More Positional Hijinks

A while back, I shared with you my dismay at situations where the player's position on the card did not match the photo. I didn't really shame the card companies involved, but instead offered simple suggestions on how the cards could have been salvaged.

But today, no mercy. Maybe because I'm crabbier now or maybe because the new error I found is simply mind boggling. 

"Why in the world would you do that" mind boggling. 

Here's the card in question:

1992 Leaf #134, Dante Bichette

First, I need to tell you why I noticed something off about this card. Because, you see, in the early to mid-nineties, there was a Brewers/Padres/Marlins slugger that used to play third base that switched exclusively to the outfield. This man is the crazy bat-waggling Gary Sheffield. So I knew about Sheffield going from third to the outfield. 1992 Leaf lists Sheff as a third baseman, which makes sense since he had spent the last couple of years playing only third and appearing in just a few games as a DH for the Brewers (remember when they were an AL team?). But Dante Bichette? He was a third baseman, too? It didn't seem right. Baseball-reference.com to the rescue. 

Quiz time! How many games did Dante Bichette play at third base in 1991? Maybe 30? Or maybe just 20. Something like that. Right? 

No.

Less than that.

Much less.

One game.

And here's the kicker.

One INNING of one game.

Oh, so you think, maybe in 1990 he played some third base. Or was slated to play third in 1992. Nope. One inning. In 1991. His entire career. ONE INNING.

Leaf, what is wrong with you? (Insert Canadian joke? No, we love our neighbors to the north. We're very close to them here in North Dakota. Yes, you now know that someone indeed lives in North Dakota.) 

I looked at a few other cards in the 1992 Leaf set that listed players at multiple positions. Six cards to be exact, including cards of guys like Monty Fariss and Donnie Hill, so I had to do some research. Of these, five of the cards more or less made sense. But then I got to the Dave Martinez card. I knew Martinez as an outfielder, so the CF on his card made sense, but the card also listed 1B.

I knew a little more about Martinez's career, and the 1B didn't seem to really fit. From 1986 through 1991, Dave Martinez had played every game of his career in the outfield. The only saving grace for this card, in my opinion, is that Martinez would play 21 games at first base for the Reds in 1992. 

But Dante Bichette? Not in 1992, not for the rest of his career in 2001, did Bichette appear at third base. 

A puzzling choice from Leaf.