Player Profile: Matt Belisle

I have eight cards of Matt Belisle. This one is from 2006 Upper Deck.

Playing career: Matt Belisle came up with the Reds in 2003 and pitched regularly both as a starter and reliever. He signed with the Rockies after the 2008 season, and after a rough 2009, has pitched very well in middle relief over the last four years. In 2012 he led the National League in appearances.

Where he is now: In 2013 he made 72 appearances, going 5-7 with a 4.32 ERA, his highest since 2009.

My memories: Ten years in the major leagues and I’d never heard of him; that’s what happens when you’re a middle reliever for Cincinnati and Colorado when they are second division teams.

Google Autocomplete results: He is sixth when you type Matt Bel, between Matt Bellassai, a BuzzFeed editor, and Matt Bellamy Twitter, referring to the frontman for the band Muse. There do not appear to be any other prominent Matt Belisles.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Tim Belk.

Player Profile: Stan Belinda

I have 41 cards of Stan Belinda. This one is from 1992 Leaf.

Playing career: Stan Belinda pitched in 585 major league games, all in relief. He was a key member of the bullpen for the National League East champion Pirates of 1990-1992, saving 42 games for those teams. After leaving Pittsburgh he had some up and down seasons. Most impressively, he put up a 3.23 ERA in 40 games for the Reds in 1998 despite being diagnosed with MS in May of that year. He continued to pitch for two years after the diagnosis. A fuller account of his career can be found at The Greatest 21 Days.

Where he is now: Belinda is best known for giving up a walk-off single to Francisco Cabrera in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS. Following that game he got numerous death threats and kept a low profile during and after his playing career. A recent CBS Sports article portrayed him as an angry lone farmer disliked by the residents of the rural Pennsylvania town where he lives: “Anti-social, dirt farmer at heart, even ranting and raving during his playing days about efforts to keep people off of his property back home.” Sounds like a harsh assessment by a writer annoyed that he couldn’t get an interview. Belinda does do at least some youth coaching in the area.

My memories: I remember him as the Pirates closer, though I didn’t think of him as a big playoff goat like Donnie Moore or Calvin Schiraldi. Forgot about all the other teams he pitched for.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Stan Be, ahead of Stan Bergman, CEO of Henry Schein. There do not appear to be any other prominent Stan Belindas.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Matt Belisle.

Randy Ruiz on baseball cards

First baseman Randy Ruiz has been playing professionally for fourteen years, including time in the major leagues with Minnesota and Toronto. In 2013 he played for the Yankees' AAA team in Scranton Wilkes-Barre, hitting .274 with 17 HR and 42 RBI. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"Well it's kind of tough to pick a favorite card of me. One thing I like to say is having a baseball card of myself in an MLB uniform is an honor, my dream came true."

Thanks!

Trade with Johnny's Trading Depot

Got some great cards from a trade with Johnny's Trading Depot. If you haven't traded with him yet, now is a great time to do so, as he has a trade-based contest going on. Here are some highlights:

Andy Pettitte rookie!

 David Cone eating a baseball.

 Bill Hall baseball heroes numbered 006/299. The card mentions that he hit a home run with a pink bat two years in a row on Mother's Day. Yet the photo shows him swinging a black bat.

Player Profile: Tim Belcher

I have 81 cards of Tim Belcher. This one is from 1990 Score.

Playing career: Tim Belcher became an immediate sensation with the Dodgers as a rookie in 1988, helping the team win a world championship by going 12-6 with a 2.91 ERA. The next season he even better, winning 15 games, posting a 2.82 ERA, and pitching eight shutouts, a number that has not been matched since.  After a couple of more solid seasons, he was traded to the Reds for Eric Davis, and was never more than a league-average starting pitcher after that, bouncing around with several teams. He was not nearly as good with other teams as he was with the Dodgers. For the Dodgers he was 50-38 with a 2.99 ERA; for the other six teams he pitched for he went 96-92 with a 4.74 ERA.

Where he is now: Special assistant to baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians.

My memories: When he was a big star he was often considered one of the many young prospects who “got away” from the Yankees – the Yankees actually drafted him but lost him in a front office snafu. Looking at the bulk of his career it looks like he was a guy helped out a lot by the pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium, so the Yankees probably weren’t missing all that much.

Google Autocomplete results: He is tenth when you type Tim Be, after Tim Bevan, a movie producer. Another prominent Tim Belcher is CTO at NetWitness.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Stan Belinda.

Player Profile: Kevin Belcher

I have seven cards of Kevin Belcher. This one is from 1991 Donruss.

Playing career: Outfielder Kevin Belcher played in sixteen games for the Rangers in 1990, getting two hits in fifteen at-bats. A fuller account of his career can be found at The Greatest 21 Days.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Kevin Belcher is now?

Google Autocomplete results: He is seventh when you type Kevin Bel, between Kevin Bella, the name of a father and son who died six weeks apart in Connecticut recently, and Kevin Bell MD, a doctor in New Jersey. Another prominent Kevin Belcher was an offensive lineman for the New York Giants.

Coming up next; The next profile will be Tim Belcher.

Player Profile: Trevor Bauer

I have one card of Trevor Bauer, from 2013 Panini Prizm.

Playing career: Trevor Bauer was the Diamondbacks #1 draft choice in 2011, and made his major league debut the following year, going 1-2 with a 6.06 ERA in four starts.

My memories: I had heard of this guy – he does 400 foot long tosses that he learned to do at UCLA, which did not go over well in Arizona.

Interesting facts: Bauer has recorded some rap music, to overwhelmingly negative reviews. A song called “You Don’t Know Me” was supposedly directed at Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero, who the raw rookie feuded with in his brief time in Arizona.

Where he is now: Tired of Bauer’s attitude, the Diamondbacks traded him to the Indians before the 2013 season. Despite being with a new team, his numbers were almost a carbon copy of what he did in Arizona. In four starts with Cleveland, he went 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA. Basically, he allowed one fewer earned run in .2 fewer innings.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Trevor B, ahead of Trevor Berbick, a boxer. There do not appear to be any other prominent Trevor Bauers.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Kevin Belcher.

Kevin Mattison on baseball cards

Outfielder Kevin Mattison was the Marlins' 28th-round draft pick in 2008, and worked his way up the minor league ladder, making his major league debut in 2012. In 2013 he played at AAA New Orleans, hitting .216 with 7 HR, 31 RBI and 18 SB. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"I don't have any specific card in mind, but I enjoy looking at cards from years ago with players rocking sweet staches. Nothing better than rocking a dirty stache. I try growing a solid stache each year.  I don't think any of my cards have a "great" stache because it's usually in the beginning stages. I went with the Rollie Fingers stache in 2012. I have lots of cards that my brother and I collected when we were little.  I went back and looked at them a couple years ago and found several of my manager I have played for, Ron Hassey, which was pretty cool."

Thanks!

Player Profile: Burke Badenhop

I have one card of Burke Badenhop, from 2010 Upper Deck.

Playing career: Burke Badenhop came up with Florida in 2008 and has been a steady if unspectacular reliever for the Marlins, Rays and Brewers, going 18-20 with 3 saves and a 3.98 ERA in 280 games.

Where he is now: After one season in Milwaukee, he was traded to the Red Sox last month. Boston will be his first big-market team, which could be difficult for him, as in this June 2013 interview he expressed concern about one day having to pitch for a team in a big city.

My memories: It’s an unusual name so kind of familiar, but no specific memories.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Burke B, ahead of Burke Basketball, an instructional facility in Virginia. There do not appear to be any other prominent Burke Badenhops.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Trevor Bauer.

Contest winnings from Baseball Card Breakdown

Defgav from Baseball Card Breakdown has one of the best new blogs out there. He has done some very interesting custom cards that he recently gave away in a contest and I was fortunate to win a pair of GAV 1/1s.

His glow-in-the-dark cards have been an immediate hit, and I got this cool one of Jeff Montgomery.

 I couldn't really capture the glow-in-the-dark effect with my cheap camera, so here is the gif from his site to give you an idea:

 However, I think this sparkly Bobby Meacham card is even better. I love shiny, sparkly cards, and what better way to spruce up some old junk wax?

 I love wild and crazy, far-out cards, and my winning from the prize pool was something I was really excited about. And prize "pool" is appropriate for this Wave of the Future card, a plastic card of Brad Fullmer (I almost broke it thinking it was a card in plastic) filled with vegetable oil and glitter. A really weird, but cool effect.

Thanks Gav! As of this writing, he's got another contest going now to win some more glow-in-the dark cards. If you haven't checked it out head on over there. I'm ineligible but quickly figured out the answer so I'll give you a hint - the guy on the card was part of one of the best-hitting outfields in baseball history.

The two custom cards are available if someone else wants them more than me, though I am going to go on Twitter and ask Jeff Montgomery if he would like his.