CrazieJoe With More

I recently got an email from CrazieJoe saying he had some cards for me

Naturally, I was happy to receive whatever he had.

There were a number of Expos cards to add to the Million Expos Project that I didn't scan here. But there were some new Expos and a lot of new Jays

A couple 1985 Leaf Expos. Razor Shines and Dan Driessen. Jeff Parret from 1989 Score and an awesome Andre Dawson/Gary Carter Donruss.

Jose Lind goes into the Bowman.

Syracuse Chiefs represented here as well. 

I don't know why but I find those Pro Debut cards interesting. Topps did them for a few years in the early 90s. 

Paul Spoljaric makes a couple appearances here. Pat Rapp from the 1992 Donruss The Rookies set. 

Jay Gibbons in various minor league cards. Gibbons was a Jays farmhand until the 2000 Rule 5 Draft. 

Pete Tucci and Orlando Hudson round out this one. 

Finally, we have Kyle Drabek, Brett Wallace, JP Arencibia, and a Vlad Jr puzzle card. 

The other card I didn't mention is Marcus Knecht. I thought it was odd at first but then I saw he's Canadian.. Then I realized that in 2010 the Auburn Doubledays were the NYPenn League affiliate of the Jays.. So... Yeah.. 

Thank you Joe! 

2005 Vermont Expos

A few months ago on Twitter, the Vermont Lake Monsters had a sale of Vermont Expos merchandise they had left over. It was nice to see, as it was a chance to get a few team sets I ended up buying one of each set they had available, which came to seven. 

Today I want to show the team set, plus give a little information you may or may not know. 

This team set is from 2005. In 2005, the Expos were no more. They were the Washington Nationals (NotTheSpos, as I like to call them) but the Vermont Expos still existed. Here's why..

Minor League clubs are given 60 days at the end of the season to submit for name changes/identity switches, etc. When word came the Expos were moving to Washington and becoming the Nationals, it wasn't enough time for them to get a new identity and submit it, so they stayed the Expos for 2005. 

So.. The Vermont Expos were the last Expos team. 

The Vermont Lake Monsters held "Tribute to the Expos" nights since Burlington Vermont is so close to Montreal. I read in one place that they wanted to keep the Expos name, but were told they were unable to. I don't know if this is true or not, but it's interesting if it was.. 

Anyway.. Would you like to see who was on this final Expos team? 

Of this team, three made the Majors.. Lannan, Stammen, and Estrada. 

There are a couple of "Wait....." names here too.. Like Dee Brown. This is not the former Royal.. This is Dee Brown who was drafted in 2005 and ended up playing two years in Winnipeg to close his career. 

I was curious about Gene Yost, wondering if he's at all related to Ned, but I couldn't find information. 

Then you have common names like Carlos Martinez and Eduardo Nunez. 

A couple interesting things.. 

David Eckstein's Brother worked for the Vermont Expos. 

There was a Canadian born player on this team. Jamie Lehman of Brampton Ontario. 

So that was one of the seven team sets I bought from the Vermont Lake Monsters Expos sale.  

1988 CMC Oklahoma City 89ers

Back onto the CMC Minor League train today

I have a bunch of them still left to do, plus I received 7 Vermont Expos sets recently. 

Today is the Oklahoma City 89ers.

They were the affiliate for the Rangers. 

They were 67-74 under Toby Harrah, 13.5 games behind the division leading Royals. 

Barbaro Garbey played from 1980-1994

He played in the Majors for Detroit in 1984-1985, and for Texas in 1988

He played in the Tigers (80-85) Rangers (88), Expos (89) and Dodgers (90) organizations. 

He spent 1986-1987 and 1990-1994 in the Mexican League

Bill Merrifield played from 1983-1988

He did not play in the Majors

Overall, he played in the Angels (83-87), Pirates (87) and Rangers (88) organizations. 

Bill Merrifield is the father of Royals' Whit Merrifield. 

Craig McMurtry played from 1980-1995

He played in the Majors For Atlanta from 1983-1986, Texas from 1988-1990, and Houston in 1995

Overall, he spent time in the Braves (80-86), Blue Jays (87), Rangers (88-90), Giants (91-92), Pirates (93), and Astros (94-95) organizations. 

Dan Rohn played from 1977-1989

He played in the Majors for the Chicago Cubs in 1983-1984, and Cleveland in 1986

Overall, he played in the Cubs (77-84), Indians (85-86), Athletics (87) and Rangers (88-89) systems. 

Darrell Whitaker played from 1984-1989

He didn't make the Majors. 

He spent his entire career with the Rangers organization. 

May I take a time out here to say I absolutely love these uniforms and colours? Some of the stadium shots they have in here are also rather nice. 

Dwayne Henry played from 1980-2001

He played in the Majors for Texas from 1984-1988, Atlanta from 1989-1990, Houston in 1991, Cincinnati from 1992-1993, Seattle in 1993, and Detroit in 1995. 

Overall, he spent time in the Rangers (80-88), Braves (89-90), Astros (91), Reds (92-93), Mariners (93), Tigers (95-96), and Rockies (96) organizations. 

He also spent 1994 in Japan, and from 1997-2001 in Independent, Chinese or Mexican ball. 

Don Werner played from 1971-1988

He played in the Majors for Cincinnati from 1975-1980, and for Texas in 1981-1982.

Overall, he spent time with the Reds (71-80), Braves (76), Rangers (81-83), Cubs (84), Tigers (85) and Rangers (85-88) He also played one game in 1998 for Idaho Falls in the San Diego system.   

Ed Vande Berg played from 1980-1992

He played in the Majors for Seattle from 1982-1985, Los Angeles in 1986, Cleveland in 1987, and Texas in 1988. 

Overall, he played in the Mariners (80-85, 90-92), Dodgers (86). Indians (87), Rangers (88), and Cubs (89) organizations. 

We have a Canadian sighting. 

Ferguson Jenkins was a coach on the 89ers. 

He was the pitching coach in 1988 and 1989 for the 89ers and held the same position for the Cubs in 1995-1996

Gar Millay played from 1986-1993

He did not make the majors

He spent his entire career in the Rangers Organization aside from 1993, when he played in China. 

Gary Mielke played from 1985-1991

He played in the Majors for Texas in 1987, 1989, and 1990

He spent all but part of 1991 in the Rangers Organization. He also spent time (91) in the Athletics organization. 

James Steels played from 1980-1994

He played in the Majors for San Diego in 1987, Texas in 1988, and San Francisco in 1989

Overall, he spent time in the Padres (80-87), Rangers (88), Giants (89) Expos (89-90) and Pirates (90) organization. He also spent from 1991-1994 in Mexico 

Jeff Kunkel played from 1983-1994

He played in the Majors for Texas from 1984-1990, and Chicago Cubs in 1992. 

Overall, he played in the Rangers (83-90), Cubs (92), Brewers (92), Indians (93), and Tigers (94) organizations. 

Jim St. Laurent played from 1984-1990 

He didn't play in the Majors. 

He played in the Rangers (84-89) and Expos (90) organizations. 

He also spent part of 1990 in Mexico. 

Jose Tolentino played from 1983-1997

He played in the Majors for Houston in 1991.

Overall, he played in the Athletics (83-87), Rangers (88), Astros (88-91), Pirates (92, 97) and Orioles (97) organizations. 

He also spent 1993 in Japan and 1994-1996 in Mexico. 

Larry Klein played from 1984-1988

He didn't make the Majors. 

He spent his career in the Rangers organization. 

Otto Gonzalez played from 1981-1989

He never made the Majors.

He spent time in the Rangers (81-88) and Angels (89) orgsanizations. 

Ray Hayward played from 1983-1991

He played in the Majors for San Diego in 1986 and 1987, and for Texas in 1988

Overall, he spent time in the Padres (83-87) and the Rangers (88-91) organizations. 

Rick Odekirk played from 1979-1992

He did not make the Majors. 

Overall he played in the Royals (80), Athletics (82), Reds (85), Rangers (86-88), Orioles (88), Indians (89), and Reds (92) organizations. 

He also spent 1979, 1981, 1989, and 1991 with independent teams. 

Robby Wine played from 1983-1990

He played in the Majors for Houston in 1986 and 1987

He played for the Astros (83-87), Rangers (88), Braves (88, 89), Yankees (88). Expos (89) and Indians (90) organizations. 

His father was Bobby Wine, an original Expo. 

Scott Anderson played from 1984-1995

He played in the Majors for Texas in 1987, Montreal in 1990, and Kansas City in 1995

Overall, he spent time in the Rangers (84-88), Expos (89-90), Marlins (93), Brewers (94), and Royals (95) organizations. He also spent 1991 and 1992 in Japan. 

Scott May played from 1983-1995

He played in the Majors for Texas in 1988, and for the Chicago Cubs in 1991. 

Overall, he played in the Dodgers (83-87), Rangers (88-89), Brewers (89-90), Cubs (91-92, 95) organizations. 

He also spent time (93-94) in China. 

Toby Harrah was the manager of the team. 

He managed Oklahoma City in 1987-1988

Coached for Texas from 1989-1992

Managed Texas in 1992

Managed Norfolk in 1995

Coached in Cleveland in 1996

Coached in Detroit in 1998

Coached in Colorado from 2000-2002

Coached in Detroit in 2013

Tom O'Malley played from 1979-1998

He played in the Majors for San Francisco from 1982-1984, Chicago White Sox in 1984, Baltimore in 1985-1986, Texas in 1987, Montreal in 1988, and the New York Mets from 1989-1990

Overall, he spent time in the Giants (79-84), White Sox (84), Orioles (85-86), Detroit (85), Rangers (87-88), Expos (88), and Mets (89-90) organizations. 

He also spent 1991-1996 in Japan and played two games for Newark in 1998.  

Tny Fossas played from 1979-1999

He played in the Majors for Texas in 1988, Milwaukee in 1989-1990, Boston from 1991-1994, St Louis from 1995-1997, Chicago Cubs in 1998, Seattle in 1998, Texas in 1998, and New York Yankees in 1999.

Overall, he played in the Rangers (79-85), Angels (86-87) Rangers (88), Brewers (89-90), Red Sox (91-94), Cardinals (95-97), Cubs (98), Mariners (98), Rangers (98) and Yankees (99) organizations. 

There's another team down..