Painful night for George Brett

Here is one of my favorite cards from 1994 Topps, one of my favorite sets. It features Hall of Famer George Brett batting against the Brewers, with the outfield scoreboard and grassy knoll of Royals Stadium (now known as Kauffman) in the background, one of the nicer pieces of ballpark landscape.

Thanks to the clear view of the scoreboard, it is easy to find out which game it is. The Royals are hosting the Brewers, and it is 4-1 KC in the bottom of the second. A quick search at Retrosheet reveals the game to be one played on June 6, 1993. The Royals actually built up a 6-1 lead in this game, but Milwaukee exploded for a six-run sixth off of starter Chris Haney and reliever Mark Gubizca (didn't know he ever relieved). KC ended up prevailing, with a walk-off double by Chris Gwynn off of Jesse Orosco scoring Hubie Brooks.

So what about Brett? In the second inning, he grounded out to second. That may be what we see here, but it also may be the pitch referenced here, where he fouled a ball off of his foot. He ended up leaving the game, being pinch-hit for by Brooks, who ended up scoring the game's winning run. X-rays were negative, and he was back in the lineup the next night, going 2 for 4. From this angle, it is hard to tell whether the ball is on a trajectory forward toward second base or up in the air after hitting Brett's foot.