Random Topps Card of the Day: 1985 Topps Traded #89T Joe Orsulak

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, July 6, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1985 Topps Traded #89T.
• Player Name, position, team: Joe Orsulak, outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: September 1, 1983.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1984 stats (Pirates): 32 G, 67 AB, 12 R, 17 H, 1 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 SB, .328 SLG, 1 BB, 7 SO, .254 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #6th, June 1980. Bats: left, Throws: left.
• Any special information about this specific card: Orsulak's first Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). Because the Traded cards were now printed on a different card stock than the regular set (printed in Ireland), the gray-green background used for the backs of 1985 Topps cards is now a day-glow green, and the red/purple text is a heck of a lot easier to read. The number 1 source of the Hobby lists this card as his XRC instead of a regular RC because the traded sets were sold in limited quantities compared to finding these everywhere like the regular Topps cards. How cool was it for the Pirates to have one of their minor league teams based in Hawaii? Joe plays for parts of 14 seasons, travelling from Pittsburgh to the Orioles, to the Mets, Marlins and Expos before calling it a career in 1997. The back of the card includes a little note mentioning that Joe was "All-State goalkeeper in high school soccer." And as with many 1985 Topps cards, a Baseball Trivia Quiz question was added to the back of the card. The question: Which American League Reliever holds the record for the most wins in a single championship? The answer.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.20-$0.50.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 13 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T70. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1999 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama