1991 Donruss, Willie Blair

#267 Willie Blair

This is the second of two '91 Donruss cards that were sent to me by Rod. The first one was posted yesterday.

This one features the much traveled pitcher, Willie Blair. Willie pitched in the Majors for parts of twelve seasons and he spent time with the Blue Jays, Indians, Astros, Rockies, Padres, Tigers, Diamondbacks, and Mets. Wow, did Willie get around or what? He played for four different teams in his first four seasons in the big leagues. There cannot be too many people out there that can make that claim.

Willie bounced back and forth from starting to relieving and he got most of his appearances out of the bullpen. He had a career high of 16 wins for the Tigers in 1997 and he recorded a career high of 3 saves for the Rockies in 1994. He finished his career after the 2001 season with a record of 60-86 with 4 saves and a 5.04 ERA.

I was happy to get this card for a couple of reasons. The main reason is because I tried to get his autograph last year at a Kansas City T-Bones game, but I failed. Willie was the pitching coach for the visiting Joliet Jackhammers. I tried to get to the game early, but I got stuck on I-70 for an hour and a half after there were two accidents in a single work zone. So, I didn't get to the park early enough for that and I missed him again after the game when he snuck by in the dark while the Bones were getting ready for fireworks. But, I got his autograph now.

The second reason I was glad to get this card is because Willie holds a special distinction in my game log. Willie is one of six pitchers that I have seen pitch that has an infinite ERA at games I attended. I saw him pitch one time and it was for the Padres in 1996 at a game in Denver. Willie came in to pitch after a rain delay and he gave up two hits, a walk, and four earned runs without recording an out. He also took the loss that night. Since he is now retired, he will not be able to come off of that list.