One For Me, One for You

My second 50/50 of the year came back yesterday and I could not be happier. All told it took about two weeks for the return of Pete Incaviglia, via the Grand Prairie Airhogs. I'm not sure what an Airhog is, but I know their manager could crush a baseball.

Inky, as he was more commonly referred to, knew how to mash. He still holds the collegiate single season and career homerun records, despite only playing three seasons for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Once drafted, he refused to play in the minor leagues, so he was traded from the Montreal Expos to the Texas Rangers to make that happen. Unfortunately for Inky, his first professional season was his best, slowly declining in production as his career went along. His goal of never playing in the minors ended after he left Baltimore in 1997 to play for the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees.

Pete Incaviglia 1997 Donruss Team Set #45

In just more than one season for the Orioles Inky blasted 20 homeruns but only hit .257. This card is the only major issue card (if you can call it that) featuring Inky as a Bird. The only other card I had ever seen from that set was Cal Ripken a few years back. When I was looking to buy this card, I could only find one, so I had to pay $3 including shipping, for a card worth $.25. But crossing another name off my list makes it worth it.