Jeff Conine, 2002 Upper Deck Diamond Connection #16

I told you that I wasn't especially lucid when I posted last night's entry, and boy did it show. As was alluded to in the blog comments, Joe Carter was the man whose walk-off three-run homer off of Mitch Williams won the 1993 World Series for the Blue Jays, sending the Phillies home from Toronto cloaked in defeat. On the eve of Game One of a World Series that I desperately want the Phils to win, that was a dumb choice on my part. Bad juju.

Tonight I make amends by posting a card of Jeff Conine, whom the Orioles traded to the Marlins in late 2003, just in time for the venerable old-timer to assist the young Florida team in their playoff push. He made a crucial defensive play in the NLDS, hit .458 in the NLCS, and then hit .333 with a .417 on-base percentage in the Fall Classic to help his new (old) team stun the favored Yankees in six games. Sure, he had only one double and no RBI in the Series, but he did score four runs. Besides, this is a reminder that the Yankees have lost their last two World Series, and that they've ended their last eight seasons with disappointing postseason losses (or, in the case of 2008, a regular-season loss). Let's keep the good times rolling.

But if you want to read about a more prominent Yankee killer, I might refer you to a previous blog post about 1960 World Series hero Hal Smith. Go Phillies!