Steve Finley, 1990 Score #339

In my Internet travels yesterday, I read something that I didn't know (or knew and forgot) about Steve Finley. The former Orioles (and Astros, Padres, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, and Rockies) outfielder was the first player in major league history to hit home runs in three different countries. Obviously, he hit plenty in the United States; the first was a three-run homer off of the Angels' Willie Fraser in Anaheim, California on April 25, 1989. He went deep in Canada for the first time a year later, hitting a game-tying solo shot against Toronto's Frank Wills at SkyDome on September 16, 1990. He had a chance to complete the unusual North American trifecta in 1996, when his Padres played a few games in nearby Monterrey, Mexico. In the bottom of the first inning on August 16, 1996, Finley touched up Mets pitcher Robert Person for a two-run homer. That was the first blow in a wild 15-10 win for San Diego, with Mexican great Fernando Valenzuela earning the win in a fitting touch. In the years since, several other players have joined Steve in his globe-trotting feats, thanks to MLB's now-annual tradition of opening the season with one overseas series. But Finley will always be the first.

Steve Finley, 1991 Upper Deck #330

I'm sure you've heard today's controversial news by now. Steve Finley was not elected to the Hall of Fame. In fact, he garnered just four votes, and will not even be eligible for future ballots.

Oh, and Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Craig Biggio, Edgar Martinez, Alan Trammell, and Mark McGwire were also left out in the cold. For the first time since 1996, the Baseball Writers' Association of America failed to elect a single player. But they succeeded in commanding a lot of attention for themselves and ensuring the future irrelevance of the Baseball Hall of Fame. It's probably just as well. It's a pain in the ass to get to Cooperstown anyway.

Steve Finley, 1989 Donruss The Rookies #47

Today is Steve Finley's 47th birthday! I always feel like birthday posts are a bit of a cheat, so I'll try to dig up some interesting bits of trivia:

-Others born on March 12 include Daryl Strawberry (age 50) and Dale Murphy (56). Together with Finley, that's one mighty outfield! If you have different tastes, you could sub in fellow birthday boys Raul Mondesi, Jimmy Wynn, or Johnny Callison.

-Steve batted .409 (9-for-22) against Chuck Finley, with no extra-base hits. They are the only two pro baseball players with that surname since World War II.

-The Orioles drafted Finley with the 7th pick in the 13th round of the June 1987 draft (325th overall). He was chosen immediately after the Braves took pitcher Mike Stanton. Both players lasted 19 big league seasons, their careers spanning the years 1989-2007. Finley is 40th all-time with 2,583 games played, and Stanton is 2nd among all pitchers with 1,178 games pitched. They each played for eight different teams, and were finally teammates with the 2006 Giants.

-For some reason, I've always been obsessed with the notion of one player suiting up for each of the five California teams in his career. No one has done it yet. Steve is a near-miss, checking in with the Padres, Dodgers, Angels, and Giants. Didn't make it to Oakland.The other players in the Four-for-Cali club, and the team they didn't join:

• Derrel Thomas (also missing the Athletics)
• Rickey Henderson (Giants)
• Jay Johnstone (Giants)
• Elias Sosa (Angels)
• Brett Tomko (Angels...but he's still active!)
• Mike Aldrete (Dodgers)
• John D'Acquisto (Dodgers)
• Dave Kingman (Dodgers)
• Stan Javier (Padres)

-Steve hit 304 home runs in his career, including 257 after his age 30 season. He is currently tied with Miguel Tejada for 129th all-time. A partial list of players who stalled out between 250 and 300 homers: Tim Salmon, Rickey Henderson, Kent Hrbek, Bobby Bonilla, Jimmy Wynn, Rusty Staub, Will Clark, Ryne Sandberg, Roger Maris, Steve Garvey, Joe Morgan, Brooks Robinson, Kirk Gibson, Joe Torre, Robin Yount.

Steve Finley, 1989 Score Rookies & Traded #95T

I love the angle of this photograph. Steve Finley, not exactly known for his power hitting early in his career, is following through on a swing. He's deep in concentration, watching the flight of the ball he's just struck. Is it a shallow pop? A warning track fly? A drive into the gap? Or even - dare we dream it - a home run?

Well, there's no way to be sure exactly what the result of this play was, but I am going to be a bit of a wet blanket. Steve hit just two home runs in his rookie season of 1989, and both came on the road. So no, this one didn't clear the fence at Memorial Stadium. There's always next year.

Steve Finley, 1989 Upper Deck #742

In their ongoing efforts to break new ground in baseball card photography and presentation, I'm sure that Upper Deck thought they were capturing Steve Finley in a moment of intense contemplation as he prepared to bat. Instead, a half-deflated chewing gum bubble makes him look like nothing so much as a slack-jawed goon. Swing and a miss.

Steve Finley, 1990 Donruss #215

1990 was the first year that Donruss had really gone out on a limb design-wise since the mid-Eighties. These cards were like nothing that came before them, with the distinct white script player names and blood-red borders, not to mention the splatters of black and white. It almost seemed as if the cards had been designed by Jackson Pollock.

Steve Finley was a player that Pollock would have loved, had he been a baseball fan. His entire career was a splash of this, a sprinkle of that. He broke in with the Orioles in 1989 as a speedy little singles hitter whose glove kept him in the lineup. Eventually he would develop surprising power, clouting 30 or more home runs in four different seasons and topping 300 for his career. He was a terror on the basepaths in the early years, swiping 78 bags between the 1991 and 1992 campaigns. But over his last eleven seasons in the bigs, he never notched more than 16 steals. Steve even pitched an inning for the Diamondbacks in 2001, ending his career on the mound with a spotless 0.00 ERA. He also spent his time in baseball playing here and there, jumping from team to team just like those contrasting splatters on the card above. In addition to his brief time in Baltimore, he played in Houston, San Diego, Arizona, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Francisco, and Colorado. I'm still disappointed that he never made it to Oakland; he would have probably been the first to play for each of the five California teams.

In Baltimore, Steve Finley is known largely as a symbol of a future denied by one disastrous trade. But he was the odd man out in the trio that included Brady Anderson and Mike Devereaux, and hindsight is 20/20. Did you really predict in 1990 that Steve Finley would last 19 years, or that he would hit 304 home runs and 449 doubles? If so, you've probably got an attic full of Jackson Pollock paintings that you bought on the cheap before he hit it big.