…can turn your Topps card numbers from ending in “0″ or “5″ to ending in “9″.
Thon had card 692 in 1984, which as the shortstop for an Astros team that was mediocre was probably OK. Even though he had a phenomenal 1983 season, he wasn’t that well known and Topps chose the “0″ and “5″ based more on rep, sort of like the Gold Glove winners.
Another season like that he’d be a prime candidate for a run of “0″ and “5″ cards.
Then, Mike Torrez’ pitch came way too far inside. You know the story. Thon became a journeyman infielder – a good guy and versatile player that had only one more decent year (1989, the year pictured on this card).
You can’t help but to feel truly sorry for Thon (and Torrez but that’s another post). But he did last 15 years in the bigs. That ain’t hay.
But had that fastball not hit him flush in the face, he probably wouldn’t have needed to open his Jiffy Lube franchises.
