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Today’s story is about the long and grueling journey of a minor leaguer and the silliest baseball card of all time.

If you’ve been getting our emails for a while, you’ve probably heard about the Billy Ripken F**k face card from Fleer.

When I wrote that story, it got me thinking, “are there any other cards as memorable or ridiculous as this one?”

And after doing a little digging…

Thirty years ago — in what would’ve been a completely forgotten minor league set — Keith Comstock created one of the most memorable baseball cards in history.

I know what you’re probably thinking… who tf is Keith Comstock?

He was a journeyman reliever who played on four major league teams.

Comstock was drafted in ’76, and spent eight years in the minor leagues; he was traded and released so many times, even he lost count.

In ’83, the Oakland A's sold him to the Tigers for $100 and a bag of balls.

And they made him deliver the balls himself.

Finally, in ’88, Keith made it to the show and had his first and very own Major League Baseball card.

He sent the card to his mom as a gesture to say “after everything we’ve been through, I finally made it.”

Unfortunately, that same year, Comstock was sent down again to Triple-A club in Las Vegas.

At 32 years old, Comstock’s baseball career was hanging by a thread.

In the late spring, the minor league card photographer rolled up to the field to shoot for the ’89 ProCards set.

Comstock had to face the reality that he would be featured in another minor league card set - it felt a little demoralizing after getting a taste of the Big Leagues.

The minor league sets were notoriously bland, and he wanted to add some flare to the card - at this point, he had nothing to lose.

When Keith stepped up to take his photo, he gave the photographer his pitch.

"I want it to look like a comebacker hit me in the nuts”

The guy wasn’t going for it at all.

Plus, he was under strict rules in terms of what he could and couldn’t do.

But wait, there’s a plot twist.

Keith was a veteran on the Las Vegas stars - someone who guys actually looked up to.

Because he’d been in the big leagues, even if it was only for a quick stop, he’d accomplished what the rest of the guys could only dream of achieving.

One of Keith’s teammates, Todd Simmons, encouraged Comstock to tell the other guys to not sign their contracts unless the photographer let him do his pose.

Many of the biggest stars on the team had not taken their pictures yet or signed their card contracts to be included in the set, so Keith had all the leverage.

Keith walked up to the photographer and told him there was a clubhouse full of ballplayers that weren’t going to sign their contracts unless he let Comstock do the photo.

“Son of a bitch”

And just like that, a legend was born.

When they finally got the cards, Keith’s teammates thought it was hilarious and he signed a bunch of copies.

He even signed a card for the manager.

Comstock did eventually make it back to the MLB, and he finished his career with Seattle, but he’ll always be remembered for this priceless moment.

BASEBALL TRIVIA

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Jay was pretty much the opposite of a baller.

He played parts of six seasons in the MLB, but ultimately gave up more hits than innings pitched and finished with an ERA over 5.

He did manage to get 137 saves in the minor leagues though.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites:

• The Turkey: An outrageous and demeaning trade

• The Curse of the Bambino: Behind the infamous Babe Ruth trade

• The Close Call: Roberto Clemente gets kidnapped at gunpoint in San Diego