(More) AP Wire Photos

 July 17, 1989: Expos beat the Braves 5-2.  Wallach went 1/4 with a double.

 July 26, 1989:  Phillies beat the Expos 4-3.  Wallach did his part going 3 for 4 with a home run, double, and 2 RBI's.  This was the high point in the season for the Expos.  The win stretched their lead in the NL East to 3.5 games.

 August 2, 1989: This photo is not from the date it was "wired."  The Expos played a road game on August 2, 1989 and this shows Wallach in home whites.  It seems to be for some generic article about how athletes handle stress.

 August 16, 1989:  Expos beat the Giants 4-2, Wallach scored a run.  Mark Langston threw 7 strong innings for the Expos but didn't earn a win.  The win stopped the bleeding of a dreadful 2-10 stretch that saw the Expos go from 2 games up in the NL East to 4 games behind.

 August 25, 1989:  The Expos hammered the Giants in San Francisco 12-2.  Wallach went 2 for 3 and also walked twice.  The win improved the great Dennis Martinez to 14-4 on the season.  The win followed a tough 22 inning 1-0 loss the night before, where a win would have brought them within one game in the NL East.

 September 5, 1989:  This is my favorite photo in the lot by a wide margin.  I've already had it blown up and printed (both as is and cropped).  It shows Wallach being greeted at home plate in St. Louis after hitting a grand slam by Tim Raines, Hubie Brooks, and Marquis Grissom.  Raines and Brooks are two of my all-time favorite Expos, and I always like Grissom.  It may never happen, but I'd love to get all four guys to sign this.  Montreal won the game 6-2.  Wallach also had a double while going 3 for 5 with 5 RBI's.

 September 5, 1989:  This photo was taken just moments earlier than the photo above.  All-Star Ken Hill can't be too happy giving up a 7th inning grand slam in what had been a 2-1 game.  Hill would go on to play for the Expos himself, actually leading the NL in wins with 16 as an Expo in the Bud Selig shortened 1994 season.

 September 20, 1989: Barry Bonds stealing 3rd base, not an easy task.  But that was just one of the many parts of Bonds game that made him the greatest player of all-time.  The Pirates won 9-1, their 5th straight, and 3rd straight loss for the Expos.  The wheels completely fell of the Expos bus in September, as they went 6-17 down the stretch and finished a disappointing 81-81 after leading or being in contention for the NL East most of the season.  The Pirates would win the NL East before being upset by the Braves in 7 games in the NLCS.

September 25, 1989: The date on this photo doesn't match the game.  The Expos beat the Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings on September 25 on a Jim Dwyer single, not the 26th.  Wallach went 1 for 3 and walked twice.  Jim Dwyer was playing in his 17th of eventual 18 big league seasons.  Really an incredible feat for a guy who was never an everyday starter, and never reached 300 plate appearances in a single season.

"Game Worn" Mims wristband

*Update*:  These wrist bands were made by a Company called "Mims Bands."

Allegedly this was worn by Wallach during a Spring Training game.  I don't really care if that's true or not.  I've seen these wristbands before, not a Wallach, but there were a few players that showed up on cards in the early 90's wearing what appeared to be wristbands with cartoon caricatures of themselves on them.

I dug around and couldn't find any photos of Wallach actually wearing one of these (probably a good thing).  I have no idea who made these and whether or not they were ever available for public sale.  There appears to be some sort of brand name stitched in white at the bottom, but I can't make it out.  It's not any easier to read in person than it is in the pictures.

The seller that sold these was selling a bunch of them.  I try to avoid publishing exactly what I pay for things, but in this case I'm going to make an exception.  Not to gloat, or bemoan the price, but in the name of science.  All of the seller's other listing ended about the same time, and it was kind of interesting to see what other players sold for.  Keep in mind these were all allegedly game (spring training) worn.  So here's a run down (I only bought this Wallach, but I took screen shots of others):

To set the "norm" I'm showing the Wallach 1st.  It ended up costing me $20 and there were 7 bids.  I had bid $29 as soon as I saw it and thought I was going to walk away with it for about $1 before a flurry of bidding activity in the last 24 hours.  $20 is more than I think it's worth, but I'll survive.

Jose Uribe: Sold for $12.01, and that seems about right.  He was a fan favorite in San Francisco, though I don't think he ever made an All-Star team

Glenn Davis: $15.50 again, seems about right.  Glenn had a few monster home-run years (relative to other guys in the mid 80's) but was never much more than a .230 hitter.  He was a 2x All-Star

Gerald Young: $20.50  Now I've heard of Gerald Young.  He had a couple of memorable cards with great action shots.  But over 8 forgettable seasons he averaged .246 and collected a mere 446 hits (55 per).  Why is Gerald fetching more than Wallach?

Cory Snyder: $25.25 Snyder never made an All-Star team in his 9 seasons, but I always liked him as a kid.  He had great '85 Olympic card, and some good seasons.  I imagine he is still well liked in the Cleveland area.  So while his career numbers pale to Wallach's, I'm not all that surprised or offended by the price.

 Barry Bonds: $31.00  No surprise that Barry Bonds fetched more than Wallach.  Only thing surprising really is that if the likes of Wallach, Snyder, and Young are going $20, that Bonds only went for $31
 I saved my favorite result for last.  This really brought a smile to my face.  I'm sure guys like Chris Sabo and Matt Williams were ok guys, but as a kid I couldn't stand them.  Every year Wallach would have to completely outplay them to make the All-Star team as an Expo, while they got to play in markets with much more exposure.   Howard Johnson was the worst in this regard.  He was treated like Mike Schmidt II.  This agitated me to no end, and living in Cooperstown at the time, there were a lot of Mets fans, and they all loved "Hojo."  Well, apparently nobody loves him anymore.