Bob McCreary on baseball cards

Bob McCreary, who played shortstop and pitched in the Twins organization in the early 1990s, and thus has a similar story to tell as his 1989 Elizabethton Twins teammate Tim Nedin, who I interviewed earlier this week. Now a social studies teacher and baseball coach with his own blog, Baseball by the Yard, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

- Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players?
Most guys take the card taking process in stride but some players take nothing seriously. Sometimes a player who bats or throws right-handed will pose as a left hander. A pitcher may pose with a bat in his hand or a catcher's mitt. Of course, the photographer has no idea what's going on so nobody notices it until the card comes out. Some players can get in trouble if they have equipment contracts. Let's say a player has a glove contract with Rawlings and is shown on his card with a Wilson glove. The company is obviously not happy and let's the player know it.

- Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player?
My favorite card is probably my first card. I have about 10 different cards altogether but it is usually the first one that is most special. My favorite card of someone else is the one I attached to this email. It is of a former manager of mine who is now the major league third base coach for the Twins. Look between his legs. One of the funniest, craziest players I ever played with decided to work his way into the photo as a trick. The photographer went along with it. The coach obviously had no idea until he got his cards. I laugh every time I look at it.
- Do you collect baseball cards?
I have never been a card collector. The memorabilia side to the game never really interested me very much. I was just concerned with playing the game.

Thanks! I don't have his first card, from 1989 Star, but here is one I do have, from 1991 Classic Best.