Random Topps Card of the Day: 1990 Topps Traded #75T Alan Mills

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, December 17, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1990 Topps Traded #75T.
• Player Name, position, team: Alan Mills, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: April 14, 1990.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1989 stats (Prince William, A-Carolina): 26 G, 39.2 IP, 6-1, 5 R, 4 ER, 44 SO, 13 BB, 0 GS, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 7 SV, 0.91 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Angels #1st (Special), June 1986. Traded by the Angles to the Yankees 06/22/1987. Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 4. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Alan was signed as a #1 Special Draft selection of the Angels, June 10, 1986 by Scout Preston Douglas."
• Commentary: With Topps excluding the color yellow as one of the colored borders of it's 1990 product, it was no surprise that they would try to incorporate it in their traded set that year. At the time, I didn't like the idea of the transition the borders made from yellow to red and back, but looking at it now, more than 23 years later, I realize that it does make sense. Who would want to go blind looking at all that yellow? It's like staring at bright lights. And I guess Fleer didn't get the hint because all the cards in their base set was a eye-blinding shade of yellow. Alan Bernard Mills managed to impress the Yankees brass enough to make the huge leap from Single-A to the Opening Day roster. If you look at his stats in Prince William (where he did spend two-and-a-half seasons), he was extremely dominant. His stats in 1989 alone were enough to promote him to the Florida State League. However, the success in the minors didn't translate to success in the majors. In 36 games, all relief appearances, Mills would earn a 1-5 record, sport an ERA of 4.10, strike out 24 hitters, and earn a WHIP that was just a shade under 2 (1.944). He spent most of the following season in the minors, with the Yankees' AAA team in Columbus. But when he was called up to the main squad, he once again struggled. It was after being traded to the Orioles when Mills would find his stride. He would spend nine seasons in Baltimore, appearing in 346 games for the O's, while earning a 32-21 record, 14 saves, striking out 354 of the 2106 batters he faced in 480 innings of work. Unfortunately, as a middle reliever in the 90's, he wouldn't get much in terms of cardboard love. His last Topps card appearance was in the 1994 Topps set.
• Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 5 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps #375. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1991 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama