Wood vs. Wood #87

Last time, the '62 Donn Clendennon shut out the '87 Nate Snell, 10-0. Brett Alan even wrote that he wishes he had one. Hey Brett - I've got a couple of duplicates of that card, so email me (borosny at gmail dot com)!

Today it's a battle of the backup catchers.

Mike Roarke shows off his full catchers gear, except for the mask. Roarke was known as a great handler of pitchers but not much of a hitter. He was a 30-year old rookie for the Tigers in 1961, hitting .223 with 2 HR and 22 RBI. He played in parts of three more seasons, retired after the 1964 season and was immediately named the Tigers' bullpen coach. He embarked on a long career as a pitching coach, one of the few former catchers to do so. Most notably he was the pitching coach for the NL pennant-winning Cardinals in 1985 and 1987. He retired after the 1994 season, and passed away in 2019.

Mark Salas looks like he is having a good time at pre-game batting practice. Unlike Roarke, he got off to a fast start to his career, and at the plate. As a 24-year-old rookie in 1985, Salas hit .300 with 9 HR and 41 RBI. He was injured in 1986 and never regained his rookie form. He ended up playing for six teams over eight seasons, hitting .247 with 38 HR and 143 RBI. Like Roarke, he also spent time as a bullpen coach, most recently for the White Sox.