Rick Krivda, 1996 Collector's Choice #11

Oh no! Rick Krivda is being forced to pitch in front of a giant American flag for some reason! Only you can save him now.

Rick Krivda, 1997 Collector's Choice #44

I'm a little chagrined that Patricia and Lucy featured this card before I did, but I hope it's worth seeing twice for those of you that read both of our blogs. To the best of my knowledge, Rick Krivda may be the only player to ever be photographed biting into a baseball bat...at least for trading card purposes. I wonder how it tastes? He seems to be chomping on a Louisville Slugger. Was this a deliberate choice? Does this brand taste richer, more full-bodied than a TPX? Or is it not a matter of taste - is he lashing out at the bat because of something that it did to him? Or is he taking out some unrelated frustration on the bat? Perhaps it's something much more serious. Maybe Rick is having a seizure and an unseen teammate has placed the bat in his mouth to keep him from swallowing his own tongue. After all, we can't see the hands that are holding the lumber.

So many questions, and so few answers.

Rick Krivda, 1994 Fleer Ultra #306

For want of anything profound or witty to say about Rick Krivda, I decide to Google his name and write about the most unusual result of the search. On page six of my hunt, I learned that the former O's lefty is a member of the McKeesport, PA chapter of the Polish National Alliance (Lodge #352). The webpage in question gave some insight into Krivda's post-organized baseball life. Apparently he's still living in the area - Perry Hall, MD, to be exact. He's instructed area youth at some Ripken Baseball camps and operates "Extra Innings", an indoor training center. Well, I couldn't go forward without finding the Extra Innings site, where I learned that one of Rick's fellow instructors is former first baseman Randy "Moose" Milligan!

It's a font of obscure knowledge, this Internet.