Monday, April 28, 2014

One and Done: 1994-1995

This is the fifteenth part of my running theme, unimaginatively dubbed 'One and Done'. Here, I focus on cards of Reds players who, whether it be their only year in the bigs or their only year with the club, found themselves on the Cincinnati roster for only one season, yet long enough to sneak onto a card donning the Cincinnati red. That was a very convoluted sentence that I am choosing not to edit.

Today we're looking at 1994-1995. In 1994 there were a mere 5 one-and-doners, due to the strike, I imagine. Then in 1995, that number shot up to 12. This would be Davey Johnson's last year at the helm, and rumor is he knew it before the season. He was directly told he'd be gone partway in, so I suppose he just threw all he had at the roster and prayed for success. And it worked, too. The Reds followed a 66-48 1994 season with an 85-69 1995 season, ultimately falling in the NLCS. Why was he fired? Well, Marge Schott. That's why.

Let's roll.

Tony Fernandez. 17 year career with 7 teams. 5x All Star, 4x Gold Glove, 2000+ hits, 1000+ runs, 1 cycle.

With the Reds: 1994, 422 PA in 104 games, 8 HR, 50 RBI, .279 BA.

Erik Hanson. 11 year career with 4 teams. All Star, 1995. 

With the Reds: 1994, 5-5 in 21 starts, 101 K's, 4.11 ERA.

Tim Fortugno. 3 year career with 3 teams. Gave up George Brett's 3000th hit. Pitched a no-hitter in the minors.

With the Reds: 1994, 30 IP in 25 games in relief, 29 K's, 4.20 ERA, 1-0 record.

C.J. Nitkowski. 10 year career with 8 teams. Found post career fame as a radio host and writer, including published articles in Sports Illustrated.

With the Reds: 1995, 32.1 innings in 7 starts and 2 relief appearances, 18 K's, 6.12 ERA, 1-3 record.

John Courtright. 1 year career with 1 team. So his career stat line is...

With the Reds: 1995, 1 IP in 1 game, 1 ER, 9.00 ERA, 0-0 record.

Mike Jackson. 17 year career with 8 teams. MVP votes in 1998. Over 1,000 K's in relief.

With the Reds: 1995, 49 IP in 40 games, 41 K's, 2.39 ERA, 6-1 record.

Pete Smith. 11 year career with 5 teams. Pitched in the 1992 World Series.

With the Reds: 1995, 24.1 IP in 2 starts and 9 relief appearances, 14 K's, 6.66 ERA, 1-2 record.

Darren Lewis. 13 year career with 7 teams. Gold Glove, 1994. Holds outfielder record for consecutive error-free games with 392.

With the Reds: 1995, 187 PA in 58 games, 8 RBI, .245 BA, 1 error.

David "Boomer" Wells. 21 (!) year career with 9 teams. 3x All Star. Perfect game, 1998. Postseason appearances with 6 teams. Sports Host on TBS. General bad ass.

With the Reds: 1995, 72.2 IP in 11 starts, 50 K's, 3.59 ERA, 6-5 record.
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Missing from the collection:

1994
Rich DeLucia
Steve Pegues

1995
Damon Berryhill
Matt Grott
Brad Pennington
Frank Viola
Nigel Wilson (acquired, not scanned)
Craig Worthington

Go Reds.

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