Tuesday's Tony Gwynn: The Tull Group

On a side note before I get to the gist of this post, I have to say that every time I see the above card, I instantly start mentally singing "Tony, yoooooouu arrrre my shining star..."
Yesterday, the rumors were confirmed. Tony Gwynn is on board with Thomas Tull's group vying for ownership of the Padres. For those who are unaware who Tull is, Gaslamp Ball Entertainment Correspondent matthewverygood profiled him a week ago. To quote mvg, "He is a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He runs the hugely-successful Legendary Pictures and is responsible for bringing us such films as Inception, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, and 300. He's one of the most powerful men in Hollywood - Thomas Tull, the hero San Diego deserves." All of that is well and good but what got me on board was the inclusion of Gwynn. As far as I'm concerned, Tony Gwynn's endorsement is as good as Ron Swanson's.

Gary Matthews, Jr. Or Whatever

I was going to write about Gary Matthews, Jr. for Mustache Monday so I snapped these pics of another card from the whole bunch of awesome ones Nick of Dime Boxes fame sent my way. I was at a loss to come up with anything interesting to say about Matthews other than the standard trope about him being a second generation Major Leaguer and, of course, making mention of his 55 million dollar catch. You probably also know he came up with the Padres and wasn't anything special there. If you didn't know that, that makes perfect sense too because, yeah, the whole nothing special thing. Anyway, sorry for the crappy post; I'll put up a better one in the morning. Go watch some Futurama. I've been half-watching In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela (s6e2); I guess I'll give it my full attention now...

Will Wins It!

Before the bottom of the ninth today, with the score tied 2-2, I predicted William would win it. I wasn't right then and I wasn't right yet when he came up in the eleventh. But after a two out single by pinch hitting pitcher Clayton Richard in the 13th inning, Venable came through. Will laced a single to left and Clay Dick raced around as de facto left fielder Howie Kendrick bobbled the ball and threw wide to the first base side. Win! And guess what else- we aren't in last place anymore!

Ben Davis: Back In Baseball

The last time I wrote about Ben Davis he was still trying to work his way back to the Majors as a pitcher. He officially announced his retirement a little over a year ago after beginning Spring Training for what would have been his second season as a pitcher for the Camden Riversharks of the independent Atlantic League. "It's something I've been thinking of for a couple of years," he told the Philadelphia Inquirer at the time. "My numbers started to decline and I just figured, you know what, I'm going to shut it down now." Davis added that he felt it was time "to go get a real job" and did so; he got hired on as a sales rep for the Wells Fargo Center, selling premium seating for the home of the Flyers and 76ers. He recently took on a second job with mother corporation Comcast doing pregame and postgame analysis for Phillies games; he also dabbles in the radio end of things. He lives in nearby West Chester, also home to Jackass jackass Bam Margera, with his wife Megan and three children. Much like how Geoff considers Kory the MVP of Team Blum, Ben is in awe of the work his wife does. “Doing what I do is fun," said Davis. "What Megan does is the toughest job in the world, I think.” Davis seems at peace with his past career and happy in his new one; he confirms as much by stating that he is "very blessed".

Happy Birthday, Ed Whitson!

Eric Show wasn't the only pitcher for the Padres in the 80s born on May 19th. His former rotation-mate Ed Whitson was once a year older to the day. Whitson served two tours of duty in San Diego, sandwiching his infamously disastrous time with the Yankees. In his early career, he spent time in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Cleveland. The list of players he was traded with and for during his career reads like a who's who of 70s and 80s baseball. In '79, he was traded from the Pirates to the Giants with others for Bill Madlock- who had won two batting titles and would go on to win two more, the original Dave Roberts and Lenny Randle, who is best known for punching his manager in the face and trying to blow a fair ball foul. After the '81 season, Whitson was sent to Cleveland for Joe Posnanski's favorite player Duane Kuiper. A year later, he came to San Diego for Juan Eichelberger (that name keeps coming up, doesn't it, WG?) and Broderick Perkins. After his rocky time in New York which involved Whitson doing some manager punching of his own (but it was Billy Martin so it doesn't count), he came back to the Padres in exchange for Tim Stoddard and spent his final 5 1/2 seasons there. He now spends his days in Dublin, Ohio, where he serves as a volunteer coach for his son's high school team.

I Wish Eric Show Was Turning 56 Today

Today would have been Eric Show's 56th birthday. Sadly, the last birthday he celebrated was 19 years ago as he didn't make it to see 38. A deep and troubled man, Show took his last breath a mere 2 1/2 years after throwing his last Major League pitch. He was a resident at an inpatient rehab facility when he shot his fatal speedball, a lethal combination of heroin and cocaine that had already taken John Belushi and would eventually claim Chris Farley and Ken Caminiti. Show sits atop many pages in the pitching section of the Padres' record book and is also remembered by casual fans for surrendering Pete Rose's record breaking hit and taking a seat on the mound during the hullaballoo that followed. Friends remember him as much more; a thoughtful man, one eager to learn and question those doing the teaching. He was a talented musician, intrigued with politics and was a quiet philanthropist who kept his giving out of the public eye. A child of abuse, he searched his entire life for peace, seeking relief in religion, drugs and alcohol. Like many, he never found it here.

Kevin Walker & Kerry Wood: When You've Just Gotta Go

Kerry Wood announced his retirement today. He is remembered for many things, including his 20 strikeout game and Dusty Baker ruining his arm. What stands out to me the most was the time he was arrested in 1999 for public urination. Also in attendance and also urinating was Wood's former high school teammate and future San Diego Padre Kevin Walker. It is not noted in the police report whether the two crossed streams.

Cool Stuff Keeps Happening

My favorite thing about having this blog is the guest posts. As much as I love reliving the history of the only team that matters to me, it's even more enjoyable to read what writers whom I respect have to say about the things we both appreciate; be it baseball cards, the Padres, a particular player or any combination of the aforementioned. Today I noticed a tweet by my favorite non-fiction author* that noted how underrated Garry Templeton was. After instantly retweeting it, I @replied- half jokingly, half "Hey, it's worth a shot"- asking if there was any way I could twist his arm into writing a guest spot about Tempy. To my amazement, he replied back proposing a trade: he'd write about Garry here if I'd write about my favorite Padre for his blog. Wait, what? Let me get this right. You'll write about Templeton for my humble little nerdblog and I get to share with the world my love of Joey Cora? That's an even more lopsided trade than when the Astros got 15 years of Jeff Bagwell for 15 games of Larry Andersen... So, that's something that will be happening. I would try to write a cleaner conclusion to this but my mind is elsewhere; there's a certain little second baseman who I'm already mentally pre-writing about.

*I specified "non-fiction" for the specific purpose of giving a shout-out to Jeff Shelby. Go buy his books.

Baseball Is Life: Jimmy Jones & Ack

Jimmy Jones is back in the big leagues but I'm sure even he wouldn't want it to happen this way. The word came down yesterday that Jones got the call up from San Antonio- where he's regularly the pitching coach- to fill in as bullpen coach while Darrel Ackerfelds gets more treatment for his pancreatic cancer. Ack's story is heartwrenching and warming all at once; it's a testament to the power of baseball. I remember the shirts that were popular in the mid-nineties that had a huge picture of a sports ball on the back with the words "(Baseball, Golf, Football, et cetera) Is Life. The rest is just details." surrounding the graphic; John Kruk wore one at his press conference when he returned from his bout with cancer (and yes, he already made the one ball joke so you don't have to). I've always thought of my preoccupation approaching obsession with baseball as a defect but it seems that to some it really is a saving grace. A lot of people say they live for baseball but Ack shows what that really means. And, given everything he's overcome to this point to come in and get to work with his bullpen boys, the fact that this round of treatment is keeping him from clocking in scares me. I have hope, though. Jimmy Jones is, by all accounts, a good man who is good at what he does. Therefor no offense is intended toward Mr. Jones when I say that I hope his interim position is brief.

Wednesday's Winnings

Well, I had intended on waking up and writing about Doug Brocail for his birthday but then my plans got derailed in the best kind of way. I stepped outside to partake in a filthy habit that I already know is wrong and stupid and about which I need no further lectures. Poking out of the mailbox was the corner of a ubiquitous ocher bubble mailer. My heart fluttered a bit. "Could it be?" I thought. "Nah, it's probably just some book she ordered off half-dot-com."  WRONG. It was my contest winnings from Nick at my favorite card blog Dime Boxes. To quote Peggy Hill, "Ho yeah!" I was ripping it open and reading the note before I even made it back inside. There was so much goodness inside. Minis and Tonys and Trevors, oh my! There were also several players who were unrepresented in my collection and will now get their day in the sun. Or as glowing pixels in the basements of fellow nerds' mothers. Whatever. Well, I'd write more but I'm excited to get back to perusing these. I'll be back later, writing about one or more of these cards. Sorry to Doug Brocail fans and thanks to Nick. You've got one coming!

Tuesday's Tom Griffin: 30 Years Ago Today

I knew I recognized Tom Griffin's name but couldn't quite place why until I flipped the card over. "Oh, okay," I thought immediately upon seeing that his first season was with the '69 Astros. The place I'd seen his name hundreds of times before was in the pages of Ball Four. Griffin stayed in Houston until August of '76 when the Padres picked him up off the waiver wire. In the small sample size of eleven starts the remainder of that season, Tom seemed to turn a corner, putting up a 2.94 ERA in contrast to the 6.05 he posted for Houston in 20 games earlier in the year, mostly in relief. He didn't fare quite as well for the Friars in 1977 but still performed adequately enough to stay with the club all season; being used in a swingman role likely contributed to the dip in his numbers. After '77, Griffin got his first taste of free agency, which was still brand new to baseball. He signed with the then-California Angels and was released after the season. After heading north to San Francisco, Griffin put together three of his most solid seasons before being traded to Pittsburgh after the '81 season. He would last only six games with the Pirates before being released thirty years ago to the day.

Mustache Monday: All About Tim Scott

There are a lot of Tim Scotts in the world, several of whom have achieved as much notoriety as the man on this card. In my research for this entry (which consisted of me googling "tim scott" to get to his B.R. page), I came across a veteran Hollywood actor, a congressman from South Carolina, an up and coming young actor, a singer-songwriter, a DJ, a photographer and a freshman safety for UNC. This made me wonder if having such a common name was an obstacle for any of them. I feel like casting directors, record executives and even scouts would have an unwitting subconscious bias toward the performers with more memorable names. I don't know; maybe I'm overthinking this- that does happen fairly often.
Tim Scott, the relief pitcher, blended in with the crowd on the diamond as well. He debuted with two games as a Padre in 1991 and had a somewhat rocky full rookie season in '92. After a strong start to the '93 season, Tim was sent to Montreal for the legendary Archi Cianfrocco. He fared better his next three and a half seasons, posting ERA+ marks of 139, 157, 109 and 140 before seemingly hitting a wall upon being traded by les Expos to San Francisco. This is where the bouncing around really begins. He was waived by the Giants after the '96 season, picked up by the Reds and granted free agency two months later without as much as getting a jersey with his name on it. The Padres took another look at him, signing him in January of '97 and releasing him in May after 18 innings featuring 16 earned runs. He signed with Colorado, gave up 3 earnies in 2 2/3 innings over three games and was let loose again. The Mariners picked him up on waivers but he would not see the Majors with them or, in fact, with any other team. He kept at it, though, pitching in the minors through 2002 as a member of the Dodgers, Pirates, Reds and Yankees organizations as well as for three different teams in the independent Western League. He retired with 50 wins and 50 losses and a 3.78 ERA over 15 minor league seasons and went 24-13 with a 4.13 during his seven years digging into Major League mounds.