The basics: This is Frank Viola's second appearance in the set. He appeared on card #48 in the Teammates subset.
Card thoughts: Viola's hand obscures the first P in Upper Deck, making it seem like the company is "Yoo-per Deck". Also, this is the third Red Sox card in the set that features the sleeve memorial for Red Sox owner Jean Yawkey, who died in 1992.
Backs are important in '93 UD: That is an interesting position there. I'm guessing that Viola has just flipped the ball to the first baseman on some sort of bunt play but that's quite the follow-through.
Viola would have one more double-figure wins season for the Red Sox in 1993 and that would be it. He'd finish out his career with 14 combined games with Boston, the Reds and the Blue Jays.
More from '93: "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams -- a terrible song -- made its debut in the Top 40 this week in 1993. This song and "Everything I Do" was a 1-2 sucker-punch for someone who bought his "Cuts Like a Knife" LP in 1983.
A. Had no idea Viola played for the Reds or Blue Jays. But considering he only pitched 14 games between them, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.
ReplyDeleteB. My buddy was a HUGE Bryan Adams fan... so I listened to him a lot in the 80's and early 90's. My favorite album of his is Reckless, but Cuts Like a Knife was a solid album too. He always had his share of ballads... so songs like Everything I Do and Please Forgive Me don't bother me. They aren't on my playlists, but I don't turn them off when they're on the radio either. I actually just listened to Thought I'd Died And Gone To Heaven on the radio coming home from work last week... and surprisingly knew a lot of the words.
I remember being excited that Viola was signed. I though Clemens and him would be an excellent 1-2 punch in the rotation.
ReplyDeleteHe was one of earliest "good" pitchers that I was aware of. And as such, I used to treat his cards like they were more valuable than they probably were.
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