#164 - Jorge Orta

What a card: This is Jorge Orta's first base card as a Kansas City Royal. He appears as a Royal for the first time in the 1984 Topps Traded set.

My observation on the front: You've got to love the helmet-cap combo, what was once famously known as the "sub-helmet hat alliance" as dubbed by former blog partner Motherscratcher. Some great posting on that blog.

More opinion from me: Orta was on the verge of the most famous moment of his career when this card was being pulled from packs. In fact, this was probably the card Cardinals fans were ripping in a million pieces in October of 1985 -- because there was no card of umpire Don Denkinger to rip.

Something you might know: Orta played 16 years and was a two-time All-Star, but he is remembered for being called safe at first base by Denkinger in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 1985 World Series with the Cardinals up 1-0. Replays showed that Orta was actually out. Dane Iorg would eventually come up in the inning and drive in two runs to give the Royals a 2-1 victory.

Something you might not know: Until Vinny Castilla came along, Orta held the record for the most home runs hit by a Mexican native. He finished with 130.

My observation on the back: Orta's father, Pedro, is often called "the Babe Ruth of Cuban baseball."

The blog wants to speak now: The Pop Culture category is updated.