Scott Erickson, 1997 Upper Deck #307

As I often do when I'm too lazy to think of a topic of my own, I'm going to spin off from Night Owl's blog. In a recent post, he declared his affinity for cards that depict pitchers batting. I second that motion; with the Orioles operating under the auspices of the designated hitter rule save for the occasional road interleague series, these oddball pictures are a rare treat for me. My absolute favorite is this Dennis Martinez card from 1982 Fleer, which is the even-rarer posed pitcher-as-batter. But seeing the hulking 6'4" Scott Erickson looking so ill at ease trying to lay down a bunt in a spring training game is almost as entertaining. That's some flat-footed stance he's got. The caption, "Practices his batting eye for interleague play in 1997", is notable for its awkwardness. If he was standing in a regular stance with the bat on his shoulder, I'd go along with the premise. But it doesn't quite match up.

I'm sure you're dying to know how Scott Erickson handled the bat in his career. He came to the plate 44 times in his career, which includes 17 plate appearances with the Mets and Dodgers at the tail end. He collected 4 hits in 35 at-bats, walked 4 times, and laid down 5 successful sacrifice bunts. That's an average of .114 with a .205 on-base percentage. He peaked with the O's in 2000, batting .400 (2-for-5) and collecting his only extra-base hit and RBI with a double off of Dave Coggin of the Phillies. So he was no Don Newcombe, but he wasn't Daniel Cabrera either.