no. 165 - cesar tovar

Who is the man: Cesar Tovar was at the peak of his career in 1971. He finished 18th in the AL MVP voting in 1970 and would compile 204 hits during the 1971 season.

Can ya dig it: Tovar, and players like him who were at the end of their career in the mid-1970s, intrigued me as a youngster. I'd look at earlier cards of them in their heyday and wonder what it was like to see them play when the were at their prime.

Right on: That half-assed swing you're taking, Mr. Tovar, does not impress me.

You see this cat Tovar is a bad mother: Tovar is known as one of four players to play all nine positions in one game. He was the second player to do it.

Shut your mouth: Tovar was regarded by both manager Billy Martin and owner Charlie Finley as the player who could get his teammates to play. If a fellow teammate needed a spark or a kick in the pants, Tovar was the player who would do the job.

No one understands him but his woman: Tovar had a reputation for sticking out his arm in order to get hit by the baseball when he was the plate. During a year in winter ball, one umpire called any ball that hit Tovar in the arm a strike because the ump knew Tovar's strategy.

(A word about the back): Tovar finished with 186 career stolen bases with the Twins. He's now third on the Twins' all-time list behind Chuck Knoblauch (276) and Rod Carew (271).