2004 Upper Deck, Mark Loretta

#433 Mark Loretta

Here is a card of the two-time All Star, Mark Loretta. This card falls into the long line of Padrographs that Rod sent me over two years ago.

Mark had a long career that spanned fifteen seasons and five teams- the Brewers, Astros, Padres, Red Sox, and Dodgers. His best season came as a Padre in 2004 when he had career highs in average (.335), home runs (16), RBI (76), doubles (47), and runs (108).

But what stands out to me the most is Mark's pitching line. Mark had the privilege of pitching in a Major League game not once, but twice. That doesn't happen to position players very often and the two appearances aren't usually separated by eight years like Mark's. He made his mound debut as a member of the Brewers in 2001. In that game, he pitched one inning and gave up one hit, one walk, and recorded two strikeouts. The two batters he struck out were the Reds Chris Nichting (a pitcher)and Ruben Rivera. His second mound appearance came in his final season in 2009 as a member of the Dodgers. He only threw a third of an inning in that game, but he did record his first hit batsmen when he beaned Matt Holliday with his first pitch. But, he got the next batter to fly out to end the game. So, for his career, Mark is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 1.1 innings of work with one walk, two strikeouts, and a hit batter. That is not too bad.