Who is the man: Rich Morales had finished his second full season with the White Sox in 1970, playing wherever they needed him (he played short, third and second) and hitting a paltry .161.
Can ya dig it: Morales was definitely a glove man during his eight-year major league career, yet this is the only one of his five Topps cards in which he is shown fielding.
Right on: Those blue White Sox caps really tell you this was from a long time ago.
You see this cat Morales is a bad mother: Morales has one of the worst career batting averages for a non-pitcher with at least 1,000 at-bats in major league history. He hit a career .195, which ranks in the bottom 10. Sure, maybe you don't consider that bad-ass, but think of all the people who have played ball who would have been out on their asses long before 1,000 at-bats if they hit that poorly.
Shut your mouth: Morales' son, also named Rich, played briefly in the minors and is a scout for the Orioles. He was interviewed in the book "Minor Players, Major Dreams" about having a father who was a major league player. "One kid came up to me in the third grade and said, 'are you Rich Morales?'" he said. "I said 'yeah.' He goes, 'your dad's Rich Morales?' And I said, 'yeah, he is.' And he goes, 'can I be your best friend?'"
No one understands him but his woman: Morales is a fairly common name in the majors with players like Kendrys Morales, Franklin Morales, Jerry Morales and Jose Morales. But Rich Morales was the first Morales to make the majors, in 1967.
(A word about the back): "Chisox." I don't see that used much anymore.
Maybe it should be the "Morales Line" instead of the Mendoza line
ReplyDeleteWonderful detail, N.O.....I had a great conversation with Rich Jr a couple of summers ago at a summer league pro (wood bat) league at Willie Stargell's high school in Alameda, CA. He was scouting a recent Oriole draftee and trying to determine his potential upside within the organization. He told me that his dad had played in the majors and I remembered this exact card. But I was unaware of his futility with the bat......really glad I didn't mention it!
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