Saturday, March 12, 2022

stan, a man

when this card first arrived from bo at baseball cards come to life, i thought - cool.
it's a 1989 procards card of then-dodger triple-a affiliate albuquerque dukes team trainer, stan johnston. trainer cards in these minor league sets are always fun, and stan here with his jersey tucked in to his jeans, his brown belt, shades, mustache, and the coors sign behind him make for a fun card.

i knew that stan johnston had eventually become the dodgers' head trainer and held that position until ned colletti brought someone in from the giants. what i didn't know was that stan johnston was a dude
now, we used to have an annual rodeo in the town i grew up in, although i can't say that i remember seeing too much ropin' or ridin'. and, watching yellowstone is probably not the best way to get an understanding of competing on a rodeo circuit, but anyone who competes in bull riding has my respect. i expect that stan became a trainer in part to deal with his own injuries.

just goes to show - you never know what minor league sets are going to bring you. if only bill buhler had such a card.

6 comments:

  1. Love the shades and the 'stache. I really need to sit down and appreciate individual cards like these more.

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    1. the shades, stache and coors sign are what hit me the strongest on this card.

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  2. I didn't know he ended up as the Dodgers' trainer. And I have to admit I never read the back of his card. Very cool!

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    1. i almost declined the offer of the minor league cards until i looked this one up on comc. glad to have it in my collection!

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  3. That was a long time to spend in the rodeo before getting into baseball. I wonder how many other guys in baseball have had a career trajectory like that.

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    1. not many if any. in a somewhat similar vein, dr. mike marshall is the only other i can think of that spent time studying physiology in order to better understand injury prevention.

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