Moving on to pack #12 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press… I am likely off at work, but I scheduled this pack so y’all would have something to look at in the event you stumbled by here… I kinda regret agreeing to volunteer today, I am tired and want to rest, but Sally will have to rest twice as hard for me.
Thanks Sally, you always got my back!Here we go!
#84 Jim Thome Cleveland Indians (Holy cow, Thome with a glove! This guy used to be a pretty awesome infielder I remember right… Thome hit .407 with 11 homers in August of ’96. Batted .311 with 38 homers and 116 overall.)
#24 Rey Ordonez NY Mets
#147 Alex Rodriguez Peak Performers Seattle Mariners
#21 Vinny Castilla Colorado Rockies (Castilla hit .304 with 40 homers and 113 RBI for the Rockies in ’96. He didn’t bring that same bat with him to Tampa Bay)
#??? Swing for the Fences Game Card-Ken Caminiti San Diego Padres
#12 Jose Canseco Oakland A’s (I think Canseco was the only slugger to NOT get 100 RBI in ’96, he only had 82-NEED MORE JUICE!!!)
#58 Moises Alou Florida Marlins (Moises hit .321 with 3 homers and 9 RBI in the ’97 World Series)
#64 Craig Biggio Houston Astros (Biggio’s career stats are AMAZING!!! This guy won a Silver Slugger as a catcher, and then won a few more as a second baseman. He is 13th All Time in runs scored, 5th in doubles and 2nd in hit by pitch. He had 3060 hits (20th All Time) and 414 steals. The only thing he didn’t do was hit in the postseason. Never won a ring because of it. He was 39 by the time the Astros finally made it to the World Series and he hit just .222 as the White Sox swept them. Still, first ballot HoFer for sure!)
#103 Andy Benes St Louis Cardinals (Benes was 2nd in the NL with 18 wins in ’96 and finished 3rd in Cy Young voting. He never made it to the WS, and he wasn’t that great in the playoffs either. I liked Benes though. I used to watch new episodes of Seinfeld on Thursday nights in hopes that Andy or Allen Benes would pop up and it would be determined that they were related to the Elaine character and hilarity would ensue. It never happened. I feel like the producers missed out on gold.)
These packs of X Press are getting better and better. I can’t believe the numbers that hitters were putting up in the late 90’s. Absolutely sick. Also, Craig Biggio was GREAT!!!! I knew he was an All Star and one of the best of the generation, but I didn’t realize how great his career numbers were. Wow. Another rip is coming soon, I’ve got the itch!!! Merry Christmas. Troll out.
His second long ball was his 574th homer and moved him past former Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew into 10th place ALL TIME. Thome's second blast had the Twins in the lead, but the Rays exploded in the 8th inning behind Matt Joyce's GRAND SLAM. I was in attendance for Joyce's first homer as a Ray. I was also there for his third and final bomb. That came on June 2, 2009. He finished the 2009 season with the Durham Bulls, but his big league numbers were meager-.188/3/7. He started this season in AAA but was called up last week. He hadn't brought his bat with him and was batting below .200 at the start of the game. 
He got the call to pinch hit in the top of the 8th and came through with his first grandslam. Crawford, Aybar and Bartlett all had doubles for the Rays and Randy Choate got credit for his first win of the season. Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless 9th for his 20th save. In today's game he collected his 21st and James Shields earned his first 7th win to give the Rays some momentum before returning home to host the Red Sox tomorrow. I will be at the Trop to see Matt Garza go for his 10th win of the season. 
The All Star lineups were also announced today. I will have a full post on that later, but as everyone has heard 3 Rays players will be in the starting lineup. Evan Longorian at third, Carl Crawford in left and David Price on the mound. Huge congrats Guys! Go Rays! Lets beat Boston! Troll out.
Until this spring when I bent my rules for a left handed hitting slugger who recently signed with the Minnesota Twins. He hit 23 homers last season and he will be turning 39 this summer. In the Twins lineup he will have good protection and should see a lot of pitches to hit. He is only 46 homers away from becoming the 7th player to reach the 600 homer club. He is 9 homers away from reaching the top ten of All Time. He is currently 12th All Time and 3rd among active players. He thinks he can still be a productive hitter in the big leagues. I believe him. I am speaking of 
In my opinion he is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Even in the livest of live ball eras, he is among the most intimidating sluggers in the game and has been for nearly 20 years. That is why I bent my rule. That and I just happened to have this 2008 Topps Heritage card handy… This card might be available for trade, or maybe for a contest prize or maybe I will treasure it forever. Any opinions? Go Rays! Troll out.
#65 Will Clark Texas Rangers (I don’t think that PatP will give up any of his Will Clark cards, but if he did, a Thrill-bipping is in the making-I think this is the 6th Clark to come out of this box) 
#105 Todd Hollandsworth Los Angeles Dodgers (The Joe Charboneau of the 90’s. See Spezio’s comment, it applies)
#12 Jose Canseco Oakland A’s (This dude is huge!)
#44 Tino Martinez New York Yankees
#128 Scott Spiezo Oakland A’s (Spiezio spent 12 years in the big leagues and won 2 rings, but I never liked him. He was a career .255 hitter and he just seemed average, but not a cool average guy, an overrated average guy that always let you down)
#84 Jim Thome Cleveland Indians (I am really excited about Thome signing with the Twins, I think it’s a great fit and I think he still hit. Minnesota fans should be able to look forward to this. Oh, and by the way, this is a sight that I never get tired of seeing…)There is only 1 more pack to go. Shannon Stewart would tell you to check it out, but I know your dying in anticipation, so she will save her breath for now, plus I am too tired to find ANOTHER picture. Gotta get back to work… By the way, today is one of those days that I work till 7 AM and have to be in class at 8. I do not like these days. Go Rays! Troll out.
