I have been having a lull as far as TTM returns go. I also haven't been writing as many letters out over the past week or so. I will probably send a couple out this week. A solid return did show up in my mailbox the other day though.
Tim Belcher sent me a signed card back. Belcher was a pretty solid pitcher for the Dodgers between 87-91. He was also a proud member of the 1988 World Series winning Doyer team. In 1988, Belcher pitched 179.2 innings and had a minuscule WHIP of 1.08. 1988 was also his first full season in the big leagues. He was a main contributor for a championship team.
Belcher was nice enough to inscribe his auto to me. He also added the date that he signed the card. I guess he held onto this card for a week before sending it out my way. I am also glad that he used blue ink. Blue sharpies always look good for Dodger autos.
Here is a fun trade fact that I found out while looking up Tim Belcher on Baseball Reference:
He was dealt along with John Wetteland for Eric Davis and Kip Gross in 1991. Awfulness on the Dodgers part. Belcher had his best years as a Dodger but, was still serviceable after he left LA. Wetteland went on to become a beast closer for the Expos and Yanks. Davis was a big bust in LA. Kip Gross made Kevin Gross look ace-like.
This deal made me wonder something. If Wetteland stayed on as a Dodger throughout the 90s and was our closer, would the Dodgers still have traded Paul Konerko for Jeff Shaw? If that trade never happened, would Konerko still be a Dodger first baseman and I would have never seen James Loney try to slap singles and ground into double plays?
Just something for Dodger fans to think about.
2 comments:
Never seen a player date an auto! Interesting.
Interesting thought. I think Konerko would have still been traded because he was blocked by Karros, who was still having MVP-type seasons at the time. You also have to wonder if Wetteland would have been as good without the rest of the Yankees, specifically Mariano setting him up.
I love what-if's like this.
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