Featured Card - Tim Salmon/Mark Langston

I picked this 'oddball' card up for a nickel in a '20 for $1' commons bin. It features two California Angels' stars of the early 1990s, Tim Salmon and Mark Langston.

I remember Salmon being a favorite because I found his 1991 Bowman rookie card when it was a quarter back in 1991/1992 and I think I 'traded' for it, just because he was an Angels' player [though relatively unknown and still in the minor leagues].

Some time later, Salmon was annointed the Angels' top prospect and had an American League Rookie of the Year winning year in 1993. I most certainly believe I officially jumped on the bandwagon and became a 'frontrunner' as someone had said to me.

Salmon became the face of the franchise, providing the up and [mostly] down Angels' teams with a powerful middle of the lineup presence through the rest of the 1990s.

Salmon, who was a very good player during his 14-year career in the Major Leagues was very productive, but at times not healthy. It seemed like the last several years of his career, his bat hand slowed down as well as his range in the outfield.

While he never made the all-star team, considering everything he's done, the pinnacle of his career was winning the 2002 World Series, when he helped lead the Anaheim Angels defeat the San Francisco Giants. He hit .346 with nine hits in 26 at-bats, including two home runs and five RBIs. His on-base percentage was .452 and his slugging percentage was .615.

He fell short of hitting 300 home runs for his career and I think Angels' fans were kind of disappointed he didn't get the milestone home run to close out his playing career. He is a franchise legend, though probably falls just a notch below being a player considered to be a borderline Hall of Fame candidate.