Kent Tekulve baseball cards are truly the gifts that keeps giving.  No one can touch him in the “lifetime achievement” category.

Question: Is this style pirates cap the tallest in baseball history?  More evidence.

Full disclosure: While this card resides in the nerd archives, this is not an original scan, as once again, the scanner here at Nerd Central is on the fritz.  I had to use google images to find a digital copy of the card, which is why the image quality is not up to usual NerdBaseball resolution standards.  Thank you to this website for the image.

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. Davis drew the walk, in the bottom of the ninth inning of game one of the 1988 World Series, that brought Kirk Gibson to the plate.  This would mark the first time a World Series game ended on a come-from-behind home run.

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.

For those new to the site, check out our previous Ken Phelps post.

I always found Mr. Phelps to be a very underrated nerd, both for his sporting the triple threat of adult braces, large glasses, and facial hair, and his impressive offensive production.  While he never had more than 441 AB’s in a season, he had five seasons with an OPS+ over 120, and four of those were over 147.  He was also part of the trade that sent Jay Buhner from the Yankees to the Mariners.

According to Wikipedia, Mr. Phelps also inspired famous statistician Bill James to create the “Ken Phelps All-Star Team.”  Mr. James describes it this way:

Ken Phelpses are just available; if you want one, all you have to do is ask. They are players whose real limitations are exaggerated by baseball insiders, players who get stuck with a label — the label of their limits, the label the things they can’t do — while those that they can do are overlooked… The Ken Phelps All-Stars [are] a whole teamful of guys who are wearing labels, but who nonetheless can play major-league baseball, and will prove it if they ever get the chance

Not only is Mr. Bonham featured in a profile view, with his face obscured by shadow, but he is forced to share his card with an anonymous shirtless fan, who is given an equal amount of baseball card real estate.  Only the early ’80s Fleer company…

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.