Thursday, April 11, 2013

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1993 Topps #15 Marquis Grissom

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, April 11, 2013:


  • Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1993 Topps #15.
  • Player Name, position, team: Marquis Grissom, outfielder, MontrĂ©al Expos.
  • Major League Debut: August 22, 1989.
  • Last Line of Statistics: 1992 stats (Expos): 159 G, 653 AB, 99 R, 180 H, 39 2B, 6 3B, 14 HR, 66 RBI, 78 SB, .418 SLG, 42 BB, 81 SO, .276 AVG.
  • Any special information about player: Drafted by the Expos #3rd, June 1988. Bats: right. Throws: right.
  • Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 18. This is his fourth Topps card.
  • Blurb on the back: "Marquis smashed a Single, Triple and Home Run and threw out a baserunner at home plate in helping Expos to 6-3 win at Pittsburgh, 9-16-92. At Florida A&M in 1988 he hit .448 with 12 Home Runs."
  • Commentary: The subject of a previous Random Card of the Day segment back in 2010, Marquis Deon Grissom at this time in his career was a pretty good hitter and a demon on the basepaths to boot. He had led the NL in stolen bases in 1991 and 1992 with a combined total of 154 bases. In 1993, he made the first of two All-Star appearances, won the first of four Gold Glove Awards and scored more than 100 runs for the first time in his career. He hit for a .298 average, had a .344 on base percentage (which led to a .789 OPS), hit 19 home runs, drove in 95 rbi's, stole 53 bases, and on the field, had a .984 fielding percentage (7 errors in 431 chances, including 7 assists from centerfield). In his six seasons with the Expos, he hit .279. scored 430 runs, hit 54 home runs, drove in 276, stole 266 bases, and struck out an incredibly low 373 times. When he was traded off to the Braves in 1995, it was pretty much the beginning of the end for the Expos as the franchise began dismantling a team that was leading the NL East before the strike of 1994. He helped the Braves win their lone World Series in the 1990's in 1995, and in 1996, reached what would be a career high in batting average with a .308 clip. He was traded to the Indians with Dave Justice, and contributed 12 home runs and 66 rbi's to the eventual AL pennant winners (he was also named the 1997 ALCS MVP). He was then traded at the end of the year to the Milwaukee Brewers in December, 1997. He spent three seasons patrolling centerfield for the Brewers, before being traded off to the Dodgers. After two productive years with the Dodgers, Grissom signed with the Giants for three years. Upon retiring as a player in 2006, Marquis hit for a cumulative .272 average, hit 227 home runs, drove in 967 rbi's, stole 420 bases, and had an OPS of .732. Believe it or not, his last card as a player does not depict him with any of the teams he plays for. While his last base card does show him in a Giants jersey in 2005, he appeared in an insert set from 2006 Topps (called Hit Parade) as a Chicago Cub. He had signed a minor league contract with the team and was invited to spring training. However, he did not make the club, and retired as a player on March 28, 2006. Since retiring, he was hired by the Washington Nationals (the former MontrĂ©al Expos) to be their first base coach in 2009, a position he held just for that season.
  • Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
  • How many cards of this player do I own?: 31.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2010 Topps #523. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

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