Random Topps Card of the Day: 1988 Topps #275 Kevin Seitzer

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, January 16, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1988 Topps #275.
• Player Name, position, team: Kevin Seitzer, first baseman/third baseman, Kansas City Royals.
• Major League Debut: September 03, 1986.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1987 stats (Royals): 161 G, 641 AB, 105 R, 207 H, 33 2B, 8 3B, 15 HR, 83 RBI, 12 SB, .470 SLG, 80 BB, 85 SO, .323 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Royals, #11th, June 1983.  Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 12. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "His 1st major league Grand Slam:  08/30/1987."
• Commentary: Kevin Seitzer had a long career in the major leagues.  Twelve seasons to be in fact.  But his best, it seems, was his rookie year in 1987.  He was an All-Star that year, he finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, and was a candidate for MVP (he finished 20th, but still).  He was even named to the 1987 Topps All-Star Rookie Team (hence the Cup). As the Royals third baseman in 1988, he did not let up. He finished with a .304 average, hit 5 homers, and drove in 60 rbi's.  In his six years with the Royals, he appeared in 741 games, hit 33 homers, drove in 265, and a .294 average.  His  OBP/SLG/OPS percentages were .375/.404/.780.  He signed with the Brewers in 1992 after being released towards the end of Spring Training. Besides a half year with the Athletics, he remained a Brewer until a September trade with the Indians, that brought Jeromy Burnitz to Milwaukee.  He was the hitting coach for both the Diamondbacks, and recently with the Royals.  He owns a baseball and softball training facility in Kansas City with former teammate Mike Macfarlane.  The back of his card, like many of the player cards in 1988, features a This Way to the Clubhouse segment which explains how he joined the team.  In Seitzer's case, it says that he "was signed as an 11th round Draft selection with the Royals, June 10, 1983 by Scout Art Stewart."  In 2003, when Topps produced the first of three All-Time Fan Favorites sets, Seitzer's 1988 Topps card was included with a new picture, with the Rookie Cup.  However, you will not find this card in the base set.  It was included as an autograph card only.  
• Beckett value: $0.01-$0.05.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 21 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 2008 Topps #300. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama