First Contest!

It is time for Stats on the Back to hold its first contest. Here is a 1995 Score Darryl Strawberry card.

Darryl must be thinking something as he sits on the bench with that pitiful look on his face. If there was a thought bubble (which there will be when the winner is announced), what would it say?

Post your "thought" in the comments section. Funniest "thought", as judged by myself and my brother, wins.

Winner will receive some free cards of their favorite team or player and some 80's Wax!

The Curse of the Caps?

David Wells was Ruthian, both in girth and in his love of the Babe's baseball memorabilia. He once wore an actual Babe Ruth baseball cap onto the field and pitched an inning. The game-used cap, from 1934, set Wells back a cool $35 K. When Torre made him take it off for the second inning, he responded by blowing a 3-run lead. The Yankees went on to lose 12-8.
But this post isn't about David Wells. Its about Mitch Williams. He too was a fan of the memorabilia. He collected a different kind of cap. You see, Mitch was a fan of the Smurfs, Papa Smurf to be more specific. Some say that the Smurf leader was instrumental in teaching Williams that awkward, fall-off-the-mound delivery. That cannot be proven, but one thing we do know is that Mitch Williams liked that red cap.

I do not believe he had to pay quite the sum Wells paid for his hero's hat, but like Wells, Williams chose to don his cap in the field of play in 1992. And also like Wells, the manager, Jim Fregosi made him remove his red cap, as it did not conform to uniform standards.

Williams' performance was not not immediately affected by his lose. He saved 29 games for the Phils that year. He went on to save 43 more in 1993. But then fate had its day. The "dead-baseball great/cartoon celebrity" gods intervened in game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Joe Carter blasted one to left field and Phillie fans united in hating Mitch Williams. John Kruk even wanted to kill him, but didn't when he found out that it was illegal to do so.

Was it the cap, or the fact he had to take off?

Since then, Joe Carter was inducted into to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and has appeared on Pro vs. Joes. It makes me wonder what cap he was forced to take off.

Do You Remember Joanie Loves Chachi?

Neither do I but Lee Mazzilli sure does.

Mazzilli appeared in 130 episodes of Happy Days from 1977 to 1984 and 17 episodes of Joanie Loves Chachi from 1982-1983. At first he was able to deal with the dual role of ball-player/actor. He was an All-Star in 1977, his first year on Happy Days. He hit .303 with 15 Home Runs and 32 stolen bases.
Mazzilli went on to star in Charles in charge from 1984-1990 while he baseball career deteriorated to mostly pinch hitting and fill-in work. His career highlights include a 1986 World Championship, several young actor awards, and the honor of being banned from the Playboy mansion. Apparently Hugh didn't like him dating the girls he was also "dating".

Seriously, doesn't Lee Mazzilli look like Scott Baio. Mazzilli actually did take up acting. He performed in the Off Broadway hit, Tony n' Tina's Wedding. He now works as an analyst for the Mets cable network while Baio is on yet another reality show about himself.

My brother thinks maybe Lee took over for Scott, causing his acting career to fade. At the same time, Scott must have taken over for Lee, causing his batting average to plummet. Or are they the same person???