• Card series: Beginnings: 1880's
• City: Philadelphia
• Team: Athletics (AA)
• League: American Association

Michael Joseph Sullivan (1860-1929) didn’t play the hot corner as poorly as that ancient mariner (“he stoppeth one in three”), but let’s just say that Mike made other third-basemen of his era look pretty good. Despite a respectable ability at the plate, it was defense that proved offensive to his management, leading to an abbreviated time in the major leagues. Mike lasted all of 28 games before Philadelphia sent him up to Syracuse where, four games later, his pro ball career was over. Sullivan had started out in New England playing for three teams in 1884: Meriden, Worcester and Lawrence. He stayed in the neighborhood in ’85 and ’87 (no record of his play in 1886). He was with Springfield and back to Meriden in ’85 and Hartford in ’87 before his call-up to the American Association’s Athletics.

• Sullivan actually split his time between outfield and third. But it was in the infield he did his real damage. The Brooklyn Eagle eagerly recorded the game on May 13 when the hapless Sullivan played the goat, making three errors including the one that led to the Bridegrooms’ victory over the Athletics
• Mike’s debut that season had been at third where he made two errors subbing for Denny Lyons. He went on to make ten more miscues in his next nine games before being exiled to left field where his ability to track down the ball wasn’t much improved. Despite having a slugging average that ranked behind only John Reilly and Harry Stovey among AA hitters with a minimum 100 at-bats, his bosses couldn’t abide his .726 fielding percentage
• A native of Webster, Massachusetts, Mike was born on the eve of the first great national calamity, the Civil War, and died there just before the onset of the worst economic calamity, the Great Depression.