Random Topps Card of the Day: 1982 Topps #282 Ken Macha

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, November 21, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1982 Topps #282.
• Player Name, position, team: Ken Macha, third baseman, Toronto Blue Jays.
• Major League Debut: September 14, 1974.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1981 stats (Blue Jays): 37 G, 85 AB, 4 R, 17 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 R, 6 RBI, 1 SB, .224 SLG, 8 BB, 15 SO, .200 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates, #6th, June 1972. Contract purchased by the Blue Jays 01/15/1981. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 6. This is his second and final Topps card as a player (his other four are as a manager).
• Blurb on the back: "Ken's 1st big league Homer came May 4, 1980."
• Commentary: If you didn't know any better (and I think it was mentioned before...but not by me, I think the Night Owl pointed this out), this design could have easily been used for a Topps Hockey set.  Look at the hockey sticks coming down on the left side of the card.  There is a comic and a fun fact on the back of most of the player cards.  On the card of Ken Macha, the comic mentions that Bob Horner had 35 RBI's during the month of July 1980, and the fun fact mentions that "In 1977, Gaylord Perry was the only A.L. pitcher to defeat each of the other 13 clubs."  Before being known to us younger folk (remember, I didn't start following baseball until after 1987) as manager for the Athletics and Brewers, Ken Macha was a frequent traveller between the Pirates' AAA clubs in Charleston and Columbus and the big club in Pittsburgh.  He was exposed to the Rule V draft and was selected by the Expos.  With his contract purchased by the Blue Jays, he spent his final year as a bench player with Toronto.  It would turn out to be his last season in the majors.  He spent the next four seasons with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League.  After he retired as a player in 1985, he returned to the Expos as a coach.  He was named manager of the Red Sox' minor league teams in Trenton and Pawtucket before returning to the majors as a coach for former teammate Art Howe in Oakland.  When Howe left for the Mets after the 2002 season, Macha was promoted to manager.
• Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 6 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 1983 Topps #279. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama