I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to make this blog post happen today. My wife is working and I have to watch the dogs. Really it’s just one dog and although she doesn’t have horns on her head yet, I am sure they are coming in because he has to be the spawn of the Devil. There could be 100 toys laying on the floor and she is guaranteed to find the laptop wire and begin chewing on it. The only positive thing that has happened is that we have seen a dramatic reduction in spot bot usage (from pee) and she has never gone number 2 in the house. So at least I have that to be thankful for. Anyways, I had to watch her and mow the lawn, and come into work for a few hours. SO like I said I knew this post would be taking a back seat. Well, wait no longer because pack number 65 is here.
1. Ken Dixon – P – Orioles – 198 – At first I swore I did his card before but after searching the archives, I didn’t find it. So this is actually Ken’s third card. He didn’t see much action his rookie year, but in his second year, he started 18 games and went 8-4/3.67/1.28 which was excellent. The problem was in 1986 he went 11-13/4.58/1.36, because of those numbers he had a short leash the next season and didn’t make it to 1988.
2. Tim Hulett – 2B/3B – White Sox – 724 – I guess when you are a backup like Tim is, you only get to swing the fungo bat. Really, I can’t believe he posed for his Topps card with a fungo bat. How terrible is that? Anyhow, in 1986 he went 0.231/17/34 with almost 400 at bats. Not too shabby for a third year guy, but he’d hve to show more if he wanted to stay a starter, see how that turns out in 1987′s set.
3. Roy Smith – P – Indians – 9 – Roy was a not so great starter for the Tribe. 1986 was his 3rd year in the bigs and he went 0-2/6.97/1.78 as a middle reliever in only 5 appearances. Even though he started both of his previous seasons, he hurt himself in 1986 and spent most of the season rehabbing and in AAA.
4. Willie McGee – NL All Star – 707 – Can you think of someone who looks more tense than Willie in this picture. Also at first I thought he was swinging some large barreled bat, but if you look at his hands he is swinging 2 bats, kind of an optical illusion. On the back of his card they list the NL batting average leaders and he was tops on that list at 0.353, a whopping 33 points ahead of the next closest guy.
5. Rick Waits – P – Brewers – 614 – Rick was known as a good singer, believe it or not, he used to sing the National Anthem before games quite a number of times. 1985 was Rick’s last season so no stats for 1986. In 1985 he went 3-2/6.51/1.85 in 24 games, so I guess it was time for him to move on.
6. Dan Petry – P – Tigers – 540 – Dan had been pitching in the majors since he was 20 years old and from 1980-85 he notched at least 10 wins a season (10 twice, 15 twice, 18 once, and 19 once) So he was a decent pitcher. The 1986 came around and it was like night and day. He went 5-10/4.66/1.51 and never again regained that composure that allowed him to win so many games.
7. Greg Minton – P – Giants – 310 – OK can you imagine how this photo session went? OK Greg, now I want you to kneel and fold your arms over your knee and pretend like you are chatting with someone, but don’t look at me. Greg was an 11 year vet at this point in his career. In 1986 he went 4-4/3.93/1.41, he was a very effective middle reliever/closer but he just didn’t have what it takes to become elite.
8. John Felske – MGR – Phillies – 621 – Double, first reviewed in pack 27.
9. Alvin Davis – 1B – Mariners – 440 – Double, first reviewed in pack 28.
10. LaMarr Hoyt – P – Padres – 380 – Double, first reviewed in pack 11.
11. Dave Lopes – OF/2B – Cubs – 125 – Double, first reviewed in pack 34.
12. Cardinals Leaders – 66 – Double, first reviewed in pack 31.
13. Keith Hernandez – 1B – Mets – 520 – Double, first reviewed in pack 11.
14. Scott Sanderson – P – Cubs – 406 – Double, first reviewed in pack 28.
15. Paul Householder – OF – Brewers – 554 – Double, first reviewed in pack 31.
Overall it isn’t bad that I got 7 new cards, but it is bad that they are cards of nobodies except for McGee. Over than him, you would have a hard time knowing who any of these non doubles were, except if you were fans of the teams they were on. I am going to give the pack a 2.0 star rating. There were some good players (Hernandez, McGee, and Alvin Davis) but overall, it was a pretty boring pack. Oh well, I guess I can’t put off mowing the lawn any more, so away I go. Have a nice rest of the weekend and I will see you on Monday.
