Thursday, April 21, 2016

#135 Derek Bell



SLAM!
As in SALAMI!


Played in both the Little league World Series and Major League World Series.

Only player to play in the LL World Series twice, and play in MLWS.

He was one small part of a 12-player trade between the Padres and the Houston Astros.

Was released by the Pirates in early 2002 after "Operation Shutdown".

Toronto Blue Jays (1991–1992)
San Diego Padres (1993–1994)
Houston Astros (1995–1999)
New York Mets (2000)
Pittsburgh Pirates (2001)


Tuesday, April 5, 2016

#134 Jeff Bagwell



PILLAR : noun  pil·lar  \ˈpi-lər\
: someone who is an important member of a group


What would the Astros have been without Jeff Bagwell?

Part of his outline from Wikipedia:
2.1 Boston Red Sox prospect
2.2 Houston Astros
2.2.1 Rookie of the Year Award and early career (1991–93)
2.2.2 Unanimous selection for Most Valuable Player Award (1994)
2.2.3 Continued peak (1995–96)
2.2.4 First two playoff appearances (1997–98)
2.2.5 Second player with multiple 40–30 seasons (1999)
2.2.6 National League runs scored record (2000)
2.2.7 Sixth consecutive season of 30 HR, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored and 100 BB (2001)
2.2.8 Other milestones (2002–03)
2.2.9 Milestones of 1,500 RBI, 1,500 runs scored and 200 stolen bases (2004)
2.2.10 Health issues and World Series drive (2005)
2.2.11 Comeback attempt and retirement (2006)
3 Post retirement
3.1 As hitting coach and instructor
3.2 Hall of Fame consideration

Yeah, he was kinda HUGE even only in outline form.


Friday, March 11, 2016

#133 Quilvio Veras



STRETCHING : verb \ˈstrech\
to put your arms, legs, etc., in positions that make the muscles long and tight


Quilvio is 5'9" so his muscles aren't that long.

Scored the first run ever at Safeco Field.

Led the NL in stolen bases in 1995.

In 1988 he had to leave a game after finding out his brother was murdered in the Dominican Republic.

Florida Marlins (1995–1996)
San Diego Padres (1997–1999)
Atlanta Braves (2000–2001)


Sunday, March 6, 2016

#132 Gary Sheffield



THINKING : able to think intelligently about complicated things


Like pitch velocity, rotation, location, count, inning, who's on base, pitch count, outs, and what's for dinner all at the same time.

Career Statistics
Batting average .292
Hits 2,689
Home runs 509
Runs batted in 1,676

Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (1988–1991)
San Diego Padres (1992–1993)
Florida Marlins (1993–1998)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1998–2001)
Atlanta Braves (2002–2003)
New York Yankees (2004–2006)
Detroit Tigers (2007–2008)
New York Mets (2009)

Career highlights and awards
9× All-Star (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998–2000, 2003–2005)
World Series champion (1997)
5× Silver Slugger Award (1992, 1996, 2003–2005)
NL batting champion (1992)



Tuesday, February 16, 2016

#131 Charles Johnson



CHARGING : transitive verb \ˈchärj\
 to command, instruct, or exhort with authority

Caught 3 no-hitters
One of three catchers who caught at least 100 games without an error

Florida Marlins (1994–1998)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1998)
Baltimore Orioles (1999–2000)
Chicago White Sox (2000)
Florida Marlins (2001–2002)
Colorado Rockies (2003–2004)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005)

Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (1997, 2001)
World Series champion (1997)
4× Gold Glove Award (1995–1998)

Sunday, January 24, 2016

#130 Chris Hammond



CALM : adjective \ˈkäm, ˈkälm, ˈkam, ˈkȯ(l)m\
not angry, upset, excited, etc.


He was the first pitcher in the American Association in 36 years to win the league's Pitching Triple Crown.

He hit a grand slam home run in May 29, 1995, playing for the Florida Marlins.

 Struggling starting pitcher/swingman converted to a fairly successful relief man.

Cincinnati Reds (1990–1992)
Florida Marlins (1993–1996)
Boston Red Sox (1997)
Florida Marlins (1998)
Atlanta Braves (2002)
New York Yankees (2003)
Oakland Athletics (2004)
San Diego Padres (2005)
Cincinnati Reds (2006)




Tuesday, January 19, 2016

#129 Andre Dawson



AUTHENTIC : adjective  au·then·tic  \ə-ˈthen-tik\
being really what it seems to be :  genuine <an authentic signature>


Seriously, does anyone REALLY remember Andre Dawson playing for the Marlins?



Friday, January 1, 2016

#128 Jeff Conine



CRACK!
as in <Crack Head>?


Originally a relief pitcher at UCLA, and was hit by a pitch in his only at-bat.

Only player to appear in the opener of the Marlins' inaugural season, the 1997 World Series Marlins' championship team, and the 2003 World Series Marlins' championship team.

2x All-Star (1994, 1995)
2x World Series champion (1997, 2003)
1995 MLB All-Star Game MVP