no. 16 - ken singleton

Who is the man: Ken Singleton had just finished his first season in the major leagues in 1970. The Mets made him the third pick in the 1967 amateur draft, but he would have the vast majority of his success in the major leagues through his 10 seasons with the Orioles.

Can ya dig it: What's going on behind Singleton? There's a player to the right of him who appears to be dancing a jig or something.

Right on: This is Singleton's rookie card. Two of the last three cards reviewed in this set have been rookie cards of two of the more consistently productive players of the '70s.

You see this Singleton is a bad mother: Singleton has been such a composed, understated and reasonable individual throughout his playing and broadcasting career that it's difficult to find anything "bad" about him. But he kind of looks like a bad-ass in this photo, so let's go with that.

Shut your mouth: Singleton's wife writes a blog called Married to Baseball. She identifies herself as "Mrs. Singy." In one blog post, Ken Singleton relays that his mother threw out his baseball cards. His mother is quoted as saying, "They were probably all bent up and old. I would not throw away anything good." Bent up and old IS good!

No one understands him but his woman: Both Singleton, who has broadcasted for the Yankees since the late 1990s, and his wife deal with confused Orioles fans on a regular basis. They're always asking them when Ken is going to "come home" to broadcast for the Orioles. But Singleton, a New York native, is devoted to the Yankees.

(A word about the back): The Bronx Federation League is a sandlot league that was frequented by scouts during Singleton's time in high school. Playing in the league at the same time was Rod Carew.