Monday, March 21, 2011

Manny Alexander, 1993 Score #234

1993 was a long time ago, as this card illustrates. Back then, Score was still in the baseball card business, and Manny Alexander was both a rookie and a prospect. In the proceeding 18 years, Score (as well as Donruss, Fleer, Leaf, Pacific, and Upper Deck) lost their license to make cards featuring MLB players and logos. Alexander stumbled out of the gate, fizzled out, and muddled through 593 major leagues. He played 593 major league games, the last of them coming in 2006, and finished with a batting line of .231/.282/.324.

Manny Alexander didn't stick it out for 18 years, but my car did. It was a 1993 Toyota Camry, and its previous two owners were both friends of the family. I bought it nearly five years ago, and it ran like clockwork in all seasons, but its body gave out. The antenna broke off, as did the driver's door handle. The plastic casing for the parking brake dry-rotted. The interior smelled of oil. A few months ago, another car sideswiped me on the beltway and dented the entire driver's side panel. So after more than 185,000 miles, I decided to retire that trusty old car.

On Saturday, I bought myself a new Prius. It's comfortable, functional, modern, and much more environmentally friendly. I plan to hold on to it for a while...probably not for 18 years, but who knows?
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4 comments:

  1. CommishbobMarch 21, 2011 at 10:34 PM

    Congrats on the new ride, Kevin. You cannot go wrong with a Toyota product. I've owned at least one Toyota, with a short few month exception, since 1979.

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  2. night owlMarch 22, 2011 at 3:05 AM

    Wow, I thought I was doing pretty good holding onto a car from 1992-2005.

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  3. WilliamMarch 22, 2011 at 7:05 AM

    A Prius? Glad to see the recession hasn't hit the Brotzman household! hahaha but seriously, enjoy the new ride...hopefully it'll last as long as Ripken, not Alexander.

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  4. KevinMarch 22, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    Thanks Bob!

    Greg - 14 years is nothing to sneeze at. That's how long it's been since the Orioles had a winning season.

    William - Very funny. And I certainly assume and hope you mean Cal and not Billy...

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