Bad Wax

I still can’t believe we are already at pack number 21. Although I should believe it since there are now two stacks of unsorted cards on my desk (the piles got too high). Today I am going to a Walk for the Animals. I am helping out at a booth there, so if you are going to be in Durham, NC today (5/17) come on over to Duke University’s Wallace Wade Stadium and get yourself some free doggy toys. Oh and stop by the Pet Supermarket booth and say hi. So with that out of the way, let’s take a look at pack number 21.

1. Robin Yount - OF - Brewers - 773 - A Hall of Famer right on top! That’s always pretty sweet to see when you are doing this. Robin was 31 at this point in his career, and had already gotten his first MVP award. In 1987 he went 0.312/21/103/19, in yet another nice season for him. I think the HOF induction was a no brainer. Anytime anyone wins one MVP they need to be considered, but two should get you most of the way in.

2. Andy McGaffigan - P - Expos - 742 - Andy was one of those middle relievers who just hung around a long time. He wasn’t great but just good enough. In 1987 he was still with the Expos where he went 5-2/2.39/1.22 and had 12 saves. Not bad at all. His funfact was that he played his college ball at Florida Southern.

3. Checklist - 792 - This year they made the checklist number 792 instead of 791 like the previous years.

4. Bobby Thigpen - P - White Sox - 61 - Boy did he burn out fast or what? This was his regular issue rookie card. He went right to the closer role. In 1987 he went 7-5/2.73/1.24 with 16 saves. I was torn about collecting him because he was a reliever, but I had a feeling he was going to be good. His fun fact was that he was a MVP in baseball, football, and basketball in High School and went to Mississippi State University.

5. Steve Farr - P - Royals - 473 - Steve was another middle reliever, in the late 80s, nothing to write home about but in 1987 he went 4-3/4.15/1.55 with one save. The back of his card was chuck full of stats from his many years in the minors. No room for a fun fact.

6. Keith Moreland - OF/C - Cubs - 177 - This would be Kieth’s last productive season in the majors. Sure he’ll stick around for a few more years, but this was the last good one from him. In 1987 he went 0.266/27/88, not a great average, but a gem to keep in the topp half of your batting order. His fun fact was that he has experience as a talk show host and once hosted a charity racquetball tourney.

7. Dave Stewart - P - A’s - 14 - Dave was just coming off his first season as a starter and had a decent season, the A’s were definitely hoping to rebuild on that one and he ended up going 20-13/3.68/1.26 and finished 3rd in MVP voting, not too shabby for a throw away middle reliever huh? His fun fact was that he was selected as a baseball and football All American in high school.

8. Jim Beattie - P - Mariners - 117 - Beattie was one of those tweener guys.  He played in the late 70s to the mid 80s, kind of baseball’s forgotton souls (see Jeff Boroughs).  He actually retired after the 1986 season when he had some serious arm issues.  In 1986 he went 0-6/6.02/1.76 to close out his career.  No fun fact for Jim.

9. Dave Anderson - 3B/SS - Dodgers - 73 - This former first round pick never took off for the Dodgers.  They were hoping that he would become there star SS, but in the end he put up numbers like he did in 1987 0.234/1/13/9, and that was what he became known for in the bigs.  His fun fact was that he enjoys golf and fishing.

10. Mike Schmidt - 3B - Phillies - 430 - This would be Mike’s last HOF number season.  He even would end up finishing 14th in MVP voting and he was 37 at the time, it would also be his last All Star appearance.  In 1987 he went 0.293/35/119, great numbers for our second Hall of Fame member in this pack.  His fun fact was that he liked playing with electric trains in his down time.  Some how I find it hard to believe that he would put on his engineer’s hat and head on down to the basement for some electric train fun.

11. Franklin Stubbs - 1B/OF - Dodgers - 292 - Cadillac was another former 1st round draft pick that never really lived up to his potential.  In 1987 he was in his fourth season with the Dodgers and went 0.233/16/32.  I think the golden rule in baseball is if you can’t hit, hit homers, and if you’re gonna just hit homers, hit over 35 of them to stick in the bigs.  Franklin stayed in the bigs, but only as a backup.

12. Chuck Cary - P - Tigers - 171 - Not a whole lot to say about Chuck, he had a rather boring career.  In 1987 he was with the Braves and pitched 13 games.  He had a record of 1-1/3.78/1.26 with one save.  Not even a fun fact on the back of his card.

13. Hubie Brooks - SS - Expos - 650 - One of the bright spots for the Expos, Hubie was a solid guy to plug into right in the middle of your lineup. In 1987 he suffered an injury that kept him out of almost a third of the games, but still managed to get an All Star appearance.  He went 0.263/14/72 in just 114 games.  His fun fact was that Donnie Moore was his cousin (yes that Donnie Moore).

14. Dickie Noles - P - Indians - 244 - Last year’s card has him as a Ranger, this year an Indian and next year a Tiger, in other words he moved around a lot at this point in his career.  Dickie went 4-2/3.53/1.34 with 4 saves split between the Indians and the Tigers. No fun fact for Dickie.

15. Larry Parrish - DH - Rangers - 629 - This was Larry’s second to last year in the bigs and he made it count.  He made his second and final All Star appearance this year and went 0.268/32/100.  Not a bad season for a 33 year old, whose knees were shot.  No fun fact for Larry, they must hav ethought he was going to retire.  Boy was Topps wrong on that one.

16. George Bell - All Star - 612 - On the back of this card has the leaders for RBIs, George was 6th, right behind his teammate, Jesse Barfield.  This was George’s first All Star appearance.

17. Claudell Washington - OF - Yankees - 15 - Even though he was a so so talent, I always liked Claudell, and I can’t give a single reason why. All I know is that when I think of those late 80s teams, I always think of Claudell.  In 1987 he went 0.279/9/44/10 in a little over 300 plate appearances.  Nothing special, but maybe I just liked his name.  Who knows?  His fun fact was that he and his wife have three children.

I liked this pack a lot!  It had lots of zip to it.  2 Hall of Famers and a couple of Very good guys in Bell, Thigpen and Stewart.  I am going to give this one a very good rating, like a 4.5 star rating.  Anytime you get two Hall of Famers in one pack you have to give it at least a 4 star rating.  The fact this had some extra guys in it that were decent was just the icing on the cake.  Hope to see some of you in Durham today!