Down the Rabbit Hole

Last post I mentioned about how Charlie Lea was a French-born player on the Quebecois-based Expos. I use the distinction because there are some differences in language, I am told. Plus, it's easier to tell what French I'm talking about..

Anyway...

It turns out Mr Lea was the only French born player to play on Montreal.

However... He's one of seven French-born players to play in the Majors..

One of them may shock you!

Sorry....

At least there's no clicking involved... Or ads... 

*ahem*

So the first French born player was a gent by the name Larry Ressler. He played way back in 1875 for the National Association Washington team.. 

Next is Claude Gouzzie, who played in 1903 for the St Louis Browns. 

Paul Krichell is next.. He played from 1911-1912 for the St Louis Browns. 

Next is Duke Markell.. He played in 1951... For..... The St Louis Browns...

I'm noticing a Trend here... 

Incidentally, here's a picture of Mr Markell as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Next is

I did not know he was French.. 

He played from 1978-1987 for Houston, New York Mets, and San Diego.

Next is Charlie Lea

He played from 1980-1988 for the Expos and Twins. And, as stated before, he's the only French born player on the Quebecois based Expos.

Last but not least..

He played from 1983-1990 for the Phillies and Royals. 

I hope you enjoyed this little detour from the normal programming. I figured I'd explore it while the idea was still fresh in my mind. 

Surprise in the Mail

Not too long ago on Twitter, I had Rosenort from Condition Sensitive contact me stating he had some Expos cards for me. Seeing that I'm on an Expos mission, I gladly accepted them. 

Then I promptly forgot about them...

Until they came in the mail.

So for the most part there were some 1991 Score that will help pad the numbers. But there were two cards that were interesting to me.. 

Stuart Bakery Expo!

Oddballs are always interesting.. 

Oddballs I never got to see when they were released for whatever reason are even better.

This one is Charlie Lea, obviously. It's interesting that he was born in France and ended up playing for Montreal. Now this makes me curious.... 

This may turn into a future research/blog post...

Anyway.. The other card that was interesting..

The Rosenort Calling Card!

This is really cool.. I like how some bloggers/collectors use these as their trademark. The South Park style character is fun too.. 

This is a rather short entry today. I'm trying to write as I have inspiration/energy to do so.. Today was also not as oppressively hot, so I'm not turning into a giant puddle. 

One Million Expos: A Second Sample

Yeah... I know... 

Anyway.. Another Saturday is here and I wanted to go through a few more of my Expos cards I have.. 

Before I go into them though, I'll give an idea of what I'm going for with this...

Any card that shows an Expo will be gladly accepted. Any brand, any set. Oddballs especially interested in, considering the only ones I ever saw were the Post cereal ones. 

I will also count minor league cards towards this.. So if it's a player on an Expos farm team, I'm interested. 

Now, with that out of the way.... Let's go!

There are some nice names there:

Gary Carter

Andre Dawson

Though not Expos: Dave Parker and Fernando Valenzuela. 

Jose Vidro was a good player for the 'Spos, as were Vazquez and Cabrera. 

I keep forgetting Jason Bay was drafted by the Expos.. Imagine, he was traded with another player to get Lou Collier. 

Some more nice cards here. I find some of the early Fleer cards interesting.. Some of the photography is very blurry. At the same time, with some of these, you can play "Where's this taken?"

I'd say the Ramos card is in the Big Owe. 

Some minor league Expos cards here.. David Wainhouse is a Canadian, so there's that too. 

Some interesting names here.. Spike Owen signed with the Yankees between the 1992 and 1993 seasons. 

Darwin Cubillan played for the Jays and Expos. 

Chad Chop is someone I've honestly never heard of.. 

Hey! Lou Collier.. 

Natal falls into this because, while it shows a Marlins logo (he was taken in the Expansion Draft) he's pictured as an Expo. 

Eric Good was another player I hadn't heard of.. He never made it out of A-ball. 

It's weird how some of the Asian-born pitchers from the 1990s/early 2000s have one of their final stops being the Expos.

Tomo Ohka played for the Expos from 2001-2004, but ended up sticking around until 2009, spending time with the Jays, Indians, Nationals, and Brewers. 

Sun-Woo Kim played for the Expos from 2002-2004. Spent 2005 with the Nationals and Rockies. 2006 with Colorado and Cincinnati and gone.. 

Seung Song never actually made the majors.. He spent time in the systems of Boston, Montreal, San Francisco and Kansas City before going back to the KBO. 

So another week and another look at some Expos. Hope to start sorting again once school's done. 

One Million Expos: A Sample

Today I wanted to go through some of the cards I've already received for the One Million Expos Project that are new to me, or at least ones I don't remember seeing. 

We have some early 80s here, mainly Bill Lee.. I'm not sure if I own those cards already or not.. 

For some reason, I ended up scanning a couple 1990 Topps.. I may actually need them for the Expos Topps binder (which will be added into the Million total anyway)

Randy Johnson Rookie.. Can't not show that one.. 

I really like that Larry Walker card. I need to see how many I have of it to see if it's in the Canadians, Expos, or will go directly into the Million Expos box. 

Now we're getting into the later years where some obscure names show up..

Randy Knorr actually played for both the Jays and the Expos. Knorr I think still has a role with the Nationals. 

This is almost a full *ahem* Day's *ahem* worth here.. 

Some interesting names.. Mainly names that didn't do too much in the Majors. But it's still interesting to see those who have worn the uniform. 

Trying to Get Caught Up

Well.. 

I'm sure some people will know I've been having issues with anxiety and depression. 

Lately I've been overwhelmed with things (again... Still... Perpetually....) and haven't felt like writing.. I've barely been on my computer at all this last month or so.. 

Now we're into the last month of school, meaning I'll be busier.. I don't mind that at all, really.. Money is nice.. But I may still be sporadic on here. 

I know it's all been said before and everything but stepping back from updating was necessary.. Now I need to get things organized.. Both for my normal collections and the Million Expos Project.. 

I do plan on having a post about it soon too..

Anyway.. 

I wanted to show a couple cards I liked that I got in a repack I bought a couple weeks ago.

This is a Metal Universe card.. I have to admit it scans horribly.. I tried both with the lid down and the lid up and they were both very dark and hard to see..

It's from a thing called "Hardball Galaxy" and is Larry Walker. 

Yep... Highlighting minor league cards...

I don't know why but I just love minor league cards. I think seeing guys who made the majors before they made it as well as the guys who never got anywhere is interesting to me. 

Plus, some of the older cards allow me to see what the uniforms looked like so if I need/want to recreate them for Out of the Park Baseball.. 

Incidentally, for the Million Expos project... If you have a team you collect and would like to help me out, let me know.. We might be able to work something out.. Also.. I live in Canada.. Had a couple people agree then pull out after they realized I'm in Canada.. So... There is that.. lol