MLB Network Presents Cardboard Treasure...But Who's Stats Are They Using in the Picture?

So we all know that the greatest television show devoted to baseball cards will air on Tuesday night on the MLB Network. But I was a bit curious. If you expand the picture, you'll see that the stats from an actual card was used for the background of the logo. But who's card was used? Thus began the investigation.

It was easy to narrow down the year of the card being used in the design. The last statistical year shows 1980, which means that the card comes from the 1981 Topps set. It shows that in 1980, the player in particular played for the Padres. So we now know that the player was on the 1980 San Diego Padres roster. But is this guy a hitter or a pitcher? The last number on the stat line says 4.38, which would mean that this player was on the pitching staff. That narrows it down to about 15 players, from Randy Jones to Rollie Fingers.

The stat line on the pitchers' cards in 1980 read this way: G (games), IP (innings pitched), W (wins), L (losses), R (runs), ER (earned runs), SO (strikeouts), BB (walks), GS (games started), CG (completed games), SHO (shutouts), SV (saves), and ERA (earned run average). This pitcher pitched in 40 games in 1980, with a record of 4-11, and an ERA of 4.38. Only one man on the Padres' pitching staff matches those numbers.


Meet Eric Rasmussen, and his 1981 Topps card #342. It is his stats that are used for background filler for the logo.

Want proof?


It's all there in black and pink. So now you know. Enjoy the show. I'll have my review after the show is done.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama