Thursday, February 25, 2010

#125 - Ken Singleton


Card fact:
It's not really a card fact, or even a player fact. It's more of a personal family anecdote. Ken Singleton is the favorite player of my youngest brother.

What I thought about this card then: I didn't see. It was a long time before I knew that Ken Singleton played for any team other than the Orioles.

What I think about this card now: What is Singleton looking at? Is someone threatening to jump from the top deck?

Other than that, the border goes very well with the Expos uniform.

Other stuff: Ken Singleton was a very consistent, durable player his entire career. He had a heck of a season in 1979, finishing second in the American League MVP voting to his former teammate, Don Baylor. I have a feeling Singleton's '79 season played a part in my brother picking him as his favorite player as my brother would have been 9 that year.

Singleton went into broadcasting after his career was over and I vividly remember he and Duke Snider calling games for the Montreal Expos (we could get the Montreal channel in Buffalo). He has been a Yankees broadcaster for a long time. He is pretty much the voice of reason in the insane asylum called YES, which broadcasts most Yankees games. Personally, I don't know how he stands it.

Back facts: I need to start counting the cartoon references to the Dodgers. There's been several of them. ... Also, I like the random capitalization of "assists" in the write-up.

Other blog stuff: I'll go with a birthday since I just alluded to annoying YES broadcasters. Paul O'Neill was born on this date in 1963.

3 comments:

Play at the Plate said...

I'm sure the excellenct color combo matching the expos colors was a complete oversight. He had a pretty solid year in '73. I always remember him as an Oriole too.

Eggrocket said...

And my brother was born on this date in 1964. Hey if you can share family info, then so can your readers :D

Flitgun Frankie said...

Second straight New York area guy (after Johnny Briggs), Singleton was from Whit Plains, I think. Or maybe Mount Vernon. Somewhere in Westchester. I remember when he originally came up with the Mets. I thought, "Finally, the Mets come up with a hitter". Up till then the Mets farm system had produced a bunch of good pitchers, but hitters? Ron Swoboda? Bud Harrelson? Singleton looked like a real Major League hitter, so of course they traded him.