Monday, January 13, 2014

Okay Tom, because you asked.....

Been silent for awhile.  Eh, that's the way it goes.

P-town Tom of the excellent (although misguided..Cubs? really?) blog Waiting 'til Next Year sent a PWE my way.  The first group of cards

had some very cool, and new to me 1987 Fleer (oddball?) Angels.  Back in high school Wally Joyner was a big deal, and his rookie cards were all the rage for awhile.  That Brian Downing will of course be headed off to the Downing PC.  If I didn't see the name, I'd think that was Ryan Howard on that Bowman refractory thingy. 
(Side note: I took the two pictures on Grant Green's BaseballReference bullpen page.  <patting self on back>)


But he posed a question a to me.

"...could you explain why Wade Hinkle gets 2 Bowman cards in 2013.  Is he that good?"

So I will attempt to explain that now.  The first thing I did was go look up who Wade Hinkle is. He was a 27th round pick of the Angels in 2012 out of Kansas State University. 

To get 2 Bowman cards, I would think you would have to be unique.  There were 96 players who qualified for the batting title in the 2013 Midwest League.

Of those 96 qualifiers, 35 hit .270 or better.

Of those 35 qualifiers who hit .270, 10 hit 13 or more Home Runs.

Of those 10 qualifiers who hit .270 with 13 homers, 4 hit 30 or more Doubles.

Of those 4 qualifiers who hit .270 with 13 homers and 30 doubles, 2 had less than 90 strikeouts.

Of those 2 qualifiers who hit .270 with 13 homers, 30 doubles, and less than 90 strikeouts, only 1 stole a base.

Yes, the only batter who qualified for the 2013 Midwest League batting title, and hit .270 with 13 homers, 30 doubles, less than 90 strikeouts, and more than 1 stolen base is the immortal WADE HINKLE.

So there you go Tom.  Wade Hinkle is unique.  He was the only player in all of baseball to accomplish that feat.  So Bowman gave him 2 cards.

But I bet Tom knew that.  Wade Hinkle was a visiting player in Peoria a couple of times last year.


2 comments:

  1. Hmmm... Wade tossed me a ball last summer when he visited Peoria. I cheered like crazy for him all game and he finally rewarded me sometime around the 6th inning.
    Here's the write-up: http://tilnextyear-tom.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-got-hinkled-tonight.html

    Yet, I didn't know that he was the only one who accomplished that feat last year. Wade is the MAN!

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    1. I didn't even remember that post. That's outstanding!

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