[Terry D]

Jay Baller was one of the more obscure relief pitchers of the 80s and 90s. A Phillies draftee, Baller could certainly throw hard; in 1981-82 he averaged more than a strikeout an inning in A and AA ball. This made him a prospect, despite lousy ERAs, and a string of organizations kept hiring him in the hope that his control and earned run average would improve some day. Except for part of the 85 season with the Cubs that never really happened, and after his career ended in the early 90s Jay settled down in Reading, PA, home of the Phillies AA club where he had done some of his best minor league work. A few years ago the Reading cops stumbled on Jay sitting in his car in the worst neighborhood in town with a gun and a wad of cash in his lap. Jay was otherwise notable only for having the wooliest chest hair in the National League, as a glance at his 88 Topps card will show. Up to now the only image available of Jay with the Phillies was a '93 baseball card which showed him in the Phils new 1992 uniform style. Here he is from the 1982 Sporting News baseball guide, wearing the uniform he would have worn that year in his major league debut season.