Time for another investigative baseball card post. This card arrived in a recent trade, and the presence of an action shot with a throwback uniform made me think that we could probably nail down the actual play in the photo:
2002 Fleer Ultra #197 Corey Koskie
What do we see initially? Well,
1) Corey Koskie has made a headfirst slide into second base
2) It’s a day game, and it’s not in the Metrodome
3) That’s a White Sox player in a throwback uniform
What did the Citizens of WGOM determine this time?
– the uniform is the 1917 Throwback, which the White Sox wore at home on Sundays that season
– the Twins only played one Sunday game (3PM) at New Comisky, on April 22nd
– Koskie only reached second twice; the first was when he walked, and then Ortiz walked right after him, but in the 8th inning he hit a line drive double to deep right field. He then scored on the next at bat when David Ortiz hit his 5th HR of the year. The White Sox player looks to be shortstop Royce Clayton, who would correctly be covering the bag on that play.
The Twins went on to win the game 4-2, and the two runs scoring on the HR turned out to be the difference in the game. As was pointed out in the discussion at WGOM, Koskie had only one game in the 19 that year against the White Sox in which he didn’t reach base: July 4th. He was a likable and under appreciated ballplayer — in his 2001 season, he was a 20/20 man that was 25th in the MVP voting.
"é rayhahn, rayhahn" 