Donruss Pastiche

So the Donruss name has been revived this week, after a ten year absence. Was it worth the wait?

Mostly yes.

Different elements from different years of Donruss are represented in an almost retro way. Looking at the design makes me feel warm and fuzzy and nostalgic. Some of the best elements from when I was a kid are present and accounted for, up to and including the back, but something is off about it.

Panini's design department took the first decade of Donruss, put it in a blender, and pureed something awesome. It is ultimately a false sense of security. The backs, which at first glance remind me so much of the mid to late eighties card backs, feature only one year instead of the familiar five. The middle names are prominently placed, but the backs are too sheen. That just feels out of place for the feeling Panini is trying to create.

The pictures on the front seem a little too perfect to be on a card named Donruss. The pictures balance in unison with the design on every card I have feasted my eyes upon. It actually distracts from the lack of logos on the uniforms.

I am happy that Donruss is back on the market. Panini's design team should be applauded. It looks like Donruss, but the little things that are off keep it from feeling like Donruss.

A superb, near classic effort.

WSC All-Stars: Jimmy Dykes 1933

Card #1 - Jimmy Dykes

The inaugural All-Star game, held at Comiskey Park, in 1933, saw the American League win 4-2 over the National League. It was the brainchild of Chicago Tribune's Arch Ward, intended to be a one time event held in conjunction with the 1933 World's Fair.

Jimmy Dykes was the starting third baseman for the AL All-Stars and went two for three. Dykes drew a walk and scored a run off of Cardinals pitcher "Wild Bill" Hallahan in the second inning. It would be the first run scored in All-Star Game history.

RIP Harold Ramis

Time For A Change?

 It's always weird seeing a long time player for the first time in another team's uniform. That's especially true when the player was drafted and groomed in the farm system and became a fan favorite or a genuine superstar when he was with your team.

As a kid, this sad event is devastating. As an adult, it's uncommon if a player stays with the same team for his entire career. Thirty years ago, I would probably would spend a few days sulking and lamenting my favorite teams for being so stupid. What did they ever know? That guy they just traded away for the players I've never even heard of was the best guy on the team. I had one foot stuck in the past and the other planted firmly in the present. I had not the inclination nor the fortitude to see the future.

In a kid's mind, if you traded away a player he liked, you had better get some amazing talent in return. Ron Kittle was a pretty big deal in Chicago in the mid-eighties. Sure, he hadn't duplicated his amazing Rookie of the Year season, but he wasn't the worst player out there. He could still be counted on for a thrill. Kittle was part of a trade that sent Joel Skinner and Wayne Tolleson to the Yankees for Ron Hassey, Carlos Martinez and Bill Lindsey. It wasn't exactly a trade that set the world on fire. Carlos Martinez was the last stop-gap before Frank Thomas and I remember Joel Skinner on the Indians more than I do on the Yankees.

Harold Baines was so loved in Chicago that his uniform number was retired by the White Sox after nine and a half years of a twenty-two year career. People were genuinely mad at the deal. It brought a pitcher that couldn't get anyone out, a strikeout artist (at the plate, not on the mound), and a former Sox infielder. On the plus side, it got rid of milquetoast Fred Manrique. I was actually happy about that part in 1989. That was the ONLY part I was happy about.

A few years later, that pitcher who couldn't get anyone out in his debut, got everyone out in his Sox debut. Wilson Alvarez had an ERA of infinity after two starts, his second career start was a no-hitter. The strikeout artist never learned not to strikeout, but learned to steal and run hard in the outfield. He learned to homer, among other things on the north side of Chicago. Scott Fletcher was at his usual Fletchery self. Harold came back to the White Sox as a player, two different times and is a World Champion coach.

Magglio Ordonez was one of the reasons I came back into baseball's full embrace after the '94 strike. I'll admit that I wasn't 100% committed to the MLB after the best shot for a White Sox/Expos World Series was flushed down the tubes. Seeing Maggs play in 1997 and 1998 convinced me to get on board with baseball again.


If it wasn't for a unfortunate knee injury to Maggs and a broken ankle for Frank Thomas, Ordonez may have had a championship ring with the White Sox in 2004. That season had great consequences for the shape of the team and a little rebuilding was done, some of it questionable. It worked out for the White Sox in 2005 and Maggs made it to the World Series in 2006. Ordonez carved out a nice career in Detroit, and let his hair down a bit. It's still a little weird seeing him in a Tiger uniform, even after all this time.

It's not like Frank Thomas would ever go somewhere else. Oh wait. He totally did. The White Sox got Jim Thome to replace the oft-injured Frank Thomas and Frank went to Oakland, where he revitalized his career and eventually hit his 500th homer with... Toronto, before coming back to Oakland, before joining the White Sox on the analyst side.

If any player was harder to see in another uniform, it was Frank Thomas. The man hit 448 home runs with Chicago. Paul Konerko is only twenty-one homers away from tying Frank, but even with one more season, that may be wishful thinking. Frank had sixteen of nineteen years with the White Sox.It's hard to see him as anything else, even though there were still big moments for Thomas in other uniforms.

Changing teams for some players is like changing underwear. Just ask Octavio Dotel, who holds the record for playing for the most MLB teams. Thirteen teams in all. And he's a free agent, mystery team number fourteen. He snatched it from Mike Morgan, Matt Stairs and Ron Villone.

It's still weird seeing a long time team player with a new franchise. It's not as jarring as it used to be for me. It does make collecting a bit more challenging. I do have to make sure that the Frank Thomas cards I collect are with the White Sox and not the A's or Jays. I saw a recent card of Ron Kittle on the Yankees. Magglio is just as likely to be featured as a Tiger on a card. Harold Baines could be on an Orioles card for all I know. Even an Indian card.

All these possibilities. It's a pretty exciting time to be a collector.

2014 WSC HOF Voting Cards

f you never saw the older players on the field or heard of some of them, here's your chance to put a face to the candidates' names. There is a link to each candidates' Baseball Reference page, so you can check out their stats.

Remember, this voting is meant to reflect the player's impact on the White Sox. Some are fan favorites. Some kept hope alive in dismal seasons. Some had magical seasons. Some set White Sox team records that stood for a long time and/or still stand. Some are even World Series heroes. The point being, that all these players made some type of impact on the team, its fans and team history.

Here are voting cards for each candidate. Enjoy!

George Dickey - C (2nd year)

 Oscar Gamble - DH (4th year)

 Jerry Hairston - OF (2nd year)

 Dummy Hoy - OF (1st year)

Frank Isbell – 1st Base (3rd year)

Fielder Jones – OF (4th year)

Al Lopez – MGR (4th year)

Jorge Orta – 2nd Base (1st year) 

Gary Peters - P (4th year)

Bobby Thigpen - P (3rd year)

Robin Ventura – 3rd Base (4th year)

Buck Weaver - SS (2nd year)

Hoyt Wilhelm – P (3rd year)

2014 WSC Hall Of Fame Ballot

Here's a Hall of Fame that anyone can vote for: The White Sox Cards Hall Of Fame.

You can vote for as many or as few players as you want. The rules are the same as the MLB Hall of Fame. 75% of the vote will get a player in. At least 5% of the vote will keep a player on the ballot for next year. A player has to be away from the White Sox for a minimum of five years for ballot consideration. If a player cannot get 75% of the vote after 15 tries, he is taken off the ballot.

Last ballot, outfielder Harold Baines and second baseman Nellie Fox were
 voted into the WSC Hall Of Fame. Who will make it in this year?

The 2014 ballot includes a player for each positional spot on the field, a designated hitter, a manager, and pitching has been split into spots for starter, middle relief and closer.

George Dickey - C (2nd year)
Oscar Gamble - DH (4th year) 
Jerry Hairston - OF (2nd year) 
Dummy Hoy  – OF (1st year)
Frank Isbell – 1st Base (3rd year)
Fielder Jones – OF (4th year)
Al Lopez – MGR (4th year) 
Jorge Orta  – 2nd Base (1st year)
Gary Peters - P (4th year)
Bobby Thigpen - P (3rd year)
Robin Ventura – 3rd Base (4th year) 
Buck Weaver - SS (2nd year)
Hoyt Wilhelm – P (3rd year)

Voting will be through July 15, 2014, with the results announced shortly after. You can vote on the right sidebar. Any position left open due to election or cuts will be filled by another player next year.

The results should prove interesting. Have fun!

Random Card #45

2014 Topps Red Hot Foil #308 - Alexei Ramirez

Baseball is grass, chalk, and dirt displayed the same yet differently
In every park that has ever heard the words play ball.
Baseball is a passion that bonds and divides all those who know it.
Baseball is a pair of hands stained with newsprint,
A set of eyes squinting to read a boxscore,
A brow creased in an attempt to recreate a three-hour game
From an inch square block of type.
Baseball is the hat I wear to mow the lawn.
Baseball is a simple game of catch
and the never-ending search for the perfect knuckleball.
Baseball is Willie vs Mickey, Gibson vs Koufax, and Buddy Biancalana vs the odds.
Baseball links Kansan and Missourian, American and Japanese,
But most of all father and son.
Baseball is the scent of spring,
The unmistakable sound of a double down the line,
And the face of a 10-year-old emerging from a pile of bodies
With a worthless yet priceless foul ball.
Baseball is a language of very simple words that tell unbelievably magic tales.
Baseball is three brothers in the same uniform on the same team for one brief summer
Captured forever in a black and white photo on a table by the couch.
Baseball is a glove on a shelf, oiled and tightly wrapped,
Slumbering through the stark winter months.
Baseball is a breast pocket bulging with a transistor radio.
Baseball is the reason there are transistor radios.
Baseball is a voice in a box describing men you've never met,
In a place you've never been,
Doing things you'll never have the chance to do.
Baseball is a dream that you never really give up on.
Baseball is precious.
Baseball is timeless.
Baseball is forever.

Baseball Is by Greg Hall ©2000

RIP Jim Fregosi (1942 - 2014)

I think that Jim Fregosi was the only White Sox manager I can ever recall being let go for philosophical differences. In November 1988, the White Sox fired Fregosi. Jim squeezed what he could from the talent that was on those clubs, but there was only so much that could be done with a team in a state of flux, where the biggest stories weren't about the individuals on the field or the team's performance, but the new cursive C they were wearing on their hats and a possible move to St. Petersburg, Florida.

Philosophical differences boiled down to then GM Larry Himes wanting to sell off all the high salaried veterans and build a farm system from the ground up and Fregosi wanting to keep a handful of veterans to have a shot at keeping in contention. Good or bad, the GM has the final say in a power struggle with the manager with Jerry Reinsdorf as the owner, so another quality manager was fired from the White Sox in the eighties.

The move cost the White Sox in the short term. A fluke in Fregosi's contract stated that just by showing up for spring 1988, his contract automatically kicked in for 1989 to the tune of $225,000, which was more than most players would end up making on the '89 team.

I can only speculate that the Harold Baines trade would have infuriated Fregosi in the middle of the 1989 season, since that was one of the high priced veteran players that Himes wanted to phase out. I can only further wonder if the 1990 season would have turned out differently with Fregosi in the manager's seat. Could the Sox have made the extra push to win the West over the Athletics? Only the deepest recesses of our imaginations would know.

Himes was fired after the 1990 season and went to the Cubs, where he stuck the White Sox with George Bell and failed to match the Braves offer to Greg Maddux, having spent the money on Randy Myers, José Guzmán, Dan Plesac and Candy Maldonado. Fregosi would go on to manage the Phillies and take them to the World Series, losing to Joe Carter and the Blue Jays.

Most places that Fregosi went, he left the teams in better shape than he found them. While relying on veterans a little too much, Fregosi was still able to squeeze out memorable performances from his players. I remember thinking the White Sox had an outside shot in 1987 and 1988. I thought the Fregosi-less Sox were going to finish in last place in 1989 and they did. I still remember how fun the 1993 Phillies seemed and how my entire family enjoyed watching that World Series.

Sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle, but Jim Fregosi did make a lasting impact on the organizations he played and managed for and baseball itself. Despite clashes with the White Sox then GM, in the statement about Fregosi's firing, Larry Himes said, "No reflection of Jim's managerial ability should be read in this course of action."

Even with their differences, Fregosi still earned respect. He certainly has mine.

Corny Or Not?

I like the fact that Leaf is still a brand making baseball cards. I'm not too crazy about the corners that the company has to make to get around the licensing issue, but I give them props. Apparently, it's difficult not to show logos (just ask Upper Deck) because the logos are impenetrable to airbrushing and computer photo wizardry.

As a company, Leaf keeps churning out interesting product every year. The product can be a little unorthodox at times, but that's part of the challenge. It's rewarding when a card can be done in a tasteful way without violating the rules.

Is that an on card autograph I see? I believe it is. These are wonderful to see, instead of just another sticker dump. Maybe someday Leaf will even acquire a new license and they can show nine MLB team logos on a card if they want. Wouldn't that be nice?

It may help them avoid unfortunate mistakes like this card. This is from the 2013 Leaf Sports Heroes set. It's an insert set called Team of Dreams. The whole concept revolves around the movie, "Field Of Dreams", where players would appear out of the cornfield and play some good old fashioned baseball. So Leaf hand picks a few select players, airbrushes out the logos (something Upper Deck couldn't get straight) and sticks them right in front of a backdrop featuring a cornfield. The concept is brilliant on many levels... except for this one instance.

The card reminds me of this dark day in the post-playing days of Carlton Fisk. It too involves a cornfield and probably the worst photo of Carlton Fisk ever.

It wasn't a banner day in the Hall of Famer's life. That day made me realize (not that I hadn't before), that everyone makes mistakes. Even those you grew up admiring. It doesn't make them any less of a person to admire. In fact, you can admire them a little bit more because they don't live on a pedestal and are subject to the same trials and tribulations that we do.

I'll admit, when that first happened, I was disappointed. If I was a kid, it probably would have devastated me. Possibly to the point where I couldn't watch him play. What can I say, even as a child, I had standards.

As an adult, I see it through different eyes. A set of eyes that doesn't condone it, but knows that humans are not infallible and begrudgingly accepts that. As long as people can learn from their mistakes and strive to move forward and past those mistakes, then I think we a re moving in the right direction.

Although, it still doesn't make up for the fact that I cringed the first time I laid my eyes on this card.

That is an actual piece of cornstalk embedded in a card next to a photo of Carlton Fisk superimposed in front of a cornfield.

Maybe it's just me, but this card just doesn't seem right.

WSC Birth Years: Miguel Gonzalez

Card #151 - Miguel Gonzalez

Born: December 3, 1990

Miguel made his MLB debut with the Chicago White Sox on September 10, 2013, in the seventh inning of a lopsided loss to the Detroit Tigers. Not primarily known for his bat, Gonzalez hit a ball to short center field for his first MLB hit, against the Cleveland Indians on September 12th. Miguel would collect only one more hit for the season, in his final game of 2013.

Gonzalez is still young enough to figure into the club's long term plans, figuring to be a great defensive backup catcher. If he can figure out how to maintain a higher average, Miguel could find a permanent role in the big leagues.The potential is still there and his five game sampling could make him hungry for more.

It's The Trades You Don't Make That Make The Biggest Impact

This card led me to a better path of collecting... by not getting it in 1985.

In 1985, I was an unfocused collector with a limited knowledge of the history and value of baseball cards. In other words, I was just a kid.

As a kid, I collected by one simple rule... collect them all... hardcore. It didn't matter that I had extremely limited resources. I had friends who were willing to trade. I wasn't looking to cheat them out of valuable cards. At the very least, I wanted an example of each set. At the most, I wanted more cards than Mr. Mint, whose print ads always tantalized me and made me want to get my hands on everything.

I had two friends that I would regularly to to trade with, Keith and Mark. Their names were not changed to protect the innocent, but I will leave their last names out of this, as I respect their privacy and the fact the I haven't spoken to either one in at least twenty-five years. It's just the way things go with elementary school friends. It may have also been a friendship of convenience, since you could see both of their houses from my house. Whatever the circumstances, the friendships earned lasted for a good chunk of elementary school.

I couldn't tell you what any of us traded. They surely were blockbuster trades, since we were accustomed to haggle back and forth for hours delicately crafting a trading package that would entice the other, but not screw anyone over.

I only traded White Sox cards, if I had doubles. Everyone knew that and it probably made for some lopsided deals. Other cards that were off limits were the 1985 Fleer Eric Davis, the 1985 Topps card of Mike Dunne and the partially singed 1961 Topps card of Danny Kravitz. Everything else was fair game.

Keith and I had our cards spread out on the floor of his bedroom. We were half listening to a WGN broadcast of the Cubs game. The Cubs were his favorite team, and still may be for all I know, so we had to watch while we were wheeling and dealing.

I was thumbing through his pile of cards, I came across a design I hadn't seen in person up to that point. The only way I got new cards at that time was either at the grocery store, trading with friends or if my parents brought me something. There was a comic book shop, but I was unaware of any baseball card shops in the area. It would be a few years before I went to a card show and twelve years before I signed online for the first time.

The few cards I saw in his pile were 1981 Fleer. I didn't have any, but I wanted at least one. I fixated on the Cliff Johnson card. I had to walk away with it in my collection. Before I really knew about the suspect photography or the set that was riddled with errors, I knew that I didn't have anything from the set in my collection and that it was the first year for Fleer. Well, the first year in a really long time for baseball cards from Fleer. I offered a 1985 Topps Jody Davis for the '81 Fleer. Jody was hot at that time, especially in the Chicago area. This meant I was serious. No dice.

I offered to throw in a 1984 Topps Larry Bowa. Keith wasn't biting. Finally I offered my 1985 Fleer Tippy Martinez. Not only was 1985 Fleer one of the coolest sets to my friends an I back then, it was hard to find at the stores. I would usually get the 69 cent cello packs, if the store had them. The stores always had Topps, sometimes had Fleer and on the rare occasion would carry Donruss in the mid-eighties. My dog was named Tippy, so I thought the Tippy Martinez cards were cool. Martinez always reminded me of a real life version of Spike, Snoopy's brother from the Peanuts comics. The fertile imagination of youth is a powerful tool to build upon. In my mind, I had just gone all in.

The offer was rejected for a final time. It was said that the 1981 Fleer cards were next to impossible to get. That may have had a grain of truth in 1985, but in 2014, I can pick up most commons from that set for pennies. Even though the trade didn't happen, I still have memories that will last a lifetime.

Mark and I didn't trade very often. He usually was content enough with what he got through pack opening to satisfy his collecting habit. He would never trade anything that he didn't already have a double of in his pile.

It was odd to get a call from Mark to bring my cards over. He always had the best G.I. Joe figures, but I suspect it may have something to do with having an older brother. Mark would have the older figures that were rarely found by the time the cartoon became an afternoon staple on WGN. We always had the best fun playing with our action figures outside, usually in the snow, the sandbox or the swing set. Again, we used our fertile imaginations to create a vivid landscape as far as the eye could see and used what was around us to enhance that landscape.

I brought over my 1985 Topps, as requested, and walked the length of seven houses to Mark's door. He was waiting for me in the driveway. It was one of the few times I remember being in his house after the addition was built. He said he had something I was looking for and I followed him to his bedroom. All serious trading took place in the inner sanctuary of the bedroom. It was like the board room in an office complex. It was home turf and the only bit of real estate that could truly be considered your own.

I had managed to get the majority of the 1985 Topps White Sox set through trips to Gennaro's, the local drug store, Walgreens, the chain drug store, and Dominicks, the closest grocery store. Mark showed me the card of Jerry Don Gleaton. He knew that it was one of the missing cards. All I had to do to make it mine was fork over my 1985 Topps Tom Seaver. Even at that young age, I knew the legacy of Tom Seaver. I looked through my change for 1967 coins and separated those out because Tom Seaver started his MLB career in '67. I knew he was close to the 300 win milestone. There was no way I was giving that up.

Even though I was quick to say no, I did seriously consider the trade. I was confident enough that I had found a Tom Seaver in a pack, that I could find another one. I became convinced that Jerry Don Gleaton must be rare because I haven't run across it in a pack yet. Cooler heads prevailed in the end and I kept my Tom Seaver, which was good, because I never ran across another one in any pack.

I have no clue when or where I got the Jerry Don Gleaton card. I must have gotten it at some point because it is in my binder, along with the rest of the completed team set.

The days of hanging out with Keith and Mark waned. I'm not sure if I hung out with Mark after that aborted trade. I only hung out with Keith a few times after our missed trade opportunity. They hung out together quite a bit after that, so maybe Mark finally got his Seaver card from Keith.

People change, we gain more knowledge about the world around us and we grow. I've had friends come and go since then. I've had trading partners come and go, as well. The memories of those first trades will always stick with me, shaping and molding who I am and how I approach trades. I'll never be that kid again, which is sad in a way, but I relish the new opportunities that have headed my way since and will come my way in the future because of those experiences.

You can always look back, but remember to keep moving forward while you do. Great things have happened in the past, but you use those as the foundation to build something even greater in the future.

Beginnings: Fourth Wave

More cards from the Beginnings set. Some pictures aren't the best quality, but they are the best quality available, presently.

18 - Reggie Jackson

25 - Albert Pujols

54 - William Edward White

74 - Duke Snider 

94 - Jim Thome

WSC Vintage: Tink Riviere

Card #49 - Tink Riviere

Arthur Bernard Riviere, better known as "Tink", was a student at the University of Texas, when the St. Louis Cardinals invited him to their 1921 spring training. The Cardinals seemed impressed with Tink's record twenty-two strikeouts in a game. If Riviere made the team, he would receive a $3,000 salary. The Bismark Tribune in North Dakota was taken by the Cardinals' young, strong pitchers. The writers singled out Arthur as being the cream of the crop among the promising young hurlers, three days before his MLB debut against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Tink appeared in the starting rotation to begin the season, but found himself in the bullpen full time by May 1921 and eventually devolved into a mop up reliever during losses. Riviere racked up a dismal 6.10 ERA in eighteen games in his first season. He walked twenty and struck out fifteen in thirty-eight and a third innings. It wasn't the stuff of twenty-two strikeout games.

Riviere pitched in the American Association and the International League minors before catching on with the Chicago White Sox in 1925. He appeared in only three games in July 1925 for the Pale Hose, pitching only four and two-thirds innings. Tink's stats with the Cardinals were closer to his record collegiate games than his days with Chicago. Riviere gave up six hits, seven earned runs, seven walks and managed to strikeout one with a 13.50 ERA in those three games. Manager Eddie Collins had seen enough and pulled the plug.

From 1926 until 1931, Tink pitched in the Texas League for various teams. Despite being on teams that were affiliates of the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals during that time, Riviere never again pitched at the MLB level.

Sox Or No Sox: 2-3-14

Back by unpopular demand, it's America's unfashionable game, Sox Or No Sox.

The rules are simple. We take one unopened pack of baseball cards that was randomly selected by yours truly. We then go through the pack card by card looking for those elusive White Sox cards.

Along the way, there are two tricky and abundant traps to look out for. The first trap is the Cubs card. While hailing from Chicago, it is definitely not a Chicago White Sox card. The second trap is the Red Sox card. While technically a Sox card, it is vastly different than a White Sox card. Both traps are not necessarily bad things, but they get in the way of the games true goal: to find White Sox cards.

1/2 point is awarded for each card in the pack. 1 point is deducted from the score for each trap card. 1/2 point is taken away for each pointless mirror card. 1 point is given for any parallel. 2 points are awarded for each relic or autographed card (only 1 point awarded for a relic or autographed trap card). 2 points are given for each White Sox card.

Our player in tonight's game is a 2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks pack. The pack contains 4 cards and features Kris Bryant, the Chicago Cubs first round pick (2nd overall) in the 2013 draft, on the wrapper. It's a very good thing that this wrapper doesn't count as a card. This could be a bad omen. Let's begin.

#1: Anthony DeSclafani - 6 - Miami Marlins
He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 draft by Toronto. He is currently in the Miami organization in AA. This does not set my heart aflutter.

#2: Stuart Turner - 64 - Minnesota Twins
One year under his belt and he's already in AA. Not too shabby for someone who won the Johnny Bench award in college.

Halfway through the pack. We've seen no Sox cards and two AA players of various skill levels. The tally so far... 1 point. 2 cards left to go. Let’s see if we can get a White Sox card!

#3: Clint Coulter - 14 - Milwaukee Brewers
First round (27th overall) of the 2012 draft. Hasn't made it out of rookie class A.

#4: Jacob May - 71 - Chicago White Sox
Could it be? Yes! A White Sox card!!! He was drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft and made it to class A Kannapolis.

On White Sox card for two points and three non-trap cards for 1/2 point each. Not too shabby for a four card pack.

Final score: 3 1/2 points

One White Sox card in this game, but there's always the thrill of the hunt for more next time on Sox Or No Sox. And remember, always remove the donuts before stepping up to the plate. Goodnight everyone!