But if your card ends with anything else, you haven't made it yet or your career is going south. With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting, after earlier looking at #1, to now look at the history of a "scrub" number. I came up with #126. I wanted triple digits and "26" is my favorite Cubs player's number.
I've got each of the 60 #126s below. Was it Scrub City? Well, out of 60, there was one Hall of Fame player
(very early in his career)
another that made the HOF as a broadcaster
and one more that might make it as a manager.
Two Cubs got the number, and both were scrubs (hey, don't say "Aren't all Cubs scrubs?" That's not nice!)
But yes, for the most part, its a cast of unforgettable characters. Do the names Bob Wiesler or Stan Palys ring a bell? How about Marty Martinez or Rod Gilbreath? Scroll through and count how many of these you've heard of, especially the guy that played before you started following baseball. I bet you have a hard time reaching double digits.
And who gets #126 in 2012? The early checklist says...
...Eduardo Nunez. I'd say that fits right in!
Seeing Smoltz in a Cards uniform is weird! That alone deserves #126.
ReplyDeleteDick Stuart, "Dr. Stangeglove", is my fvorite of the bunch. Over an eight year period, (1958-1965) he averaged over 26 HR's a season. Over the same period he also led all NL 1st basemen in errors (thus the nickname).
ReplyDeleteOut of the ones who received #126 before I started following baseball, I had heard of 14 of them. But I totally owe collecting cards for that knowledge.
ReplyDeleteIt seems there was a lot of Braves on that list. I didn't count, but that team sort of stood out. This could be a very interesting long term project and perhaps even a blog of its own.
ReplyDeleteFred Hutchinson was an awfully good pitcher, and a successful manager...
ReplyDelete