no. 108 - john cumberland

Who is the man: John Cumberland finished up the 1970 season with the Giants after being traded by the Yankees in July of that year, therefore the airbrushed cap.

Can ya dig it: There is a lot -- I mean a LOT -- of territory on that cap. It may be the highest I've seen a player wear a cap on a baseball card. It looks like he's got a marmot in there.

Right on: This is the second airbrushed cap in the set, and I think I'm going to start keeping track of how many there are in the set.

You see this cat Cumberland is a bad mother: Cumberland achieved his first major league win while pitching for the Yankees in 1970. It was a wet, miserable night in the fog in Washington as the Yankees beat the Senators. Cumberland called the conditions "comfortable," and said that in his home state of Maine "we had to shovel the snow off the field to play."

Shut your mouth: As the pitching coach for the Red Sox during the mid-1990s, Cumberland was asked how he felt after Roger Clemens gave up a home run on his first pitch of spring training. "It doesn't bother me," he said. "I'm sure it didn't bother him either."

No one understands him but his woman: Cumberland was brought in from the bullpen to become the Giants' No. 3 starter for the rest of the 1971 season. Cumberland helped the Giants to the postseason that year. But after an 0-4 start in 1972, he was sold to the Cardinals and barely pitched in the majors again.

(A word about the back): American Legion ball or not, throwing a one-hitter while striking out 22 is pretty damn impressive.