Operation Topps - 1987 Topps (Pack 18)
Well another rough day today as my laptop died on me. So while I wait to get it fixed, I have very limited access to the net. I am actually doing this in Word and saving it for later to post. I just didn’t want to miss a day of Operation Topps. Because if I miss one day, I might miss multiple days and that’s not good. I just wanted to let everyone know about Stale Gum’s site, Chris always puts up some entertaining posts and this one from a few days ago is hysterical if you were a fan of MTV’s “The State”. I looked on youtube for a clip of this, but I came up empty, however if you go here, you can see it. Watch this clip, then read Chris’s post on a Beckett meeting and I think you’ll appreciate it more. Anyways, here is pack 18.
1. Ray Searage – P – White Sox – 149 – Ray was a career reliever with a very unimpressive resume. In 1987 he went 4-3/4.20/1.44 in just over 50 games. He was a lefty and we all know the lefties get to stay in the league as long as they can throw. His fun fact was that he enjoys scuba diving and fishing in his spare time. Also he has worked as a carpenter.
2. Vida Blue – P – Giants – 260 – He is an answer to one of my questions a while back. Who are the members of the Cy Young/MVP in the same year club. Well Vida won both in 1971. Vida retired in 1986 so no stats for him in 1987. His fun fact was that he threw 35 TD passes as a high school senior.
3. Luis Aquino – P – Blue Jays – 301- Luis may have spent some of 1986 in the bigs, but it didn’t translate into a call-up in 1987. He spent that year in Syracuse. His fun fact was that he was selected as Kinston’s (A+) MVP in 1984.
4. Mike Schmidt – NL All Star – 597 – This card has the NL leaders in home runs in 1986. Mike was on top of that list with a mere 37 homers. Could you imagine a person hitting 37 and being the league leader? I guess I’m just spoiled by the HGH era.
5. Joel Skinner – C – Yankees – 626 – Joel was a career backup catcher and this was his second year in the Bronx. He was known mainly for his defensive skills which is why he could put up 0.137/3/14 in 139 at bats and still have a job the next year. His fun fact was that he was one of four sons of fomer major leaguer Bob Skinner. He and his wife have one daughter.
6. Dave Henderson – OF – Red Sox – 452 – In 1987 Dave split the season between the Red Sox and the Giants and thanks to injury issues had one of the worst seasons of his career. In 1987 he went 0.234/8/26 in just under 225 at bats. This wouldn’t be the end for Dave, quite the opposite as we will see later. His fun fact was that he was an All American in high school football.
7. Ray Soff – P – Cardinals – 671 – Ray was a reliever for the Cardinals in 1987, his last season in the bigs, and only pitched in 12 games. His record was 1-0/6.46/1.50. His fun fact was that his biggest baseball thrill was the 1976 State Championship with the Blissfield (Mich.) High School. I would have thought it was his call up to the bigs.
8. Mike Maddux – P – Phillies – 553 – Want to see what the brother of a superstar looks like? I give you Greg’s substantially less talented older brother Mike. Mike may have broke into the bigs quicker than Greg but as a career spot starter, but that’s about a ll he had on Greg. In 1987 he put together a nice season when he went 2-0/2.65/1.29 in 7 games. Mike has no fun fact on his card.
9. Terry Puhl – OF – Astros - 693 - Terry’s days of starting were over by this point in his career. He was relegated to short backup duty and went 0.230/2/15 in 122 at bats. His fun fact was that he attended high school in Sask., Canada and that he and his wife have a daughter and a son.
10. Mitch Williams – P – Rangers – 291 – He looks like a very young Wild Thing in this picture. 1987 was his second season in the bigs and he was already carving out a nice niche as a setup guy. In 1987 he went 8-6/3.23/1.45, hey they didn’t call him Wild Thing for nothing. He also had six saves that year. His fun fact was that his brother Bruce played in the Brewer’s farm system.
11. Lee Lacy – OF – Orioles – 182 – This was actually Lee’s final year in the majors. He was a starter right up until this year. He went 0.244/7/28 not a bad season at all when you consider that he was 39 and in his last season. Even though his card is chuck full of stats, his fun fact says that he and his wife have a daughter.
12. Bret Saberhagen – P – Royals – 140 – An odd year for Saberhagen so you know he did pretty well. He had that whole odd year good, even year bad thing going for a while. In 1987 he went 18-10/3.36/1.16, and got to be in his first All Star game. His fun fact was that his son was born during the World Series and that he won the coveted Babe Ruth award (a little help here, I’m not sure what that is).
13. Curt Ford – OF – Cardinals - 399 – Not to be confused with Curt Flood, who started the whole free agent thing. Curt Ford was a career back up for the Cards and the Phils. In 1987 he was with the Cards and went 0.285/3/26, at least he was a one tool player. His fun fact was that he was All-District, All-State, MVP and All-Metro selection in high school. He majored in Recreation Administration at Jackson St. Is that a jock major or what?
14. Ron Darling – P – Mets – 75 – In the mid 80’s Ron was one of the most consistently good pitchers there was. It was completely overshadowed by Doc Gooden, but man he put up at least 12 wins a year from 1984-1989. Quite impressive, including in 1987 when he went 17-9/3.25/1.16, no Cy Young votes and no All Star appearance, how crappy is that? His fun fact was that he was co-chairman of the NY State Youth Drug Prevention Campaign. He played 2 years of football at Yale while working on his degree in history.
15. Juan Espino – C – Yankees – 239 – I had to check him out since I had never heard of him. It’s for good reason too, he only had 73 at bats, spread out over 4 years. He didn;t even play in 1987, 1986 was his last season. His fun fact was that he lead Eastern League (AA) catchers with a 0.987 fielding percentage in 1978.
16. Ron Guidry – P – Yankees – 375 – This was the year, that after a terrible 1986, you wanted to see if he could turn it around. I mean he did win 22 games in 1985, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. But in 1987 he had another bad season, he went 5-8/3.67/1.27 in what would be one of his worst seasons. His fun fact is that he is proficient in playing the drums.
17. Pete O’Brien – 1B – Rangers - 17 - Pete was a solid hitter all throughout his career and in 1987 he was 29 years old and right in the middle of his peak years. He went 0.286/23/88 in yet another fine season, definitely one of the overlooked guys from the 80s. His fun fact was that he works for the Cystic Fibrosis 65 Roses Club and makes appearances on behalf of the Rangers.
Overall this was a pretty good pack. Right off the cuff I’m thinking 4.5 stars. Which by my standards are pretty decent. I have to apologize, I am using an old laptop and don’t have any photo editing solftware. I am going to post the photos of these cards tomorrow when I get back my laptop. Hopefully you all understand and if not, Oh Well. Don’t forget to check out Chris’s stale gum site, he is after all the longest running blogger around.
