One of my favorite names in nerd-card history, Mr. Johnson shares his name with a Pro Football Hall-of-Famer.  I also love the old-school-Trix-looking font used on these Rangers jerseys.

Mr. Johnson played eight seasons in the major leagues, with his best work coming after his primary role changed from starter to relief pitcher.  He had five straight seasons with an ERA+ over 118, with strike out rates between 8-10 batters per 9 innings, despite not pitching at all in the 1982 and 1985 seasons.

This card also leaves the viewer pondering the question: perm or afro?

Mr. Sambito was off to an amazing career as a relief pitcher before being derailed by an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery.  In his first five full seasons, he posted ERA+’s of 154, 108, 199, 151, and 180, and was a National League all-star.  He was injured in 1982, and did not return to the major leagues until 1984, but struggled upon his return.  He did, however, help the 1986 Red Sox reach the World Series, contributing 12 saves over 44.2 innings.

While not a typical nerd card, I like to imagine that this picture was taken with some sort of supernatural camera out of a David Lynch movie or a “Twilight Zone” episode.  So when we look at the picture, we see both the way things are, and the way things once were, with these parallel existences mirroring each other through the lens.  Young Joe Sambito, can you see the injury lying in wait for your future self?  Are you helpless to prevent it?

And the guy in the back is even like the cowboy from Mulholland Drive.

There are so many things I love about this card.  I love that it’s taken during batting practice.  I love the expression on Mr. Veryzer’s face.  I love that it looks like he belongs in the cast of “Wet Hot American Summer.”

Mr. Veryzer had a twelve year career with the Tigers, Indians, Mets, and Cubs.

In 1979, Armstrong was traded from the Reds to the Padres for Paul O’Neil.  He was also the winning pitcher in the “pine tar” game.

Another top-notch effort from the 1982 Fleer set.  Was this picture taken on a Little League field?

Never has a player’s appearance on a baseball card so literally represented the team for which they played. Two interesting facts from Wikipedia:

1) Mr. Romo served as the set-up man for Kent Tekulve on the 1979 World Champion Pirates.
2) In 1983, Mr. Romo failed to report to spring training. The Pirates attempted to locate him, but failed, and he was released. His whereabouts remained unknown until a few years ago, when he appeared publicly with his brother in Mexico (at his induction into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame).

What’s going on here? This man has no strange facial hair, his hat is normally placed, and his face is somehow avoiding the typical contortions expected of a nerd (though what’s with the bat?). This man is far more dangerous*. On WEEI today (Boston sports talk radio), Francona was asked how he valued RBI**.

How do you value RBIs?

I think there are some things that can be skewed. I grew up in an era where, if you hit .300, you were a good player. Well, you know what? That’s not the tell-tale. I was the perfect example. I could hit .300. I never helped our team. I hit all singles, I never walked, I wasn’t fast enough to score any runs. It was kind of cosmetic. Getting on base is a very important stat. It doesn’t mean we have nine guys up there trying to walk. But it means if they’re seeing pitches and working counts, they’re going to become more dangerous hitters. If they’re on base, we talk all the time about keep the line moving, You have to have a good enough team to do that. If you have four or five guys who are taking their walks, and four or five guys that can’t hit, that’s not going to work. If you have a balanced team, which we try to do, and you have that approach, it’s going to work.

(transcript here)

Hey Francona, if you got out of your mother’s basement maybe you’d know how the game of baseball is supposed to be played. I can see through your veiled reference to OBP. Francona might not have the fashion down (yet), but this man is a nerd.

* I’ve been reading Dan Brown and sentences like “This man is far more dangerous” seem perfectly acceptable at the moment.

** WEEI, the plural of RBI is RBI. They’re runs batten in, not runs batted ins.