Monday, January 3, 2011

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps Traded #92T Charlie O'Brien

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, January 3, 2011:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps Traded #92T.
  • Player Name, position, team: Charlie O'Brien, catcher, Atlanta Braves.
  • Major League Debut: June 2, 1985.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Mets): 67 G, 188 AB, 15 R, 48 H, 11 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 0 SB, .378 SLG, 14 BB, 14 SO, .255 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by Athletics #5th, June 1982. Signed as a free agent with the Braves 11/27/1993. Bats: right. Throws: right.
  • Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 10. This is his eighth card.
  • Blurb on the back: "Because of his defensive genius, Charlie was hand-picked by the Braves as a back-up and mentor to super-rookie Javy Lopez."
  • Commentary: Making his second appearance on the Randomizer, Charlie O'Brien, who never played more than 70 games up to this point in his career, was known more for his defense than he was for his bat. But it was what he brought to the game later on that revolutionized the catcher's position. Inspired by the goalie masks that hockey players use, he created a mask for catchers that was, yes a bit larger, but provided more protection for the man behind home plate against foul balls, against bats against the back of the head, et al. And, the view was amazing. You didn't even have to remove the mask to catch those pesky foul balls. And once it was approved by MLB to use in play, well, lets just say his mask added years to a catcher's health. At this time, the Braves had a young superstar waiting in the wings to become their primary catcher. O'Brien's signing guaranteed that a young Javy Lopez would learn from one of the better defensive catchers in the game.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
  • How many cards of each player do I own?: 10 cards.
Tomorrow's card will be: 1985 Topps #720. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

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