM: Mike Schwabe = We skim beach

CAREER: 1/10

48.1 career IP

1989 Topps Major League Debut #102: Kevin Ritz

Kevin Ritz

It's amazing how many of the guys in this set were expansion picks, and Ritz is another, taken by the Rockies.

PHOTO: The photo is fine although that pea green color bugs me, as does the blurry Pirates logo in the background.

STAT: Ritz was the first pitcher to post more than 12 wins in a season for the Rockies when he won 17 in 1996. Of course, that year Ritz had the worst-ever ERA for a guy who won at least 17 games. (It's worth pointing out, though, that his ERA was just about league average when adjusted for playing in Coors Field.)

CAREER: 3/10

Ritz was a better player than his numbers indicate thanks to playing in Colorado, but still wasn't all that great and didn't stick around long due to injuries. Even though his numbers were deceptively decent in 1995 and 1996, his win totals were an important milestone for that franchise becoming competitive.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #101: Rob Richie

Rob Richie

After his baseball career, Rob Richie went on to a very successful music career. Oh wait, that was the other Rob Richie.

PHOTO: A ho-hum photo saved only by the fact that the man has a great smile.

STAT: Richie had a very short but very productive major-league career. Of his 13 career hits, he had 4 doubles, 2 triple, and 1 homer, as well as 3 hits that brought his team back from a deficit. He had a 132 OPS+ in his lone season (comprising only 55 PA.)

CAREER: 1/10

Richie barely played in the majors after jumping through the minors. He played well with the Tigers in 1989 and then never played professional ball again. I can't find any record of what happened to him but I assume he must have gotten injured. Does anybody know?

1989 Topps Major League Debut #96: Ramon Pena

Ramon Pena

PHOTO: Pena made only 8 appearances in the big leagues. His career ended prematurely after he got rolled up in that tarp coming up behind him in the photo.

STAT: This poor guy pitched in 8 career games and all were losses for his team. In fact, his team was already behind in every single game he entered.

ANAGRAM: Ramon Pena = A prone man

CAREER: 1/10

8 career games and a 6.00 ERA.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #88: Randy Nosek

Randy Nosek

PHOTO: After that weird cell phone on Jaime Navarro's card, we see a much more 1989-ish phone in the background on this card. That and a whole lot of Tiger Stadium blue.

STAT: Among pitchers with at least 19 career walks allowed since 1952, Nosek is tied for the fewest number of career strikeouts. He's tied with three others guys of whom you also haven't heard.

ANAGRAM: Randy Nosek = Ran donkeys

CAREER: 1/10

Just 5 career games.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #61: Shawn Holman

Shawn Holman

PHOTO: A fairly boring photo except for that weird scaffolding at the top.

STAT: Since 1970, Holman has one of the worst strikeout-to-walk ratios for any pitcher with an ERA+ of 200 or better. Try to wrap your head around his career stats. He finished with a career ERA less than half of league average--excellent--and yet had more career walks than strikeouts--terrible. This is consistent with his career minor league numbers, where his walk total was high and his strikeout total was low (although he did at least have more K's.)

CAREER: 1/10

Just 5 major-league games for this fellow.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #32: Brian DuBois

Brian DuBois

Hey, it's our second straight card featuring a player with a capitalized letter in the middle of his last name!

I seem to recall that this guy's last name was pronounced "Du-BOYS" and not "Doo-BWAH" as the normal French pronunciation would go...does anybody recall?

PHOTO: Looks like another Tiger Stadium shot. I'm trying to figure out what DuBois' t-shirt says underneath his jersey. It doesn't quite look like "DETROIT"...any thoughts?

STAT: DuBois had a strange year in 1989, starting 5 games, winning none, losing 4, but also posting an ERA+ over 200. There have been only 22 seasons like that in the last 100+ years, by mostly forgettable pitchers.

CAREER: 2/10

DuBois had a pretty good first year, posting a 1.75 ERA over 36 IP. Digging slightly deeper, though, shows just 13 K's in those 36 innings to go along with 17 walks. He better those numbers in 1990, but not enough to have it make a difference, pitching to a 5.09 ERA. And that was it...two years and done.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #28: Jeff Datz

Jeff Datz

Who Datz? Never heard of him before.

PHOTO: Ho hum photo except for nice Tiger Stadium background. This card is blurry...wonder if it's just my copy.

STAT: Check this out. On the first pitch of his first major-league plate appearance, Datz was hit by Jeff Montgomery. Also odd that both of Datz' career hits were singles in the top of the 9th inning of games his team was losing 9-2. And he also hit into a double play in the top of the 9th inning of a game his team was winning 9-2. Weird.

CAREER: 1/10

Just 10 major-league at-bats.