Bad Wax

I can’t believe I’m up to lucky pack number 13 already. I was able to dodge the doubles bullet for the second pack that I reviewed yesterday. I have come to grips that there will be many more doubles than I anticipated in these boxes. I hope that everyone is still on to pitch in when needed at the end. So far I have 27 doubles and knowing that each box has 540 cards, I think we may have close to 100 doubles when all is said and done. Dropping us down to 440 cards, certainly if this holds true then I can complete the set in two boxes, but I don’t know how that’s going work. Let’s see how this first pack of the day shapes up.

1. Mark Langston – P – Mariners – 495 – 1984 Topps trade has his rookie card, but 1985 Tops is his regular issue rookie card. I am a big fan of Mark Langston, I even got to see him pitch in the Kingdome in 1986. Since he was starting I couldn’t get his autograph, but his is definitely one of those autographs I would like to pick up. So if any of you out there has one let me know and we could trade. He may not have been the best player in the league at the time, but he threw some gas and had more K’s than Clemens in 1986 (beat him by 7 strikeouts).

2. Ozzie Guillen – SS – White Sox – 254 – How did he beat out Teddy Higuera for Rookie of the Year honors in 1985? He really had no stats to speak of, 1 HR, 0.273 batting average, 33 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. You know what Higuera put up from my review yesterday. How is that ROY material? Overall he played for 16 seasons but only amassed 1700+ hits. I guess it was the “little things” that made him a starter and a star for that matter. Or maybe it was just his top notch attitude? Either way, this is his rookie card and is worth $0.75 according to Beckett.

3. Jimmy Key – P – Blue Jays – 545 – Even in 1986 I was a big Jimmy Key fan, I was still a fan when he was shipped off to Baltimore after playing for the Yankees for four years. He was an Andy Pettite of his day. His average was 14-9 with a 3.51 ERA over his career and you just knew the Yankees had a shot every time he was on the mound for them. He was another one of those late round fantasy surprises, just because he just wasn’t flashy. He may never go down as one of the best pitchers of the 80s and early 90s but he should.

4. Craig Reynolds – SS – Astros – 298- He played for 15 seasons and let me tell you he was a 0 tool player for all of them. A starter that fit well in the 8th slot in the lineup. Didn’t much bring anything to the table except he rarely struck out. He carved out a nice career for himself, even if he didn’t deserve to play in the bigs for as long as he did.

5. Terry Harper – OF – Braves – 247 – Harper actually had a very nice 1985 season, where he had 17 homers 72 RBIs and hit 0.264. That made him the starter going into 1986, unfortunately mid season he injured himself and missed 3 months. He never really regained his starting position and retired in1988.

6. Len Dykstra – OF – Mets – 53 – I never really liked Dykstra, could have been because I hated the Mets or maybe because once at a card show when I was 15, i was in an elevator with him and I had a ball and pen, asked him to sign it. He said he didn’t have time. Meanwhile we rode up to our floors in silence, plenty of time for him to sign. I knew that he was a jerk. From that point foward I kept one card for the set and sold every other card I ever got from him. I cheered every time he got injured (which was often) and popped a cork when he retired. He couldn’t leave baseball early enough for me!

7. Rod Carew – 1B – Angels – 400 – I thought he might be in this set I couldn’t remember when he retired. He actually retired after the 1985 season, so he never played in 1986. He played for 19 seasons and was an all star in 18 of them. He has a Rookie of the Year award and also an MVP. He may not have hit a lot of homers, but for 15 consecutive years he batted over 0.300 including five seasons he hit higher than 0.350. One of the best pure hitters in the game, you can mention his name with George Brett, Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs. He was inducted into the Hall in 1991, and he deserved it.

8. Dave Righetti – P – 560 – Yankees – He was another one of those players I was a fan of. I actually never met him but I did meet his brother who lives in Arizona and he was nice enough to get a ball signed for me. It was a perfect storm, I really got into pro baseball in 1984 and he was the closer on my favorite team. One of the saddest days is when they let him go and he signed with San Francisco. 1986 was definitely his best season, he saved 46 games and finished over 60 of them.

9. Rick Miller – OF – Red Sox – 424 – Maybe what he is most famous for is being Carlton Fisk’s brother in law. He was a spot starter for Boston and California. He is another one of those guys that retired in 1985 and didn’t play in the1986 season. He was really only known for his batting average. Which wasn’t that good to begin with.

10. Brian Fisher – P – Yankees – 584 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

11. George Hendrick – OF – Angels – 190 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

12. Bob Grich – 2B – Angels – 155 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

13. George Foster – OF – Mets – 680 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

14. Teddy Higuera – P – Brewers – 347 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12.

15. Bryan Little – 2B – White Sox – 346 – Double which was reviewed in pack 12. Goes in the Steve pile!

Overall, even with the doubles, it is still a solid pack. I gave it a 4.0 stars rating. Carew, Guillen, Langston, Dykstra (even though I hate him), Foster and Higuera made this pack possibly one of the best packs I’ve seen since the 5.0 stars pack. I am getting kind of tired with this 6 doubles per pack business. I wonder how long this plagues the Topps line. I guess I will find out soon enough. I should have another review up by this afternoon.