1990 mike smithson

mike smithson signed with the angels as a free agent in december of 1989. here is his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

smithson had made a couple of starts against the angels in 1989, and he had been hit around pretty good by the halos. still, they gave him just under $500,000 to head to the west coast. this was all made possible by a goof-up in the red sox' front office. smithson had actually re-signed with the red sox on december 13, but the sox gm (lou gorman) made a mistake and had not offered him salary arbitration previously and so the contract was voided because it was signed after the deadline for negotiating with your own free agents. as such, the red sox should not have been able to sign smithson until after may 1, 1990.

at any rate, smithson didn't pitch for the angels in 1990, nor did he pitch for anyone else. i'm not sure if it was due to injury or if he was released, but baseball reference doesn't show any stats - majors or minors - for him after 1989.

voici à vous, 1990 mike smithson!