Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps #523 Mike Moore

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, May 5, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps #523.
• Player Name, position, team: Mike Moore, pitcher, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: April 11, 1982.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Tigers): 36 G, 213.2 IP, 13-9, 135 R, 124 ER, 89 SO, 89 BB, 36 GS, 4 CG, 3 SHO, 0 SV, 5.22 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Mariners #1st, June 1981. Signed with the Tigers as a Free Agent 12/09/1992. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his thirteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Mike tossed the first two one-hitters of his career, plus a two-hitter, in a 7-week stretch in 1993."
• Commentary: I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the 1994 Topps set. For me, it was the final year of the "Junk Wax Era." Because after the strike hit, production of cards went down because the demand for cards were down. All those "speculators" who had hoped to cash in their boatloads of cards for a big payday didn't get the results they had hoped for. Fortunately for those of us who stayed the course, the Hobby righted itself as the games returned and the fans came back. Michael Wayne Moore was at the twilight of his career when the strike occurred. And what a career it was. The first pick of the Mariners in the 1981 draft (#1 overall), he made the roster out of Spring Training the following season. He wouldn't experience his first winning season with the M's until 1985, when the then 25 year old finished 17-10 in 34 starts (14 were complete games) with an ERA of 3.46, 155 strikeouts and a 1.215 WHIP. He would finish 10th in the Cy Young voting that year. Unfortunately, that would also be the only year he'd finish with a winning record while playing for Seattle. After two seasons (1987-88) in which he would go a combined 18 and 34, Moore, in the hopes of pitching for a contending team, signed on with the Oakland Athletics, and his career took off from there. His first season with the A's paid dividends as he was backed up with a powerful offense and one of the best pitching coaches in baseball. He would finish the season 19-11 with 172 strikeouts, an ERA of 2.61 (his career best), and a spot onto the AL All-Star Team. He even earned the win in all three of his postseason starts as the A's cruised to a World Series title. After four successful seasons in Oakland (where his 66 wins matched his win total in Seattle, and that took 7 years to do), he signed with the Tigers as a Free Agent. During the strike-shortened season, Moore went 11-10 with a 5.42 ERA in 25 starts (which led the American League...hey, the season ended in August). In 154.1 innings of work, he struck out 62 batters, while leading the league with 89 walks. He retired as a player after the 1995 season, ending his career with a 161-176 record and 4.39 ERA.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 20.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1954 Topps #65. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama