The front: Great photo with the sun streaming down on
DeCinces (wearing eyeblack!) and the fans at Yankee Stadium. DeCinces played in
only one day game at Yankee Stadium in 1980, a 6-5 Orioles win on August 10.
DeCinces was 0-for-3 with a walk.
The back: DeCinces played his first year of pro ball in
1970, and received his draft notice at the end of the season. Without opening
the envelope, DeCinces enlisted in the California Air National Guard.
The player: In 1972 DeCinces was a minor leaguer in the
Orioles organization playing catch before a game in Asheville with the
12-year-old son of his manager, Cal Ripken, when bullets started hitting the ground just a few feet from them. DeCinces quickly got the boy out of danger.
Police arrested a teenage boy who had been shooting at the field with a rifle, and the game went on as scheduled. A year later
DeCinces was in the major leagues, and he soon established himself as a solid,
if unspectacular, third baseman. After his age-30 season in 1981, Baltimore
traded DeCinces to the Angels to make room for their big third base prospect –
Cal Ripken Jr. DeCinces went on to have several more productive seasons with
the Angels, before playing his last four big league games with the Cardinals in
1987. Overall, in 1,649 major league games, DeCinces hit .259 with 237 HR and
879 RBI.
The man: In 2012 DeCinces was indicted on charges of insider
trading, securities fraud and money laundering. He was found guilty in 2017 but
over two years later is still awaiting sentencing.
My collection: I have 37 of his cards, from 1975 to 1988. I
would be interested in trading for 1982 Fleer Stamps #142.
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