Random Topps Card of the Day: 1982 Topps #513 Rick Rhoden

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, January 21, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1982 Topps #513.
• Player Name, position, team: Rick Rhoden, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: July 5, 1974.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1981 stats (Pirates): 21 G, 136 IP, 9-4, 66 R, 59 ER, 76 SO, 53 BB, 21 GS, 4 CG, 2 SHO, 0 SV, 3.90 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Dodgers, #1st, June 1971. Traded by the Dodgers to the Pirates 04/09/1979. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 17. This is his eighth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: I'm glad that Topps has finally figured out that if they use the appropriate team colors and incorporate them into the design for each team that not only would it make sense, but it would be aesthetically pleasing to look at.  Could you imagine Pirates fans in 1982 opening packs of their cards and finding a card of Rick Rhoden, wearing a jacket over his black and gold uniform, with orange and purple borders??!  Yikes.  In 1982, Rhoden went 11-14 in his decisions, a 4.14 ERA, 128 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.342.  A very good hitting pitcher, he went 22 for 83 (for a good .265 average) and hit three home runs and drove in 12 rbi's.  In fact, Rhoden won the Silver Slugger award for three consecutive years (1984-86).  In those years, he had a .270 average with one home run and 20 rbi's in 113 games and 271 plate appearances.  His OBP/SLG/OPS percentages were .288/.355/.643.  Greg Maddux once said that a pitcher hitting .200 or better is just like a batter hitting .300 or better.  So it is safe to believe that Rhoden was no slouch at the plate.  By the time he left Pittsburgh for the bright lights of New York, Rhoden finished with a 79-73 record with 39 complete games, 9 of them shutouts.  He struck out 852 batters against 440 walks, for a WHIP of 1.313.  In his final year with the Pirates, he was named to his second All-Star Team.  When he finished his career in baseball, he began his second career as a professional golfer.  He qualified for the US Senior Open and is a dominant player on the Celebrity Players Tour.  He has won the American Century Celebrity Gold Classic eight times with 18 top ten finishes as of the end of the 2012.    
• Beckett value: $0.05-$0.15.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 21 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2010 Topps #603. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama