40-year-old Versions

ABC’s of Baseball: K is for Kyle Schwarber

In 2016*, Schwarber went 0-for-4 with one walk in five plate appearances. An outfield collision during the second game of the season resulted in a torn ACL and torn LCL, ending what was supposed to be his first full season in the majors…

* in 2016, the added Schwarber to the World Series roster, and he became a key piece of the Cubs’ 2016 World Championship. This was not possible if Kyle sat on a couch for six months and felt sorry for himself.

I couldn’t fit the copy for the t-shirt into fifteen characters per line to place an online custom order, so I slid into the DM’s and asked about it… they submitted (and received) approval and BOOM… an Obvious Shirts product that tips the cap to this legend for his hard work, determination, and persistence, an example that we all could use for some inspiration.

ABC’s of Baseball: P is for Prime Time, Coach Prime.

Re-sharing from May 2021, one of the first pieces I did… one of the hidden elements back then was the coach’s whistle. Looks like it may be a little more obvious today.

Deion Sanders played for and in the summer… and in the fall he played for and the - and rocked some SI covers and annoyed some people along the way. He entertained the heck out of me then and he’s doing it again.

ABC’s of Baseball: X is for Xander Bogaerts.

is the lone player to hit a homer in 4 separate countries… 2013 at Yankee Stadium, then 2015 in Toronto, and then 2019 in London… and after joining this offseason, this April he hits a HR in Mexico City.

Xander seems to me to be an International Man of Baseball… Born in Aruba… Represents the Netherlands in World Baseball Classic competition… 10 years with including 2 World Series Championships and 5 All-Star Game appearances… speaks English, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamento.

ABC’s of Baseball inspired by The Letter People, introduced to me in kindergarten back in like 1985 or something.

ABC’s of Baseball: G is for Josh Gibson… and the Homestead Greys… which then represent so much more than just the history of professional baseball…

I may not have won the Project card art tournament back in 2021, but meeting and connecting and working with people – an ancillary benefit to the overall mission of the project, but a personal highlight for me regardless.

So here’s looking at you, members of the Official Baseball Writers Association of America – the objective is unchanged from 2021 and earlier, let’s rename the MLB MVP trophies after Josh Gibson.

🔥 Cc: