Random Topps Card of the Day: 1981 Topps #207 Ozzie Smith Record Breaker

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, December 21, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1981 Topps #207.
• Player Name, position, team: Ozzie Smith, shortstop, San Diego Padres.
• Special: Record Breaker: Most Assists by a Shortstop, Season.
• Headline on the Back: "Smith Sets New Assist Mark For Shortstops"
• Any special information about this specific card: On October 5, 1980, the final game of the season for both the Padres and Giants, Larry Herndon grounded out to Ozzie Smith, ending the fifth inning. Smith would be replaced in the bottom of the sixth defensively. When Smith made the throw to Gene Tenace at first base, it would be the 621st and final assist that Smith would make that year, which was now the new record for assists by a shortstop. Realistically, the "Wizard of Oz" set the record a week earlier against the Dodgers on September 26, when his second assist of the night (a Steve Yeager groundout) broke the mark established by Glenn Wright of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1924. As of the end of the 2013 season, the record has yet to be broken. Smith, who would be elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 2002 thanks in large part to his defense, presently holds the MLB record for assists by a shortstop with 8,375 (the active leader in this statistic as of the end of the 2013 campaign is the Yankees' Derek Jeter with 6,349). The MLB record for assists, regardless of position is held by Rabbit Maranville with 8,967 of them. But of that number, 7,354 were from the shortstop position, more than 1000 behind the Wizard.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.

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: 1958 Topps #396. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama