700th Place - Mark Williamson

Card #571

I'm not going to lie, I've been delaying this one from the countdown because I've got a soft spot for Mark.

The truth is, this is a pretty bland and uninteresting card.  Between the weird angle and bad background, this card has almost nothing going for it.

As I've said before, though, I'm an Orioles fan.  As a kid I discovered the mailing addresses you could use to send cards to the actual teams in hopes your card would be signed and returned.  I was too scared to try it out with one of my Eddie Murray's or Cal Ripken's, so I used a Mark Williamson card to test the waters.  The card below came back to me months later, and man, I was pretty jazzed to get it!  Thank you Mark Williamson!

Thanks to everyone who stops by to read these posts - have a Merry Christmas.  Christ the Lord is born!

701st Place - Bill Pecota

Card #433

I'm assuming it's poor printing quality, but there's a strange, faint indigo line shadowing Bill's face here.

Whenever I hear somebody refer to this pecota I always think of Bill Pecota.  I wonder if some GM ever ran pecota analysis on Pecota.  It's so meta!

I'll go ahead and reward Bill a gratuitous product placement for that fine Wilson batting glove.  The sun is shining too brightly to make out the billboards over Bill's shoulder. 

702nd Place - Scott Bailes

Card #107

If you click on the Indians label on the right of the page you'll notice most of these cards are from the same spring training photo shoot.  And just like the others, this one is B-O-R-I-N-G.

Scott had and interesting career as a journeyman mop-up guy/spot-starter.  After a disastrous year pitching for the Angels in 1992, he was stuck in the minors for five years before reemerging with the Rangers in 1997.  That's a long time to hold onto your dream.  By the end of 1998, though, he'd be out of baseball for good.

Scott Bailes claims Springfield, MO as his hometown, and went to what was then called Southwest Missouri State University.  This tickles me because I lived there and worked for the school for a small time during my own career.  Scott has done announcing duties for the Cardinals' double-A team in Springfield and even served a term on the city council.

703rd Place - Jose Oquendo

Card #83

I've got nothing against Jose Oquendo.  As a son of parents who grew up in St. Louis I've always had a bit of favoritism towards the Red Birds.  But that look on Jose's face is kind of goofy. 

What do you think is happening off camera? 
A) Ozzie Smith didn't land the flip.
B) Jack Clark is trying to convince folks future Cardinals first basemen are on steroids.
C) Vince Coleman is playing with fireworks.

Oquendo has been a coach in the minors and majors pretty much since he retired, and always seems to be a finalist for managerial openings without ever having been selected.  I've always wondered if that is related to his Puerto Rican heritage and the trouble Latino candidates have had securing the title of "Skipper."

Oquendo represents the first Cardinals player on the countdown.  For more Oquendo fun, here's a humorous bit the Sklar twins did for ESPN a few years back: