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1990 Fleer Dana Williams (#648) - Card of the Day
I can’t tell you for sure how many pairs of players were traded straight-up for each other, where one had appeared in six major league games and the other seven, with the added stipulation that neither would ever appear in the majors again.
Oh, and also such trades where the swapping teams were the White and Red Sox.
There must be dozens of them scattered throughout MLB history. Hundreds, maybe.
I just can’t find my notes from that day in Baseball Record Book class. Maybe Schottzie ate them.
At any rate, I do know about one of those player pairs, and it has strong ties to the Junk Wax Era.
See…
Dana Williams was the 34th-round draft pick of my Reds back in 1981. Somehow, he decided to pass on that lofting starting slot and headed to college instead. In January of the next year, the Tigers took him in the first round of the secondary-phase draft.
Again, though, Williams passed.
Finally, when the Red Sox came calling in May of 1983 with some amateur free agent dollars, the 20-year-old fly chaser signed on the dotted line. From there, it was a swift climb up the Boston ladder.
Well, if you consider seven seasons to be swift, that is.
Along the way, Williams showed that he could hit the ball, batting above .300 four times, but also that he could be inconsistent — he didn’t break .260 in the other three campaigns and didn’t draw many walks.
He did have some speed, though, stealing 20 bases twice and double digits most years. Of course, he also got caught in the double-digits most years, too.
Still, with the Sox stuck in neutral in 1989, and with Williams in the midst of his fourth run with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, GM Lou Gorman and manager Joe Morgan took a chance.
Williams made his debut on June 19 and appeared in seven more games through July 2, leading to the All-Star break. Save for one start at DH, all of those moments in the limelight were of the replacement variety — pinch running, defensive substitution, pinch hitting.
All told, Williams collected a double in six plate appearances, struck out once, and scored once.
He never made it onto the field for the Red Sox, and on August 2, a month after his last appearance, they traded him to the White Sox for Ray Chadwick.
As you might have guessed by now, Chadwick had already had his season in the sun, a seven-game relief stint with the Angels in the second half of their 1986 championship (AL West version) season.
For his troubles, Chadwick nabbed a nifty 1987 Donruss rookie card (#505):
Williams would have to wait ‘til 1990 to get his rookie card, the split number you see above. Rich Monteleone just might be flaunting his 210-major-league-games-to-come with that grin of his.
While this card was pouring like water out of the Fleer Factory of Infinity, Williams was winding down his pro career with stops in the ChiSox and Cubs minor league systems.
And today, Williams is celebrating (hopefully) his 61st birthday.
Erik Estrada in Burgundy and Powder Blues
Know who else was born on March 20?
Erik Estrada Pat Corrales, that’s who. In 1941.
Corrales, who passed away in August of 2023 was at the helm of the Wheeze Kids 1983 Phillies when I started fanboying baseball. He was also on my baseball cards that summer.
He made an impression, even though The Pope, Paul Owens, relieved him of his duties at midseason.
Never mind that, though — it’s the memories of that summer and Corrales’ cards that stick. I wrote about all that once upon a time, right here.
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And with that, I bid you a happy Hump Day. May no one bust yours today as you turn the corner toward the weekend.
Oh, and hey — there’s real baseball on tap today as the Dodgers take on the Padres in Korea. I probably won’t make it to the stadium on time for that one, but it’s always a good day when the old stats logs are gathering new entries.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam