Player Profile: Jeff Ballard

I have 33 cards of Jeff Ballard. This one is from 1989 Fleer.

Playing career: Jeff Ballard pitched for the Orioles and Pirates from 1987 to 1994. With Baltimore in 1989, he was 18-8 with a 3.43 ERA. He got hurt the following year and was never the same. In his other six seasons he was 33-45 with a 5.21 ERA.

Where he is now: Ballard’s career ended after a car accident broke his neck in 1995. He then went into his father’s petroleum business, where he is a Senior Vice President today. He is also the chairman of BillingsAmerican Legion Baseball.

My memories: I didn’t even realize he had such a big season in 1989 until I got a pack of baseball cards with a “Jeff Ballard – All Star” card. Topps could have gone with Nolan Ryan or Dave Stewart but chose this guy instead.

Google Autocomplete results: He is tenth when you type Jeff Ba, after Jeff Bates, a country music singer. The first four links when you google Jeff Ballard are not the ballplayer but a drummer.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Jay Baller.