Ron Kittle, 1991 Topps #324

If there's a silver lining to be found in our current housebound circumstances, it's the opportunity to spend more time with the immediate family. Janet and I both telework during the day, so thankfully Finn is pretty self-sufficient when it comes to playing. Still, he does get antsy, especially when he has to wait until 3:30 or later to go outside. So in an attempt to give him a new experience, I gave him a pack of baseball cards to open a couple of weeks ago. It was 1991 Topps, because 1) he's not old enough to take good care of them yet and b) it's important to manage expectations.

I was hoping he'd pull at least one Oriole from the pack, but nada. Not even Ron Kittle, with his .498 OPS and his "What did I just step in?" facial expression. He did get a couple of guys who played for the O's at other points in their careers: Phil Bradley, who had just been traded from Baltimore to the White Sox for Kittle in the previous season, and future Hall of Famer and 1994's All-Star closer, Lee Smith. Finn also pulled a couple cards of journeyman pitchers with all-time fun names: Paul Assenmacher and Joe Klink. I don't think he's caught the collecting bug just yet, but that's probably just as well. There's enough of his stuff spread all over the floors of our house right now.

Ron Kittle, 1991 Donruss #613

You might not remember Ron Kittle's time in an Orioles uniform. I'm sure he would like to forget it. In mid-1990, the White Sox traded the 32-year-old slugger to the O's for Phil Bradley. He played in only 22 games with Baltimore, batting just .164 (10-for-61) with a couple home runs and three RBI. He returned to Chicago in 1991 but retired after being released in August.

Though his career ran out of steam quickly, the former Rookie of the Year made the most out of the time he had in the majors. Ron hit 176 home runs in just 843 games, and averaged one homer for every 15.4 times at bat, the 22nd-best ratio of all time. He also averaged one home run per 17.1 plate appearances. There are currently 27 players (including five currently active) who hit between 176 and 186 career home runs. Of all of these men, "Kitty" had the best PA/HR ratio. Interestingly enough, he also had the lowest number of RBI at 460. This was probably attributable to his boom-or-bust offensive approach: his career batting average is a scant .239, and he struck out 744 times total. He also wore the hell out of a pair of glasses.