Saturday, March 8, 2014

Pronunciation is Key

After a night of sushi and speakeasies, I'm back to write about baseball cards.  Seriously, my girlfriend and I ended up in a Chicago speakeasy last night and it look and felt like we stepped back into the times of Al Capone, Charlie Grimm and Gabby Hartnett.  That is, until she checked in on Foursquare; ah the 21st century...

Anyway, today's post will be dealing with the other card that came in yesterday's mail.  This was another eBay purchase that came cheap (thank the Lord for free shipping!) and in perfect condition.  The player featured was a catcher in the early 1990's, so not as old as Ethan Allen (see yesterday's entry).  But, I can almost guarantee that you won't remember him; if you blinked, you could have missed his Cubs tenure.



George Pedre.  Depending on what source you're looking at, his name as listed as both George and Jorge.  My best guess is that, much like my college roommate, Mr. Pedre pronounced his name as George in order to sound more American.  

This is his 1993 entry into Fleer's Pro Cards set.  Pedre only appeared in 4 MLB games for the Cubs, all in 1992, but spent a few years in their farm system.  Thus, this is the closest I'll get to having him in a Cubs uniform.

Pedre was a catcher in the Royals system, drafted in the 33rd round of the 1987 draft.  So, the fact that he even made the major leagues is a major testament to his will and determination.  He got his first cuppacoffe in September of 1991, likely as a reward for being a good organizational guy.  He got into 10 games, batting a modest .263 in 19 at-bats.  

Unimpressed, the Royals let him go to the Cubs via waivers that winter, where he was stashed at Iowa for most of the season.  He again received a September call-up, but went hitless in 4 at-bats and was never seen in the majors again. Although, he stuck around in AAA for one more season in Iowa and another in the Boston organization.

 So, whether you pronounce his name as Jorge or George, his career will always be pronounced as insignificant.  But, I can now check his name off of my long list of short-term/role players to obtain.  

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