Random Topps Card of the Day: 1985 Topps #574 Joe Altobelli

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, June 17, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1985 Topps #574.
• Player Name, position, team: Joe Altobelli, manager, Baltimore Orioles.
• Major League Debut: April 14, 1955. Managerial Debut: April 7, 1977.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1984 stats (Orioles): 85-77 managerial record.
• Any special information about manager: Hired as Manager before the 1983 season.
• Any special information about this specific card: Altobelli's sixth regular Topps card, sixth as a manager (total includes both Topps and Topps Traded cards). The pressure this guy must have felt going into the 1983 season. Having to replace a legendary manager in Earl Weaver, and managing future HOF's in Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, and some young kid named Ripken. What does he do? Only manages the team to a World Series title! As manager for the O's in the mid 80's, he had a 212-167 record. In 1984, even though the Orioles went 85-77, that was only good enough for fifth place in the seven-team AL East. After a 29-26 start to the 1985 campaign, Altobelli was replaced by Cal Ripken, Sr (for one game), then Earl Weaver, the man Altobelli replaced when he got the job. The back of the manager cards included a team checklist (which helped if you were a team collector in the 80's). The checklist was sorted in alphabetical order by the player's last name, and included the card number, a square to "check off" the players you had (which by the time I started collecting people never EVER did...), the player name, and the player's uniform number.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1988 Topps #735. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama