So a new development in the case of the missing puzzle piece, it turns out it was under our puzzle mat, but we do indeed have a double as far as pieces to the puzzle. We are almost done, but right now we are stumped at how to finish it, since we have pieces that just don’t match up, I think somehow we put the frame together wrong because that is to only thing it could be. On another note, I am trying to get a fence installed at my house. It’s something my wife and I have saved for and all I have to do is get approval from the home owners association. All I can say is if you are thinking of buying a house in a subdivision that has a HOA, run away, fast, don’t stop until you find a house that isn’t. I have a fairly small lot (0.15 acres), my fence will be 134 feet total, my HOA is having a problem with it because my dingbat neighbor decided to put up a 4 foot scalloped picket fence, and because I’ll have to use part of his wall for my fence and I want a 6 ft. privacy fence, the HOA is up in arms because we won’t match. Even though in our covenant it says that what we are doing is allowed, the HOA is giving me a hard time. Anyways, enough boring stuff, let’s get to pack 43.
1. Frank Williams – P – Giants – 341 – Love this picture, I think the pictures of the players, showing chest hair are fantastic. What the hell were these guys thinking. Do they really think that women were buying these cards and were looking for some chest hair? Or maybe they were secretly gay and hoping to establish a solid man base in which to select from. 1986 was Franks single best year as a reliever, he was 3-1/1.20/1.07 in 36 appearances. Trust me when I say this, he never even got close to these numbers again.
2. Earnie Riles – SS – Brewers – 398 – This was Earnie’s rookie card. I seem to remember him as Earnest though and not Ernie. In 1985 he started for the Brewers at SS and come in 3rd for ROY voting. Big things were expected out of him for his sophomore season in 1986. His stat line was 0.252/9/47, which really wasn’t that bad considering that they had two future Hall of Famers on that team (Yount and Molitor) and a cast of very solid hitters.
3. Eric Davis – OF – Reds – 28 – I curse the presence of drugs at the major league level in the 80′s. It took away 3 of the brightest stars of baseball. Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis. If you look at their stats for 1985 and 1986 they were outstanding. Could you just imagine what they could have done if they weren’t on drugs? In 1986 Eric put up 0.277/27/71 during what would be his coming out year. Both he and Straw ran wtih the same people so it was no surprise when he and Straw ended up at rehab over and over and over again. If it weren’t for the coke and god knows what else, they could have been two HOFers.
4. Dick Howser – MGR – Royals – 199 – I can’t stand manager cards. I can’t think of anyone that I would get excited over who was a manager. Dick was one of the better ones too, but when I see his card my head slumps down. If they got rid of the manager cards in the Topps sets, I wouldn’t complain.
5. Pascual Perez – P – Braves – 491 – The best story about Pascual I ever heard was that in 1982, the first time he was supposed to start for the Braves, he got lost circling Atlanta’s I-285 looking for Fulton County Stadium and ended up missing his start because of this. His nickname after that was I-285. Since there is so much to say about Perez and he has more cards to come I’ll just let you know that in 1986 he missed the entire season due to shoulder surgery and the Braves would end up letting him go (in my opinion was a mistake).
6. John Wathan – C/1B – Royals – 128 – John although he did start for two years for the Royals, was essentially a back up catcher and first baseman for most of his career. 1985 would be his last season in the majors but he wasn’t really known for his playing days of baseball he was known more for his managing days. He coached Kansas City from 1987-1991 and California in 1992.
7. Jose Rijo – P – A’s – 536 – He could have become my favorite Yankee. I got his autograph in person at a Yankee game I attended in 1984. I was 13 at the time and he was so nice, he signed my baseball and one for my friend. Somewhere I also have a picture of me and Jose. Unfortunately he was part of the Rickey Henderson trade at the end of the 1984 season. In 1986 his numbers were 9-11/4.65/1.446 which were pretty bad. It wasn’t until he met Juan Marachial’s daughter and moved on to Cincinnati that he became the pitcher I remember him as.
8. Willie Hernandez – P – Tigers – 670 – Willie had what some people refer to as the perfect season for the Tigers in 1984. He won the Cy Young, the MVP and the World Series. Only three other pitchers have won both the Cy Young and the MVP awards in the same year, can you name them? In 1986 Willie put up a 8-7/3.55/1.218 with 24 saves season. Not bad at all, but definitely not even close to what he did in 1984.
9. Hal McRae – DH – Royals – 415 – I am not sure what people remember McRae as, a player or a coach. I remember him as both but I can see it from either way since I always thought of him as a so so manager. As a hitter though he was very good, usually hitting close to 0.300 with 15+ homers and 70+ RBIs. In 1986 he went 0.252/7/39 in what would be his second to last season. The funny thing about this card was that the photo was taken at Yankee stadium, the Royals arch enemy at the time.
10. Greg Gagne – 3B/SS – Twins – 162 – Come on, who didn’t like Gagne, Gaetti and Hrbek in the mid 80′s. They were so much fun to watch. 1986 would be the first year that he was anointed starter, he rewarded the Twins with a 0.250/12/54/12 season. Not bad for such a young player. He played for the Twins for 10 years before moving on, but was a great 10 years it was.
11. Doyle Alexander – P – Blue Jays – 196 – Double, first reviewed in pack 14.
12. Joe Orsulak – OF – Pirates – 102 – Double, first reviewed in pack 21.
13. Danny Heep – OF/1B – Mets – Double, first reviewed in pack pack 4.
14. Mike Scioscia – C – Dodgers – 468 – Double, first reviewed in pack 18.
15. Pat Corrales – MGR – Indians – 699 – Double, first reviewed in pack 21.
Overall, what a fun pack to review, there were lot’s of entertaining players and guys who go on to have some nice careers. I am going to give this pack a 4.5 star rating, simply because it was so much fun to rate. I have to admit when I was going through this pack, it stirred up a lot of old memories for me. I’m sure that aided in such a high rating but I do stand by it. I am in critical need of players for my yahoo fantasy league. Which drafts today at 3pm Eastern. Please sign up here:
http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/register/createjoin?.scrumb=
click join a private league, and here are what you need to know:
league ID :35439
Password: league
The draft is at 3pm. Thanks and good luck!
It might have been a mistake to let Pascual Perez go but in 1985 he was 1-13 with an era of 6.14 and a whip of 1.80. True he had a couple of good years later, but those stats are horrible.
When Mike Schmidt hit his 500th home run he was asked which current player did he think had a chance to hit 500. Darryl Strawberry was his choice.
I was playing in a fantasy league in the mid to late ’80s and Eric Davis was the highest paid player in our league for 3-4 years running.
I too am sad to think about what sort of careers they could have had.
http://www.capewood.blogspot.com
Eric was and still is one of my favorite all-time players. He was exciting to watch when he wasn’t nursing his many injuries.
The cool thing about the manager cards of olden times was the team checklist on the back. If they are going to continue making mgr cards, they need to return to those checklists for the team.