New York Yankees- Derek Jeter Side Patch (2014)

Where did the time go? As crazy as it sounds, it’s been 381 days since my last blog post, and to be honest, I feel like I’ve cheated a lot of you for it. Over the last year my life took some incredible turns, all of which were certainly for the better. For starters, I’m back where I belong in Oakland, California. The last time I had been fortunate enough to call this city (area) home was when back in 1985 at the ripe age of two-years-old. And as unbelievable as this may sound, I still remember the mornings waking up to the sound of traffic rolling by on I-580 and the cool crispness of the air wafting through the open window of my bedroom. Anytime I came back to visit my grandparents, roll through on a family vacation or even just drove down on a random weekend while I was attending the University of Oregon, a feeling of unexplainable joy always washed over me as if I had just returned home from a long journey. To those of you who I have become closer friends with over the last year, I am truly grateful. You have all made Angie and my important decision to truly start our lives together the best we could have made. And for that, this is probably the biggest reason why I needed to restart my blog. Thank you.

As candid as I was throughout the first 225 or so posts speckled throughout 2013, I feel this is as good of any time to be perfectly frank and explain why it’s taken me so long to get back to this thing that I love to do so much. I guess for starters I should point out what I actually accomplished in 2013 with my blog and the articles I compiled for eDraft Sports. First the blog. I know I’ve pointed this out in a few of my posts, but my overall mission was to form a habit of writing every single day. When I had started my posts they were roughly 2-3 pages long and they primarily comprised of just the history of the hat and the numbers I marked them up with. As time wore on I felt more and more comfortable opening up and telling a bit of my own personal history of my relationship with baseball and the caps and players I was paying tribute to. As soon as that kicked in my stories became 8-10 page biopics. Therefore, if you break down he numbers to, let’s say, seven pages per post times 225 posts you’ll get 1,575 pages. Now, let’s say that the average book is about 275-300 pages and then divide that into what I wrote and you can essentially say that I wrote the equivalent of a little over five books. Crazy, right!? But we’re not done yet. Like I said, I also write for eDraft, which came out to be 125 articles at roughly 2-3 pages in length. So, do the math again, three pages times 125 articles equals 375 pages, or another book to boot. The fact of the matter is that I burned out. I’m willing to bet that I had written more in that year than in all of my other years combined. As selfish as it was for me to take a break, I really needed it.

One thing that I should also point out is that around the time when I stopped writing a post every single day (June 13, 2013), I had a bit of an “oh shit!” moment when I realized that I didn’t have neatly enough hats to complete the year. Even though I was doing my best to increase my numbers with what little money I had, I knew there wasn’t going to be any possible way for me to hit that mark unless I elected to start blowing dudes on the streets of Portland for the cash. This was not going to be my legacy. Instead, I tried pacing and spacing my stories out a bit more until life became a bit too crazy and I need to focus more on the move and finding a stable job. Long story short (too late), I have three great jobs, two of which are with my favorite baseball team, the Oakland Athletics, the other is with one of my favorite hat retailers, Hat Club; and most importantly, I’m in the city I love with all of my friends and the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. And now, you get to read more about all the crazy shit that led up to this moment and every adventure that comes next. Y’all are in for treat.

It was a bit of a struggle to figure out which hat I was going to write about, as I obviously have a pretty decent score of stories and caps to shuffle through now. However, there is one problem that arose a few months ago which my affect things a bit. The phone that I had won in the MLB Fan Cave and toured around the country with, taking every photo over the last two years, died and I can’t quite figure out how to get the photos off. So, until I can find/hire someone with the appropriate nerdery levels, we’re all a bit screwed on that one. So, I decided to roll with one of my most recent cap purchases which also carries along one of my favorite moments of the 2014 season. At this moment I don’t even know why I threw in a bit of build up, you obviously knew which cap I was going to write about based on the photo and title above. Gaaaaahhhhh!!!

Anyway, back on September 7, 2014 the New York Yankees debuted this cap during the final day of a three-game series against the eventual American League champion Kansas City Royals, a contest the team would lose 0-2 with Jeter going 1-3 with a walk. Not exactly the best of days; however, the real victory on the day was the cap itself. For those who don’t remember, September 22, 2013 was the first time a patch commemorating the career of a player had been worn on a New Era Cap, and that honor was bestowed upon Yankee closer, and future Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera. 

Back then the Yankees wore this patch for the final four games of their home stand against the San Francisco Giants and the Tampa Bay Rays. Being the ardent oppositionist of side patches (at the time), I declined to purchase this cap, and believe me, it’s been biting me in the ass ever since. The one downside of this occasion was that the Yankees never maintained a lead for Rivera to get one final save with this on his head. Instead, the Yankees brought him out of the bullpen in the seventh inning of their final home game (September 26^th) with one out and let him go 1 1/3 before Jeter and Andy Pettitte came in to take him out of the game, one the finer moments in the history of the organization. 

So presumably, not wanting to face the same issue as with Rivera, the Yankees elected to use the Jeter patch for their final home games of the season.

From a business aspect I really can’t blame the Yankees or New Era for doing this. As simple of a tribute as it is, it’s also an incredibly ingenious marketing campaign for die hard Yankees fans, cap collectors or even casual baseball fans. Hell, I broke down and bought it, and it wasn’t exactly easy. For starters, Hat Club started carrying it in the middle of September, so I of course requested one for myself and a few of my co-workers. The one thing I didn’t really expect was that so many of the customers (non-Yankees fans) would come in asking for one. Being the good guy that I am I offered the one I had on hold to anyone who came in looking for that size, something I do for any cap that I put on hold. There are two reasons that I do this: it’s good for business and it’s the right thing to do, both have the same end result in that I can easily get another one. What I wasn’t expecting when I sold it is that I would have to wait an additional two months for the store to get more in. But, here we are.

Now, there are two stories that I need to tell with this, one of which I already did back on June 16, 2014 for eDraft. As much as I feel it would be more appropriate for my blog to just hammer something out, the reality is that I am incredibly proud of what I already wrote. I rarely take pride in my own work, but this once was especially important to me to do a great job at. The second story is about the marking I put on the cap, something I will never forget for as long as I continue to follow this amazing game.

 It almost seems fitting to start with this moment as it took place 25 years and two-and-a-half weeks ago. It was May 29, 1989; a six-year-old boy from California watched one of his baseball heroes sobbingly announce his retirement from the game he loved during a press conference in San Diego. That player was Philadelphia Phillies’ Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt, a player who I had grown a great affinity for through my older brother Adam who had been following and idolizing Schmidt since before I was born. I didn’t really know it or understand it at the time, but that was the first moment I can pinpoint when I witnessed one of the game’s greatest players call it quits. As the years wore on and my love for baseball grew, I saw more of my heroes (Gary Carter, Eddie Murray, Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, etc.) lose the magic they once exemplified as their time to walk away from the game came to fruition. Looking back on all of those names and dates, it almost feels like a dream as the majority of these guys had their best years long before I was old enough to comprehend what I was watching or before I was even a thought in my parents’ minds. For the time that I was lucky enough to be given, even to see most of the greats in their broken down years, I am truly grateful to say that some time somewhere, I saw them play.

1995 was an especially trying year for baseball fans. An overwhelming majority felt jilted by the players, owners, the powers that be for Major League Baseball and especially former executive director of the MLB Player’s Association Donald Fehr after the player’s strike of 1994 cancelled the remaining two months of that season as well as the playoffs which potentially could have pitted the lowly and now defunct Montreal Expos against the New York Yankees for what could have been longtime Bronx favorite Don Mattingly’s first trip to the postseason. As disheartening as it was to most fans to finally feel and see the dollar sign pressed into their faces, there were a few memorable moments to take away from the ’95 season: Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Yankee legend Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played record on September 6^th, the Atlanta Braves won their only World Series title with the likes of soon-to-be Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones, and on May 29^th, six years to the date after Schmidt gave his tearful goodbye to the game he loved, a 20-year-old kid from Kalamazoo, Michigan donned the Yankee pinstripes for his first game in the Majors.

##Derek Jeter## was born in Pequannock Township, New Jersey but was later moved to Michigan where he played his high school ball at Kalamazoo Central High School. Between his sophomore and senior years Jeter hit .524. During his senior year he clubbed four home runs, drove in 23 runs, swiped 12 bags in 12 attempts and only struck out once. The folks at the University of Michigan didn’t hesitate to offer Jeter a full ride scholarship. Nor should they have. That season (1992) Jeter went on to win the Kalamazoo Area B'nai B'rith Award for Scholar Athlete, the 1992 High School Player of the Year Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the Year award, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year. The only thing keeping Jeter from moving on to the college ranks was the lure of making big bucks in the Majors, something two teams, the Yankees and the Houston Astros, were willing to shell out if they were able to draft and sign him.

As a scout for the Houston Astros, Hal Newhouser, a Hall of Famer in 1992 and Michigan native, evaluated Jeter extensively prior to the 1992 Draft. The Astros held the first overall pick and Newhouser, convinced that Jeter would anchor a winning team, lobbied team management to select Jeter. However, the Astros feared that Jeter would insist on a salary bonus of at least $1 million to forgo his college scholarship for a professional contract. Consequently, the Astros passed on him in the draft, instead choosing Cal-State Fullerton outfielder Phil Nevin, who signed with Houston for $700,000. Newhouser felt so strongly about Jeter's potential that he quit his job with the Astros in protest after they ignored his drafting advice. The Yankees, who selected sixth, also rated Jeter highly. Yankees scout Dick Groch, assigned to scout in the Midwest, watched Jeter participate in an all-star camp held at Western Michigan University. Though Yankees officials were concerned that Jeter would attend college and forgo the opportunity to sign a professional contract, Groch convinced them to select him. Regarding the possibility that Jeter would attend Michigan, Groch said "the only place Derek Jeter's going is to Cooperstown.” The second through fifth picks were Paul Shuey, B. J. Wallace (who never played in the majors), Jeffrey Hammonds, and Chad Mottola (125 career MLB at-bats and over 5,000 at-bats at AAA); those five would combine for a grand total of 2 All-Star Game appearances (Nevin and Hammonds). The Yankees drafted Jeter, who chose to turn professional, signing for $800,000. And the rest, as they say is history. Well, there’s a little more to it than that.

When Jeter made his debut in 1995 he only played in a total of 15 games as an occasional replacement for Tony Fernandez. Despite hitting .250 (12 hits in 48 at-bats) and knocking in seven runs, the Yankees left him off of their postseason roster. The three things to note from the Yankees making the playoffs this year with their 79-65 record are these: the Yankees were the first American League team to win a Wild Card spot, this was Mattingly’s first and only trip to the playoffs and the Yankees upended by the Seattle Mariners in Game Five which is still considered one of the most memorable playoff games in MLB history. But what happened for the Yankees after the American League Division Series ended is truly what makes Jeter… well, Jeter and the Yankees the most hated team in North American sports.

In 1996 the Yankees stopped “fooling around” by firing then-manager Buck Showalter and replacing him with Joe Torre. George “The Boss” Steinbrenner and his General Manager Bob Watson began making key signings to the likes of eventual Hall of Famer Wade Boggs and Cecil Fielder, but most important they made sure Jeter stayed up at the top level. That season Jeter easily won the AL Rookie of the Year Award with a .314 average, 183 total hits, 78 RBI, 10 home runs and 104 runs scored. And then of course that was that whole winning the World Series thing, the team’s first since 1978, but that really wasn’t that big of a deal. What was a big deal was when Jeter and the Yankees went on to win the Series every year from 1998-2000, becoming the first three-peat champions since the Oakland Athletics (1972-1974). Unfortunately for Jeter and the Yankees, the new millennium wasn’t as prosperous as the previous as they would only go on to win one World Series title (2009) in the three trips they made (2001, 2003 and 2009). Regardless, a five-ringed Jeter in his 20 years of service is still pretty remarkable, and I haven’t even really scratched the surface of the individual feats he accomplished.

In 20 seasons, including his 15 games in 1995, Jeter’s lifetime average currently sits at .312, which based on the math and at-bats means that the only way he’ll finish with a sub-.300 average is if he goes hitless in his next 430 at-bats. Do you have any idea how hard that would be for a player of his caliber? Moving on; from 2004-2010 Jeter won five Gold Glove Awards. It could have been more had it not been for the likes of Omar Vizquel owning the 1990s when it came to superb infield defense. As of now Jeter has been an All-Star 13 times, but it is more than likely that he will make his 14^th appearance this next month in Minnesota. As trivial as the All-Star Game may seem in regard to stats, Jeter actually has/had a distinctive mark in the record books. Even though the All-Star Game has been played since the 1933 season, the MVP Award didn’t become a thing until 1962. Even stranger, until Jeter won the MVP Award at the 2000 All-Star Game behind his three hits and two RBI, no Yankee had won the award previously. On top of that, no player had won the All-Star Game MVP and the World Series MVP in the same season until Jeter did it that season, and no player has done it since. But I think the most remarkable accolade that Jeter has not yet gotten his mitts on has to be his lack of a season MVP Award, the closest of which he came in 2006 with a career-high .343 average, 214 total hits, 118 runs scored, 14 home runs, 39 doubles and 97 RBI. Who did he lose to? Justin Morneau, by the thinnest of margins (three first place votes). Jeter also holds the Yankee record for most games played at 2,661 as of June 15, 2014, which is 260 games more than the next closest, Mickey Mantle.

You know, in all of this Jeter talk I feel like I’m forgetting something… Oh yah!.. that whole 3,000-hit thing. I saved this for last on purpose because it carries a lot more weight than most fans realize. In the history of Major League Baseball there have been only 28 players of the scores who have played the game to reach this milestone. Of the 28, only four remain out of the Hall of Fame: Jeter, Peter Rose (of course), Rafael Palmeiro (a self-inflicted tragedy) and Craig Biggio (which makes absolutely no sense). Of those 28 players only Boggs and Jeter have notched their 3,000^th hit on a home run. Of the 28, I’ve been lucky enough to watch 12 of them hit number 3,000. Of the 28, Jeter is the only member of the Yankees to accomplish this feat. This stat in particular is truly the most mind-boggling especially when you look back on all of the great hitters who have donned the pinstripes since they were first added to the uniform in 1912. The next closest Yankee, and when I say this I mean they played their entire career with the Yankees, is Gehrig at 2,721. Even though ##Ichiro Suzuki## is only 219 hits away from 3,000 himself, his number would not count in the Yankee record books in the same light of what Jeter has accomplished and is still adding to.

Despite all of the awards, the accomplishments and the fruit baskets he’s dished out over the years, the one thing (maybe two) that comes to mind when one has to think of a defining moment throughout his career that future generations can get a rough understanding of his greatness came on the night of October 13, 2001 in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game Three of the ALDS. At this point I’d really like to break the fourth wall and establish something that is very important to what has been read and what will continue to be read: I’m and Athletics fans, just in case you didn’t know that already. I bring this up because up until this point I feel I’ve done a fair job of capturing and presenting an unbiased retrospect on Jeter’s career. Had a Yankee fan written this, there may be a bit more embellishment. Had a Boston Red Sox fan written this you’d probably see a lot more blathering; however, the one thing that is FOR CERTAIN is that with the exception of the Baltimore Orioles, there is not a single fan base that has a legitimate reason to hate Jeter, let alone the Yankees, as much as Athletics fans do. Red Sox fans, you have three World Series title in the last ten years, shut it. Orioles fans, your real beef should be with Jeffery Maier and the shoddy right field umpiring work of Richie Garcia. But for this moment, the moment that defines Jeter as “The Captain,” Athletics fans will always have a sour taste in their mouths. “The flip,” as it’s come to be known occurred with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning with Jeremy Giambi on first base, Terrence Long at bat and the Yankees holding on to a 1-0 lead which came via solo home run by Jorge Posada in the top of the fifth inning. The other important thing to know is that the Athletics were up 2-0 in the best of five series having beaten the Yankees in New York. Anyway, with a 2-2 count Long ripped a sure double down the right field line and Giambi did what he could to peddle around the bases. Off of a whim, then-third base coach Ron Washington decided to send Giambi home. Then-right fielder Shane Spencer tossed the ball from deep-right field into the infield, which barely made it beyond first base. At some point Jeter took quick note that the ball wasn’t going to make it home to Posada so he took action into his own hands by running over to the first base line to retrieve it and flip it to Posada. Giambi, for whatever reason, opted to keep running as opposed to sliding. In the end, Posada got the ball from Jeter, made a swipe tag and home plate umpire Kerwin Danley made the punch out call. Most Athletics fans you talk to are still convinced Posada didn’t apply the tag. Regardless, the out call was made, the Yankees won that game 1-0 and eventually came back to win the series in five games. The aftermath was then made into a book and eventual film called Moneyball, you may have heard of them. From that moment on, like a lot of my fellows Athletics fans, I hated Jeter (as a player).

As a now employee of the Athletics I am lucky enough to have access to certain facilities and section of the Oakland Coliseum. While I cannot and will not discuss what my actual job is, the one thing I can tell you is that I found myself face-to-face with Jeter before his final game in Oakland. It’s been almost 13 years since that damn play and I have long since gotten over it, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still think about it. After he took some swings in the batting cage my co-worker and I were fortunate enough to be able to say a few words with him before he headed out into the field. The only thing that I could muster out; really, the only thing that mattered was to tell him, “thank you for a brilliant career.” In response, he looked me in the eye with those deep-blue, lady killing eyes, shook my hand and said, “I truly appreciate that.”

I can honestly say that it’s going to be a sad day when the final day comes for Jeter, much like the highly emotional goodbye that I witnessed of Schmidt’s 25 years ago. There are very few who have played the game with the determination, leadership and class that Jeter has displayed for almost a quarter century. In this age of speculation and vendettas I am truly happy to look back on the 27 years of being a baseball fan and be able to say, “I saw a legend from beginning to end.” I can only hope the next generation of fans will be so lucky to say the same thing.

Clearly there are a few stats that need to be updated: Jeter ended up playing in his 14^th All-Star Game, at which he probably should have won the MVP Award for, his 3,465 career hits are not only still the most in Yankees history, but he is now sixth all-time for career hits in MLB history, just 49 away from Hall of Famer Tris Speaker. Realistically, if Jeter played one more full season he could easily surpass Speaker. Pretty wild to think about.

9/25/14: This was a pretty easy decision. Despite all the accomplishments Jeter racked up throughout his career, his final game at Yankee Stadium was too amazing of a night to pass up and not say anything about. To be honest, I really didn’t have any intention of watching the game and I really can’t think of what I was flipping back-and-forth to in between Jeter’s at-bats, but what I really remember started when he took the field in the first inning.

In some way Jeter had always come off as a bit robotic to me, in that his mind was always in the game. Whether he made an amazing catch, turned a great double play or even biffed a ball off of his glove, Jeter went immediately back into the zone, awaiting the next play. At the moment when all the fans started chanting his name over and over and over, the reality clearly set in upon Jeter’s face. You could clearly tell that he was fighting back some serious emotions, and of course, like with a lot of you, a tear or two welled up in my eyes. But Jeter, tough as nails, fought through it and put on a display that truly defined his character.

Every at-bat the man saw was spectacular, knocking in Brett Gardner is his first plate appearance of the game to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead over the Orioles, and even the seventh inning bases loaded two-run error he forced. However, it was his final curtain call in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game now tied up at five each thanks to David Robertson’s blown save at the top of the inning which made the baseball world explode. Hell, my words can’t even do it justice, just watch it.

As I mentioned in my eDraft article, it’s kind of weird to think that this generation and those that follow may never experience a player of Jeter’s caliber accumulate a Hall of Fame career having played for the same team who drafted them. Only time and money will tell, I suppose.

March 8- Cincinnati Reds

It’s kind of ridiculous of exhausted I am. Somehow I am continuing to forge ahead, writing this post despite having been awake for the last 40 hours. I assure you I feel like a bucket of yuck at the moment, but it will certainly be interesting to see how well I can string words together when writing tonight’s post.

It still comes at a bit of mystery as to why I purchased this hat on a random day in November of 2011. I was splitting time on my hat orders between Mickey’s Place and Lids when I came to a bit of a crossroad on one specific hat, the 1956 Cincinnati Reds. Now, the really interesting things about both Web sites offering this hat are…

• Each site featured a hat with a different logo
• Neither of them was the correct style.
• Both were interesting, but neither really impressed me.

Yet, for some strange reason I ended up rolling with the one on the Lids site because I thought it was “interesting.” When it arrived in the mail I had roughly the same feeling I do know; the feeling of, “what the hell was I thinking?” Don’t get me wrong, I could have done a lot worse, but it’s still a highly questionable combination of the all red with this particular, crazy-eyed logo.

The logo, while accurate to the era was featured on the sleeves of the jerseys from 1954-1959 and went through slight alterations in 1960 (twice) on through 1967. In 2007 the team brought it, as well as the original Johnny Redlegs, who this logo represents, for their batting practice and spring training collection. In fact, Yahoo!’s Big League Stew writer Dave Brown and I have been jibber-jabbing over which hat is in fact worse looking. This one I’m wearing or the newly released 2013 spring training hat with the black panels.

I think the one part of the story that takes an even more interesting turn is the number selection I opted to roll with: 4256, the number of hits Pete Rose amassed over his 24-year career.

I think at the time I was able to justify it on account of the fact that the Reds had been using this logo during the time when he made his Major League debut on April 8, 1963. Much like the Nolan Ryan career strikeout total on the least significant hat, I decided to roll the dice on one of the most prestigious statistics in MLB history on a hat which most people never knew existed. But, I did. Today is only the third time I’ve ever put it on because, let’s face it; it looks rather goofy on my head. I know I keep blasting this hat, but there are visual traits about it which prove my argument. Most specifically, look at the logo and where it sits on the hat; it’s upright and somewhat misshaped, which makes it appear as if it’s sitting too high in between the front panels. Therefore, for anyone who wears it, the hat is given the appearance that it’s sitting much taller on the person’s head. Second, it’s all red; which in my opinion is a color that has never looked good on me.

One of the most interesting stories about this cap took place about a week before I went to New York for the MLB Fan Cave. The other eight Cave Dwellers and I had all ready been selected, so I was in the process of packing up everything I owned to either move it into storage, or take it to New York with me. Every clothing item I owned which had to do with baseball found their way into my suitcase except for three items. I had developed a hunch one day and decided to email Jeff Heckelman, one of the heads of public relations for MLB, and more specifically one of the guys who was in constant contact with us throughout the application process. I wasn’t really sure how MLB would feel if I ever rolled into the Fan Cave all decked out in Peter Rose Reds gear, so I asked his thoughts on the matter before I made a huge mistake. It only took him about 10 minutes to respond with an ardent “NO!” So, not wanting to be the first on the chopping block (irony) I left my Pete Rose shirt, jersey and of course, this hat behind. It was the only New Era hat not to make the 3000 mile journey with me... and this awesome shirt.

February 28- Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Today I find myself whisked away back to 1998. Times were certainly crazy; Hugo Chavez became the President of Venezuela, Google was founded, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski plead guilty to his crimes and pop sensation Falco, the man behind “Rock Me Amadeus,” passed away unnoticed as some guy named Frank Sinatra also passed away and ate up the headlines. In baseball, expansion brought forth two new teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

It’s kind of weird to think that this hat, the Devil Rays road cap, was only used for their inaugural year. I mean, that’s hardly enough time for fans to praise or eviscerate it on message boards and various other social media sites… which didn’t really exist because it was 1998. Seriously!? The times have certainly changed indeed! Anyway, on account of their start-up, the Devil Rays weren’t expected to do much other than pull a few gems in the amateur draft and possible sign a few aging veterans. For once the analysts nailed their prediction.

Similar to the 1992 expansion draft, both expansion teams selected 35 players. The draft was divided into three rounds. Each team would select 14 players in round 1, 14 players in round 2, and 7 players in round 3. Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar and Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola, Jr. oversaw their teams' selections.
The Devil Rays and Diamondbacks could pick any player not on the protected lists of the 28 other teams, although no team could lose more than one player in a given round. The protected list for each team consisted of:

• For the first round, 15 players from the rosters of their entire organization—both their 40-man roster, plus all minor league affiliates.
• Each team could add three more players to its protected list after each round.
• In addition to the above, players chosen in the 1996 and 1997 amateur drafts were automatically protected, plus players who were 18 or younger when signed in 1995.
• Players who were free agents after the end of the 1997 season need not be protected.

As with the 1992 expansion draft, the order was determined by a coin toss. The winner of the toss could choose either: (a) The first overall pick in the expansion draft or (b) allow the other team to pick first and receive both the second and third overall expansion draft picks and the right to pick first in the subsequent rounds of the expansion draft. Tampa Bay won the toss and chose to select first. Easy stuff, really.

A few notables from the draft for the Devil Rays include: Randy Winn, Miguel Cairo, Dmitri Young, Bubba Trammell, Quinton McCracken (amazing baseball name), Esteban Yan and Bobby Abreu who ended up getting traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for shortstop Kevin Stocker. Who!?!? Exactly.
Now, as I mentioned above, the Devil Rays and Diamondbacks were also allowed to sign free agents. The Dbacks elected to sign Jay Bell to a five-year $34 million contract, while the Devil Rays rolled the dice on the two guys who I decided to mark my hat with.

#12- As a baseball fan, this move always made me feel a bit weird inside. Wade Boggs started his career (1982-1992) out with the Boston Red Sox and dominated the league as an offensive threat at third base. Boggs then moved on to the New York Yankees (1993-1997) where he won his one and only World Series ring in 1996, the first the Yankees had won in 18 years. So, when Boggs signed with the Devil Rays in the twilight of his career it gave me an uncomfortable feeling; like Boggs was meant to go out with one of the two most historic teams in MLB history, not some starter project. But, upon doing some research, it turns out that Boggs graduated high school in the Tampa area and wanted to go home to retire. Boy, did I feel like a selfish ass. But you know you did too! Boggs made his debut with the Devil Rays on March 31 and hit the first home run in the franchise’s history in the sixth inning of their inaugural game. The other significant moment in Boggs’s history with the Devil Rays came on August 7, 1999. While I realize this moment came while he was wearing a different hat, I decided made a slight exclusion. To get the full effect I have to go back to Day 1 of the MLB Fan Cave Top 30 audition in Arizona last year.

After our elevator pitch to the executives it was time to play some Baseball IQ. Earlier in the day we had met up with Matt Vasgersian and Eric Byrnes outside one of the executive board rooms at Chase Field. I was beyond stoked to reconnect with Eric Byrnes after a 12-year gap, while Vasgersian gave me the, “what the hell is up with this guy?” look. Throughout Cave Dweller applicant introductions in the morning I was hit up by 10 of the others as they were trying to recruit me for their trivia team. I was polite and said yes to everyone, even though I knew in advance that were going to be assigned to teams. To make a long story short; my team, which consisted of Toronto Blue Jays fan Dave Barclay and Minnesota Twins fan Lindsay Guentzel, were sitting in the peanut gallery waiting for our turn to dominate. Every time a team missed a question I writhed around, wanting to blurt out the answers. Vasgersian, toying with me, finally asked me the right answer to a question miss by the two teams competing. The question was, “Derek Jeter became only the second person in MLB history to record their 3000^th hit off of a home run. Who was the first?” After both teams missed, Vasgersian looked at me and said, “Unabomber! What’s the answer?” After everyone stopped laughing, including myself, I blurted out Wade Boggs’s name. For the rest of the trivia showdown Vasgersian and I bounced jokes and answers off of one another. And yes, our team, aptly named the “Una-lovers,” took home the gold.

Boggs was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. His accolades include 12 All-Star Game appearances, two Gold Gloves, eight Silver Slugger awards and five batting titles, all of which came with the Red Sox. Oh, and he got knocked out by Barney Gumble in Moe’s Tavern. Right around this area…

Which is really funny because this bar, Max’s Tavern, is the real life Moe’s Tavern from the Simpsons. In which you should always remember; Pitt the Elder is not Norway’s greatest Prime Minister.

#29- Another native of Tampa, Fred “Crime Dog” McGriff was purchased from the Atlanta Braves at the end of the 1997 season. Unfortunately for McGriff, his last moment as a Brave was the horrendous strikeout call by home plate umpire Eric Gregg against the Florida Marlins in the National League Championship Series. Here you are… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR3eK5gCChM

From 1998-2001 and then again in 2004 McGriff donned the Devil Ray black and grey, black and purple and grey, green and white, green and white and grey… you get the idea. They changed their uniforms a lot. What’s rather amusing about McGriff’s time in Tampa is that, like Boggs, it didn’t really seem like the right fit; especially to anyone who grew up watching McGriff on TBS: The Superstation. However, McGriff’s time with the Devil Rays proved to be a great move for his career. In the 577 games he suited up for them he hit .291 with 99 home runs, 359 RBI and 603 total hits. All of those numbers, except the home runs, were better than his first five years in the League when he was with the Blue Jays. McGriff made five All-Star game appearances, none of which came in Tampa; which is just wrong because the second best year of his career came in 1999 when he hit .310/32/104. Sadly, McGriff will more than likely not make the Hall of Fame with his 2490 hits, 493 home runs and one World Series ring with the Braves from 1995, but at least he can help your kids become future Hall of Famers.

He gets results.

February 27- Houston Astros

I had previously owned this Houston Astros cap from 2000-2001 when I was living in Vancouver, Washington and wore it quite often when I went to work at Just Sports at the Vancouver Mall. Since our polo shirts were navy blue it made for a good match along with the khaki shorts or pants I was wearing, depending on which season it was. One night in January of 2001 I was riding the bus back home as I never had a car until I was 19-years-old. I was tuned into my portable CD player and lingering in between a state of consciousness and a light slumber when the bus made a sharp turn to the right onto 92^nd street where my stop was. Due to my state of slight confusion, I quickly hit the stop button and grabbed my backpack. I hopped off and made it about two blocks in the rain before I realized that my head and face were not being protected by the familiar bill that usually kept me dry. I had left the hat on the bus. Pissed off doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. It would be 10 years before I bought a replacement.

I ended up finding this hat brand new on Ebay for about $10 in August of 2011. Every now-and-then I find a few gems there, but I became incredibly hesitant after I got burned by some kid in the Bay Area selling a “brand new” San Francisco Giants cap for $15. If by “brand new” he meant wore it for three years without taking off the tags, then yes. When the Astros cap came in the mail I immediately went to Baseball-Reference.com and filtered through an array of stats and stories, until inevitably falling on 5714, the number of strikeouts that Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan had throughout his Major League career.

It seemed to make sense to me at the time, but I never really had a good reason for doing it, especially considering that I owned a few New York Mets, California Angels and Texas Rangers hats which would have made just as much sense. I don’t know. Something in my gut just told me to throw that number on the hat, which for me is weird when considering how analytical I am when it comes to marking my hats. Historically it would have made sense to add that number to a 1986-1993 Rangers hat, since he did hit that mark, retire with and go into the Hall of Fame with that hat, or even the 1972-1989 Angels hat since he did tally the most strikeouts of his career with them. But no, I opted to roll with the 1965-1970/1980-1993 Astros hat.

So far I’ve done this post way different than the others. I usually start out with the history of the hat and end with my mark, but you’ll see why at the end. The Astros did in fact use this hat from 1965-1970 and then again from 1980-1993. From 1980-1981 it serves as the team’s road cap, before they transitioned it into the “alternate home” and road cap in 1982, which then became just their game cap by 1983. When it comes to hats and uniform combinations, very few teams have been weirder about this than the Astros. Ryan’s tenure with the team started in 1980 and ended in 1988 when he finished out his career with the Rangers. Prior to the Astros he played with the Angels from 1972-1979 and before that he played with the Mets from 1966-1971. So if you’re keeping score at home it looks something like this: 9 years with the Astros, 8 years with the Angels, 5 years with the Mets and 5 years with the Rangers.

Ryan only won one World Series throughout his 27 year career which came in 1969 with the Miracle Mets. Outside of that, he had 493 strikeouts and was merely a blip on the radar during his time in New York. When he got to California with the Angels his reputation came to light. Throughout his eight year run Ryan went 138-121 with a 3.07 ERA and a staggering 2416 strikeouts, the most with any team he played for. He also threw four no-hitters during that frame, which tied him for the most with Sandy Koufax at the time. No big deal; he was just getting warmed up.

During Ryan’s stretch with the Astros he went 106-94, which gave him a win percentage of .530, only three thousandths of a percentage behind his Angels wins percentage. He struck out 1866 batters, but he did post the two lowest seasonal ERAs of his career in Houston: 1.69 in 1981 and 2.76 in 1987, as well as one no-hitter with the ‘Stros on September 26, 1981… while wearing the orange cap. See!

His time with the Rangers went incredibly well. As you saw in the photo above, he threw two more no-nos and he went 51-39 with 939 strikeouts putting his strikeouts per nine innings at 10.1, the highest of his career. Six years after he was retired he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and perma-plaqued with a Rangers cap, something that I have questioned since Induction Day. Obviously his beast statistical years came with the Angels, not to mention he only won a championship with the Mets. Somehow in 27 years he NEVER won a Cy Young award; the closest he came was runner-up to Jim Palmer in 1973 despite the fact that Ryan struck 383 batters out. Palmer only struck out 158. Daaaaaammmnnnn!!! Ryan led the League in strikeouts 11 times: 7 with the Angels and 2 each with the Rangers and Astros. I realize that Ryan is a Texas boy and got to choose how he went into the Hall, but the powers that be really should have put the kibosh on that one. So glad they changed that rule!

But even with all of these facts and figures, the mystery of why I chose this hat to mark the 5714 on the front panel was still a mystery… until I went to the Hall of Fame. I’ve only been there once, back on August 1, 2012 with my friend Dave Kaufman. With the exception of a few photos of the plaques, I never really did much investigative work about what the Hall had to offer. I wanted to be surprised when I got there. And needless to say I was when Dave and I came across this display.

Not until today did I ever give much thought to it. This whole number investigation and explanation didn’t start until I picked the hat for today’s post. I honestly don’t even remember why I took a photo of this pane, but there it is; the hat with the 5714 strikeout caption below it. A hat which had no real significance on any special occasion for Ryan.

Weird things like this have happened throughout my life. I’ll think about something or get a strong feeling about whatever and it will pop up at some point in time down the road. This sort of “psychic” intuition always proved useful when I would think about a particular episode of The Simpsons and sure enough it would be on later that night. I realize that there is no real way for me to prove that I’m not pulling your leg… or is there?

I went back through all of the photos I’ve taken over the last year on the Samsung Galaxy Note I got while I was in the MLB Fan Cave, as well as a few photo albums on my computer to prove that I’m not full of crap and didn’t just make up an elaborate story.

This photo should all be familiar to you as it serves as the background for my blog. I took it on May 26, 2012, about three days before I got kicked out of the Fan Cave. I realize it’s hard to see, but the numbers are on the hat.

Here’s a close-up of that image.

Still not convinced? How about this photo?

This was taken on October 12, 2011, well before the Fan Cave and well before my hat collection ballooned to the number that it is now.

Sooooooooo… in your face! But like I said, it’s all weird.

February 17- Florida Marlins

Believe it or not, I tend to be a smartass from time-to-time. I know, I know, shocker, right!? And to be honest, of all the hats I own, this particular Florida Marlins hat brings out the most sinister of qualities buried deep in the recesses of my soul. Mwahahahahaha!!! Want proof? As you’ll learn from all of these New Era Caps, or even my tattoos, I love talking about the lesser-known, oddball stories that have taken place in baseball. 2012 was definitely a prime year for me, and it all started when we went to the head office of Major League Baseball within the first week of being in New York for the MLB Fan Cave. We were told to wear dress-casual attire; however, since I was about to head into the lion’s den I decided to class it up quite a bit and wore a three-piece suit. In keeping with my daily hat habit I opted to roll with a hat that “matched” my outfit… this one.

Now, most people were under the impression that I had chosen this hat because the colors complimented the suit I was wearing. The real story behind why I wore this hat is because 1. I hated that Jeff Loria changed the Marlins logo/colors. 2. It was a silent protest to MLB to let them know that I will stand by my convictions. Oh, and in case you wondering, the suits of MLB made sure to let me know that I couldn’t wear Florida Marlins gear any day that I was in the Fan Cave in order to keep up appearances with Jeff Loria’s wishes.

I declined to adhere to that rule. Like I said, I stand by my convictions.

This hat lasted the entire run of the Florida Marlins from 1993 through its unfortunate demise at the end of the 2011 season. The team saw 11 managers take the helm while only two of them, Jim Leyland and Jack McKeon, took the team to the Promised Land in 1997 and 2003 respectively. A slew of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers came and went, much like hired guns of the Old West, or… in the case of the results of winning both World Series, the owner’s built up a high caliber team, won a championship and auctioned off their players in an attempt to line their pockets with extra cash. Moneyball at its finest.

I think you’ll all agree on all of my choices for marking this beast up. And just so you know, I threw the numbers down in order of relevancy.

#19- It wouldn’t make a lot of sense if I left Jeff Conine off of this, or any of my Marlins caps. Conine is one of THREE guys to be a member of both World Series teams in ’97 and ’03. In 1997 Conine played in 151 games and was the primary first baseman on into the playoffs. What’s most interesting about Conine is that ’97 was his worst career year offensively for the Marlins as he went .242/17/61; however, then manager Jim Leyland opted to keep him in for every day duties. The three best years of his career came during his first three full years in the league (1993-1995). In ’93 Conine finished in third place for the Rookie of the Year Award; however, his first season in the league was in back in 1990 when he took the field for nine games with the Kansas City Royals. ’91 was spent in AAA and ’92 only saw him coming in for 28 games with the Royals. In 1994 and 1995 Conine cracked the Top 25 in MVP voting after hitting at least .304 with at least 18 home runs and 82 RBI in each of those seasons. Conine found himself back in Kansas City for the 1998 season before moving on to the Baltimore Orioles from 1999 though the All-Star break in 2003 when he was sent back to the Marlins. This time; however, he wore #18 as some up-and-comer named Mike Lowell had taken #19 at the start of the 2000 season.

#1- Luis Castillo is the second member of the All-Florida Marlins squad. Castillo’s first year in baseball was with the Marlins in 1996, but wore the #34 in all 41 games he played in. At the start of the 1997 Castillo opted to change his number, hoping for better fortune and more playing time. Castillo platooned at second base with former Oakland Athletic, and current Marin County Sheriff’s Deputy Kurt Abbott. Castillo didn’t see a single second of action in the postseason that year, but still got a ring for his service throughout the season. In 2003 Castillo’s presence became more well-known as the every day second baseman throughout the regular season and playoffs. Besides the two rings, Castillo won three Gold Gloves (all with the Marlins) from 2003-05, made three All-Star appearances (2002-05 and 2005) and finished his Marlins career with a solid .293 average.

#38- I decided to roll with #38, but could have gone with #33 as well as Rick Helling wore each number throughout his career with the Marlins; however, like Castillo is 1997, Helling didn’t see any action in the playoffs, which had more to do with being traded to the Texas Rangers around the trade deadline. But, he still got a ring. In 2003 he found himself back on the Marlins, once again as a trade deadline addition from the Baltimore Orioles. Helling saw action out of the bullpen during the playoffs, but got shelled during every appearance. Either way, he got two rings out of the deal.

February 4- Kansas City Royals

Looking back on the history of hats in Major League Baseball, I found it kind of odd that this was the first predominantly baby blue ever worn. Now, before you argue with me on this, keep in mind that the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Montreal Expos only wore powder blue uniforms, not hats. Still have an argument? Well, you could argue that the Tampa Bay Rays batting practice hat could qualify; therefore, no On Field caps have been that shade of blue prior to the 2010-2011 Royals alternate hat. (Bases covered!)

Personally I’ve never really been that big of a fan of powder/baby blue as I’ve always associated it the University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team. And UNC is certainly high on my “teams I will always hate” list, right underneath the New York Knicks, but above the Minnesota Twins. So, with only having a two-year window to commemorate, it actually made picking numbers to mark my hat with relatively easy.

#4- Alex Gordon had long been projected as the Royals ace in the hole since they drafted him with the second overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft; however, dude pal was certainly not living up to the hype. The “second coming of George Brett” struggled from his rookie year in 2007-2010; both at the plate and on the field. Gordon’s best season came in 2008 when he hit .260 with 16 home runs and 59 RBI. Not exactly killing it, but decent nonetheless. It really wasn’t until the 2011 season that Gordon finally spread his wings and flew. Oddly enough, I was able to pick up Gordon in the 12^th round of my fantasy baseball draft. A pick that would prove to be most effective by season’s end. The Royals were in the midst of bringing up prospect Mike Moustakas at some point during the 2011 season that he moved Alex Gordon to left field early to give him to prepare. Not only did this fill an outfield void, it really boosted Gordon’s confidence. With the pressure off at the hot corner Gordon played like a champion. He posted career numbers at the plate: .303/23/87 and even won a Gold Glove for his service at the 7-spot. Finally, Gordon was living up to the potential that scouts had projected. Plus, he was one of my fantasy MVPs. Good on ya kid!

#35- I had been hearing a lot about Eric Hosmer since he was drafted as the third overall pick back in 2008. Like Gordon, Hosmer was projected to be the next big thing in the American League. Since Gordon was projected to be he next George Brett, I think it’s fair to say that Hosmer was the second coming of Steve Balboni. Roughly a quarter of the way into the season Yost platooned Hosmer in at first base as then first baseman Kila Ka’aihue wasn’t exactly cutting the mustard at the plate. One of the most notable games I recall came during his first trip to Yankee Stadium. On Wednesday, May 11 Hosmer got the start against AJ Burnett. The previous day Hosmer had gone 0-3; however, against Burnett, Hosmer proved he was worthy of the show. Hosmer’s family had come in from Florida for the game, and in the fourth inning, Eric cranked his first career home run. Burnett and all of Yankee Stadium knew it was gone after it went off the bat. Not a bad way to make your family proud. Hosmer continued to hit well the rest of the season, which sent Ka’aihue back down to AAA. Hosmer’s final marks: .293/19/78. Hosmer played in 23 fewer games than Gordon, and when you compare the numbers, you have to tip your cap to the kid. Not a bad 2011 for those two.

February 3- Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Almost every Minor League cap that I’ve purchased has been as a result of either 1. Going to a game of the team and digging their hat. 2. Coming across a press release for a team’s new hat. Or 3. Doing some independent snooping. In the case of this, the 2006-present Myrtle Beach Pelicans batting practice hat, I have to admit that I saw an employee of Lids in Eugene, Oregon wearing it one day when I rolled in. I’m not ashamed to admit that I went into Lids, as that’s a pretty standard base of operations for my hat purchases. No, in this case I’m ashamed that I wasn’t at the forefront to purchase said cap before he got his hands on it. In a fit of rage that day I ended up buying five On Field caps, while on the inside I wept like a little kid who fell off their bike and skinned their knee. After I made my purchase I retreated back to my car while the crying crept upward and outward from my mouth and tear ducts as I drove home listening to “The Reason” by Hoobastank.

Ok, I’m going to level with you. The last 73% of that paragraph didn’t happen, but it certainly could have. I was a bit jealous that I didn’t have this hat, and I did buy five new hats, but I easily remedied my lack of a Pelicans hat within about 15 minutes of arriving back at my house before class. I was merely trying to add a little more drama to tale. My apologies.

The Pelicans are kind of interesting team. They were originally founded in 1980 in a little town in North Carolina called Durham. There was a movie that was loosely based on the team which came out in 1988 staring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. You know the movie, “Spaceballs”… I mean “Bull Durham.” The team lasted until 1997 when they relocated to Danville, Virginia and became the Danville 97s for the 1998 season before moving on to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1999. A new AAA team was established in Durham and took the Bulls as their own, while the original Bulls became the Pelicans and remained as an advanced-A club. From 1999-2010 the Pelicans were an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves organization, but then switched to the Texas Rangers for the start of the 2011 season on into the present. So, since the hat is still in use, I had quite the pick of talent to choose from.

Originally I was going to throw down #19, Jeff Francoeur, but had a change of heart on account of him not being around when the team adopted this hat. I then scoured through the rosters and came upon a decent tandem from the 2009 season who have both made a significant splash in the Majors.

#12- A fresh faced second round draft pick (2007) from Orange, California, Freddie Freeman made an immediate impact with the Pelicans at first base. Freeman only played 70 games with the Pelicans as he was promoted after the All-Star break to the AA Mississippi Braves. During his time in Myrtle Beach; however, Freeman proved he was a potent offensive threat. He batted .302 with 6 home runs and 34 runs batted in. Ok, so maybe he wasn’t a towering threat, but Freeman still got the job done. Nowadays Freeman has bulked up a bit and hits for power. His average has dipped a little bit, but hey, that’s how things go in the Majors.

#34- This other cat played behind Freeman. Not necessarily in the batting order, but about 150 or so feet behind him in the field. Like Freeman, Jason Heyward didn’t stick around Myrtle Beach for too long. Heyward lasted 49 games in Myrtle Beach before moving on to Mississippi as well as the AAA affiliate in Gwinnett for the last three games for the season. During his time with the Pelicans Heyward went .296/10/31, about on par with Freeman, but that is kind of the way things go in single A. For their time there, both 19-year-olds finished their run going one-two in batting average. Only a prospect named Cody Johnson outshined them in home runs and RBI, but Johnson was dealt to the New York Yankees after the 2010 season, where he has not risen past AA. It goes to show, you don’t need a lot of power to move up the ladder, just consistency.

January 30- Cincinnati Reds

Today is actually the first day I’ve worn this hat. Come to think of it, that’s really weird. I love this hat. For those who aren’t too savvy on Cincinnati Reds hats, you should know that this hat has only been around since the start of the 2000 season. Now, I know what you’re thinking; and no, I’m not high right now. The hat you’re thinking of is the classic all red hat featuring the white “C” logo on the front. This is not that hat. This is the all read hat with a white “C” logo… and a black shadow around the “C.” The move was made to make the logo look more three dimensional; however, if you’ve seen a hat up close you’d know that the threading is all ready three dimensional. But, for hat snobs like myself, I applaud the change. The slightest change will make us buy it in order to keep our collections up to date.

This particular hat is one of the many I picked up at the New Era Flagship store across the street from the Fan Cave. In fact, this is one of thirteen I purchased in the first two days I visited the location. The folks across the way were nice enough to give us all a 30% off discount on whatever we wanted, yet I was the only one who ever bought anything from them. I take that back. Kyle Thompson and Ricky Mast each bought one hat, and I think Shaun Kippins got a replacement Braves hat. But that was about it. As for me, I bought somewhere like 35-50 hats from them. I’ll have to go back through and double check. Anyway, like I said, for the past 13 years the Reds have alternated this cap as their alternate and their game style cap. With that it made it a bit difficult to throw a few numbers down that stayed within the realm of the era and style, but luckily I found two that I really wanted to add.

#4- On May 18, 2012 I was lucky enough to still be in the Fan Cave when Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips paid a visit. Phillips was running a little bit late, but rolled in with style, sporting a diamond encrusted watch, black shades and a v-neck sweater and tie combo. Dude pal looked pretty dapper. He was also incredibly friendly, and took the time to talk to everyone before he had to head out to shoot a sketch with Andrew Zimmern from “Bizarre Foods.”

After my exile I was able to catch up with Phillips when the Reds played a road game in San Diego. I had tweeted at him earlier in the day and sent the photo we took in the Fan Cave, but didn’t expect much of a return. Instead, he not only retweeted it, but also said that he was looking forward to seeing me. I was in Anaheim at the time and had to race down to San Diego where I met up with Fan Cave Top 30 finalist Andy Bishop for the game. During batting practice Phillips signed a few autographs for kids and even gave a bunch of wristbands to one lucky little Reds fan and his baby brother.

It was then that Phillips spotted me and asked why I wasn’t in New York anymore. I told him what happened and he just shook his head and said that it was wrong of them to let me go. He didn’t have to say that, but I really appreciated hearing it. Aside from that, Phillips is one hell of a second baseman. He’s been playing the four spot for the Reds since 2006 and has been a recipient of the Gold Glove three times (2008, 2010-11) and made two All-Star teams while hitting .280/142/563. For a second baseman it’s pretty stellar; especially one who has been averaging over 145 games a season. Kudos to you Brandon. You do the baseball world proud. (Also, have to tilt the cap to the side like BP.)

#21- This is another guy I was fortunate enough to meet during my time in the Cave, but on the inside I was slightly angry at him for one year of his career. Sean “The Mayor” Casey is a hell of a guy and a fantastic analyst for MLB Network. Casey played for the Reds from 1998 through the end of the 2005 season, before moving on to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a bit and then onto the Detroit Tigers for the 2006 season. It was his time with the Tigers I hate on account for the four game sweep my Oakland Athletics suffered with Casey’s big grin flashing from the Tiger dugout. AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Back to Cincy… Casey had a great career with the Reds, batting .305 and making three All-Star game appearances. But, like Phillips, he’s just a stand up guy. Amazing stories to tell and always willing to meet and greet everyone who wanted a few moments. I couldn’t think of a better tandem to honor.