Classic Card of the Week

1989 Jim Deshaies, Donruss – Diamond Kings series

Here is a watercolor photo of Jim Deshaies. Why, you ask? Why the hell not!? Thanks Donruss! Obviously, the “Diamond Kings” series was very liberal in who it decided to name a “diamond king,” as one would be hard-pressed to imagine that the image of one Jim Deshaies would ever be hand painted onto a tiny piece of cardboard memorabilia for everyone’s pure enjoyment. After all, if Jim Deshaies was a king in 1989, then what did that make perennial all-star Ozzie Smith? The emperor of a small country, perhaps? Also, please take notice of the “good Jim Deshaies” on his right shoulder, who tells him things during games like, “throw strikes, damn it!” and “grab the rosin bag – you’re hands are wet!” However, noticeably absent on this watercolor reenactment is the “bad Jim Deshaies,” who always tells him to throw over to first base to check the runner. That guy was so annoying. And he always had Jim’s ear, as the back of the card elaborates: “Jim likes to keep the runners close to the bag; he led the majors in total pickoff throws with 355.” When he wasn’t mercilessly slowing games down by throwing to first base, Deshaies enjoyed going to the Seaside boardwalk, where he would have cartoon drawings done of him in which he had a huge head and was driving the bullpen car.

Did you know?
The making of this card did not go off without a hitch. Deshaies had originally shown up to the artist’s studio wearing his road Astros uniform, at which point the artist – Pablo Perez – made him go home and change. Furthermore, Perez would later state that Deshaies would not sit still, and also refused to wear pants, which made the whole situation, as Perez put it, “hugely uncomfortable.”