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Friday, March 20, 2020

All quarantine team

Well, unless you've been hidden under a rock, you pretty much know what this post is about.
I am choosing the a team of 9 position players (including DH), a bench guy, 5 starting pitchers, 2 relievers, and a manager to take with me while we are hunkering down trying to stop the spread of the dreaded virus. For each player, I will give the reason why they were selected, and a custom card of them.

CATCHER: Jeff Reed
Jeff seems like a nice guy from what I've heard about him from friends. For years, he coached the Elizabethton Twins, and I had a friend who set up conferences for evangelists. He got with Jeff, who told him that he would speak and do whatever he could for the particular evanglist my friend was setting up shows for at the time. Jeff also gave my friend season tickets to Elizabethton that year. What makes me think that Jeff would be a handy guy during a quarantine is what I found out from the back of his 1995 Topps card. The back of the card said that instead of glove oil, he uses shaving cream. It makes me think that he could be smart on the fly, kind of like MacGuyver, and that could come in real handy with limited resources.

FIRST BASE: Todd Helton
Clint Barmes suffered an injury in 2005 which cost him a good amount of time. Originally, he said it was from slipping while carrying groceries up some stairs. When the truth came out, it was revealed that Todd Helton had given Clint some deer meat, which caused the fall. According to the story, Todd seems like he would be a good hunter, and adept at riding an ATV, which would come in handy, should grocery stores run very low on supplies.

SECOND BASE: Joey Cora
I kind of put together this team in my head over the last few days at work, and I wasn't able to really come up with a good 2nd baseman in my head. Then I remembered Joey Cora's 1990 Donruss card back. Aparently, Joey was strong enough to come back from a stab wound. I would want someone like that to fight on my team if it came down to a fight. If I knew I had someone who recovered from a stabbing next to me in a fight, I would fight just as hard as they would.

SHORTSTOP: Robin Yount
Kind of going back to that ATV thing with Helton, there are numerous photos, and even a stadium club card with Robin Yount riding on a motorcycle. Some of me just feels like someone who could be skilled with different types of vehicles and who had working on cars as a hobby would be like an asset during a quarantine.

THIRD BASE: Wade Boggs
Wade makes this list becasue of the chicken cookbook he made. Part of me thinks if he has a cookbook that he would be able to cook as well. Gotta know someone who knows how to cook well if you are quarantined for a while.

LEFT FIELD: Luke Scott
Another ballplayer with interests in hunting, Luke Scott actually brought a wild boar into the Rays clubhouse in 2013. Seems like he would be good at hunting down food if we needed it. Plus, he could help my sideburns look even better.

CENTER FIELD: Rickey Henderson
I think having someone with super-human speed would be an asset in a quarantine, should the need to run somewhere in a quick amount of time or the need to run away from something arise. Hendu is the quickest player I have seen in my lifetime.

RIGHT FIELD: Larry Walker
Walker just seems like he could be a nice addition to a team after seeing all of the coverage of him during the Hall of Fame vote announcement. It seems like he could do a little hunting, keep me company with some fun conversation, and he would be a tough guy to take down.

DESIGNATED HITTER: Gates Brown
Gates Brown always had stories to tell during Tigers fantasy camp. He dropped out of school, and ended up serving time in prison, and even though he seemed rough around the edges at first, the Tigers signed him, and he was a fan favorite. I think Gator would have the perfect background of street smarts and a likeable personality that would serve well.

BENCH GUY: Dwight Smith
Dwight Smith sang the National Anthem a few times before games. He would be a good guy for entertainment if stuff ever got boring.

STARTER #1: Nolan Ryan
I would take Nolan Ryan because number one, he has farming and ranching experience, number two, he took out Robin Ventura, and number three, he can throw a fastball over 100 miles per hour.

STARTER #2: Bill Lee
Lee would mainly be there in case we needed to talk to aliens for any unknown reason. I expect he could keep us entertained with stories as well.

STARTER #3: Melido Perez
Can't wait to hear the stories Pascual would tell.

STARTER #4: Kevin Gross
Kevin Gross once tackled Kirk Gibson and got in a fight with Jim Leyland. 'Nuff said.

STARTER #5: Catfish Hunter
Image result for 1980 topps catfish hunter
I took this image from GCRL. "Catfish" Hunter was said to have caught the nickname from all of the fish he caught. I think he would be a great asset during a quarantine.

RELIVER #1: Goose Gossage
Goose has been known to hunt and I think he could help get food during a shortage.

RELIEVER #2: Turk Wendell
Turk Wendell once got stuck in -10 degree weather while trying to find his way back to his car during a hunting trip. According to the story, he bagged a 180-pound lion during the trip. His skills would be a great asset should we need to hunt our own food.

MANAGER: Kirk Gibson
(Card done by reader Richard). Kirk Gibson has been a lifelong hunter, and is another guy who could help scrounge up food.

So basically, a bunch of guys who can hunt, fight, and tell a good story.
I would be interested if you have your own list of guys who you would make the same kind of team with.

I'm kind of going crazy right now. Our 3-year old is out of day care indefinitely, my wife won't be out of work as she is a DON at an assisted living facility, and since I work as a baker in a grocery store, I'm still at work and the people are insane I tell you. Not all of them, but in times like this, the worst comes out in people sometimes. I'll be glad when all of this is over with. Stay safe, and don't go out unless you have to. Maybe we can get some trades going with PWEs to help the time go by fast.

Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

2 comments:

  1. Pasqual Perez, the day he arrived in Atlanta and was supposed to pitch that night, got stuck on I-85 just going in circles for hours.

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  2. Nolan is an excellent choice. He'd probably be my first draft pick, because of his access to tons of meat. Plus he'd be my personal bodyguard. Bo Jackson would be my #2 pick. He'd be my other bodyguard... and I'd utilize his fishing and hunting skills.

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