Wednesday, September 25, 2013

#217 - Leon Roberts


What a card: This is the last card issued of Leon Roberts during his 11-year major league career. He was released by the Royals in October of 1984 and wouldn't play in the majors again.

My observation on the front: The tell-tale Expos person in the dugout lets me know that this photo was taken at a spring training game. Years from now, you're not going to be able to figure that out -- not just because there are no Expos anymore, but because with interleague infestation who knows who's playing who when anymore.

More opinion from me: That is quite an expression on Roberts' face. I'd zoom in on it, but I don't feel like being mean.

Something you might know: Roberts was acquired by the second-year Seattle Mariners for the 1978 season and proceeded to have the best season of his career. He was named the Mariners' MVP that year.

Something you might not know: Roberts attempted to play in MLB and the NFL at the same time, much like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. While playing for the Houston Astros in 1977, he had a deal lined up to be a receiver/punter for the Houston Oilers. But the Astros heard about it and improved Roberts' salary so he would play only baseball.


My observation on the back: All those major league stats and the bio writer goes with Roberts' college baseball days. Roberts was a first-team pick on the All-Big Ten team in 1972.

The blog wants to speak now: The TV category is updated with a video link. I really miss 1980s MTV.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Poor Leon, was snubbed for the All-Star team in 1978. "Major League All-Star" is a pretty cool title to carry around for the rest of your life.