Target Extreme Repack: Didn't Return

Daryl Henderson left the single-A Charlotte Rangers, but he promised he'd return.

The reason he left early that August in 1993, he told The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, he didn't get along with his teammates.

"There was a lot of tension going on," Henderson told The Herald-Tribune, "I felt like I had to get away before something happened."

Henderson was in his third season as a pro. The year before, he struck out 138 batters in 156.2 innings of work at single-A Gastonia. In 1993, he struck out 81 in 92 innings, posting a 2.64 ERA.

But, whatever his problems were in 1993, he never did return. His entire career was recorded on the back of his 1994 Classic Best card, a card that was among those that came in that Target Extreme Value repack.

Elsewhere in this section was a happy future manager, the card that made me point out the pack to my wife and a World Series hero in an odd uniform.

The happy former manager was John Farrell, on his 1990 Upper Deck card. Farrell was coming off his third major league season in 1990. Farrell's Upper Deck card back noted he led the Indians in complete games and strikeouts in 1989.

In 1990, he got 17 starts, going 4-5, with a 4.28 ERA. Farrell, though, didn't return to the majors until 1993. His last big league outing came in 1996. Farrell became a big league manager in 2011, taking the Blue Jays to an 81-81 record.

This Mark Grace card was positioned at the front of the repack. This is the card that caught my attention last December, when I pointed out the repack to my wife for Christmas. As outlined in the original post on this repack, there was also a crazy sealed 2007 Topps Update pack inside.

Grace was coming off a 1988 rookie season where he hit .296 for the Cubs and came in second in the Rookie of the Year balloting. He then went on to a career that spanned 16 seasons.

Then there was this Don Larson card. It's a TCMA card from 1977, depicting Larson in an Orioles uniform. The uniform, is obviously an interesting choice for Larson, best known for his World Series perfect game with the Yankees in 1956.

In fact, that is what the back commemorates, Larson's World Series perfect game. It also notes his 81-91 career record in the regular season over 14 seasons.

There was no mention of his time actually spent with Baltimore on the back. He actually spent two seasons with the team, in 1954 and 1965, his second season a little better than his first. In his second, as a reliever, Larson posted an ERA of 2.67.

In his first, as a starter, Larson posted a 4.61 ERA in 28 starts. His record that year was 3-21.

• Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Aug. 6, 1993: Promising Ranger Quits Charlotte, Part 2