If You Build It, They Will Come

        Profile Buddy Biancalana was born in California and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals.  He played six years in the majors, finishing with the Houston Astros.  He had a  career WAR of -1.6, but also one World Series ring* of which he played a vital role.   ...scanning...no Iowa connection found... Now, I know that people typically don't move to Iowa unless they have some sort of connection. However, Buddy is a bit of an exception here.  Buddy moved to Fairfield** years after his MLB career was over, attracted by the chance for personal growth.  With his business partner Steve Yellin they formed Perfect Mind-Perfect Motion, a company that helps athletes get "in the zone".   * Won with John Wathan (Cedar Rapids) and Jim Sundberg (UofI) ** Discovered while I was writing the post of Matt Stutzman.   Personal Notes I don't know about you, but I've spent some of my pandemic time organizing.  I'm tr...

       Profile Matt Stutzman was a Olympian* for the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic teams and was a Silver Medal winner in 2012.  He resides in Fairfield**, Iowa and continues a proud tradition of Iowans that have represented our country. * Matt is not the only Olympian from Fairfield, John Jackson was a sharp shooter in the 1912 Olympics and came home with a Gold and Bronze  ** Other famous people from Fairfield: Walter Day (Twin Galaxies owner), Milo Hamilton (Sportscaster), Buddy Biancalana(MLB), and Ben Foster (actor)  Personal Notes While not exactly true, when I was growing up we basically had baseball/football/basketball/hockey cards to choose from.  There are generations of athletes who missed out on cards not because they weren't awesome, but because there was no one producing cards about their sports.  That's why I love these Topps Olympic cards, because they spotlight these superior athletes who might never cards otherwise.   (...