Where Are They Now? Dave Clark

Think back to all the best birthday presents you've ever received. I'm sure there have been some great ones, but how many of us can say that we made our Major League Baseball debut on our birthday? Better yet, how many can say they got their first Major League hit on their birthday?

That's exactly what Dave Clark did on September 3, 1986, his 24th birthday. In the top of the 8th inning, facing Dave Stieb at old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Clark hit a line drive to center that dropped in for a hit. The Indians went on to lose the game, but that's a memory he will never forget.

After retired in 1998, Clark worked his way up the Pirates lader as a hitting instructor, eventually spending two seasons with the big club. He has a local connection for me because he managed the Sally League's Hickory Crawdads.

After his time in Hickory he managed in the Astros system and is their current third base coach at the Major League level.

Where Are They Now? Darrel Akerfelds

The information on the back of the card is sort of confusing. It leads you to believe that he pitched with the Indians in 1988, which he didn't. He pitched in 16 innings with the Indians in 1987, but spent the entire 1988 season at Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he went 3-7 with a 4.34 ERA in 49 games of relief.

On December 5, 1988 he was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Rangers and spent most of the '89 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. 1990 was his only full year at the Major League level when he pitched in 71 games for the Phillies. After appearing in 30 games for the Phillies in 1991, he split the remainder of his career between Double- and Triple-A with the Pirates, Rangers, Blue Jays and Angels.

These days he's the bullpen coach for the Padres.

Young Superstars II #39 - Greg Swindell

This is a pretty good picture of Swindell starting his delivery. You don't usually get to see the entire back of the player's uniform. Like Andy mentioned several times when going through the 88 Score traded set, Score could easily get away with shots like this because of the headshot on the back of the card.

Swindell spent the first half of his career as a started and then transitioned into a middle relief pitcher. He was an All Star in 1989 and put a World Series ring on his finger in 2001 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Greg Swindell's career statistics

Young Superstars II #7 - Julio Franco

The words "Young" and "Julio Franco" together in one place do not make sense.

Actually, Julio Franco is one of my all time favorite players. He just never seemed to stop, he never seemed old. When he played in Atlanta in 2007, he was in better shape than players half his age. I think he is a Hall of Famer, I could be wrong and he didn't reach a lot of those milestone numbers, but he was consistently good for nearly 25 years. I think the biggest plus for him is his .298 batting average over 25 seasons, and he was still hitting well until his last season (.222).

In 1999, at the age of 40, Julio batted .423 in the Mexican league. If that wasn't enough, a year later he hit .437. Then in 2001 he was back in the Major Leagues.

This is also another card that the ladies at Dinged Corners are sure to like.

The photo on the reverse looks to be taken at the same time as his base release.

Julio Franco's career statistics

Young Superstars #14 - Chris James

For the first time, there's not really a lot to say. As a player he was just average, but he was involved in two important trades in 1989.

In June he was sent to the Padres in a deal for John Kruk (who we'll see here in a few days). And in December he was traded to the Indians, along with Carlos Baerga and Sandy Alomar, for Joe Carter.

The front of this card is held together nicely by the blue border and the burgandy of the Phillies logo. James looks a bit confused on the back of the card though.

Chris James' career statistics