Random Topps Card of the Day: 1990 Topps #36 John Costello

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, October 19, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1990 Topps #36.
• Player Name, position, team: John Costello, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals.
• Major League Debut: June 2, 1988.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1989 stats (Louisville-AAA): 4 G, 5 IP, 0-0, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 SO, 1 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 1 SV, 1.80 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cardinals #25th, June 1983. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Costello's second and final regular Topps card (totals include regular and traded cards only). One of the most colorful border designs ever used by the company, Topps collectors rang in the new decade with six different colored borders (red, orange, green, blue, dark blue...I likened it to indigo, and violet). And in many cases, the strong colored borders complimented the picture on the card. To wit, a blue border for a Cubs player worked. Green and the Athletics, perfect. Even red and the Cardinals (or Reds), looked great. Orange and the Athletics? Green and the Dodgers? Not so much. Here is an example of a card that worked. John Costello in his red Cardinals Spring Training attire really pops with the red borders, specifically, the solid red that appears at the bottom of the card. It looks natural. If he appeared in the sheet that was green, or even blue, his card would not look as nice. Costello himself had a brief career with the Redbirds. And the only reason why I used his minor league numbers in the "last line of statistics" was because his major league numbers were above his for games with St. Louis. In reality, Costello pitched in 48 games in 1989, worked 62.1 innings, had a record of 5-4, sported an ERA of 3.32, and even recorded three saves. He spent three seasons with the Cards, compiling a 10-6 record and a good 2.97 ERA to go with 79 K's. He was traded to the Expos on April 23, 1990, for Rex Hudler. The back of Costello's card shows how loyal he was to the Cardinals organization, specifically, his manager Whitey Herzog. The bio on the back reads "John has worked as a greeter at the restaurant of Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog during wintertime." Even then, baseball players needed a second job.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH320. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2008 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama