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Minor League Monday – Timmie Morrow, 1990 Best.

Spiff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:42:00 +0000

Getting back to Minor League Monday today with Timmie Morrow. Timmie appears here on his 1990 Best card, number 284 in the set.

Morrow was a second round draft pick for Texas in the 1988 draft. He played for the Gulf Coast League Rangers in 1988 and the Butte Copper Kings in 1989. Both of those years are reflected on the back of his card. What isn't there is the one inning he pitched for Butte in 1989. It wasn't pretty.

In 1990 it was on to Gastonia for Timmie. He would play in 105 games that season and make 424 plate appearances. In those plate appearances he would post a .206 batting average and a .275 on-base percentage. Those were not good numbers for Single A ball. Add to that the fact that he struck out 99 times in 1990 and it was clear that Morrow was struggling.

Timmie didn't have a good season in 1990. For a second round draft pick in his third season of professional baseball it was really bad. The Rangers weren't quite ready to give up though and neither was Morrow. If he wanted to make this work though he would need to start hitting and cut down on the strikeouts.

Baseball Card Show Purchase #10 – Fergie Jenkins 2011 Topps Lineage ’75 Mini Game-Used Jersey Card

30-Year Old Cardboard — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:01 +0000

Baseball Card Show Purchase #10 – Fergie Jenkins 2011 Topps Lineage ’75 Mini Game-Used Jersey Card

Many will probably say that the Ted Williams card that I bought was my best purchase of the day, and they could be right.

But for a ‘Super Collector’ there is no better feeling than scoring a new card of ‘your guy’.

So, when I saw this card of Fergie Jenkins in one of the dealer showcases, I was not going to let it escape me. I may have paid more than what I would have liked to bring it home, but it is the only Fergie Jenkins card I found at the show that I did not already own.

Have a look:

This also means that I have scooped up all five of the cards of Fergie from the 2011 Topps Lineage set!

Senators Saturday – Steve Hamilton, 1963.

Spiff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:25:00 +0000

Steve Hamilton is shown here on card number 171 of the 1963 Topps set. In 1963 he played for the Senators slightly more than Bud Zipfel did.

Very slightly, two innings worth in three games to be exact. In those two innings of relief he faced 13 batters. Steve's ERA ran to an astronomical 13.50 and his WHIP came in at 3.500.

Hamilton was clearly not starting the season off on the right foot. That didn't seem to matter to the New York Yankees though. On April 21, 1963 they sent Jim Coates to Washington in exchange for Steve. In less than a year Steve Hamilton had arrived in Washington and left again.

Fergie Jenkins 2005 Donruss Hall Of Fame Heroes – RED

30-Year Old Cardboard — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:19:16 +0000

Fergie Jenkins 2005 Donruss Hall Of Fame Heroes – RED

Two weeks ago, I showed off the base card of this 2005 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes set, and now it is time to show off another.

Here it is, the ‘Red’ version:

I wish that I had more parallel versions from this set to scan and share, but this is not the case. I think it is time for me to shop for a few more…

Stay tuned.

Bummer…

Spiff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:12:00 +0000

Well, Josh Hamilton had a news conference today to address rumors from the past couple of days that he had been seen drinking in a Dallas bar. What he said is that he did it, lied about it to Ian Kinsler, and regrets having failed to stay sober.

I've talked about Josh's failings in a previous post and have little to add to what I have already said on the matter. I am glad that at least this time there were no drugs involved.

As a fan I find this to be a bummer on a couple of fronts. It's always a downer to see a key player on your team fail, especially a comeback story like Hamilton.

From another aspect this incident is discouraging because it puts the contract talks on hold. That would be the talks that were supposed to result in a contract extension by Spring Training or be cut off. Looks to me like this will result in the latter. If that happens then Hamilton, shown here on card 53 from the 2008 Stadium Club set, will be a free agent next off season. I'm having a hard time seeing Texas re-signing him at that point. Seems like Josh may have stumbled his way out of being a Texas Ranger beyond the 2012 season.

Type Site: Night Owl Cards (and its first look at 2012 Topps)

Matthew Glidden — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:57:00 +0000

Props to fellow card blogger Night Owl for an early look at 2012 Topps. His post captures their quantitative leap in player photos, a few of which I borrowed for commentary.

I don't blame collectors who specialize in "cool catcher gear" cards. The so-called tools of ignorance offer some of the coolest evidence of our sports' evolution, as with today's hockey-style protective masks.

This Matt Kemp promo is sort of a number five, as it's cataloged GGC-5. Topps upped the stakes in this year's online unlockable "contest" by manufacturing some (real) gold cards. Everyone loves the precious metals!

SEE YA. BOOM. Better call the Na-police and put out an APB on that baseball.

Color me impressed by this year's first look at Topps handiwork. Will it keep everyone coming to the candy store and (more importantly) attract new customers into the fold? Once our new baseball season ramps up, I wouldn't be surprised.

Was this my first week of all Type Site posts, Mon/Wed/Fri? I think so, but fear not: #5 card profiles will return as normal next Monday. (And as always, find entertaining baseball excellence at Night Owl Cards.)

Odd Moments: Inside back-to-back.

Spiff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:16:00 +0000

Number 14 on T.R. Sullivan's list of the top 50 Bizarre Moments in Rangers history involved one of the best teams Texas has ever fielded. The 1977 Rangers were quick, had some power, and had a little pitching. They put it all together to notch 94 wins - third best in team history.

On August 27th they were in New York playing against the Yankees. By the top of the seventh inning Texas had a 4-2 lead. Ken Clay was on the mound in relief for the home team as Claudell Washington led off with a ground out to second base. Designated hitter Willie Horton then singled. Sandy Alomar ran for Horton. Dave May singled. Runners on first and second as Toby Harrah came to the plate.

Harrah, shown here on a signed 1987 Donruss card, launched a ball deep to right field. Not deep enough to leave the park but deep enough to evade Lou Piniella. As Sweet Lou scrambled for the ball, Alomar and May scored. Toby kept running and came in as well. Inside the park home run! Three runs at that.

Up next was Bump Wills. Wills sent a ball deep into center field. Once again it wasn't deep enough to leave the park. Once again it got past the Yankee fielder - this time Mickey Rivers. Wills had speed, lots of it. Rivers had a weak arm. Not a good combination for Ken Clay and the Yankees. A second inside the park home run! Back-to-back jacks with a twist - neither ever left the field of play.

That was it for Clay as he was pulled immediately after Wills' homer. It was also it for the Evil Empire that day as the final score went down 8-2. Half of the Rangers runs had come on inside the park home runs.

Decisions: Will Clark.

Spiff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:48:00 +0000

Number 17 on T.R. Sullivan's list of 50 Top Decisions in franchise history is the signing of Will Clark. Clark, shown here on card 350 of the 1994 Upper Deck set, was signed by Texas on November 22, 1993. He would stay with the team until being granted free agency in November of 1998.

T.R. says that Clark "single-handedly infused the Rangers with a team-first winning attitude." I'll have to think on that a bit but I do know that with Clark on the roster the team started winning and made their first two postseason appearances. Not sure if Clark was the only difference maker there but he was most assuredly a huge one.

Maybe Sullivan is on to something there though, Rafael Palmeiro played first base for Texas prior to and following Will the Thrill's tenure. With the exception of 1999 the team never did quite as well during those two stints as it did with Clark manning first.

1975 Topps – Fergie Jenkins.

Spiff — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:59:00 +0000

Coming off a stellar year in 1974 the Rangers were hoping that Fergie Jenkins would continue his lights-out performances. That wasn't to be. Jenkins, shown here on card 60 of the 1975 Topps set, probably didn't have a bad year for a pitcher who hadn't had his 1974 season. It looked bad though against that backdrop.

Fergie appeared solely as a starter for Texas in 1975. In the 37 starts he made he would toss 270 innings and 22 complete games. His ERA jumped to 3.93 while his WHIP climbed to 1.174. Although he struck out 157 batters he also allowed a league-leading 37 home runs. At least that was the old Fergie. He had already led the league in home runs allowed five times previously.

1975 was a letdown for Jenkins and the Rangers. While still a workhorse for Texas Fergie was not the ace he was in 1974. All told he was probably the number three starter that year. That's not bad but when you're Fergie Jenkins it qualifies as an off year.

Apparently the Rangers had their doubts as to if Jenkins would be able to regain his 1974 form. In November of 1975 he was shipped to the Boston Red Sox for Craig Skok, Steve Barr, and Juan Beniquez.

As an interesting side note, the trivia question on the back of this card asks which country western singer once played minor league ball. The answer is Charlie Pride, now a part owner of the Texas Rangers.

Ron stays at the helm.

Spiff — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:18:00 +0000

The Rangers have been focusing on locking up key players recently. Talks with Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli seem to have been all the news. Today the team re-signed what I see as an equally important player, Ron Washington.

Wash, shown here on card 606 of the 2007 Topps Gold set, and the Rangers signed a two year extension. That means that if the last two years are any indication, Ron Washington with be at the helm of the Texas Rangers at least through the 2014 season.

Seems like a sound decision to me. Right now the chemistry in the clubhouse seems to be good. Ron Washington is a integral part of that. No point in messing with a team that is the two-time defending American League Champs. No point as well in letting the guy who is probably one of the most popular managers ever in Rangers history walk.

Right now Washington has the highest winning percentage of any Rangers manager who managed to stick around for any period of time. He's also the third longest tenured manager in team history behind Bobby Valentine and Johnny Oats. That's not bad company. If he can last through his extension he will have fewer games managed than only Valentine.

Congrats to Ron Washington on the extension. Good move by Jon Daniels and company.