You ever have that feeling you’re seeing someone where he’s not supposed to be? Like, maybe you’ve caught a glimpse of an alternate universe, or maybe just a glimpse of a dude moonlighting?
First time I can remember that happening was in kindergarten — our school brought in a group of actors (probably high school or college students) to perform a Winnie the Pooh skit.
We all piled into the basement gym and sat the there on the floor, cross-legged, while Pooh and Piglet and Tigger went about their frolicking.
And Eeyore, of course.
Thing is, the more I watched Eeyore, the more convinced I became it was my dad in a donkey suit and makeup. What was he doing bouncing around the floor with a bunch of kids when he was supposed to be working???
I can’t remember if I busted my dad that night, or outed him to Mom. Eventually, I just sorta forgot about it (but not really, obviously).
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Another out-of-place appearance I sorta forgot about until leafing through some old baseball cards recently was that time I found Lionel Richie suited up for the Cleveland Indians.
I had been deep into collecting for a couple of years, and I was still in that period where I could just fade away from reality for an hour or ten and end up memorizing every aspect of a couple hundred cards.
(Guess that’s something else that never really changed.)
So, anyway, there I am pouring through some new-at-the-time 1985 Fleer cards, and I come across “Carmelo Castillo.”
Now, the Indians were nothing to write home about in those days, and household names were few and far between. So, it wasn’t too surprising that Castillo’s name didn’t ring much of a bell.
What was surprising?
It was the sham he and Fleer were trying to perpetrate.
Being a hardcore, play-it-’til-your-ears-bleed fan of Can’t Slow Down, I was 97% sure that Fleer had somehow coaxed Lionel Richie into a Tribe uniform and snapped a couple of shots.
Later on, when I got a gander at Castillo’s 1985 Donruss card, those other three percent fell into place.
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The clincher was the name-waffling … Fleer called him “Carmelo,” but Donruss called him “Carmen.”
On the card front.
On the card back, he was “Monte Carmelo.”
So much deception!
When you look at Carmelo Castillo’s stats, you see a guy who had some decent power in the Major Leagues and might have developed into something of a minor star if nurtured and deployed the right way.
But when you look at his 1985 baseball cards, aren’t you just a little bit suspicious that he’s going to break into a chorus of “Dancing on the Ceiling”?
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CARMELO CASTILLO Signed Autographed Rare 1989 Score Card Minnesota Twins #23T
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Venezuela Sticker 1990 Carmelo Castillo #143 Minnesota Twins VERY RARE
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