Thorton started off as a minor leaguer in the Phillies organization. They traded him to the Braves, who traded him to the Cubs (where he would make his MLB debut in 1973). The Cubs shipped him to Montreal, where he played for a season before being traded one last time to the Indians. He spent the rest of his career there, becoming a 2 time All-Star, Silver Slugger winner and recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award.
James Earl Jones passed away today. The gentleman was an icon and will be missed. Back in 2020 I did a post centered around Mr. Jones. In honor of his passing, I'd like to just copy it again here:
Happy Star Wars Day! ("May the 4th Be With You" - Still an all time great play on words!)
Although I am a Star Wars fan, I'm not nearly as much anymore as my reputation among family and friends lends itself to be. I'm a big fan of the original trilogy, the prequels were so-so, the sequels better than the prequels, and I enjoyed The Mandolorian a lot. I haven't watched any of the Clone Wars cartoons, although I'm secretly hoping the 80's Droids and Ewoks series make their was to Disney +.
Anyway, I figured I should whip up something for today in celebration. Being primarily a baseball themed blog, I tried to do a tie-in somehow and discovered the great James Earl Jones officially has credits in 5 baseball themed movies!
2015 Panini Americana #61 James Earl Jones
I only found one other instance of a prominent Star Wars actor (at least from the classic trilogy) that appeared in a baseball movie, but Mr. Jones seems to make his mark everywhere! Here are his 5 baseball movies in chronological order.
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
Not only does this underappreciated classic star Darth Vader, but Lando Calrissian as well. Throw in the comedy of Richard Pryor and you have one great baseball comedy!
Field Of Dreams (1989)
The baseball roll James Earl Jones is best known for. His speech on baseball marking the time will echo throughout history. One of the baseball tragedies of this Covid-19 pandemic is the loss of the first official MLB game to be played in the Field of Dreams location. I was looking forward to that, even though the Yankees were one of the teams.
The Sandlot (1993)
Another well-known baseball role for Jones, as the blind dog-owning former ballplayer Mr. Mertle.
The Sandlot 2 (2005)
I'll be honest, I didn't even know they made sequel.
The Benchwarmers (2006)
Ironically, James Earl Jones isn't "technically" in this movie. But he officially has a vocal credit as....Darth Vader! I'll admit, I liked this movie. It's one of those "turn off your brain" and laugh at the stupidity that an Adam Sandler production is known for.
Since I just did a post dedicated to James Earl Jones, I'll leave you with one of my all time favorite TV moments:
That got me thinking about the lesser-known names in junk wax history, the solid day to day players who never got their flowers, just multiple copies of their cards in our doubles boxes.
I therefore present to you the Junk Wax No Stars, players from the era who remarkably never made an All-Star team:
Catcher - Rick Dempsey
First Base - Eric Karros
Second Base - Bill Doran
Third Base - Jim Gantner
Shortstop - John Valentin
Left Field - Tony Phillips
Center Field - Garry Maddox
Right Field - Tim Salmon
Designated Hitter - Kirk Gibson
Starting Rotation:
Tom Candiotti
Danny Darwin
John Tudor
Charlie Leibrandt
John Denny
Bullpen:
Gene Garber
Mike Timlin
Mark Eichhorn
Paul Assenmacher
Bench:
Chris Hoiles
Dwayne Murphy
Delino DeShields
Kevin McReynolds
Bernard Gilkey
Todd Ziele
Matt Stairs
Not a bad lineup. Better than this year's White Sox!
In the 9th inning of a May 11th, 1994 game against the Mets, Rojas retired David Segui, Todd Hundley, and Jeff McKnight on 9 pitches. He is the nephew of the famous Alou brothers Felipe, Jesus, and Matty.
Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful relaxing day! It's about time I finished off Page 2 of my Red Sox Frankenset, so let's pick 3 more worthy entrants for the third and final row!
#16
Favorite Card: 1988 Donruss #16 Dwight Evans (DK)
My Choice: same
Dewey is an easy choice for me here. He's the only one of the three who hasn't been represented yet, plus has that radical 80's Diamond King artwork. Long live the 'stache!
#17
Favorite Card: 1986 Donruss Highlights #17 Roger Clemens
My Choice: same
Well, this is rather anticlimactic. I only have one double for spot #17. Although I do appreciate a card honoring Roger winning his first 14 decisions in 1986, that '86 Donruss design is not among my favorites, especially when given the golden yellow treatment.
#18
Favorite Card: 1990 Topps #18 Carlos Quintana
My Choice: same
Oh look! Another 1986 Donruss Highlights card of Roger Clemens! Happily I can add Carlos Quintana to the Frankenset. I'll always remember him as a good not great first baseman for those Boston teams, who unfortunately was never the same after a car accident.
With these selections, Here's how the bottom line of Page 2 shakes out:
That's....um...quite the color palette represented in this row! I can't say this is my favorite row of cards, but despite the limited choices I think we have some solid player representation here.
With these selections, I have completed the second page of my Frankenset!
I easily like the first page better, but this isn't too bad. In retrospect I find it funny that I didn't select any Hall of Famers on this page (although strong arguments can be made for Evans and Clemens!) A little more action than the previous page, and I like the fact that I have cards from 5 different decades represented here. All in all, a good page.
What
say you, good readers? Did I make the right choices with the bottom
row? Now that the full page is before you, any changes you would make?
(Feel free to review choices #10-12 and #13-15!) Let me know in the comments!
