Operation Topps – 1986 Topps (Pack 58)

Ah a new day, yesterday we saw a pack with 7 new ones and 8 doubles. Maybe today we will see the same (at least I hope)! I know what I wanted to discuss today. Has anyone picked up the MLB 2k8 game for the x360 or the PS3? Well I’ve been playing around with it for the last few days and I can’t tell you how disappointed I am with it. First off, I’ve only been able to complete 3 games, because of the bugs, usually sometime in the 5th or 6th inning, the entire team comes to the mound and the game just sits there. Other than that, in the 5 games I’ve played, I’ve had 5 rain outs. I’ve had 15 errors (and I’m watching the games, not playing them). I tried to play them, but they took away the ability to use buttons to pitch and hit. All I wan to do is press A to swing and pitch. They took a fantastic game in 2k7 and killed it. I am curious how many of my readers feel the same way about the game? Let’s move on to pack 58.

1. Dusty Baker – OF/1B – A’s – 645 – When you see the slash on a player it usually means that he is a young guy trying to make the team and plays as many positions as possible to get the most playing time. In Dusty’s case it means, he is past his date of freshness and he was finding positions he could play and not be worried with how old he was. 1986 was his last season he went 0.240/4/19 in order for him to just play one more season.

2. Padres Leaders – 306 – Dean of the Padres is Terry Kennedy. The offensive leaders were Tony Gwynn and Steve Garvey. The Pitching leaders were LaMarr Hoyt and Andy Hawkins.

3. Gorman Thoms – DH – Mariners – 750 – Many people don’t know who Gorman is, but let me assure you he was one of the hardest hitting guys of his era. Think Rob Deer but with a slightly higher average. He was from Wisconson so you know his loved playing with the Brewers. In 1986 he was with the Mariners, then Brewers and hit 0.187/16/36. It’s fine when you slug 35 homers and hit 0.240 but when you hit 0.187, it’s not so good. This is why 1986 would be his last year in baseball.

4. Dennis Boyd – P – Red Sox – 605 – Oil Can as he was known was in his 5th year in 1986. He was still with the Red Sox and coming off a 15-13 season. In 1986 he went 16-10/3.78/1.25 and was a key factor in leading his team to the World Series.

5. Daryl Boston – OF – White Sox – 139 – I remember Boston, but really just because of his last name. He was never really a starter, but he was a very serviceable back up. In 1986 he went 0.266/5/22 and slowly worked his way up to more at bats.

6. Roger Clemens – P – Red Sox – 661 – I was wondering when this card was going to surface. A hell of a pack so far and this is the cherry on top. He was dominating the minor leagues when he came up in 1984 and went 9-4. Then in 1985 he went 7-5, and we knew we were going to be in for a treat in 1986. That year he went 24-4/2.48/0.97 and won the MVP and Cy Young award.

7. Jorge Bell – AL All Star – 718 – On the back of this one we have the 1985 AL Home Run leaders. Of which Mr. Bell is not a top 10 member of. He hit 28 that year which would have put him tied for 11th. So not too far away from the top 10.

8. Pedro Guerrero – OF – Dodgers – 145 – Man, this pack is rocking. I can’t believe how many great players I have come across already and we are just past the half way mark. Pedro was another big time slugger. Fresh off a top 10 MVP season he went 0.320/33/87/12. In 1986 he had a tough season because he missed almost the entire season due to injury.

9. Jim Morrison – 3B/2B – Pirates – 553 – This is not the Doors singer. But I guess you already knew that. Looking at his stats, I am thoroughly confused about why he was never a starter. When he did start, he always did well. Take for example his 1986 season.0.274/23/88. But you’d never guess he’d be able to do it from his 1985 season when he went 0.254/4/22. Like I said, when he got the reps, he did well, when he didn’t he sucked. A real head scratcher as to why no one saw this.

10. Tony Bernazard – 2B – Indians – 354 – Here is another head scratcher and I tried to figure out what happened. In 1986 he was with Cleveland and was only 29 years old. His numbers were 0.301/17/71/17. Very nice numbers indeed. After the 1987 season he disappeared for 7 seasons and returned in 1994. Anyone know what happened?

11. Neil Allen – P – Yankees – 663 – Neil moved around a lot in his big league career, but at least for one season he stayed with the same team all year and that was in 1986. He was with the White Sox and went 7-2/3.82/1.23, in what would be an average season for him. Not a great season by any stretch of the imagination, but not bad and overall he was a not bad kind of player.

12. Jose DeLeon – P – Pirates – 75 -In 1985, he went 2-19. They say only great players can lose 20 games in a season. Since he only lost 19 I guess he isn’t a great player. But I guess if you don”t know who he is, it goes without saying. In 1986 he went 5-8/3.87/1.31, not too awful, but definitely better than 1985.

13. Rod Carew – 1B – Angels – 400 – Double, first reviewed in pack 13.

14. Tom Brookens – 3B – Tigers – 643 – Double, first reviewed in pack 10.

15. Terry Kennedy – C – Padres – 230 – Double, first reviewed in pack 21.

Overall, what a pack! I think this one has to rate fairly high, like at the 5.0 star level. We got Clemens and Carew in the same pack. Also I liked the Boyd, Guerrero, and Thomas cards. This was a delight to review and it was definitely nice to be able to review more than 7 cards. This is definitely an aberration, but still a nice one. Please let me know, if you know what ever happened to Tony Bernazard.