Fun With 95 SP: The Continuation

It started here and continued here, now the saga continues.

The great thing about 95 SP is that the oddities are at times of the routine variety, example below:

Jose Rijo examining some pictures that I can only pray are of him, but likely they are pictures of Dominican embryos that he plans on signing illegally once he becomes a part of the Nationals front office.

But the oddities aren't always so obvious, occasionally they don't register immediately, example below:

What's so odd about a player making a leaping grab at the wall? Let me count the ways.
1. It's Gary Sheffield. A man not always known for his great effort.
2. This is a spring training game as evidenced by the peculiar wall/fence.
3. That is Gary Sheffield putting out maximum effort in a meaningless spring training game. Cats and dogs living together!

95 SP actually had a couple of nice wall shots outside of the Sheffield miracle.

Rickey Henderson with gold chain flying. Does Rickey ever not look smooth?


Maybe the most expected player to have a wall catch card other than Kenny Lofton in 1995. Finley seemed to make these plays regularly during the mid to late 90s.

Maybe my favorite card of the set is Rod Beck.

What could be better than a card that shows Beck lacing up the gloves? I know when I think of Rod Beck I instantly flash to his off-season workout regimen which by glancing at his physique, you instantly can determine that it is filled with intense sessions. So I return to the original question of what could be better? Well, just check the back.

Yup. Beck has graduated from the lacing up the gloves to absolutely annihilating the heavy bag. You can instantly see why Beck is the finely tuned professional athlete that he is. An absolute cardio beast!

The madness continues with the hairline of Nuschler.

Oh Will. Why oh why did you continually insist on doffing your cap? I certainly understand that the Star Spangled Banner is a justified reason to take off the hat, but it seemed like your hat was always off. Could you have done us all the favor of shaving it off or at least going with a different hairdo than the one you had when you were 6? And shame on the photo editors who decided to torture us with this sight.

Finally, we will round out today's action with a look at one of the best second basemen of our generation, Ralph Macchio, I mean Daniel LaRusso.

The secret to Roberto's great success wasn't natural talent passed down from his father. It wasn't hours spent on little league fields honing his craft. Nope, Roberto's success is due to the teachings of an elderly Asian maintenance man who fled to America in order to escape the wrath of Sato. Early on he took Roberto under his wing and taught him the importance of wax on, wax off. Unfortunately, Roberto spent a brief time under the mesmerizing tutelage of the Cobra Kai who influenced him to spit on an umpire in an act of disrespect that was difficult to live down. Thankfully, he returned to the teachings of Miyagi and lived happily ever after.

Thank you for this reminder 95 SP. Only one more installment is left, I know you're on the edge of your seat.

Go Halos!

Fave 4: Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks have barely existed for a decade and in those 10+ years I haven't found a whole lot to root about in regards to this team. I despise the Yankees which led to me "rooting" for the D-backs in 2001, but even so I didn't really like team. I liked one player on that squad and it was only because he was one of my baseball heroes as a kid.

Really the highlight of the Diamondbacks for me came a couple of years back when I went to Arizona for Spring Training. Before we left for home, we stopped by the Bank One Ballpark and at the T.G.I. Friday's overlooking the field. Of course, it was the off-season and we were only entertained by construction crews working, but I like to think that may have been better than watching the team.

1. Orlando Hudson

I was really surprised when the D-backs decided to let him go, that turned into happiness when I saw the Dodgers were going to sign him, that then turned to giddy excitement watching him hit for the cycle on Monday. The guy seems to always be on base, always talking and always making great plays in the field. Why more teams weren't clamoring for his services I'll never know.

2. Travis Lee

Travis is a San Diego State boy, which automatically puts any player in contention for one of these lists. Combine that with an interesting story about his drafting and he becomes more intriguing. Lee was picked 2nd overall in the 1996 draft by the Twins, who failed to offer him a contract within, I believe, 15 days and he was granted free agency. He then went on to sign with the D-backs for over 10 million dollars. This was before I was really aware of Scott Boras, so it didn't really bother me. Now, it makes my stomach turn a little. Even so, Travis burst on to the scene in '98 and looked to be a legitimate star in the making. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. At least Arizona was able to package him for Curt Schilling.

3. Steve Finley

Defensively, Steve Finley was as good as it gets in center field. I enjoyed watching Finley in San Diego, but it seemed like he got much more attention in Arizona for his exploits. The only stain for me was his time as a Halo. Uggh. He absolutely robbed the Angels of 6 million dollars. Subsequent years Finley was followed by Edgardo Alfonzo and Shea Hillenbrand, so my hatred of Finley has transferred on.

4. Justin Upton

I must admit that much of my interest in Upton is due to baseball cards. In 2006, I pulled a Justin Upton refractor autograph that is probably one of my best pulls ever. Due to monetary reasons I have rooted for Upton ever since. Thanks to that interest I've actually come to appreciate Upton as a pretty solid young player. The D-backs are known for their young nucleus and this guy may end up being the best of all of them. Time will tell.

Honorable Mention:

Mark Grace aka The Man Who Would Be #1

Mark Grace is one of my all-time favorite baseball players, however he can only make one list and this WILL NOT be the one. I was happy to see Gracey get his ring with Arizona, but other than that I wasn't all that fond of his days with the D-backs. I like my Grace as a Cub, no substitutions.

So there's the meager list of Favorite Diamondbacks. I'm sure their fans have plenty more players to root on, but I just can't muster up the enthusiasm. One more expansion team to come, the Marlins. I'm not a Marlin fan either, but I have rooted for a heck of a lot more of their players.

Go Halos!