Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps #162 Bob MacDonald

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, February 19, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps #162.
• Player Name, position, team: Bob MacDonald, pitcher, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: August 14, 1990.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Tigers): 68 G, 65.2 IP, 3-3, 42 R, 39 ER, 39 SO, 33 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 3 SV, 5.35 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Blue Jays #19th, June 1987. Contract purchased by the Tigers 03/30/1993. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 3. This is his third and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Purchased from Toronto just days before the season opener, Bob went on to lead the Detroit staff in appearances. Over the last two years, lefthanders have hit only .191 against him."
• Commentary: I learned something yesterday. I was on a baseball website that was trying to determine how many spots are open on the Cubs roster. They described reliever James Russell as the team's LOOGY. And I wondered, "What's a LOOGY?" It turns out that there are LOOGY's and ROOGY's. What does that mean? LOOGY is an acronym which stands for "Lefty One-Out GuY (which means that ROOGY is a Righty One-Out GuY). These are pitchers who appear in tons of games (like Russell) and face just one batter, with the hope that they get their guy out before being replaced by the next batter, or to get out of an inning without causing any damage whatsoever. In many cases, it is an exaggeration that every big league team needs has these kinds of pitchers. It is insane to think that for the money that these athletes are paid that a manager would use a guy for just one batter in a game EVERY TIME. Even the mop-up reliever gets an inning or two of work from time to time. But there are times when it is in the best interest of the manager to use a guy for one batter. So I understand the point of it. Such was the role of Bob MacDonald in 1993. Yes, he led the team in appearances, and with a .191 batting average against vs. left-handers, he was the team's LOOGY. In 1993, he faced only one batter in 10 of the 68 games he appeared (he faced 293 batters in 1993, so he did more than a one-batter appearance). MacDonald did not pitch in the big leagues in 1994. What happened? He signed with the Astros as a Free Agent in February, but was released just before spring training ended. He then signed on with the Mariners and pitched with the team's AAA team in Calgary, going 2-2 with 26 strikeouts in 25 games and 31 innings of work. But because he was charged with 26 earned runs (to give him an ERA of 7.55), he was released by the Mariners organization in June. On July 1, the White Sox took a chance on Bob and signed him to a minor league contract. He fared much better in the 25 games with both Birmingham (AA-Southern) and Nashville (AAA-American Association), earning a 4-4 record with an ERA of 1.73. He bounced around between the major and minor league organizations of both the New York Yankees (in 1995) and Mets (1996). He even played for the Hanshin Tigers in 1997 before calling it a career. While he may not have enjoyed a fruitful career in baseball, it turns out that MacDonald is a local legend on the basketball courts in the Clearwater, Florida, area. He also manages a semi-pro slow pitch softball team, showing off his hitting prowess in the sport. He is also an award winning cook, winning area chili competitions, including a first place award in 2009. Hey, if you have to keep busy...
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 5.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1976 Topps #275. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1976 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama