Why this card is awesome: Because I find this photo hugely ironic. Those of you who were baseball fans in the mid-90s and early 00s will recall that Jamie Quirk was so often referred to as a future major-league manager. I understand that he was really into the mechanics of the game and, as a catcher, had a strong knowledge of how to call games and manage pitchers. But he never did become a manager (at least not yet, although he is currently bench coach for the Rockies.) I can't tell you how many times I heard or read a comment about Quirk becoming a manager.
So, what makes this card ironic? He looks like a manager. Since this is a posed shot, he's not wearing his batting helmet despite holding a bat. It's usually managers or coaches who look like this when they are hitting infield practice.
Cool stat: Over the years he played, Quirk has by far the most seasons with 221 or fewer at-bats. He was truly a back-up.
10 comments:
There's not enough blue in this card.
See also: Thad Bosley.
There's talk of him being a manager.
He looks like a manager.
And, yet, he's not a manager.
Quirky.
The 84 Indians Stat is my favorite!
One AB, One HR
anyone else have that distinction of having 1 AB w/one team w/ one homer?
Esteban Yan homered in his lone at-bat in 2000. He later had another at-bat, though (he singled), and I think that he was still with Tampa Bay when he got it.
Actually, I just looked it up, and Yan was with St. Louis when he got his second career AB. So there you go; in his only at-bat with the Devil Rays, Esteban Yan hit a home run.
I was a Royals' fan in the 70's. I never liked Jamie Quirk. In the preseason Street and Smith, it seemed like he was on the 40 man roster since 1972 and he was THE up and coming shortstop (yes, he came up as a shortstop) in the system. But when he got to the big leagues, he could do nothing except be responsible for the rumors that floated around about why he and George Brett were good friends. I thought he was out of the league in the mid-80's. But no. He's got just enough baseball talent that he could learn to catch and that kept him in the league another 10 years.
In hindsight, Quirk's career is one of a guy who may not have fulfilled all the glamour that had originally been bestowed on him, but he loved baseball enough to do whatever it took -- even transforming himself into a backup catcher -- to stay in the game. I can root for a guy like that.
What's this about him and Brett being good friends? I don't follow.
Wow, three tours of duty with the Royals. I love careers like that. There's something fascinating about a guy that keeps coming back to a particular team, Like Lofton with the Tribe. Very cool.
Or Baines with the White Sox and Orioles
Post a Comment