Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps #328 Donn Pall

(Sorry...these posts were supposed to publish yesterday. But the kids were tuned to the Dr. Who marathon thingy and we were hooked onto it until the Day of the Doctors episode).

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, November 23, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps #328.
• Player Name, position, team: Donn Pall, pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies.
• Major League Debut: August 1, 1988.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Phillies): 8 G, 17.2 IP, 1-0, 7 R, 5 ER, 11 SO, 3 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 0 SV, 2.55 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the White Sox #23rd, June 1985. Traded by the White Sox to the Phillies 09/01/1993. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 6. This is his sixth and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Donn's keys in 1993 were consistency (sub 3.00 ERA in 6 of the season's 7 months), and control (no BB in 34 of his 47 games)."
• Commentary: There was a book that I remember reading that had set aside chapters by decade of baseball history. One of the sections included a few "what could have been teams." Among them were the 1994 Chicago White Sox. They were easily cruising through the 1994 season when the strike hit. And while they did finish the season in first place that year, who knows...they may have won that World Series title 11 years earlier than they actually did. But that's not the point of this post, and it definitely doesn't apply to Donn Steven Pall (somehow given the obvious nickname of "The Pope"...not that I know of his religious affiliation, but most likely the moniker was given to him because of his name). In 1993, the White Sox were running roughshod over the competition in the American League West division. By September 1, the Sox were 75-57, had just beaten the Yankees 5-3, and were ready to call it a day, when they made one more announcement. Donn had been traded to the Phillies for a player to be named later (Doug Lindsey). The Chicago-born Pall must have been heartbroken. It was a month past the trading deadline, it was almost the end of the year. He had performed amicably for the Sox (2-3, 3.22 ERA, 29 K's, 1.244 WHIP in 39 games), assured a spot onto the postseason roster. Now he was off to Philly, themselves in 1993, a playoff contender looking for pitching to put them over the top. Although Pall did not make it onto the postseason roster of the Phils, while his old team failed to get past Toronto in the playoffs, his new one shocked the Braves and moved on to the World Series. In 1994, Pall signed with the Yankees as a free agent, but by July 26, was released. He was then signed by a team in Chicago...this time the Cubs. He finished the season with a combined 1-2 record, a 3.69 ERA, and 23 strikeouts in 39 innings of work. He re-signed with the White Sox for the 1995 season, but spent the entire year in Triple-A Nashville. He left the White Sox organization again after the 1995 season, and signed on with the Marlins. In Florida, Pall bounced between the big leauge club and the AAA team in Charlotte. After a 4 game stint with the Reds' farm team in Indianapolis, Pall retired from the game as a player. He has since returned to the White Sox, this time as a Community Relations Representative.
• Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 8 cards.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1961 Topps #51. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama