SANDY ALOMAR, JR---1991
Sandy Alomar Part I
One of the extras that Topps did with
their 1991 cards were to make "Mini
Cards" for prizes in Cracker Jack.
Here is the "Mini-Me" Alomar card,
which measures 1-1/4 inches wide
and 1-3/4 inches long.
We don't know what Topps and the
Cracker Jack people wanted us to do
with these cards. Maybe....
1) Trade them to the little kid down
the block for his real size Ken Griffey,
Jr. card, with the threat that if he
didn't do the trade you would shrink
his head, like you shrunk this card in
your basement laboratory.
2) Give it to your father to use as a
toothpick, to pry away at a sticky
piece of peanut that lodged in his
new dental bridge work
3) Give it to your little sister to use as
a poster in her doll house.
4) Fold it in half and use it as a
wedge to descreately even out the
slightly smaller leg on the table in the
hallway.
5) Just throw the damn thing away.
We can not imagine that this card
had value, then or now. After all,
"size does matter"... even to
collectors.
Note: Eleven years ago, on July 8th,
1997 Alomar blasted a two-run
homer off Shawn Estes to help lead
the American League to a 3-1 victory
in the 1997 All-Star Game hosted in
Cleveland. The catcher garnered
MVP honors for the Mid-Summer
Classic and finished the season at
.324, 21, 83, but he and the Tribe
lost to the Marlins in the World
Series to end his storybook season.
(7/8/08)
One of the extras that Topps did with
their 1991 cards were to make "Mini
Cards" for prizes in Cracker Jack.
Here is the "Mini-Me" Alomar card,
which measures 1-1/4 inches wide
and 1-3/4 inches long.
We don't know what Topps and the
Cracker Jack people wanted us to do
with these cards. Maybe....
1) Trade them to the little kid down
the block for his real size Ken Griffey,
Jr. card, with the threat that if he
didn't do the trade you would shrink
his head, like you shrunk this card in
your basement laboratory.
2) Give it to your father to use as a
toothpick, to pry away at a sticky
piece of peanut that lodged in his
new dental bridge work
3) Give it to your little sister to use as
a poster in her doll house.
4) Fold it in half and use it as a
wedge to descreately even out the
slightly smaller leg on the table in the
hallway.
5) Just throw the damn thing away.
We can not imagine that this card
had value, then or now. After all,
"size does matter"... even to
collectors.
Note: Eleven years ago, on July 8th,
1997 Alomar blasted a two-run
homer off Shawn Estes to help lead
the American League to a 3-1 victory
in the 1997 All-Star Game hosted in
Cleveland. The catcher garnered
MVP honors for the Mid-Summer
Classic and finished the season at
.324, 21, 83, but he and the Tribe
lost to the Marlins in the World
Series to end his storybook season.
(7/8/08)
PART II
Looking at the Alomar family, one has to
wonder where Sandy, Jr. came from...
The son of Sandy, Sr. and the brother of
Roberto, Sandy, Jr. must have been the mutant
of the family, as the other members of his
family were middle infielders, while he donned
the "tools of ignorance."
At 5'9", his namesake was a slick fielding
second baseman, who twice led the American
League in games, when he took the field in
every game for the Angels over a two-year
period (1970 & '71).
His brother, Roberto, stood 6' 0" and followed
in his father's footsteps as a superb defensive
second baseman, but also a swung a big bat,
finishing with a career .300-average. Roberto
landed 12 consecutive All-Star gigs and hauled
in ten Gold Gloves.
Then there was Sandy, Jr., who at 6'5" towered
over his family. He didn't look the part of a
catcher or an Alomar.
Despite being a giagantic hind snatcher, he
had Dad's hands as he grabbed his own Gold
Glove in 1990, while he was also named the
Rookie of the Year.
In doing so, Sandy, Jr. joined Pudge Fisk,
Johnny Bench and Charles Johnson as the
only catchers in major league history to win the
Gold Glove during their rookie campaign.
And that's a pretty good crowd.
***************************************
Unfortuantely, injuries claimed the prime
seasons of his career as Sandy, Jr. endured
multiple knee surgeries. So snake-bitten was
Alomar, twice missed time in order to have the
webbing on his fingers stitched courtesy of
Cleveland knuckleballer, Tom Candiotti.
Looking at the Alomar family, one has to
wonder where Sandy, Jr. came from...
The son of Sandy, Sr. and the brother of
Roberto, Sandy, Jr. must have been the mutant
of the family, as the other members of his
family were middle infielders, while he donned
the "tools of ignorance."
At 5'9", his namesake was a slick fielding
second baseman, who twice led the American
League in games, when he took the field in
every game for the Angels over a two-year
period (1970 & '71).
His brother, Roberto, stood 6' 0" and followed
in his father's footsteps as a superb defensive
second baseman, but also a swung a big bat,
finishing with a career .300-average. Roberto
landed 12 consecutive All-Star gigs and hauled
in ten Gold Gloves.
Then there was Sandy, Jr., who at 6'5" towered
over his family. He didn't look the part of a
catcher or an Alomar.
Despite being a giagantic hind snatcher, he
had Dad's hands as he grabbed his own Gold
Glove in 1990, while he was also named the
Rookie of the Year.
In doing so, Sandy, Jr. joined Pudge Fisk,
Johnny Bench and Charles Johnson as the
only catchers in major league history to win the
Gold Glove during their rookie campaign.
And that's a pretty good crowd.
***************************************
Unfortuantely, injuries claimed the prime
seasons of his career as Sandy, Jr. endured
multiple knee surgeries. So snake-bitten was
Alomar, twice missed time in order to have the
webbing on his fingers stitched courtesy of
Cleveland knuckleballer, Tom Candiotti.
