Where Are They Now? Kirt Manwaring

It took some time for Kirt Manwaring to get comfortable behind the plate, but once he did, he was a very good defensive catcher who really knew how to handle a pitching staff.

He never hit much, .246/.311/.318, but his glove work more than made up for it. In 1993 he posted a .998 fielding percentage behind the plate, committing only two errors and he gunned down 51 of 111 would-be base stealers (45%, second in the league).

After his playing career, he's been a spring training catchers instructor for the Giants.

Young Superstars #35 - Mike Aldrete

Here's a shot of some blurry fans at Wrigley. The look on Aldrete's face says "oh no, I just realized I'm swinging a tiny bat instead of my regular one." As Andy has pointed out, there are some strange bat shots in 88 Score, but this one may be the strangest.

Though he had a good year in 1987 (.325/.396/.462/51RBI), it was a fluke and he never came close to those numbers again.

Since 2001, he's been a coach or instructor in the Diamondbacks, Mariners and Cardinals systems.

Mike Aldrete's career statistics

Young Superstars #28 - Robby Thompson

Robby Thompson was a two time All Star (though he didn't appear in either game), Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award winner. In 1993 he had a career year, hitting tenth in the league at .312, and earned his second trip to the All Star game, along with the afore mentioned Gold Glove and Silver Slugger.

He was hit in the face by a Trevor Hoffman pitch late in the 1993 season and was never really the same player. He came back and played sparingly through the end of the 1996 season.

Granted free agency during the 1996 off season, he signed with the Cleveland Indians but never played in a Major League game with his new team.

This is just the second card showing a player not batting or pitching. It's the first interesting one, the other was Terry Steinbach standing around in his catcher's gear.

Young Superstars #25 - Will Clark

Here's another Young Superstar that I think lived up to that name. He was consistently productive for fifteen seasons and finished his career with a .303 batting average. At first base he was solid and won the Gold Glove in 1991.

The front of the card shows the sweet swing that Will Clark was known for.

If you want to see more Will Clark cards that you can shake a stick at, check out Thrill22.com.

Will Clark's career statistics

Young Superstars #19 - Kelly Downs

This is a pretty unremarkable card. Not much is happening on the front and the picture on the reverse is one of the worst headshots thus far in the set.

According to the back of the card, Al Rosen was counting on Downs in 1988, and he did a pretty good job of living up to the boss's expectations in his only season as a starter winning 13 games. But after '88 he was used primarily as a reliever and spot starter and wasn't very effective for the remainder of his career.

Kelly Downs' career statistics

Young Superstars #18 - Matt Williams

Matt Williams is out second real superstar thus far, the other being McGwire. He was a sure handed third baseman who won four gold gloves. And at the plate he was a feared power hitter. Though he never put up the home run totals that some sluggers of his generation did, he still managed to put 378 balls over the fence. In 1994 he was chasing the single season home run record when the strike cancelled the rest of the season.

Williams was involved in the deal that sent Jeff Kent to the Giants for the 1997 season.

Since his retirement, he's been linked to steriods, HGH and other drugs in several different reports.

Matt Williams' career statistics