Countdown To Christmas - 0 Days

Merry Christmas, and thanks for visiting my blog. It's been fun, starting out first on Facebook just posting scanned baseball cards with no write up, to a semi-full blown blog. Some days have been better than others; some days I was able to use just my cards; other days I chose not to use my cards to honor the all time greats. It's a subjective list.... I know some people might not agree with all of my choices, although I know that two numbers in particular that would be unanimous choices... at least if I polled my true friends! Thanks for all the support when I was losing momentum. I hope you've had as much fun as me.



Two great players have worn either 0 or 00 - Al Oliver and Jack Clark, respectively.


"I went three days without a hit and my wife refused to cook me dinner. When I didn't get a hit the fourth day, she gave her tickets away. I guess if I ever go a week without a hit, I'll be sleeping in a tent in the backyard." - Al Oliver


Oliver wore number 0 while with the Montreal Expos, with whom he played from 1982-83, but his career spanned from 1968 through 1985. One of the premier hitters of his era, Oliver had 2,743 career hits (45th best all time) and a .303 average over 18 major league seasons. He played in seven All-Star games and placed among his league's top 10 batters on nine occasions. He was a member of the 1971 World Champ Pittsburgh Pirates. Oliver hit the last home run ever at Forbes Field, and the next season, drove in the first run ever at Three Rivers Stadium. He is pictured here on his 1983 card from my collection.

Clark wore 00 for the Padres during part of the 1990 season, hitting 25 homers and 62 RBIs in 334 at-bats. Over his 18-year career Clark hit 340 homers with 1,180 RBIs. ''It's distinctive. It's fresh, not your basic number,'' Clark said in 1990 when asked why he shifted from No. 25. ''It's your basic non-number." Clark was a four time All Star and hit 340 homers over his career. This is a scan of his 1978 card when he was with the Giants, where he played from 1975 through 1984.

Wow, who is this stunningly hadsome kid and why is he included in today's blog? While he did not wear number 0, he's included because his lifetime little league batting average was WELL south of the Mendoza Line, and probably closer to 0 than anything else!

Now, in memory of sportscaster George Michael, who was the inventor of "George Michael's Sports Machine" and a long time DC sportscaster who passed away yesterday morning after a two year battle with leukemia.