#18 - Nelson Liriano

A part-time infielder, Liriano was traded with Pedro Munoz by the Blue Jays for veteran starter John Candelaria near the 1990 trading deadline.

Career Stats

'91: (with Royals) 10 G, 23 PA (22 AB), .409/.409/.409, 9 H, 5 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 2 SO, 128 OPS+

A month after being released by the Twins, the Royals picked Liriano up as a free agent.  He played briefly for them in the majors and spent most of the season in Omaha.

Best '91 Game: May 20 vs. Mariners: 3-5, 3 R, RBI

In what would be his final major league game of the year, Liriano got on base with three singles and scored each time, driven in by a Danny Tartabull home run and a single and ground out from Terry Puhl.  The Royals ended up losing the game 8-6 when the Mariners scored three times in the final two innings.

After '91: Including 1993, when he spent the season in Colorado Springs, Liriano played until 1998 for four organizations, including two stints with the Colorado Rockies.  He had his most success with them in 1994 and with the Pirates for the next two seasons.

#17 - Jeff Brantley

A young reliever for the Giants, Brantley turned in spectacular season in 1990 when he took over the closer role on the team from Steve Bedrosian.  In that year, he posted the lowest ERA out of any National League reliever (1.56), and second in the majors (Dennis Eckersley - 0.61).

Career Stats

'91: 67 G, 5-3, 95 1/3 IP, 78 H, 27 R, 26 ER, 52 BB, 81 K, 15 SV, 2.45 ERA, 146 ERA+

Not as good as his 1990 season, as he continued in a co-closer role with Dave Righetti.  Still, Brantley notched 15 saves and and a solid 2.45 ERA in the role.

Best '91 Game: September 25 at Houston: 3 IP, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, SV

Brantley entered the game in the seventh after the Giants took a 2-1 lead on a bases-loaded groundout by Matt Williams.  Brantley allowed just a two-out single to Luis Gonzalez in the ninth.  Pinch-runner Eric Young stole second to make the game interesting, but Brantley got Andujar Cedeno to fly out to center field to end the game.

After '91: Brantley pitched for the Giants until 1993, then moved to the Reds as a free agent.  Replacing Rob Dibble there, he led the majors in saves (44) for the 1996 season.  That was his last truly good year, as he bounced around with the Cardinals, Phillies and Rangers, finishing his career in 2001.

Brantley finished his Reds career with exactly as many saves (88) as Dibble had for Cincinnati.

#16 - Mike Heath

A part-time catcher for much of his career, Heath got the most playing time for the Athletics in the 1980s, playing in 140 and 138 games in 1984 and 1985. He hit 13 homers in each season, a career-high total.  Mike benefited from the offensive boom in 1987 to tie his best batting average (.281) and hit a career-best .430 slugging percentage for the AL East champion Tigers.

'91: 49 G, 150 PA (139 AB), .209/.250/.286, 29 H, 4 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 7 BB, 26 SO, 42 OPS+ I don't remember Heath, but I remember reading in Miracle Season! why his season ended so early; he had to have bone chips removed from his elbow.  The surgery marked the end of his career.

Best '91 Game: April 15 vs. Astros: 3-4, 2B, 3B

Heath had his only three-hit game of the 1991 season against the Astros.  However, Kent Mercker coughed up two runs in his second inning of work and the Braves lost 3-1.

#15 - Von Hayes

The Phillies paid a gigantic price to acquire Hayes in 1982, sending five players to Cleveland in the deal: Jay Baller, Julio Franco, Manny Trillo, George Vuckovich, and Jerry Willard.  It was such an unusual deal that Hayes was tagged with the nickname "Five-For-One".

The Phillies made sure to get their money's worth, though as Hayes stayed with the team for nine total seasons.  Though he had only one huge season, leading the majors in runs scored (107) and the NL in doubles (46) in 1986, Von provided a stabilizing presence in the Phillies' outfield.
 

That's Waterloo, Iowa, that the card is referencing.  Hayes led the Class A Midwest League in batting average that year.

Career Stats

'91: 77 G, 323 PA (284 AB), .225/.303/.285, 64 H, 43 R, 15 R, 1 3B, 0 HR, 21 RBI, 31 BB, 42 K, 9 SB (2 CS), 68 OPS+

Hayes was one of 13 players, with a minimum of 323 plate appearances, to not homer during the year.  The Indians had three players and the Braves had two.

Best '91 Game: June 4 vs. Braves: 4-4, R, RBI

Hayes recorded the tenth (and final) four-hit game of his career, notching four singles.  He had done this two other teams.  However, the Braves jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings and won the game 9-5, despite the Phillies scoring all their runs in the final three innings.

After '91: Hayes moved on to the California Angels after his poor 1991 season.  He spent one year with them, only improved marginally (the same .225 average with four homers and 29 RBIs) then retired, ending a 12-year career.

UPDATE: After re-reading Miracle Season!, I forgot crucial pieces of information about the June 4 game: that was the first time that Dale Murphy had been in Atlanta since the trade, and Otis Nixon started a brawl in the eighth inning, pummeling Phillie reliever Wally Ritchie.

#14 - Dennis Lamp

Lamp, a former starter for both Chicago teams, was converted to a reliever by Tony LaRussa in 1983. As a relief ace in 1985 with the AL East champion Blue Jays, he earned a spotless 11-0 record.  He is the only major league reliever in history to have 10 or more wins with no losses in a season. 

Signing as a free agent with the Red Sox in 1988, Boston got his best relief season in 1989 when he posted a 2.32 ERA in 112 1/3 innings. His so-so 1990 season ended with a thud in Game 4 of the ALCS, where he only recorded one out in the Athletics' series-clinching seven-run inning..

Career Stats

'91: 51 G, 6-3, 92 IP, 100 H, 54 R, 48 ER, 31 BB, 57 K, 4.70 ERA, 92 ERA+

Best '91 Game: July 27 vs. White Sox: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

After Jeff Reardon blew the save in the ninth inning by coughing up a two-out solo homer to Robin Ventura, Lamp pitched four innings in extras, keeping the Red Sox in the game.  However, the Red Sox would go on to lose 10-8 in 14 innings.

After '91: Lamp signed on with the Pirates but was released in June after 21 games, ending his 16-season career.

UPDATE: Added link to Lamp's career stats.

UPDATE 2: Added Lamp's 1991 won-loss record

UPDATE 3: Added "Best '91 Game"

UPDATE 4: Added Lamp's hits allowed in 1991.

#13 - Mariano Duncan

Duncan, an underrated second baseman, is in the middle of his career with the Cincinnati Reds here. I like the nice spring training shot of Duncan leaping over fellow infielder Ozzie Smith.  Duncan was the starting second baseman for the Reds during their improbable run to the 1990 World Series championship.  He led the National League with 11 triples.

The card mentions Duncan's three hits in the 1985 NLCS.  He went 4-18 with those two doubles and a triple, scoring a run.

In 1988, the Dodgers' championship season, Duncan didn't make the team out of spring and played in only 56 games in AAA Albuquerque (due to injury, I assume).

Career Stats

'91: 100 G, 356 PA (333 AB), .258/.288/.411, 86 H, 46 R, 7 2B, 4 3B, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 12 BB, 57 K, 5 SB (4 CS), 92 OPS+

Best '91 Game: August 28 vs. Montreal: 4-5, 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI

Duncan helped propel the Reds to a 11-3 victory over the Expos with a single, double and two homers.  His first homer, a two-run shot off reliever Mel Rojas in the fifth, extended the Cincinnati lead to 7-0.  Mariano added a second two-run shot off Scott Ruskin in the sixth to finish the Reds' scoring.

After '91: Though he spent his career riddled with injuries, Ducan started for the 1993 NL champion Phillies, the 1995 Central Division champion Cincinnati Reds (after they claimed him off of waivers from Philadelphia), and the 1996 World Series champion Yankees.

UPDATE: Corrected spelling errors.

UPDATE 2: Added "Best '91 Game"

#12 - Paul Assenmacher

The Cubs acquired Assenmacher on August 24, 1989 from the Braves for their playoff stretch drive; Paul (probably) joined the Cubs on the 25th when they arrived in Atlanta and pitched 1 1/3 shutout innings against his old team.

Career Stats

'91: 75 G, 7-8, 102 2/3 IP, 85 H, 41 R, 37 ER, 31 BB, 117 K, 15 SV, 3.24 ERA, 120 ERA+

Best '91 Game: July 25 vs. Reds: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Assenmacher pitched the 10th through twelfth innings for the home team, striking out Glenn Braggs, Barry Larkin and Eric Davis along the way.  The Reds scored a run in the top of the 13th, but the Cubs scored two to take the 5-4 win, ending on an error in right field by Braggs.

After '91: Assenmacher pitched for the Cubs until 1993 when he was traded to the Yankees in a three-team swap with the Royals.  Then, he pitched for the White Sox in 1994, then signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.  There, he spent the last five seasons of his major league career, an important veteran lefty in the pen for the great Indians teams of the mid to late 1990s.

The Braves gave Assenmacher a spring-training invite in 2000 to see if he had anything left at 39 years old, but he didn't make the team.  I remember wanting him to make the team simply because I recognized his name, but it wasn't to be.

UPDATE: Added Assenmacher's 1991 won-loss record.