#83T Steve Ellsworth

The last 4 cards have been 2 well known Cubs (Grace & Berryhill) and two unknown Red Sox pitchers named Steve (Curry and Ellsworth.) This Steve got himself into 8 games with the Red Sox in 1988, had a 6.75 ERA, and was never heard from again. Note that Ellsworth was close to his 28th birthday in these photos--pretty old for a rookie. This photo was taken in Fenway Park, so it must have been one of these four games.

The most interesting text on the back is "Business Administration." Also interesting is the implication by Score that getting his college degree was better than playing minor league baseball. I'm not saying that I agree or disagree, just that it's sort of odd that Score would choose to make a value judgement on that.

#81T Steve Curry

Here's another guy I never heard of. Curry made it into 3 games for the Red Sox in 1988, pitching to an 8.18 ERA, and then never appeared in the majors again. An unidentified White Sox player is in the background.

Checking out Curry's gamelogs, two of his 3 starts were against the White Sox, and one was in Chicago. So this photo was probably from that July 10th game at Comiskey. Hmm, maybe we can figure out which White Sock that is. Looks like a guy leading off second base, and he's pretty dark-skinned. Check out the box score from that game. Gary Redus got to second base in the first inning, but I think his skin was significantly lighter than that of the fellow in the photo. Greg Walker (white guy) got to 2B in the first inning, and then Daryl Boston got there. Boston (Daryl, that is) was #8 and I think that's who we are looking at.

In the second inning, Redus got to 2B again. In the third inning, no White Sock got there. In the fourth inning, Fred Manrique got there, but again I think his skin was much too light to be the guy in the photo. Redus got to second yet again that inning. I think 5th inning, a couple of White Sox got on, but nobody stopped at second before Curry was knocked out of the game.

So there you have it: Daryl Bsoton.

The oddest word on the back of the card is clearly "Manatee."

#65T Larry Parrish

I wrote a whole thing about 3-HR games and Larry Parrish right here.

It's also interesting that in his last season, Parrish had 7 HR and 26 RBI for both the Rangers and the Red Sox (same totals for each team.)

#59T Mike Smithson

Wow. more Batman photography, with the slanted camera angle. And you gotta love the gold chain flying wildly!

#21T Rick Cerone

CARD

Well there are two insanely crazy things about the photo on this card:

1) We have an up-the-nose photo of a player! Are you kidding me???

2) We have a photo featuring a catcher going after a popup, and someone on the card is discarding their face mask, and it's NOT the catcher! It's the umpire!

STAT

From 1981 to 1991, Cerone was by far the part-time-iest player in the big leagues, registering far more seasons with 200 to 300 AB than anybody else.

CAREER

Cerone is one of those guys whose impact went far beyond his stats. Offensively, he was not very good. True, in his only season with 500 AB, he had a very nice 107 OPS+, but he didn't hit well enough in any other season to warrant so much playing time. He also had a number of years with an OPS+ below 65 (ouch.) But he stayed in the big leagues for a long time, a sure sign that he was of value to his teams. After his playing career, among numerous other things, he founded the Newark Bears, a prominent independent team.

#20T Lee Smith

CARD

I wonder how many card backs feature a quote from Cubs catcher Jody Davis? This one does. I also can't help be reminded of what a terrible trade this was for the Cubs.

STAT

From 1991 to 1993, Smith was the top closer in baseball.

CAREER

Smith has a bunch of years left on his HOF eligibility but got only 44.5% of the vote in 2009. Voters still don't know how to handle closers, and I'm still shocked that Bruce Sutter got in. Smith's numbers compare very favorable with Sutters, and frankly I think he strongly deserves to be in the HOF. He was one of the best closers ever and was dominant for a number of years. I think he has only about a 30% chance of getting in, though.

#6T Dennis Lamp

CARD

One great thing about this set is the fact that jersey numbers are included. Lamp's is 49, as mentioned on the back. I wish all baseball cards included jersey numbers. I guess in this day and age, players are far more recognizable than they used to be, and few fans identify players at games or on TV by their jersey numbers. But before TV, oftentimes fans had to go by jersey numbers.

I can't tell you how many times I've looked at a baseball card and wanted to know or remember the player's number, but couldn't. Thank you, 1988 Score!

STAT

Lamp has the second-most wins in a season with 0 losses since 1901.

CAREER

I don't know too much about Lamp or his career but I do feel bad for the guy. He got knocked around badly in Game 1 of the 19990 ALCS and pitched to an ERA of 108.00 He didn't get into another game in that series, which if he had perhaps he could have gotten that figure down into double or even single digits.