Bad Wax

I’m late on this one just because I have a dentist appointment this morning and I didn’t realize I had it this early until I finished my prologue. Then to top it all off, I have 2 meetings one from 11:15-12:30 and one from 1:00 - 2:15, so I have to squeeze this review in, because I don’t want to miss a second day in a row of Operation Topps. We are up to pack 17 and as far as I can tell this is one of the most successful boxes I have ever had. Out of a possible 272 cards, I have only had 17 doubles. I know it will catch up to me at some point, but for now I’m having too much fun. Here is pack number 17.

1. Pete Rose - MGR - Reds - 393 - This was Pete’s first year as just a manager, and not a player manager. He had been fairly successful as a manager the previous three years and continued his success in 1987 guiding his Reds to a 84-78 record, good for 2nd place in the NL West.

2. RJ Reynolds - OF - Pirates - 109 - He was the other guy in the Pirate’s outfield. I mena you had Bonds and Van Slyke, then the other guy. He was the starter for the Pirates in 1987 and went 0.260/7/41/15. Not too bad for your third outfielder. His fun fact was that he got his nickname “Shoes” from teammates because of his large collection of footwear.

3. Chris Welsh - P - Reds - 592 - Chris was a seldom used spot starter and in 1987, he was not in the big leagues. 1986 was his last season. His fun fact was that he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of South Florida. I bet he was loving thier football run last year.

4. Jimmy Key - P - Blue Jays - 29 - Jimmy was one of my favorite Yankee pitchers growing up. He was definitely one of the most underated pitchers of his time. In 1987 he actually finished 2nd in Cy Young voting and went 17-8/2.76/1.06 in what would be the best season of his career. He lost the Cy Young to Clemens that year. His fun fact was that he graduated from Butler (AL) High School.

5. Reid Nichols - OF - White Sox -539 - Ried was a seldom played outfielder, whose career came to an end in 1987. In 1987 he was with the Expos and went 0.265/4/20 in just 147 at bats. No fun facts from Reid.

6. Randy Bush - DH/OF - Twins - 364 - Randy used to frustrate me as a fantasy baseball owner. I always felt as though he had the talent to become a solid player but he always ended up in the seat of mediocrity. In 1987 he was still with the Twins and went 0.253/11/46/10 in what would be one of his better seasons. His fun fact was that he was named as 2nd team All - American at the University of New Orleans. He and his wife have two sons.

7. Mike Greenwell - OF - Red Sox - 259 - I remember this card as one of the biggies in the set. At least in the late 80’s. 1987 was a big year for Mike since he became a full time starter that season. He went 0.328/19/89 and finished fourth in a very Competitive rookie of the Year voting. His fun fact was that he was voted the MVP of his little league team.

8. Thad Bosley - OF - Cubs - 58 - Thad was another one of those guys who carved out a nice little career (14 years) as a very little used backup. In 1987 he was playing for the Royals. He went 0.279/1/16 in very limited at bats. His fun fact was that he recorded a gospel contemporary album, “Pick Up the The Pieces.” He also enjoys writing poetry.

9. Ricky Wright - P - Rangers - 202 - Ricky pitched in 55 games over his career. Unfortunately for him none of those appearences were after 1986 because that was his last season. His fun fact was that his hobby is playing the guitar, and that he and his wife have one daughter.

10. Don Robinson - P - Tigers - 712 - Don’s nickname was “Caveman”, split time between the Pirates and Giants in 1987, he was a starter in the early part of his career, but by 1987 he was a middle reliever. He went 11-7/4.01/1.34, his best part of the year was with the Giants. He has no fun fact on his card.

11. Alan Trammell - SS - Tigers - 687 - One of the best short stops of his time, this was the peak of his career. He went 0.343/28/105/21 and finished 2nd in MVP voting (also the best finish of his career). He was always a must have on my fantasy teams, just because he was fun to watch play. His fun fact was that he was a baseball and basketball star in high school. and that he and his wife have two sons.

12. Al Newman - 2B - Expos - 323 - This was Al’s third season in the bigs and his first year as a starter, but not for the Pirates it was for the Twins. In 1987 he went 0.221/0/27/15 in 300 at bats, pretty much what his career average was. No fun fact for Al.

13. Jeff Stone - OF - Phillies - 532 - 1987 was the last significant (and by that I mean more than 100 at bats) year in the bigs. He was still with the Phillies and went 0.256/1/16 in 125 at bats. He never really developed into the player they were hoping for. His fun fact was that he was one of 15 children, and has a twin brother named Jerome who never made it out of the minors.

14. Mike Witt - P - Angels - 760 - The Yankee killer of the 80s. I never knew a pitcher who the Yankees had a harder time hitting off of. In 1987 he was still with the Angels and went 16-14/4.01/1.36, it was his 4th consecutive year with 15 or more wins in a season. His fun fact was that his high school team won a state title in 1978 and he was the winning pitcher in the championship game.

15. Angels Leaders - 556 - The offensive leaders were Wally Joyner and Gary Pettis. The pitching leaders were Mike Witt and Donnie Moore (hand over heart).

16. Bob Welch - P - Dodgers - 328 - Bob was already a good pitcher, but after having a rough 7-13 season in 1986, he made the leap morphing into a very great pitcher. It was his last season with the Dodgers and he went 15-9/3.22/1.15 and finished 8th in Cy Young voting. The next year he would be in Oakland where he would become one of the best pitchers in the game. No fun fact for Bob.

17. Jerry Hairston - DH/OF - White Sox - 685 - This was the last significant year for Jerry, he was on the White Sox the whole season. He went 0.2330/5/20 in 126 at bats. Even though he didn’t end his career on that note, he only had 5 more at bats, spread over 2 more seasons. So essentially this was it for him. No fun fact for Jerry.

This pack had some good players but for the most part it was a stiff filled pack. The cards that stood out were the Rose (manager though), Trammell, Witt, Welch, Greenwell, and Key. Like I said, nothing fantastic, all were solid non Hall of Fame players. Overall let’s give this pack a 2.5 star rating. I liked the fact there were no doubles, so that was nice. I do expect to start seeing many more doubles. It should get to about 35% at some point and right now it’s running 6%, while we are at the 34% mark for the set. Hey at this rate I should have almost 70% completed by the end of the box (yeah right!).