Last time 1962 cruised to an 8-2 victory. Will it win again here?
Hal Reniff looks glum as he stares somewhere to the left of the photographer. A batting cage and the Yankee Stadium bleachers are blurrily visible in the background. A precursor to the likes of David Wells and CC Sabathia, Reniff's nickname was "Porky", and even Topps on his 1967 card called him "chunky". Despite his ample size, Reniff put together several fine seasons in the Yankees bullpen, starting with his rookie year of 1961. He struggled in 1967 and the Yankees sold him across town to the Mets, where he ended his career. His best season was 1963, when he went 4-3 with 18 saves and a 2.62 ERA. Overall, in 276 appearances, all in relief, Reniff was 21-23 with 45 saves and a 3.27 ERA. After his career he returned to his hometown of Ontario, CA, where he died of cancer in 2004.
Ed Olwine was a 28-year-old rookie for the Braves in 1986. Lots of fans visible behind him in this photo, which I think was taken in Pittsburgh. Olwine pitched in 80 games, all in relief, for the Braves from 1986 to 1988. He was 0-1 with 3 saves and a 4.52 ERA. He is currently a realtor in the Atlanta area.
Neither of these are great, but I'll pick the Reniff. That's a variation, BTW; there's another version with him in a pitching pose.
ReplyDeleteGotta go with '87. I wonder what all the folks are watching that's more interesting than Ed getting his baseball card photo taken.
ReplyDeleteGoing with Olwine just because of the fans in the back. Every time I see a group of fans standing in the background of a card photo, they look like extras hired to pose for baseball cards.
ReplyDelete87. Interesting background.
ReplyDelete87... for the same reason everyone else mentioned.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these are kind of boring, but I guess Olwine wins because of the fans.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the cadre of fans in the background makes the '87 my choice.
ReplyDelete