Every Uni Number In The Sixties

I was going to title this "Saturday's Sixties & Seventies" but, as it turns out, nobody has worn a number in the seventies for the Padres in the regular season. Only nine have worn one in the sixties. Steve Fireovid wore 62 in '81 & '83 and Andy Hawkins wore 63 in '82. Carlos Hernandez had 65 in '97 and Rodney Myers put on 66 in 2000-'01 and Chan Ho Park followed with 61 in '05-'06. Nick Hundley wore 61 when called up in '08; Matt Antonelli got 62 the same season and Mat Latos was given 61 in his first taste of the Majors in '09. Most recently, Sean Gallagher wore 63 in '09 & '10. I find it surprising, with the relatively vast parade of Quad-A cameo type guys the Padres have had through the years, that there haven't been more. Secondly, I noticed that the use of uni numbers in the sixties only popped up on rare occasions, for a brief period of time each. It was used for call-ups/ plug-ins Fireovid and Hawkins in the early '80s and for the same sort of thing in '08 and '09. I wonder if there was an organizational rule against it in other seasons and who ultimately makes the call. Hmmm, I wish I had the resources to interview Equipment Managers... Oh, and lastly, for the record, Kyle Blanks's 88 is the only number above 66 worn by a Friar in a regular season game.

Thursday 33s

There is a grand total of 19 players who have worn 33 for the Friars. Gary Ross was the first, from 1969 through '74. In '75, he was traded for Bobby Valentine, who wore it partially through the next season at which time Tom Griffin took it and kept it through '77. Juan Eichelberger wore 33 on the classic '78 jerseys and through 1980. Nobody wore #33 for the Padres from '81-'89. After this long hiatus, Thomas Howard wore it in 1990 until being traded in April, '92. Gene Harris wore it that season as well and parts of the next two. Bill Kreuger also wore it in '94 and again in '95 along with Glenn Dishman, who wore it the next season too. Terry Burrows had it in '97, followed by Dan Miceli in '98 & '99 and Will Cunnane in 2000. Nobody wore it in '01. Wil Nieves and Mark Sweeney wore it in '02; Sean Burroughs took it in '03 and David Wells got it the next. Burroughs took it back in '05 after Boomer left the first time. Mike Piazza wore 33 in his only season in San Diego. Wells came back in '07 and wore it until he was released; Brett Tomko wore it later in the season. Cult legend Jody Gerut rocked the 33 in '08 & '09 and Clayton Richard has had it since 2010; he had worn 41 in late '09 after he came over in the Peavy trade.

CYku

Unemployed no more
Chris Young got signed yesterday
He's back with the Mets

Mustache Monday: Starring Sam Elliott As Eric Rasmussen

I know I just wrote about Eric Rasmussen on his birthday last Thursday but I remembered this card and it was too good to let pass. The way I was reminded was kind of funny. The other night I put The Big Lebowski on to fall asleep to and the sight of Sam Elliott's mustache made me think of this card and this mustache. Man, that thing's out of control! The last card of his that I posted noted skeet shooting as a hobby; on this card he looks like he gets paid to shoot skeet in brightly-lit cheap motel rooms. That look isn't helping, either. I imagine it's intended to look all SRS BSNS but instead appears as though there's a sixteen year old girl next to the cameraman. And you know it was a cameraman. This was the seventies. Women weren't allowed to have good professions back then; they barely are now.

Blummer

What a great pelo

That hat hides glorious locks

He can play ball, too

Peavy Trade Haiku

Yeah, we won that trade

Clay Dick has disappointed

But he's way cheaper

Merry Unbirthday: Dennis Rasmussen

First things first: of the many pairs of brothers to have played for the Padres, Eric and Dennis Rasmussen were not one of them. Like Mark and Ben Davis or Eddie and Brian Williams, they are not related at all. Eric and Dennis's careers had a two week overlap, with Dennis pitching his first game September 16th, 1983 and Eric pitching his last on October 2nd. Right before the next season, Dennis was returned from whence he came, traded back to the Yankees for Graig Nettles less than seven months after New York had sent him to San Diego for John "The Count" Montefusco. Dennis returned to the Padres via a mid-'88 trade with the Reds and stuck around through 1991.

It Is Your Birthday: Happy 60th, Eric Rasmussen!

Sixty years ago, Eric Rasmussen was born. Well, that isn't quite accurate. Sixty years ago, Harold Ralph Rasmussen was born. He legally changed his name to Eric before the 1977 season, during his first stint with the Cardinals. Primarily a starter with St. Louis, Eric started 24 of his 27 games with the Padres in '78 after coming over in May 26th trade for George Hendrick. He was used as a swingman by managers Roger Craig and Jerry Coleman the following two seasons. After being released by San Diego at the end of Spring Training in '81, Rasmussen spent a year and a half pitching in Mexico before being brought back by the Cardinals in September of '82, earning a World Series ring despite pitching only eight games and being ineligible for inclusion on the team's postseason roster. After a poor showing in six relief appearances for St. Louis the following season, Eric was sold intrastate to the Royals for whom he pitched the final 11 games of his career. He kept pitching in the minors through '88, at which time he transitioned into coaching, a profession he has kept ever since. A member of the Twins organization since 1991, he is now entering his fourth season as their Minor League Pitching Coordinator.

The Flip Side

Here are the backs of the cards from the last post. A few interesting things stand out. The shots of Cammy are clearly from Spring Training as he didn't have a goatee. He always kept a goatee during baseball season as a superstition and shaved it in the offseason because his wife didn't like it. Clement is also pictured naked-faced, which is strange as well since he came to be known more for his intricate, Eric Owens-like chinpieces. He never got as ridiculous as Dustin Hermanson but still. What surprised me on the back of Dade's card was his date of birth. From the picture on the front, I thought he was a grizzled veteran pushing forty at the very least. Turns out he was only 29 at the time; I'm glad I don't look that haggard at this age. Finally, when perusing the back of Phil Stephenson's card, I noticed the date at the end of his mini-bio. Hey, that's the day jodes was born! I should go check and see if any September callups made their MLB debut 09/10/82.

21s For The 21st

There have been 22, nearly 23 players to wear number 21 for the Padres in the regular season. Cito Gaston was the first, from 1969-'74. Alan Foster was next in '75 and '76 and Gary Sutherland had it in '77 before Chuck Baker in '78. Mike Hargrove, Jay Johnstone and Paul Dade wore 21 in '79 and Dade kept it through '80. Nobody wore it in '81; it was also vacated '84-'86 and 2005. Carney's brother Joe Lansford wore it in '82-'83, Jim Steels in '87 and Dickie Thon in '88. Phil Stephenson got it in '89 and kept it through '92. Billy Bean (the one who actually wrote a book, not to be confused with Billy Beane whom Joe Morgan thinks wrote a book) held it down in '93 and '94 before Ken Caminiti from '95 through '98. Gary Matthews, Jr. wore it in '99. Dusty Allen was hitless in 14 PA for the Padres in 2000 and Matt Clement took the number later that season after the announcement that the 31 he had been wearing would be retired for Dave Winfield. Mike Colangelo in '01, Sean Burroughs in '02, Jaret Wright in '03, Rich Aurilia in '04 and David Wells in '06 all wore it before Heath Bell got it in '07 and kept it through last season. Heath will be wearing 21 for Miami this season; the player who wore 21 for the Marlins last season will wear it for us this year as John Baker continues to pay tribute to his idol Roberto Clemente.

Haikuesday: Wally

We got him for Bip
Worked out pretty well for us
Wally was beloved

Haikuesday: Bob Tewksbury

How was his control?
Legen- wait for it- dary
Better than Maddux

Haiku Time: Gary Sheffield

Five hundred home runs
But overlooked and reviled
No chance at the hall

More Monday Maddux: This Time Greg

Greg Maddux was always one of those guys I rooted for even before he became a Padre. Like Mike Piazza and David Wells, he signed with the Friars in the twilight of his career, San Diego being the penultimate stop for all three. Since it's Monday, it's worth noting that all three also had mustaches earlier in their career but abandoned them long before their time in San Diego.

Mustache Monday: Mike Maddux

His brother shaved his
But Mike's a mustache lifer
He's still rockin' it

Guys Who Have Worn 18

Nobody wore number 18 the first three seasons the Padres were around. Dave Hilton was the first, wearing it in 1972 and '73. Glenn Beckert was next in '74 and part of '75. Steve Huntz wore it in late '75 and the awesomely named Mike Champion rocked it in the bicentennial. Gene Tenace had it for four seasons, from '77 through '80. Jim Lefebvre held it down in '81-'83 before Kevin McReynolds in '83-'86. It was vacated in '87, '88 and again in '90. Chris James wore it the second half of '89 after being acquired for John Kruk and Randy Ready. Jim Presley wore it briefly in early '91 before Craig Shipley began the longest occupancy of 18 in team history, first from '91 through '94 and again in '96 and '97 after being reacquired back from the Astros. Ray Holbert wore it in Shipley's absence in '95. Randy Myers took it in '98 and Woody Williams had it from 1999 through 2001. Kevin Witt also wore it in '01, followed by a revolving door cast of Kory DeHaan and Gene Kingsale in '02, Keith Lockhart in '03 and Darren Bragg '04. Paul McAnulty wore 18 from his first appearance in '05 through his last in '08. I knew he kept showing up like a bad penny but I was surprised that he was around for parts of four seasons. Tony, Jr. wore one less than his dad's number in '09 and '10 and Cedric Hunter rocked it last season. Carlos Quentin has it this year. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing it in action until at least a couple weeks after Opening Day.

Scanlon & Scanlan

I felt obligated to tie today's post into the fact that today is St. Patrick's Day because I'm a bad writer and allow the calendar to help make my decisions instead of putting actual thought and heart into the dredge I churn out here. I'm kidding, sort of. Anyway, as a mean to this end, I started flipping through cards in search of a Pat or something. I mean, worst case scenario, I'd have to settle for Tim (O')Flannery. The first card to fit the bill was of one Pat Scanlon. One way of acting on this discovery would be to look up his BR page, find some facts about him and present them here in an informative fashion. Another tact would be to immediately think "Ooh, Scanlon; that reminds me of Scanlan! Where's that card of Scan I have?" Obviously, I chose the latter. I knew I had tweeted Scan a scan so I dug around my twitpic history and found it. Turns out I tweeted it to him 666 days ago. This, of course is an omen that... oh, wait, I almost forgot all that devil nonsense is ridiculous; let me retry that sentence. This, of course is a coincidence that carries no weight. There, that's better. Wait, where was I? Oh, right, out of things to say.

The FoC 200th Post Celebratory Review & Cardstravaganza

This is the 200th Friars on Cardboard post. In case you missed it (I know, I know, "I wouldn't say I missed it, Bob."), here's The FoC 100th Post Celebratory Review & Beardstravaganza. This one will be along the same lines, only with less emphasis on beards since it isn't May- just a mess of cards and randomness. I hope you enjoy.
First things first (i.e. while I'm still thinking about it), in a continuation of what I was blathering on about yesterday regarding the Gaslamp Ball Sisterhood Of The Traveling Jersey jersey, another thought I had was to take a bunch of game-used jersey cards, gut them and sew all the little swatches along a hem or in another out-of-the way area. I only have two at the moment (the other being a David Wells I already profiled on here) because I never really got into the craze but I could stock up on a bunch by the time I get it (which reminds me for the 842nd time, I need to email jbox my address and preferred dates; I'm the world's worst when it comes to dealing with email- I can't explain it). They're only a couple bucks a pop and I think it would be neat.
The second hundred has taken a bit longer than the first hundred, with large chunks of time vacant altogether. It's been more consistent recently but, as we've seen before, that is subject to change without notice at any given point. In the second hundred, the blog began to find an identity of its own, possibly for the worst, with ongoing gimmicks such as Mustache Monday and using the initials TTG to mean just about whatever. Oh, yeah, and the haikus. Nothing says phoning it in quite like some good old 5/7/5. Including the ten cards in this post, the last hundred have pictured 187 cards which, combined with the 138 from the first hundred gives us a grand total of 345. That's one of those numbers that seems like a lot but isn't. Or, at best, is relative. I wonder how tall a stack of 345 cards is. I don't wonder enough to count that many out just to find out, though.
There haven't been as many cards of Tony and Trevor this hundred. Not that I've ran out of cards, just that I've ran out of things to say. I mean, there's a world of information out there about both of them but that's the thing. They're both such big deals that they've already been dissected and broadcast to the nth degree. As fans, we already know all there is to know about both of them, whereas it's fun for me to discover new things digging around trying to figure out what to say about the Dave Cashes and Dennis Rasmussens of the world. Not to say Gwynn and Hoffman won't be showing up on here, just that it requires a different approach. Man, I'm rambling. Talk about watching sausage being made...
There was only one guest post in the second half of the blog's existence, as opposed to the three in the first hundred, but it was a great one. The offer's still on the table, people. If there's a card or a player you'd like to write about here, just let me know. I need to bug Sam about getting that report on Austin Hedges onto my desk; he pulled the card last month but couldn't do it then because Hedges is a cracker and February ain't havin' none of that. Other stuff on the table for the next hundred include, this, that and more of the same. Mustaches on Monday and whenever I post a Tony, it will continue to usually be on a Tuesday or Thursday so I can TTG the title because I'm like that. If I happen to post a Tony on any of the other five days of the week, I will continue to use the cop-out "Today's Tony Gwynn" because I'm like that. Also, there will eventually be the inevitable Dave Staton post later this summer along with the results of a bunch of destroyed game-used jersey cards. Like how I brought it back around to that? That's some writing right there. Thanks for reading it; stick around for the next hundred!

Happy Birthday, Robert Fick!

Happy birthday to Robert Fick, who turns 38 today. It's Mike Pagliarulo's birthday too but I wrote about him one year ago and that's pretty much all I have to say about the guy. Pictured is Ficky's jersey from when he attempted a return to San Diego as a Spring Training NRI in '08. When it's my turn with the Sisterhood jersey I'm going to take the sleeve patch off of this one and sew it on to the Staton. I think it would be kind of cool in a historical sort of sense, two Spring Trainings fifteen years apart joining together, bridging the gap, blah blah blah, whatever...

Thursday's Throwback Threads: Tony

Today's Tony Gwynn is an '05 Donruss Throwback Threads which basically necessitates that it be posted on a Thursday. It's not really throwing back too far; when the card was printed the dirt had barely settled on the coffin of the jersey he's pictured in but I suppose it's technically accurate so I'll shut up about it.

Every 12 in Padres' History

Bill Davis was the first to wear #12 for the Padres. After he was released in May, Ron Slocum switched from 45 and kept it until the end of his career; he played in 7 games for the '71 team. Garry Jestadt took it over that season and kept it until the end of his career. It was vacated in '73, as it was in '75, '79, '80, '87, '92, and '03-'05. John Scott rocked it in '74; Tucker Ashford and Ball Four character Doug Rader shared it in '76. Rader wore it through '77 and Ashford got it back for '78 after he left. Mario Ramirez took possession in '81 and kept it through '85. 1986 saw two 12s, Randy Asadoor and Mark Wasinger. Robbie Alomar wore it his entire tenure from '88 through '90 and Scott Coolbaugh held it down in '91. Jeff Gardner and Ray Holbert wore it in '93 and '94, respectively before Steve Finley showed up in '95 and kept it through '98. Future hitting coach Dave Magadan had it from 1999 though 2001. Trenidad Hubbard donned the dozen in oh-deuce and Justin Leone was next in '06 along with Todd Walker. That Clark Brady guy wore it for a minute in 2007, just long enough to crap all over our beautiful season. Shrek Hairston wore it the next season and a half- after wearing 14 for the Friars in '07- and again in 2010 in his second stint after a brief trip to Oakland. Logan Forsythe wore it last year; he has since been awarded #11 and 12 has been bestowed upon Yasmani Grandal.