Operation Topps – Topps 1986 (Pack 16)

Well it’s been a doubles fiesta lately! I am at the 24% mark for the set and my doubles rate is a staggering 17% for the box so far. My readership over the last few days has started to tumble and I am beginning to worry that this Operation Topps is getting boring for people. For me it’s fun because I get to relive my youth opening up these vintage (god I can’t believe it’s vintage) cards. However I could understand why someone else would find it boring. So I’m considering doing a few things, one of which would be working on a few sets at one time. Right now I’m in beg mode for the Topps ’52 set, but I have 2 boxes of 1987 and 1988 Topps and one of 1989 that I can start the sets of. If just one set at a time is bugging you then please let me know so I can keep my daily readers and start up other sets, thus giving a different look each day. On with pack 16.

1. Bob Lillis – Manager – Astros – 561 – He was the head coach of the Astros for 4 seasons. The funny thing was that he wasn’t the head coach of the Astros in 1986. That was Hal Lanier, who took the Astros to the playoffs.

2. Jay Howell – P – A’s – 115 – A very good middle relief guy, once he left New York. He didn’t hit his groove until he was dealt to the A’s in the Rickey Henderson deal in 1984. 1985 was a stellar year for him. His first sub 3.00 ERA season with 26 saves and his WHIP was an outstanding 1.16. There was no reason not to believe that he wouldn’t repeat in 1986 and although not quite as good as 1985, he had himself another very good season pulling in 16 saves with an ERA of 3.38.

3. Dave Parker – OF – Reds – 595 – He was quite a player in the mid to late 70s and then his production took a down turn. So much so that even though he was a former MVP, the Pirates let him go after 2 injury filled, sub par years. In 1985 he had a resurgence with the Reds where he hit 34 homers, 125 RBIs and had a batting average of 0.312. In 1986 he nearly repeated himself with 31 homers and 116 RBIs but an average which dipped to 0.273. In short, a nice acquisition for the Reds getting him at 50 cents on the dollar.

4. Keith Moreland – OF – Cubs – 266 – Keith was as steady as the came for the Cubs between 1982 and 1985 hitting 15 homers, 80 RBIs and 0.280 batting average almost every season. In 1986 he cranked out one more of those signature seasons. Not a bad player but in the world of card collecting, basically worthless.

5. Larry Parrish – OF – Rangers – 238 – Parrish had a season cut short by injury in 1985 and was looking to rebound in 1986. He did, in a big way. He hit 28 homers, 98 RBIs and batted 0.276. All that and he only had 464 at bats. When he wasn’t injured he was at least a 25 homer guy, but he wasn’t the healthiest of players, on average only playing in about 130 games a season. One of the better players in 1986.

6. Jorge Bell – OF – Blue Jays – 338 – Want to know how big a part Bell was to this team, think Carlos Delgado in the late 90s. Bell and Barfield propelled this team to the top of the east every year. In 1985 he was coming off a stellar year where he hit 0.275, 28, 95 and even had 21 stolen bases. Big things were expected out of him in 1986 and he didn’t disappoint hitting 0.309, 31, 108. At some point he switched his name to George Bell or maybe we (as fans) did it for him, because that’s how he is listed on baseball-reference.

7. Ray Miller – Manager – Twins – 381 – He was hired mid year in 1985 and was fired mid year in 1986. Not a particularly good manager s he never has guided any of his teams to higher than 4th place in the standings. Plus you know how I feel about manager cards. Hate them!

8. Larry Anderson – P – Phillies – 183 – He pitched for an obscenely long time (17 years). He was a mid reliever and he did his job well. Every year he seemed to be one of the best middle relievers in the league.  But you know what, that’s about as cool as being the best 4th outfielder in the league.

9. Bud Black – P – Royals – 697 – Bud was one of my fantasy bargains.  He usually got you a nice WHIP and win total, but never over 15 wins, and his ERA and strikeout totals weren’t too bad either.  He just wasn’t a sexy player, he always went late in the draft and usually had a good season.  Although there were some stinkers.  In 1986 the Royals decided to make him a closer.  Even though he started his whole career, he did nicely as a one year closer. In 1987 he went back to being a starter.

10. Rick Schu – 3B – Phillies – 16 – Rick was a platoon journeyman his entire career, we shall see many of his cards and I assure you that none of them are worth the paper printed on.  I don’t want to belittle any major leaguer but Rick just doesn’t have a whole lot to offer.

11. Rich Gedman – C – Red Sox – 375 – It’s said that a player’s prime years are between 26 and 31.  For Geddy, his prime years were from 24-26, the good news was that he was part of that amazing Red Sox team of 1986.  The bad news was that 1986 seemed to be his last good year.  He regained his starter role in 1988 but overall his best years were pre-prime.

12. Steve Trout – P – Cubs – 384 – I had to take a scan of this picture, at a glance thatcould be someone’s grandmother throwing a ball. Now I have seen Steve Trout and I have to say this is one of the most unflattering pictures I have ever seen of him.  I did question whether this was a man or a woman.  By 1986 he was well past his prime and was putting up ERAs over 4.5 and WHIPs over 1.5, not your go to guy (or gal).

13. Mike LaCoss – P – Royals – 359 – Mike was all over the place, a starter, a reliever, a closer, in 1986 though he was a starter and actually pitched quite well.  Even though he was 10-13 he had an ERA of3.57 and a WHIP of 1.22, not bad for any pitcher.

14. Tony Perez – 1B – Reds – 85 – In his prime Tony was THE MAN! He was a big part of the big red machine Reds of the mid 70s.  He was one of the best 4 tool players in the game.  1986 was his last season.  In reality he should have retired in 1981, but who is going to say no to Tony Perez?  THe guy was a legend, it was just a shame that it took as long as it did (9 years) for him to get into the Hall of Fame.  From 1967 – 1975 he was one of the most feared hitters in baseball, and to me that is what the Hall of Fame is all about.

15. Rick Miller – P – Red Sox – 424 – Previously reviewed in pack 13.

Overall not too shabby when you pull a Hall of Famer.  Since I feel 4 of the cards were good pulls I’ll give this one a 3.0 star rating.  What can I say, I guess the Tony Perez review got me fired up.  I’ll be very interested to hear back from you whether or not to start other sets.  My vote would be to do one at a time, but I would understand if it would be more exciting to put together multiple years at a time.  In the end it doesn’t matter, it’s all bad wax to me, but oh so much fun taking the daily trip down memory lane.