Bad Wax

Sorry I didn’t get an operation Topps post in for Thursday, and Friday I took off posting. So I am back today with another fun filled pack. I am going to change the format a bit , so the posts might look longer, but I think it’s going to be easier to read. Let me know if you like it. A few people have said, they wished to reviews would be more organized, so I am going to set it up more like my bad/cheap game used reviews. I don’t know if it will be any better, but I am gonna give it a shot! Also I think for the 1988 set, I am going to break it down by team, this will speed up the process, but I think it might be fun to see who made the team so bad, or so good for that matter. Anyways, here is pack 25 for your enjoyment.

1. Bud Black – P – Royals – 669 – 30 years old

1987 Stats – 8-6/3.60/1.32 61Ks (no trend in stats)

Awards – None

Picture Notes – Bud has such an average Joe’s face, if he lost the ’stache, there wouldn’t be anything distinguishing about him.

Fun fact – Played semi-pro baseball for the Clarinda (IA) A’s in 1977 and 1978.

2. Jackie Gutierrez – 3B/2B – Orioles – 276 – 27 years old

1987 Stats – 1 at bat 0 hits

Awards – Yeah right.

Player Notes – When you only get one at bat in the middle of your peak years, you can usually tell he’s not going to make it in the bigs.

Fun fact – Jackie’s father competed for Columbia in the javelin event in the 1936 Olympic Games at Berlin.

3. Dave Winfield – OF – Yankees – 770 – 35 years old

1987 Stats – 0.275/27/97 (no change in trend)

Awards – All Star (11th consecutive)

Picture Notes – Dave likes to do splits in the batter’s box so that he can get a smaller strike zone.

Fun fact – No fun fact.

4. Dennis Lamp – P – Blue Jays (played in Oakland) – 768 – 34 years old

1987 Stats – 1-3/5.08/1.73 as a middle reliever (36 games) no trend, but pitching better. Which is hard to believe given his 1.73 WHIP.

Awards – None

Player Notes – I think by now youall know how I feel about middle relievers

Fun fact – His baseball hero was Don Drysdale. He and his wife have 2 daughters.

5. Pirates Leaders – 131

Offensive Leaders – Sid Bream and Jim Morrison (oddly enough not Bonds)

Pitching Leaders – Rick Rhoden and Rick Reushel (known around the league as the Ricks)

6. Julio Franco – 2B – Indians – 160 – 28 years young

1987 Stats – 0.319/8/52/32, this is trending up as he enters his prime years.

Awards – None

Picture Notes – Julio was facing Joe Niekro in this picture and he was thinking, “man what makes players want to play past their 40s?”

Fun fact – He was a standout baseball and basketball player in high school.

7. Dave Leiper – P – A’s (traded to Padres mid-season) – 441 – 25 years old

1987 Stats – 3-1/3.95/1.21 early in his career so his numbers are getting better.

Awards – None

Player Notes – Had himself a good year in 1987 he pitched in 57, they shouldn’t have traded him.

Fun fact – Doesn’t have one.

8. Blue Jays Leaders – 106

Offensive Leaders – Jesse Barfield, George Bell and Tony Fernandez

Pitching Leaders – Mark Eichhorn and Jim Clancy

9. Johnny Grubb – DH/OF – Tigers – 384 – 38 years old – LAST SEASON

1987 Stats – 0.202/2/13, it was the end of the line for a pretty good career, given he was a backup and played for 16 seasons.

Awards – None

Player Notes – One of the last of the 0 tools, 15+ year backup guys.

Fun fact – He and his wife have two children.

10. Tom Niedenfuer – P – Dodgers (traded to the Orioles mid season) – 538 – 27 years old

1987 Stats – 4-5/4.46/1.44 in 60 games pitched

Awards – None

Picture Notes – Me and my big blue glove, crazy frizzy hair and power belly are going to mow you down! I wonder when he went to the Orioles, did he get himself an orange glove?

Fun fact – Tom had a 11-0 record as a senior in high school he had a 7-3 mark at the University of Washington.

11. Roger Mason – P – Giants – 526 – 27 years old

1987 Stats – 3-4/4.80/1.43 in 11 starts

Awards – None

Player Notes – He would be known more as a reliever later in his career, this is just a sample of a handful of starts he made early in his career.

Fun fact – He graduated from high school in 1975 and went to Saginaw Valley State College. He and his wife have one son.

12. Frank DiPino – P – Cubs – 662 – 30 years old

1987 Stats – 3-3/3.15/1.36 in 69 games.

Awards – None

Picture Notes – Ahhhhh my head is slowly becoming a cartoon, the hat has already succumbed to it and so has my jersey. Airbrushing was bad in the 80s.

Fun fact – He attended St. Leo College in Florida.

13. Geno Petralli – C – Rangers – 388 – 27 years old

1987 Stats – 0.302/7/31as a backup (202 at bats)

Awards – None

Player Notes – He was never the go to guy the Rangers were hoping for when they drafted him in the 3rd round in 1978.

Fun fact – His father was a minor league 1st baseman. He and his wife have two sons.

14. Jerry Narron – C/1B – Angels – 474 – 31 years old – LAST SEASON

1987 Stats – 8 at bats, 0 hits

Awards – None

Player Notes – OK, so maybe he wasn’t the best player, but he always had a smile on his cards. One of those guys that was just happy to be playing.

Fun fact – He and his wife have 2 children.

15. Ozzie Guillen – SS – White Sox- 89 – 23 years old

1987 Stats – 0.279/2/51/25 not a power guy, but he could fly in the field and one the base paths.

Awards – None

Picture Notes – Ozzie had some very long legs, so opponents thought that he might have had leg extensions. To help him snare all those line drives.

Fun fact – He and his wife have two sons, Ozzie Jr and Oney

16. Bill Schroeder – C – Brewers – 302 – Double, first reviewed in pack 15.

17. Dusty Baker – OF/1B – A’s – 565 – Double, first reviewed in pack 1.

Well, I have to say on my end it was a lot more fun to write. Let me know of how you feel about the format. I think it’s going to be easier to read, which is why I did it. Overall I am going to give this pack a 2.0 star rating. To be completely honest, it’s because of the Guillen and Winfield cards. Anytime you have a Hall of Famer in the pack, you have to give it 2 stars so I did. See you tomorrow.