Classic card of the week

Roberto Alomar, 1991 Score

This card holds a special place in the heart of all Mets’ fans, because it provides the foreshadowing that represents Roberto Alomar’s precipitous fall from grace. Here is Alomar in 1991, about to make a fabulous diving catch during one of those pitch-black games that made the San Diego Padres’ old ballpark – “the TerrorDome” – so famous. He already has three hits in this particular game, and is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the elite young players in the game (baseball). Unbeknownst to Alomar however, is the fact that a very steep cliff lies ahead. So like an idiot, he falls, and by the time he hits the bottom, he’s wearing a Mets uniform, is hitting .183, and has managed to disgrace his last name by spitting in an umpire’s face. Coincidentally, the look on Alomar’s face in this picture is the exact same expression I had when I first watched the highlight of him hocking a loogie in another grown man’s face. In fact, when Robert Alomar first watched Pumpkin spit on New York during the final episode of the first season of “Flava of Love,” he was like, “Whatever.” “But is Roberto Alomar a hard worker?” is a question you may be asking yourself. Let’s find out what the back of the card says: A hard worker, he also has a powerful arm for a second baseman, good enough for the Padres to think of moving him to shortstop someday. And by “shortstop,” they meant “the Blue Jays.” Oh, I may have forgotten to mention, but before Alomar actually hit the bottom, he did manage to string together a Hall-of-Fame career that included two World Series rings. Counterpoint: He spit in an umpire’s face. And the Mets thing. Let’s not forget about that.

Did you know?
Roberto’s father, Sandy, now coaches third base for the Mets pro bono in order to make up for what his son did to the franchise.