Ben McDonald, 1993 Bowman #437

Legend has it that Ben McDonald used to wrestle alligators down in Louisiana. I won't be seeing any alligator wrestling today, but there will be wrestling ants, frogs, snow trolls, and more. I'm getting ready to drive up to Easton, PA to see the latest Chikara Pro Wrestling show, entitled You Only Live Twice. Chikara is a small independent promotion run out of Pennsylvania that combines exciting, high-flying ring action with family-friendly bizarre characters. So enjoy a beautiful Sunday, wherever you might be. I'll be back tomorrow.

Brad Pennington, 1993 Bowman #661

Brad Pennington making a heinous Pitcherface while throwing on a spring training mound? That must mean that the Orioles lost to the Yankees by a run on a Monday night. Bleah.

Harold Baines, 1993 Bowman #281

Today's idle thought: I wish I could grow a beard as neat and full and even as that of Harold Baines. That thing looks like it was painted on his face.

T. R. Lewis, 1993 Bowman #85

Former Orioles farmhand T. R. Lewis is one of those guys I haven't given a second thought since about 1995, when he was putting up decent (but not eye-popping) numbers in the minors. He was just another of the seeming dozens of would-be O's who got their own baseball card but never played a single game with the big club. At least that's what I thought until I happened to flip this card over while sorting last week:

"In identifying the best pure hitter in the Baltimore system, Theodore Roosevelt Lewis could be a candidate. Unfortunately, shoulder problems (originating in 1989 when he was tossed from a car at 75 mph) have left him in defensive limbo. A .290 hitter over four seasons, he could develop into a potent DH."

Wait, WHAT? The T. R. stood for Theodore Roosevelt? There was a guy in the Baltimore organization who could hit .300 and was named for the ass-kickingest President in American history, and I didn't even know it? And he survived being thrown from a car at a high speed as a teenager? All this, and he never even got a taste of the major leagues? Sometimes life just isn't fair.