#115 Jay Howell

Card thoughts: I always think of Howell as a Dodger. In this shot, I think of him as a young God in the flower of youth, emerging from the golden sun.

The player: Howell was a pitcher with tons of potential who didn't become great until teams stopped forcing him to be a starter. After an up and down minor league career for the Reds and Cubs, and Yankees, Howell finally became a reliable reliever for the latter team in 1984. This promptly got him included in the first of two blockbuster trades he was involved in where the Yankees got Rickey Henderson and the A's got a bunch of young players who went on to have good careers . . . but usually for someone else.

The West Coast agreed with Howell and he made the all-star team for the first of three times in the year represented by this card, saving a career high 29 games with a 2.85 ERA. Unfortunately, his ERA rose each of the two years after that, making him expendable. Thus, the second blockbuster trade he was involved with came to be. The Dodgers, Mets, and A's were involved and some of the other players who changed teams were Alfredo Griffin, Jesse Orosco, Kevin Tapani, Matt Young, and Bob Welch. This trade would put in place the players that led to World Series titles for both the Dodgers and A's in the next couple of years. Howell was a big part of the Dodgers '88 title. He had a 2.08 ERA during the regular season and saved 21 games. In the playoffs he was terrible, however, and was caught using pine tar to doctor the ball, leading to his suspension for two games in the NLCS.

Howell continued pitching effectively for the Dodgers, with ERAs of 1.58, 2.18, 3.18, and 1.54 and double digits in saves over the next four years. After signing with the Braves in 1993 he had one more good year before ending his career with the Rangers at age 38. He coached baseball for California State-Northridge from 1998 to 2005.

Rear guard: Howell's first win came in the second game of a double header against the Pirates. He lasted 5 1/3 innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits. He also helped himself out by scoring a run and placing two sacrifice bunts.

Rick Monday was most famous for saving an American flag from being burned, but he was a solid outfielder for many teams during his 16 year career. Like Howell, he played for the A's, Dodgers, and Cubs. He only had 54 RBIs in the 1969 season.

#114 Mike Brown

Card thoughts: Brown looks like a big bee.

The player: Brown was one of those players who tear up the minors, but never make a mark in the big leagues. After a tremendous season at Edmonton, the AAA affiliate of the Angels, where he hit 22 home runs, drove in 106, and hit .355, Brown was called up to the big club. After hitting .284 in limited duty in 1984, he hit a respectable .268 the next year, finding it hard to get regular playing time in the outfield.

The Pirates thought highly of him and he was traded to them in midseason as part of a blockbuster deal where the Pirates sent veterans John Candelaria, Al Holland, and George Hendrick for Bob Kipper and a bunch of young players who didn't pan out. Finally getting a chance play every day, Brown shone, sporting a .332 average and .512 slugging percentage as the regular rightfielder for the remainder of the '85 season. Given the rightfield job the following year, Brown stumbled badly, hitting only .218. This was unfortunate, as competition by Bobby Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke, and Barry Bonds in the outfield meant that the Pirates no longer needed to be patient with an ex-prospect who had had one good major league season. Brown would see only 18 more games of major league action in 1988 for his original team, the Angels, before disappearing as an organization man into the minors.

Rear guard: Mike Brown's first home run came in the second inning off of the Tigers' Milt Wilcox. It drove in Bobby Grich. Those runs were lost in the shuffle of a 13-11 slugfest lost by the Angels.

Jake Stenzel played in the first lively ball era, when batting averages of .352 (which he hit in 1894) didn't even get you in the top 20. The league batting average that year was .309 and the Pirates hit .312, scoring almost 8 runs a game. The 1894 campaign was Stenzel's finest. He scored 150(!) runs in 132 games, hit 39 doubles, 20 triples, 13 home runs, and drove in 121.

#113 U.L. Washington

Card thoughts: One of the most awesome all time first names in baseball. Growing up, I used to rack my brain to figure out what U.L. stood for. The only clue I had was the U L logo that appeared on several electrical appliances, but surely his first name wasn't Underwriters Laboratories was it? Now I know. U. L. stands for nothing. That is his given birth name. The one other thing missing from this card is Washington's ubiquitous toothpick. He also barely played any shortstop this year--most of his games were at second.

The player: A star basketball player in high school, Washington had never played organized baseball before being convinced by his brother (an usher at Kaufman Stadium) to try out for the Royals Academy. The Academy was designed to transform raw athletic talent into baseball skills. Washington, along with longtime Royals second baseman Frank White, were the two best players to emerge from the academy. Made into a switch-hitter early in his career, Washington always hit far better from the right side, with more power, although from both sides of the plate he invariably hit balls into right field. His best power year, and best overall season, came in 1982 when he hit 10 home runs, drove in 62 and had a .286 batting average and .414 slugging percentage--all career highs. Washington exhibited blazing speed from both sides of the plate, stealing a career high 40 bases in 1983. And in those days with more turfed stadiums, Washington had the range and arm to play a deep shortstop, but he often made errors on balls other players couldn't get to: He had a league leading 36 errors in 1983.

With the emergence of Onix Conception, and with #99 Buddy Biancalana waiting in the wings, there was no room anymore on the Royals for U.L., and he was shipped to the Expos for two minor league pitchers. He would play only the year represented by this card for the Expos, before playing his two last seasons for the Pirates.

Rear guard: The two-homer game Washington had against the A's in 1979 were the only 2 homers he hit all season. He also drove in 6 runs. Just to show you how baseball has changed: There were only 2,300 people in the stands that night. And it was a Friday night!