Operation Topps – Topps 1986 (Pack 30)

Well my run of double free packs ended yesterday, so I can only assume there are more to come! In other news, I wanted to tell all the people that won my 10,000 contest, that I will get your stuff out by this upcoming Saturday, we are getting ready for a trip and things are kind of hectic around here. But I definitely will get them out by next Saturday. I was going through my price guide for this set and there are still several key cards I am missing, so I hope over the course of the next few days, I can stumble across them. An interesting fact I have for you on 1986 set, it was one of the last sets not to have the Topps All Rookie Team cups on them. OK so are you ready for number 30? I know I am!

1. Alan Trammell – SS – Tigers – 130 – I always was a big fan of Trammell, mainly because I started collecting cards in 1978 and he was on one of the 4 picture rookie cards, I must have 4 of them at least. Looking at his stats, he was never a big time threat guy except in his average. Although it’s hard to believe it, he came into the league at such a young age (19) that he didn’t even hit his peak years until 1984 and it really showed with his power numbers. In 1986 he really broke out in a big way when he hit 0.277/21/75/25 and was the main cog in that Detroit Tiger team. Trammell is definitely one of those guys that if I can find a relic or auto of himI’m definitely going to go for it.

2. Dan Schatzeder – P – Expos – 324 – I can probably say that no one looked forward to see him pitch, they couldn’t pronounce his last name. I can’t say much about him because I don’t want to refer to him as his last name, I bet even the announcers of the games referred to him as Dan who the hell wants to keep saying Schatzeder all night long. Heck I have a hard enough time typing it.

3. Ivan Calderon – OF/1B – Mariners – 382 – He was really the DH, as Alvin Davis was the first baseman. I write this with a hand over my heart and my head hung low. When I went to look at his stats I saw that he had died. Upon further reading he was shot and killed by a random act of violence in 2003. He was only 41. I just remember Ivan for his mamouth homers when he hit them. In 1986 he was playing for the White Sox after being traded away mid season for Scott Bradley. I don’t know about you but I think I’d rather have Ivan on my team than Scott.

4. Dickie THon – SS – Astros – 169 – Raise your hand if you were a Dickie Thon fan. I didn’t think I would see too many. Out of his 15 years in the majors, Dickie had one great season, it was 1983, where he hit 0.286/20/79/34, it would be his only vote for MVP his only Silver Slugger season and his only All Star appearance. In 1986 he was a part time player hitting 0.249/3/21/6. Not quite tearing up the league huh?

5. Willie Wilson – OF – Royals – 25 – Willie did two things extremely well, he got hits and could steal bases at will. In 1986 he just turned 30, he superior base stealing days behind him, he settled into the role of 20-30 stolen bases a season. Instead of hitting over 0.300, he was more of a 0.270-0.280 guy. He was still quite effective as a player but you could tell the wheels were getting a little slower.

6. Vance Law – 2B/3B – Expos – 787 – Here is one interesting fact about Vance, who by the way is the BYU baseball team manager (since 2000), as found ong baseball-reference.com:

His mother’s name is VaNita, and his brothers’ names are Veldon, Veryl, Vaughn, and Varlin; his sister’s name is Valynda.

I think Vance got the best name of the bunch, but that’s just my opinion. Vance had a rough year in 1986, he hit 0.226/5/44, but he was injured during the season and if he played a full year it would have been an average year for Vance (except for the 0.226 average).

7. Alfredo Griffen – SS – A’s – 566 – I’m not sure why I remember Alfredo so fondly. He was at best an average ballplayer with very little power and some speed. I guess I followed him because he was on that 1986 Canseco team and I followed everyone on that team. It was a year of re-birth for him as he went on to post higher than average numbers for almost all of the statistical categories. Including stealing 333 bases (a career high).

8. Danny Cox – P – Cardinals – 294 – Danny, besides having an x rated last name is one of the few people born in England and got to play in the MLB. His 1985 season was fantastic where he went 18-9/3.56/1.19 and led the Cardinals to the World Series (they lost to the Royals). His 1986 season although not a sparkling record (12-13), his ERA was 2.90 and had a WHIP of 1.13 so he was a very effective pitcher, just no run support or luck during his outings.

9. Dwight Evans – OF – Red Sox – 60 – Double, reviewed in pack 22.

10. Lee Lacy – OF – Orioles – 226 – Double, reviewed in pack 20.

11. Bob Bailor – 3B/SS – Dodgers – 522 – Double, reviewed in pack 20.

12. Joe Beckwith – P – Royals – 562 – Double, reviewed in pack 20.

13. Walt Terrell – P – Tigers – 461 – Double, reviewed in pack 20.

14. Storm Davis – P – Orioles – 469 – Double, reviewed in pack 20.

15. Pete Vuckovich – P – Brewers – 737 – Double, reviewed in pack 20.

Overall I am going to give this pack a 2.0 star rating.  Tramell, really being the only big hit in the pack, and all the doubles has led me to that rating. It looks like the doubles are back with a vengeance!  Oh well, maybe it will make me move through the box quicker than a pack a day.  Don’t forget to go to my new blog bad hits.