Introducing a new installment of Baseball Questions We All Must Answer. There are questions that, within our lifetimes, every baseball fan -- each one of us -- must account for. These questions are of utmost importance. This is one of those questions.
Baseball Questions We All Must Answer: Who Is The Most Expansion Player Ever?
UPDATE: Y’all have responded. Here are your answers.
Who is the most expansion-team baseball player? In other words, when you think of the words “expansion team,” what words do you think of?
Our own Chris Mottram, who first suggested this question, believes the answer to be Bret Barberie. He’ll be pretty hard to top. I mean, just look at him:
First of all, even for an expansion team, the 1993 Florida Marlins were really expansion-y. The color scheme was unlike any other; I'm pretty sure baseball existed for over a century without ever involving the color teal. "Florida" added to the confusion, because we didn't know whether they played in Miami, or Tampa, or Tallahassee, or what. And, as the first expansion franchise since the 70s, they were a curiosity.
And now we come to the matter of Barberie himself. Until Chris mentioned him, I had completely forgotten that he had ever existed. In 1993, he was a mulleted 25-year-old with M-frame Oakleys and enormous upside. By 1997, he was out of baseball.
Unbelievable. This is not an open-and-shut case, as there are other many other strong “baseball team expansion player” candidates out there. But wow. Bret Barberie. You know, he’s also probably a dark horse candidate for Most 1990s Baseball Player.
But we’ll have that discussion later. For now: who is your candidate? Please submit your suggestions, either in the comments below, or by tweeting me at @jon_bois. I’ll follow up with results later today.
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