#233 - Ed Jurak

What a card: This is the middle card in Topps' Ed Jurak trifecta. His only Topps cards are in the 1984, 85 and 86 sets.

My observation on the front: I've said this before, but outside of palm trees nothing says spring training in a photo quite like a chain-link fence.

More opinion from me: My brother expected big things from Jurak. He was a shortstop and the shortstop for the Red Sox at the time was Glenn Hoffman with his .209 batting average. I gave my brother hell for Hoffman and he'd come back with something about Jurak and his future prowess. But we both kind of knew he wasn't the answer.

Something you might know: Jurak was mentioned in Oil Can Boyd's book, "They Call Me Oil Can: Baseball Drugs And Life On The Edge," as the best teammate he ever had. In the book, Boyd says that Jurak understood him, and he could tell that Jurak had no problem with race.

Something you might not know: Jurak removed a rat from the field with his glove during the middle of a game against the Indians in 1984. With runners on first and second in the third inning, a rat scurried across the first base line toward Bruce Hurst on the pitchers mound, then switched direction and headed to the third base line. Jurak, playing first base in the game, went over and scooped the rat up with his glove, throwing it in a trash can.

My observation on the back: Water polo in high school? California is so strange to us East Coasters.

The blog wants to speak now: The News category is updated.