Random Topps Card of the Day: 1981 Topps Traded #843 Jason Thompson

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, October 22, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1981 Topps Traded #843.
• Player Name, position, team: Jason Thompson, first baseman, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: April 23, 1976.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1980 stats (Angels): 102 G, 312 AB, 59 R, 99 H, 14 2B, 0 3B, 17 HR, 70 RBI, 2 SB, .526 SLG, 70 BB, 60 SO, .317 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Tigers #4th, June 1975. Traded by the Angels to the Pirates Yankees 04/01/1981. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: A two-time All-Star with the Tigers in the late 70's, Jason Dolph Thompson found himself traded to the Angels on May 27, 1980 for rightfielder Al Cowens. He would be traded just before the end of spring training in 1981 to Pittsburgh in exchange for Mickey Mahler and Ed Ott. During the strike-shortened season, Thompson appeared in 86 games, hit for a .242 average with 15 home runs and 42 rbi's. It would be the following year that he would prove that the Bucs received the better end of the trade. In what would be his third All-Star season, Thompson hit .284 with 31 home runs, 101 rbi's, 100 walks (becoming the third player in Pirates history with 100 rbi's and walks during the same season) and had percentages of .391/.511/.902. He finished with a .993 fielding percentage, committing 10 errors in 1510 chances. During his stay in the Steel City, Thompson hit for a cumulative.259 with 93 homers, 354 rbi's (the same number or rbi's he drove in with Detroit), and an .808 OPS. In 1986, he was traded to the Montréal Expos. After 30 games in which he hit for a .196 average, and with a young up-and-comer named Andres Galarraga taking over the reins at first base, Thompson was released, thus ending his MLB playing career.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 12 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps #256. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2004 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama