Random Topps Card of the Day: 1982 Topps Traded #13T Tom Brunansky

(On this Memorial Day, the blog remembers the brave men and women of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives so that we may live in a free society. We also want to pay our respects to the families who understood and supported the decisions of their loved ones to join and serve their country with honor.)

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, May 27, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1982 Topps Traded #13T.
• Player Name, position, team: Tom Brunansky, outfielder, Minnesota Twins.
• Major League Debut: April 9, 1981.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1981 stats (Salt Lake City, AAA-Pacific Coast): 96 G, 343 AB, 61 R, 114 H, 17 2B, 10 3B, 22 HR, 81 RBI, 6 SB, .633 SLG, 57 BB, 74 SO, .332 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Angels #1st, June 1978. Traded by the Angels to the Twins 05/12/1982. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Hit 2 Homers including inside-the-parker, 5/28/82."
• Commentary: Although the backs of the 1982 Topps Baseball set were set to a green background, the cards that were made for the Traded set were red. The 1982 Topps Traded set would be the last that would have a different background than their regular counterparts and the last (at the time) that would come in a grey card stock. Beginning in 1983, Topps would use a white cardboard stock for their traded sets. After a brief cup of coffee with the Angels in 1981, Thomas Andrew Brunansky found himself in Spokane, WA, the new AAA home of the Angels (the team called Salt Lake City home the year before). After 25 games and a .205 average, the Angels traded their former #1 draft pick to the Twins with Mike Walters and $400,000 for Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong. It was with the Twins that Brunansky would make his mark in the majors. The newly planted right fielder would go on to hit for a .272 average in 1982, with 20 home runs, 46 rbi's, and what would eventually be a career best OPS at .848. In seven seasons with the Twins, he would appear in 916 games, go on to hit a cumulative .250 with 163 home runs, drive home 469 rbi's, be named to one All-Star Team (he would be the lone Twins rep at the 1985 ASG and "host" as the game was played in Minneapolis), and in 1987, helped the Twins win the World Series over the Cardinals. Ironically, it would be those very same Cardinals that "Bruno" would be traded to on April 22, 1988 for second baseman Tom Herr. Brunansky would provide the power that the speed-oriented Cardinals lacked, hitting a combined 43 home runs in his three seasons in St. Louis. He would be traded by the Cards to Boston for Lee Smith, and thanks to one dramatic season saving play, endeared himself to Red Sox Nation by helping the BoSox win the 1990 AL East division title. He signed with the Brewers for the 1993 season, but he would struggle at the plate, hitting .183 in 80 games. He would be traded back to Boston the following year, eventually announcing his retirement around the time of the great strike. He returned to the Twins' organization in 2010, working his way up the ranks as a minor league hitting coach. At the end of the 2012 season, he was named the Twins' hitting coach.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $1.25-$3.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 23 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH163. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S.: For a list of the baseball players, from the US and other countries, who served and died for their country, please click on the link here.