MAKE IT A TRIPLE PLAY!

2008 NCAA Men's College World Series baseball, White Sox mini-helmet & 8x10 photo all autographed by fomer major league star Robin Ventura.  Ventura spent 16 years in the majors with the Chicago White Sox, NY Mets, NY Yankees and LA Dodgers.

After being picked tenth in the 1988 draft by the White Sox, Ventura spent much of 1989 at AA Birmingham before joining the Sox that September. While in Birmingham, he earned a spot in the Southern League All-Star Game and was voted the league's top defensive third baseman. He was named to the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team, earned the starting third base role with the White Sox the next spring and essentially never looked back. While his 1990 rookie year was marred by an 0-for-41 slump and 25 errors, Ventura proved to be a quick learner. Despite the slump, his 123 hits were the most by a Sox rookie since Ozzie Guillén in 1985; he also led AL rookies with 150 games played. The next year he won his first Gold Glove Award for fielding excellence, set a team record for RBIs at third base, and led the AL in putouts. 1992 brought another Gold Glove, a spot on the All-Star team – collecting an RBI double and a single on his 25th birthday – and several league-leading marks in both offensive and defensive categories. It is notable that as a major league player, Ventura was turning initial expectations on their head, as he had been projected to be a consistent .300 hitter, but with only limited power and modest defensive ability.

Most of the Mets' previous 114 third basemen were too old, too young, too inept or just too dull to merit attention, so even an average season by Ventura would have been outstanding, but he had his best year ever, hitting .301 with 120 RBIs and only nine errors; he also hit 32 homers. On May 20 he became the first player ever to hit a grand slam in each game of a doubleheader. He and fellow infielders Edgardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordóñez and John Olerud were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the “Best Infield Ever”; Mets fans took to chanting “MVP! MVP!” when he batted. Unfortunately, he injured his left knee some time in August; when the problem finally came to light, just before the postseason, it had worsened to torn cartilage. He took the phrase "Mojo Risin" from The Doors' "L.A. Woman" and made it the rally cry for the Mets that year, meeting Doors lead singer Jim Morrison's widow Patricia Kennealy Morrison when the Mets invited her to a game just before the playoffs.^[2]

On July 31, 2003, Ventura was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor. LA's manager, Jim Tracy, wanted little part of the new acquisition: he was a lefty hitter on a team already heavy with left-handed bats; they already had a third baseman, the underachieving Adrián Beltré; and Ventura's average was unimpressive, only .251 at the time. Despite hitting an inside-the-park home run on August 3 and providing not only smooth defense at first base but also key RBIs and a professional air to the Dodgers' clubhouse, by mid-September Ventura was unwittingly caught in a power struggle. Tracy had been feuding with the team's GM, ex-Sox man Dan Evans, for weeks before Evans acquired Ventura — what better way to show displeasure with Evans than to essentially bench his latest find? For 16 straight games, Ventura's contributions were limited to an occasional at-bat or ninth-inning defensive cameo. Once news of the feud leaked out thanks to reporter Bob Nightengale, he was given more playing time, but the damage was done.