Random Topps Card of the Day: 1982 Topps Traded #63T Sixto Lezcano

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, January 10, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1982 Topps Traded #63T.
• Player Name, position, team: Sixto Lezcano, outfielder, San Diego Padres.
• Major League Debut: September 10, 1974.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1981 stats (Cardinals): 72 G, 214 AB, 25 R, 57 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 0 SB, .393 SLG, 40 BB, 40 SO, .266 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Brewers as a Free Agent 10/01/1970.  Traded by the Cardinals to the Padres 12/10/1981. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his seventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: All the Traded sets that I had bought prior to this one normally used the same design for the backs of the cards and were also printed on white card stock (as they were printed in Ireland).  Of course, the 1990 Topps Traded set was sold in both the regular gray stock (if buying packs) and white card stock (full sets).  So imagine my surprise when I bought the full set of 1982 Topps Traded to find that instead of using the green card backs used in the regular set that they used a red card back.  Hey, if there was a way to differentiate both sets... But just like the regular cards from the '82 hockey...I mean baseball card set, above the player's statistics are two sections that include a comic and a blurb about a random player.  On this card, the comic caption mentions that Dan Meyer "had 10 stolen bases in 10 attempts with the Tigers in 1976." The blurb to the right of the comic honors Bryn Smith who "won his first big league game on 09/21/1981, pitching only 1/3 inning vs. Phillies in 17 inning game."  Sixto Lezcano (who I had continually misspelled as Lexcano) was a decent ball player in the mid 70's through early 80's.  He wasn't an All-Star, but as a member of the Brewers in 1979, on the strenght of 28 home runs and 101 rbi's, along with a .321 batting average, he finished 15th in the MVP voting that year.  He was traded to the Cardinals at the end of the 1980 season in a 7-player trade that saw Rollie Fingers and Ted Simmons go to the Brewers.  After his season with the Cards, he was traded to the Padres in a six-player trade (players to be named later were exchanged as well on both sides).  He was probably the second fiddle in this trade as the main components involved shortstops Garry Templeton and Ozzie Smith.  With the Padres in 1982, Lezcano hit 16 home runs, drove in 84 rbi's, and had a .289 average.  His stay with the Padres lasted until the end of August, 1983, when he was traded to the Phillies in a trade that involved "players to be named later."  The Phillies used Lezcano for their playoff push for the rest of the 1983 season.  In the NLCS, Lezcano went 4 for 13 with a home run and two rbi's, helping to beat the Dodgers and propel the Phil's to their second World Series in four years. He ended his playing career with the cross-state Pirates in 1985.  He presently is a batting coach for the Danville Braves. 
• Beckett value: $0.20-$0.50.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 14 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1990 Topps #36. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama