Random Topps Card of the Day: 1985 Topps Traded #45T Terry Harper

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, January 3, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1985 Topps Traded #45T.
• Player Name, position, team: Terry Harper, outfielder, Atlanta Braves.
• Major League Debut: September 12, 1980.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1984 stats (Braves): 40 G, 102 AB, 4 R, 16 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 4 SB, .206 SLG, 4 BB, 21 SO, .157 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Braves #16th, June 1973. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 8. This is his fifth card.
• Blurb on the back: "Was born and raised in Douglasville, Georgia, just ½-hour from Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium."
• Commentary: Because he only played in 40 games during the 1984 season, it seemed to reason, at least in the minds of the Topps Company that year, that Harper either would not be with the Braves going into the 1985 season, or be playing in the majors at all. Thus, he was excluded from the 792-card set in 1985. However, Harper was the Braves' everyday left fielder during the '85 season, appearing in 138 games, batting .264 with 17 home runs and 72 rbi's. This would be his best season in his career (up to that point and eventually as his MLB career ended after the 1987 campaign). So Topps had to include him in the "Traded" set. As with many 1985 Topps cards, there was a Baseball Trivia Quiz question on the back of Harper's traded card: (Who) Holds Major League record for most career pinch-hit homeruns (19)? The answer: Cliff Johnson.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 8 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps #640. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2009 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama