Random Topps Card of the Day: 1992 Topps #375 Bert Blyleven

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, March 2, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1992 Topps #375.
• Player Name, position, team: Bert Blyleven, pitcher, Cleveland Indians.
• Major League Debut: June 05, 1970.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1991 stats (Angels): ON DISABLED LIST.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Twins #3rd, June 1969. Traded by the Twins to the Angels 11/03/1988. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 25. This is his twenty-fourth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: The Randomizer knows how to pick them, doesn't it? Because today's player was featured less than one month ago, albeit it was his 1981 Topps Traded card. If you want to see what I wrote about the man then, including what he has done since, then please flash back to February 7, 2013. Today will just be a quick review of his 1992 season in today's commentary. When they finally changed over the paper stock of their cards from the traditional gray to a non glossy white, Topps was finally catching up to their competitors in what would be a new age of collecting. They even experimented with color photos in the backs of their cards. So what if it was just a panoramic shot of the player's home stadium. It was progress. Rik Aalbert Blijleven (aka Bert Blyleven) spent the entire 1991 season on the disabled list following rotator cuff surgery. He came back the following year, in what would turn out to be his final season as a major league ball player, with an 8-12 record, a 4.74 ERA, 70 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.346. In his 3 active seasons with the Angels, he was 33-24 with an ERA of 3.92, struck out 270 batters in 81 games (80 starts). It would be 20 years after he pitched in his last ballgame when Blyleven would finally be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame.
• Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 42 cards.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1951 Topps Blue Back #17. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama