Player Profile: Jack Armstrong

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I have 50 cards of Jack Armstrong. This one is from 1991 Topps.

Playing career: Jack Armstrong came up with the Reds in 1988 and looked like a star in the making in 1990, starting the season 11-3 and starting the All Star Game. However, he won only one more game the rest of the season, pitched just three innings of relief in the postseason, and went 22-45 for four teams over the next four years.

My memories: I had remembered him as a minor star, I guess because of the All Star Game start. I didn’t realize he was actually a pretty lousy major league pitcher.

Interesting facts: His son Jack Armstrong Jr. was drafted and signed by the Astros in 2011. Jack Sr. went to Neptune High School in New Jersey; Jack Jr. went to Jupiter High School in Florida. Presumably if there is a Jack III he will go to Mars High School in Pennsylvania.

Where he is now: He’s a personal trainer and pitching instructor in Florida. He blames his lousy pitching record on steroid-usingbatters, despite admitting to never seeing any actual juicing by players, and not explaining how other pitchers managed to actually win games against the same lineups.

Google Autocomplete results: He is third when you type Jack Ar, between Jack Arute, a football reporter for Sirius XM radio, and Jack Arnold House Plans, referring to a luxury house designer in Tulsa, OK. Another prominent Jack Armstrong is Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, a radio drama from the 1930s.