Day Six: Mike Kingery

A quick note from yesterday's entry. Today, as my daughter was sleeping on my lap, I watched game one of the 2000 ALCS for the first time in almost 20 years. I had remembered Freddy going the distance, but he *only* went 6 2/3 innings. Paniagua (who was filthy that year) and then Arthur Lee Rhodes set it up for Kazu. What a bullpen! And Jeff Nelson was on the Yanks that year. Anyways, the point is I had remembered Freddy going the distance because that game had such a significant impact on me. I am making the note here, rather than changing it in Freddy's entry because it should be a CG SHO and to hell with the fact it wasn't. It'll remain that way for me. And it was cool to see Mark McLemore doing his thing. Anyways, here's a story about a player who wasn't good.

Mike Kingery. He was definitely a Mariner bench player (meaning he was just pretty much terrible) before the first wave of good teams. I can't recall anything about him other than the fact that the above card was part of the complete team set of 1989 Topps that my dad bought for me at the Kingdome during a game that year. That team set was a prized possession of mine for several years. 1989 Topps isn't a very attractive baseball card set, but it was one of two sets that helped define my childhood (89 Donruss is the other, and it is ALOT more memorable and cool looking) and the only set available at the little souvenir stands they used to have in the concourses at the Dome. So anyways, I am pretty sure I never saw Mike Kingery take an AB, but from the looks of this card, that I studied meticulously as a kid, he had a weird stance and was a lefty. Ok, so that's about all I can think of as far as baseball is concerned, but Mike Kingery is an important piece of my history. And it's the reason I included the autographed version of his card. I have a 1987 Topps Mike Kingery (with the Royals) that is autographed and versed just as the one above is. I think it is a different Bible verse than is on the 89 card, but if you search for Mike Kingery baseball cards on the internet most of them are signed and have a different verse on each card. I guess he was super legit in his faith lol. He must have been a guy who stayed after to sign autos consistently because there are a TON of autographed cards online (pretty damn cheap too obv). I traded for my copy with my old friend Keith Hibler. I never knew where he got it--whether he traded someone else, bought it, or got Kingery to sign it. Either way, I traded some cards (not sure I remember) and got my first bonafide autographed card in return. It is still in my card box at my parents' house and I am going to get it and take a picture of it after I'm done with this first wave of self-quarantine. I got other autographed cards over the years but the most memorable was the Kingery for sure. And the verse just enhanced it. I still think it is pretty strange to put a Bible verse on a card, but hey! Mike Kingery was consistent if nothing else. And the other piece of funny trivia is that he is NOT Scott Kingery's dad, although Mike Kingery's middle name is Scott (huh!). Thanks Mike Kingery for signing a bunch of autographs back in the day!