Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #456 Frank Taveras

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, March 27, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #456.
• Player Name, position, team: Frank Taveras, shortstop, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: September 25, 1971.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Mets): 153 G, 635 AB, 89 R, 167 H, 26 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, .263 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Pirates as a Free Agent 01/0/1968. Traded by the Pirates to the Mets 04/19/1979. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 10. This is his seventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Set Pirates' club record by grounding into 4 double plays in 702 Plate Appearances, 1978. Had three 4-hit games in 1978."
• Commentary: I have to wonder how well the Randomizer works. Because it turns out that this card was already picked by as a subject back in 2010 (September 10, in fact). I know my Frank Taveras collection hasn't grown much, so it's safe to say I still own the nine cards that have him on it. What did I write back then? "Taveras was the shortstop of the fun-loving Pirates during the 1970's. He played in both the 1974 and 1975 NLCS (so says the cartoon caption on the left side of the back of the card). Traded to the Mets early in the 1979 season, he managed to lead the majors in games played with 164. Yes, that's right. He played 11 games with the Pirates before being traded to the Mets where he participated in 153 games. I thought that was a mistake too. He was very fast on the base paths, stealing 70 bases in 1977. He played for the Mets for two more seasons before ending his big league career with the Expos in 1982." With the Mets in 1980, Taveras hit for a career high .279 average with 25 runs driven in, stole 32 bases, and achieved percentages of .308/.327/.635. Defensively, he committed 25 errors in 609 total chances for a .959 fielding percentage and was part of 63 double plays.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2000 Topps #13. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #385 Enos Cabell

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, May 15, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #385.
• Player Name, position, team: Enos Cabell, third baseman, Houston Astros.
• Major League Debut: September 17, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Astros): 155 G, 603 AB, 60 R, 164 H, 30 2B, 5 3B, 6 HR, 67 RBI, .272 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Orioles as a Free Agent 09/22/1968. Traded by the Orioles to the Astros 12/03/1974. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 17. This is his ninth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Enjoyed the longest hitting streak of his major league career with 14-game performance, 1978. Was selected as Astros' Most Valuable Player for 1978 campaign."
• Commentary: Note how the Topps logo is conspicuously absent from the cards from Topps' 1980 set, one year after it was prominently featured the year prior. It would also be the final year that Topps would remain the lone major player in the baseball card wars as the following year, Donruss and Fleer  became Topps' first competitors since 1956. It would be another 30 years before Topps would become the sole licensee for MLB Properties. The 1980 set is remembered mainly as the set that houses the rookie card of Rickey Henderson. But what this set gets right in some cases, is the proper team colors for the borders on the cards. Look how the yellow border on this card matches the yellow on the jersey of Enos Cabell, who was recently featured as a subject for the Card of the Day back in March.As his career (which lasted 15 seasons in the majors) was previously discussed, today's commentary will be a recap of his 1980 season. Two years removed from his best season to date (and ultimately the best season of his career), Cabell was still manning the hot corner for the Astros, and hit .276 with 2 home runs, 55 rbi's, 21 stolen bases, and a .656 OPS. Defensively, he committed a career high 29 errors, which contributed to a .927 fielding average. It would be his final year with the Astros (he would return to the team years later as we all know), as he was traded to the Giants for Chris Bourjos and Bob Knepper on December 8, 1980.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 15.

Tomorrow's card will be 2008 Topps #205. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #519 Steve Nicosia

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, April 25, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #519.
• Player Name, position, team: Steve Nicosia, catcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: July 8, 1978.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Pirates): 70 G, 191 AB, 22 R, 55 H, 16 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, .288 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #1st, June 1973. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 7. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Was International League's 2nd-leading hitter during 1978 season. Went 7-19 for .368 Average as Designated Hitter in IL, 1978.
• Commentary: This card was actually picked by the Randomizer all the way back on August 3, 2010. On that day, I had just returned from my first ever business trip to Portland (actually Tualatin), Oregon. It was the first time I had ever traveled without my family in tow. It was such a beautiful environment. You could see the mountains everywhere you went, and needless to say, I fell in love with the city. I would love to visit there again one day and bring my family. Anyway, I wrote briefly about Nicosia on that first post, that his minor league stops on his way to the bigs were in Charleston, SC; Sherbrooke, Quebec; Salem, VA; Shreveport, LA; Charleston, WV; and Columbus, OH. The team names of each? Pirates (Charleston SC, Sherbrooke, and Salem), Captains (Shreveport), Charlies (Charleston WV), and Clippers. You can figure that with the exception of Charlies (probably similarly named to the Phillies), that the monikers of the minor league affiliates are appropriate to the big league club. I also wrote that the cartoon included on the back of the card mentions that "Steve was named to the Texas League All-Star Team at Shreveport in 1975." In 1980, as the Bucs' backup catcher, Nicosia appeared in 60 games, hit .216 with 1 home run and 22 rbi's. He would spend most of his career, with the Pirates, Giants, Expos, and Blue Jays, in this role. He finished his career in 1985 with a .248 batting average, 11 home runs, 88 runs driven in, 5 stolen bases, and seven Topps baseball cards.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.12-$0.30.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH187. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #546 Rick Langford

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, March 27, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #546.
• Player Name, position, team: Rick Langford, pitcher, Oakland A's.
• Major League Debut: June 13, 1976.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (A's): 34 G, 219 IP, 12-16, 114 R, 104 ER, 101 SO, 57 BB, 4.27 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Pirates as a Free Agent 06/17/1973. Traded by the Pirates to the A's 03/15/1977. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 9. This is his third Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Threw 2 Shutouts at Charleston in Pirates' chain during 1976. Pitched no-hitter for Charleston against Memphis, 5-30-76.".
• Commentary: You have to love the poses that the photographers would have these players do that would end up becoming cardboard immortality. Only the player and the photographer will know when this picture was taken and the circumstances behind it. Who knows if this was the Langford's idea or the guy snapping the picture? James Rick Langford was moving up the organizational ladder for the Pittsburgh Pirates and finally made it to the big leagues in 1976 for a 10-game cup of coffee in the middle of June through early July. He was looking to make it onto the team the following season out of spring training, but on March 17, 1977, he was traded to the Athletics in a nine-player deal. Determined to make it onto the A's roster, he was inserted into the starting rotation and went on to have a pretty good rookie campaign, going 8-19 with a 4.02 ERA and 141 strikeouts. He would have his breakout season in 1980, with a record of 19-12, 28 games (led the AL; 2 shutouts), 290 innings (also led the AL), an ERA of 3.26, and 102 strikeouts. He would go on to have two more productive seasons, completing 34 of the 55 games he would start and going 23-26 before injuries would take their toll. He would bounce back and forth on the DL for most of the 1983-84 seasons, and even though he mounted a brave comeback in 1985, he was no longer the dominating pitcher that he once was. After a disastrous 1-10 record in 1986, the Athletics released Langford. Rick would go on to become the pitching coach for the Blue Jays for a time, and also worked as the pitching coach for the minor league affiliate in Syracuse. He returned in 2010 as the Jays' bullpen coach. According to one website, he "invented and patented the Press-Grip Exercise System. This device is a weight system that focuses upon strengthening the small muscles in the hand, wrist, and shoulder."
• Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH3. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #187 Alan Ashby

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, March 14, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #187.
• Player Name, position, team: Alan Ashby, catcher, Houston Astros.
• Major League Debut: July 3, 1973.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Astros): 108 G, 336 AB, 25 R, 68 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 35 RBI, .202 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Indians #3rd, June 1969. Traded by the Blue Jays to the Astros 11/27/1978. Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Ranked among A.L. catching leaders in Assists and Double Plays at Toronto during 1978 season. Threw out 53% of the runners trying to steal against him, 1978."
• Commentary: Forget the fact that the headshot does not show the awesome late 70's Astros jersey (this being the one with the hot color "rainbow" stripes that went across the front of the jersey). But the hair, the mustache, it screams 70's fashion. Just what is he looking at anyway? And look at the clean and clear signature. That's a rarity nowadays on cards with facsimile autographs. After six seasons and 400 games in the American League, Alan Dean Ashby came to Houston in a trade that sent three players to Toronto (which shows that the Astros really wanted/needed a catcher) for the 1980 campaign. While Ashby wasn't the best offensive catching option out there, he certainly was among the best defensively. As the back of the card indicates, he had a cannon for an arm, and many daring base runners trying to steal a base off of him were sent back to the dugout with their heads hung down. In his first year in Houston, 31 runners were called out trying to steal, and one more was picked off base. In 1980, he started to show a bit more offense at the plate. In 116 games, Ashby hit for a .256 average with 3 home runs, 48 rbi's, and an OPS of .665. Defensively, he had a fielding percentage of .991 (6 errors in 674 chances), caught 27 runners napping on base, and even started 10 double plays. The only knock on him that year was that he led the league's catchers with 14 passed balls. He would stay on with the Astros throughout the 80's, with highlights including catching no hitters from Nolan Ryan (1981) and Mike Scott (1986). He also helped guide the 1986 pitching staff to lead the NL in strikeouts and second in ERA. He had his best season in 1987, hitting career highs in average (.288), home runs (14), and rbi's (63). He also led the league's catchers in fielding percentage (.993). But after that incredible season, his playing time started to decrease. By 1989, with Craig Biggio taking over the catching duties full-time, the Astros released Alan Ashby, and thus, he ended his playing career. Since then, Ashby began a career in broadcasting, first as a Sports Director and Anchor for a local Houston TV station. In between TV gigs, he managed the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the independent Texas-Louisiana League. He joined the Houston Astros' organization as manager of the team's A-league affiliate in Kissimmee. He would go on to join the major league coaching staff in 1997 as the team's bullpen coach. An opening in the Astros' radio booth prompted Ashby to return to broadcasting in 1998, and he stayed on in that role until 2006. He continued his radio career with another former team, the Blue Jays, in 2007, staying with the team until 2012. When Jim Deshaies left the Astros' TV booth for Chicago, Ashby resigned from his post in Toronto and in 2013 will return to broadcast Astros' games, this time for television. In 2012, the Houston Astros selected an All-Time 25-Man roster. Ashby was named the team's starting catcher.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 14.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1976 Topps #589. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #225 Lou Piniella

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, February 26, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #225.
• Player Name, position, team: Lou Piniella, outfielder, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: September 4, 1964.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Yankees): 130 G, 461 AB, 49 R, 137 H, 22 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 69 RBI, .297 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Indians as a Free Agent 06/09/1962. Traded by the Royals to the Yankees 12/07/1973. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 34 (19 as a player, 15 as a manager). This is his fifteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Hit .372 as DH during 1978 season."
• Commentary: Normally, when a player appears on more than one multi-player rookie card, that player isn't going to last long in the majors. Lou Piniella appeared in THREE multi-player "Rookie Stars" cards, and of the three, two were with teams that he never actually played. His rookie card comes from the 1964 Topps set as a member of the Washington Senators, paired with catcher Mike Brumley. But let me explain how he got to Washington (almost). He signed with the Indians in 1962, but the Washington Senators (the second version of the team), selected him in a special first-year draft. In August of 1964, Lou was the PTBNL (player-to-be-named-later) in a trade that was consummated earlier in the year with the Orioles. He made his MLB debut with the Orioles that year, appearing in four games with one plate appearance. He remained in the O's minor league system until 1966 when he was traded to the Indians (the team he had signed with in the first place). But once again, until the end of the 1967 season, remained in the Tribe's minor league system. In the 1968 Topps set, he was paired with Indians catching prospect Richie Scheinblum. This time, he was called up to the big league team, appearing in six games, all but one in a pinch-hitting or pinch-running role. At the end of the year, Cleveland exposed Lou to the expansion draft, and this time, the Seattle Pilots selected him as their 14th pick. While he did suit up for the Pilots in spring training (thus, his 1969 Rookie Star card with infielder Marv Staehle), he was traded on April 1, 1969 to the Kansas City Royals. By this time, even Lou had to wonder if baseball was going to be a good career choice. But the Royals stuck with the outfielder, and in his first full season in the majors, six years after making his big league debut, Piniella hit .282 with 11 home runs, 68 rbi's, and owned an OPS of .741. He committed just seven errors in 298 chances for a fielding percentage of .977. He was named the American League Rookie of the Year that year, and was also selected to Topps 1969 All-Star Rookie Team. In five seasons and 700 games with the Royals, Lou became an All-Star, hit 45 home runs, drove in 348 rbi's, and hit .286. In December of 1973, the Royals sent Piniella to the New York Yankees, showing that the KC/NY pipeline still existed, this time with KC's second major league team. With the Yankees, Lou became the Bombers' primary left fielder (he did play in right field from time to time, with some days as the DH). He appeared in 3 straight World Series, helping the Yankees to two championships. In 1980, Piniella hit .287 with 2 home runs and 27 rbi's and a OPS of .704. The Yankees returned to the playoffs in 1980, but lost in the ALCS to...the Kansas City Royals. He played for parts of four more seasons with New York, finishing an 11 year run with a high .295 average, 57 home runs, and 417 rbi's before calling a career. In 1986, Lou began an even longer career as a MLB manager, first with the New York Yankees. He would go on to a phenomenal and extremely well documented 23-year career as a big league skipper. Taking the helm of five teams (the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Devil Rays, and Cubs), teams under "Sweet Lou's" leadership went 1835-1713. In 1990, his first with the Reds, Lou led the team to their first World Series title since 1976.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 32.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1981 Topps #508. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1981 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #300 Ron Guidry

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, February 21, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #300.
• Player Name, position, team: Ron Guidry, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: July 27, 1975.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Yankees): 33 G, 236 IP, 18-8, 83 R, 73 ER, 201 SO, 71 BB, 2.78 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Yankees #3rd, June 1971. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Was A.L. Cy Young Award winner in 1978, led majors with 25 Wins, 1.74 ERA and 9 shutouts for year."
• Commentary: A repeat Random Card of the Day subject (figures it would be the same exact CARD). This is what I wrote on January 7, 2010: "In 1979, Ron lead the AL in ERA, was an All-Star, and finished third in the AL Cy Young voting, behind Cy Young winner Mike Flanagan and teammate Tommy John. The blue background on the backs of each 1980 Topps cad made for easy reading of the text. A cartoon featuring a trivial stat regarding Guidry (establishing Yankee record for K's in a season) and a blurb regarding his Cy Young award the year before complement Guidry's career statistics." Yikes!!! Okay, let's improve upon this, especially since it's been more than two years since this first was posted. In 1980, Guidry finished the season with a 17-10 record, a higher (for him) ERA of 3.56 and 166 strikeouts in 29 games started. In his lone post-season appearance in the 1980 ALCS, he pitched Game 1 against the Royals, and lasted three innings against KC, allowing five hits, four walks, and four earned runs (an ERA of 12.00) amongst the 17 batters he faced. This would technically be considered an off year for him. The following year he led the AL in WHIP with a scant 0.992 and a strikeout/walk ratio of 4.00 to go with a 11-5 record, 2.76 ERA, and 104 strikeouts in a strike-shortened season. He finished his career with the Yankees, spending fourteen seasons in the Bronx. He won five straight Gold Glove awards (1982-1986), was a four-time All-Star, six-time Cy Young candidate (winning it in 1978), and a five-time MVP candidate. Of the 368 games he pitched, 323 of them starts, Guidry went 170-91 with a 3.29 ERA, 1778 strikeouts, and a 1.184 WHIP. He was in the HOF balloting for 9 years, before a 4.9% vote in 2002 took him off for good. He remains a Yankee great, and his uniform #49 was retired on August 23, 2003. He has served the Yankees as both a pitching coach (in 2006-2007), and a spring training instructor.  On the back of Guidry's card is a cartoon mentioning that his "248 strikeouts in 1978 established a new all-time Yankee club record."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 40 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2012 Topps #386. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #208 Wayne Cage

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, February 14, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #208.
• Player Name, position, team: Wayne Cage, first baseman, Cleveland Indians.
• Major League Debut: April 22, 1978.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Tacoma, AAA-Pacific Coast): 86 G, 315 AB, 47 R, 98 H, 14 2B, 3 3B, 13 HR, 55 RBI, .276 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Indians #3rd, June 1971. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 3. This is his third and final Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "His 1st big league Hit was a Homer."
• Commentary: You get players whose only opportunity in the majors would be as either a September call-up or a defensive replacement for the team's regular starter. You also get players who hit well in the minors, but have trouble finding the ball during his time in the big leagues. These kinds of players are just happy to be there.  Such is the tale of Wayne King. The back of his card includes a cartoon that indicates that he was an International League All-Star first baseman at Toledo in 1977. And he did have a good year (.301 with 13 home runs and 77 rbi's) with the Mud Hens. In 1978, he joined the Indians to back up the team's regular 1st baseman Andre Thornton. He did get an opportunity to start a few games, but he couldn't figure major league pitching. By the middle of June, he was hitting .212, and not having much luck as a pinch hitter. He was sent to Tacoma (the Indians changed their AAA affiliation) and he found his stroke. In 77 games, he was hitting .368 with 18 home runs and 69 rbi's. He was called back to Cleveland in September, becoming the team's designated hitter when teams expanded the rosters. During his 19 games back, he went 17 for 65 (.262 average), hit three home runs, drove in 9, had an OPS of .810. He made the Opening day roster for the Tribe in 1979, but was once again found himself struggling with his hitting. After spending all of April under the Mendoza line (.161 average), he reached .220 before being sent back to Tacoma. He didn't return until September again, and by the time he finished the season, he had hit .232 with 1 home run and six rbi's. It would be the last time Wayne would be on a major league roster. He spent all of 1980 with Tacoma, and once again hit over .308 with 19 home runs and 89 rbi's. His contract was sold to the Hankyu Braves of the Japanese Pacific League, and spent two years in Nishinomiya before returning to North America, playing for both Yucatan Leones and Veracruz Aguila of the Mexican League.
• Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 3 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1988 Topps #605. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #313 Johnny Grubb

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, January 25, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #313.
• Player Name, position, team: Johnny Grubb, outfielder, Texas Rangers.
• Major League Debut: September 10, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Rangers): 102 G, 289 AB, 42 R, 79 H, 14 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 37 RBI, .273 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Padres #1st (Special), June 1971. Traded by the Indians to the Rangers 08/31/1978. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 16. This is his seventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Was voted to Topps' Major League Rookie All-Star Team for 1973. Had 21-game hitting streak for the Rangers during 1979 campaign."
• Commentary: With the 2013 Topps Baseball cards coming soon (and with Topps' twitter account previewing cards from this product at will everyday until the official release, there are some people who are complaining about the fact that the cards have white borders.  Worse, we've had consecutive years of white-bordered baseball cards.  Okay, since 2003 (the last year of six with colored borders), every Topps design except for one (the 2007 set) utilizes white borders.  But prior to that, from 1976 to 1997, all but two (the 1987 and 1990 set) featured white bordered cards (okay, the 1986 set had black borders on half the card...but you get the idea).  There may come a year that there will be a color-bordered regular Topps design, and then maybe a white-bordered parallel (akin to the rainbow of parallels that we see nowadays). Let's hope it doesn't come any time soon.  Johnny Grubb was a sixteen-year veteran of the game.  His baseball card history includes being one of the few Padres players in 1974 that also has a "Washington Nat'l" card too.  He was named to Topps' All-Star Rookie Team in 1973, finished sixth in the Rookie of the Year voting, and was an All-Star the following season.  And while injuries (nine long stints over his career) kept him off the field for periods of time, when he was on, he produced.  In 1980, Grubb appeared in 110 games, hitting .277 with 9 home runs and 32 rbi's.  His OBP/SLG/OPS percentages were above average (.374/.427/.801).  Two years later, he was traded to the Tigers, becoming the team's primary pinch-hitter and fourth outfielder.  During the Tigers' World Series winning season in 1984, Grubb came off the bench and hit  eight home runs and 17 rbi's in 216 plate appearances.  Patience at the plate (36 walks) led to a batting average of .267 and a high OBP average of .395.  In 1986, although he only appeared in 81 games, Grubb's numbers were off the charts (.333 with 13 home runs, 51 rbi's, and a 1.002 OPS).  He couldn't keep up the pace in 1987, and was subsequently released by the team, even though he went 4 for 7 against the Twins in the ALCS. He has since led a comfortable life away from majors, as he has coached the baseball team of his high school alma mater.  On the back of the card, as with many cards from 1980, there was a cartoon depicting the player on the front.  The sketch on Grubb's card mentions that he "tied for Texas League lead in double plays among outfielders with 4 at Alexandria in 1972."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 14.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2007 Topps #403. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #579 Charlie Moore

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, January 19, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #579.
• Player Name, position, team: Charlie Moore, catcher, Milwaukee Brewers.
• Major League Debut: September 8, 1973.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Brewers): 111 G, 337 AB, 45 R, 101 H, 16 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 38 RBI, .300 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Brewers #5th, June 1971. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his seventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Had .367 Batting Average for the Brewers during May of 1978. Was credited with 11 Runs Batted In during month of June, 1978. He hits well with men on base."
• Commentary: Charlie Moore had been around the team for so long that in the 1986 Topps set, they named him "Dean of the Brewers."  He was the fourth youngest player in the MLB in 1973 (20 years, 84 days old on the day he debuted). During the 1980 season, Charlie hit  good .291 with 2 home runs and 30 rbi's and a.699 OPS.  A good-hitting catcher, he fit in rather nicely on a team whose lineup consisting of names like Yount, Molitor, Cooper, Oglivie, and Gantner.  On October 1, he hit for the cycle in a game against the California Angels.  Defensively, he committed 4 errors in 351 chances (a great .989 fielding percentage) that year.  In 1982, the year the Brew Crew went to the World Series, Moore was one of the team's best hitters, going 9 for 26 (three of them were doubles) with two runs driven in.  In 15 seasons with Milwaukee, he appeared in 1,334 games, hit .261 with 36 home runs and 408 driven in.  He signed with the Blue Jays in the middle of the 1987 season, his last in the majors.  
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 14.

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

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #380 Garry Maddox

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, December 15, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #380.
• Player Name, position, team: Garry Maddox, outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies.
• Major League Debut: April 25, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Phillies): 148 G, 548 AB, 70 R, 154 H, 28 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 61 RBI, .281 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Giants, #2nd, January 1968. Traded by the Giants to the Phillies 05/04/1975. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his eighth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Had 20-game hitting streak for the Phillies during the 1978 season.  Swiped 4 bases in one game for Phillies vs. Pirates, 05/29/1978."
• Commentary: Topps' 1980 baseball card set is mostly remembered as being the home of Rickey Henderson's rookie card.  But there are a lot of other cards that are usually overlooked when discussing this set.  Like this one for example.  What other card features a player whose hair could only rival what was underneath the cap of Oscar Gamble's 1976 Topps Traded card?  Garry Maddox was Phillies regular center fielder from the time the Giants traded him to Philly in 1975 to 1985.  He won eight straight Gold Glove awards (from 1975 to 1982), earning him the nickname "Secretary of Defense."  In 1976, hit career highs with a .330 batting average to go with an OBP/SLG/OPS of .377/.456/.833.  During the 1980 season, his averaged dipped to .259, but he hit 11 home runs, drive in 73 rbi's, and stole 25 bases for a team that would go on to win its first World Series in franchise history.  Although he ended his career early in the 1986 season, he maintained his ties to the city he called home as a player.  Maddox founded a promotional products company.  He became a majority owner and CEO of an office furniture company in 1995.  In 2003, he even began a four-year term on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.  He also hosts the Garry Maddox Barbecue Challenge, a fundraiser held outside the Phillies' stadium.  
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 13.

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: 1965 Topps #105. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #48 Rick Miller

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, January 11, 2012: 

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #48.
• Player Name, position, team: Rick Miller, outfielder, California Angels.
• Major League Debut: September 4, 1971.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Angels): 120 G, 427 AB, 60 R, 125 H, 15 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 28 RBI, .293 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Red Sox, #2nd, June 1969. Signed with the Angels as a Free Agent 12/21/1977. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his eighth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Hit Grand-Slammer to propel the Angels to win vs. Twins, 04/12/1978. Earned Gold Glove Award for fielding excellence during 1978 season."
• Commentary: The 1980 Topps set is the last set Topps produced before Donruss and Fleer joined the fray and began the modern card era. Topps cards from 1980 shared similar design elements from its effort from 1974, including the rounded oval picture frame, banners indicating team name and position, and the player's name outside of the border. Rick Miller played for the Angels for three seasons (1978-1980), hitting a decent .276 with five home runs and 103 rbi's. Although decent with the bat, he was very good defensively, winning a Gold Glove in 1978. He was traded back to the Red Sox after the 1980 season and finished his career after the 1986 season with them. One quick note: the back of his 1980 card includes a cartoon mentioning that "Rick married the sister of Red Sox' catcher Carlton Fisk."
• Beckett value: $0.10-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 12 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1999 Topps Traded and Rookies #T118. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #686 Giants Future Stars Johnston, Littlejohn, Nastu

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, January 24, 2011:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #686.
• Player Name, position, team: Future Stars: Greg Johnston, outfielder; Dennis Littlejohn, catcher; Phil Nastu, pitcher; San Francisco Giants.
• Major League Debut: July 27, 1979 (Johnston); July 9, 1978 (Littlejohn); September 15, 1978 (Nastu).
• Any special information about players: Johnston: Bats: left. Throws: left; Littlejohn: Bats: right. Throws: right; Nastu: Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): Johnston: 3 (second Topps card); Littlejohn: 2 (first Topps card); Nastu: 1 (first and only Topps card).
• Any special information about this specific card: Marquess' first and only regular Topps card (total includes both Topps and Topps Traded cards).
• Commentary: These multi-player rookie/prospect cards are some of the harder ones to write about, only because many of them eventually didn't pan out the way their respective teams (and Topps for that matter) would have liked or hoped. In the case of this card, each of these three players were out of the majors by the end of the 1980 season (or in Johnston's case, the first month of 1981). Johnston must have made an impression on Topps because this was his second "Future Stars" card (he was also in the 1979 set). In 63 career games, he hit a paltry .168, with 1 home run and 8 runs driven home. Littlejohn, who did appear in the 1981 set, saw action in 78 games, hitting .203 with 1 home run and 15 rbi's. Nastu pitched for parts of three seasons, but this is the only Topps card he has. He appeared in 34 games, finished with a 3-5 record, an ERA of 4.50, and struck out 53 batters. But at least he claim to have one card AND play in the majors. Many of these future stars never get that opportunity. And at least their pictures are in color. Last year's "stars" were featured in black and white.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: Johnston: 3; Littlejohn: 2; Nastu: 1.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2002 Topps #93. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #539 Rudy May

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, September 16, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps Traded #39T.
  Player Name, position, team: Rudy May, pitcher, Montréal Expos.
  Major League Debut: April 18, 1965.
  Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Expos): 33 G, 94 IP, 10-3, 30 R, 24 ER, 67 SO, 31 BB, 2.30 ERA.
  Any special information about player: Signed with the Twins as a Free Agent 11/05/1962. Traded by the Orioles to the Expos 12/07/1977. Bats: left, Throws: left.
  Any special information about this specific card: May's twelfth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). You have to admire the fact that because Rudy May has only seven letters in his name...total...that his autograph isn't as large as many other players and that the facsimile signature doesn't interfere with the picture. After seven seasons with the California Angels, and another three with the New York Yankees, May found himself traded to the wilds of Montréal in a six-player deal. With les Expos, May was used primarily as a relief pitcher, after many seasons as a starter with a lot of success. This card, however, was his last as an Expo. He returned to the Bronx in 1980 as a free agent and turned in one of his finest seasons with a 15-5 record, 133 strikeouts and an AL league leading 2.46 ERA to go with an AL low 1.044 WHIP. He finished his career with the Yankees, helping them get to the playoffs in both 1980 and the strike shortened 1981 seasons. The back of his card featurs a cartoon featuring a player with scoreboard numbers and the caption "Rudy tied for Carolina League lead with 4 shutouts at Tidewater in 1974." The blurb below the stats mentions a 4-hitter vs. the Phillies in 09/26/1978.
• Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 10 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH305. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #456 Frank Taveras

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, September 10, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number:1980 Topps #456.
• Player Name, position, team: Frank Taveras, shortstop, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: September 25, 1971 .
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Mets): 153 G, 635 AB, 89 R, 167 H, 26 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, .263 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Pirates as a Free Agent 01/0/1968. Traded by the Pirates to the Mets 04/19/1979. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Taveras' seventh Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). The backs of the cards in the 1980 Topps set are a nice shade of blue that which is not only easy on the eyes, but makes it easy to read the text and stats on the back. Taveras was the shortstop of the fun-loving Pirates during the 1970's. He played in both the 1974 and 1975 NLCS (so says the cartoon caption on the left side of the back of the card). Traded to the Mets early in the 1979 season, he managed to lead the majors in games played with 164. Yes, that's right. He played 11 games with the Pirates before being traded to the Mets where he participated in 153 games. I thought that was a mistake too. He was very fast on the basepaths, stealing 70 bases in 1977. He played for the Mets for two more seasons before ending his big league career with the Expos in 1982. The back of his card also features two highlights from his 1978 season with the Bucs. He set club record by grounding into 4 double plays in 702 plate appearances and had three 4-hit games in 1978.
• Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1986 Topps #535. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #519 Steve Nicosia

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, August 3, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #519.
• Player Name, position, team: Steve Nicosia, catcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: July 8, 1978.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Pirates): 70 G, 191 AB, 22 R, 55 H, 16 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, .288 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #1st, June 1973. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Nicosia's first Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). The 1980 set, already discussed before, makes good use of ribbons, for both the team name, and the player's position. The card above is Nicosia's rookie card, and shows not only his stops on his way to the bigs (Charleston, Sherbrooke, Salem, Shreveport, Charleston - different city and state, and Columbus), but also mentions that he "was the International League's 2nd leading hitter during the 1978 season (.322 batting average). It goes on to say that he was 7-19 for .368 average as a DH in the IL that year. The cartoon on the back shows a catcher with a big star on his chestplate, with the words "Steve was named to the Texas League All-Star Team at Shreveport, in 1975, and played host to the Texas League's stars. He would continue his career in the majors until 1985, playing for the Giants, Expos and Blue Jays.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1989 Topps Traded #14T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1992 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #160 Eddie Murray

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, June 5, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #160.
• Player Name, position, team: Eddie Murray, first baseman, Baltimore Orioles.
• Major League Debut: April 7, 1977.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Orioles): 159 G, 606 AB, 90 R, 179 H, 30 2B, 2 3B, 25 HR, 99 RBI, .295 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Orioles #3rd, June 1973. Bats: both, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Murray's third regular Topps card (total includes base and traded cards only). One thing I've learned through doing these Random Card of the Day segments is really looking at cards other than the ones normally associated with a certain set. For example, when one thinks of the 1980 Topps set, Rickey Henderson's rookie card instantly comes to mind. With the 2010 Topps Cards Your Mother Threw Out insert set (all 158 cards), not only did Topps include cards instantly recognizable by casual collectors, but they included cards that made me think, "Was this card part of the actual set, or did they give it the 'All-Time Fan Favorites' treatment?" Sure enough, they featured the actual card. Doing these segments, and actually writing about them, has given me a bit more of an appreciation for the Hobby. Case in point. Here is a great looking card of Eddie Murray. Pictured during his second year in the bigs, he has already been named the Rookie of the Year (the prior year), and was added to Topps' All-Star Rookie Team as a "designated hitter" because while he gathered enough votes to get onto the team, he didn't win in either position voted for (first base or the outfield). You look at this card, and you can see that he's ready to step up to the plate, waiting for the first pitch to come from whoever was pitching. Was this his first at bat of the day? Were there runners on base? Was the score tied before he got up there? Let your imagination run wild when looking at this card because unless you were at the game, or took the picture, you wouldn't know, would you? There's no scoreboard in the background, so there is no indication as to what day this was, or who the O's were playing. But imagining the situation before he got up there is part of the fun in this Hobby. Really look at the cards when you flip them, and just imagine (or remember) what was going on that day once in a while. That's what these cards are for.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $2.00-$5.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 53 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: 1967 Topps #607. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #521 Ken Brett

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, May 1, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #521.
• Player Name, position, team: Ken Brett, pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Major League Debut: September 27, 1967.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Dodgers): 30 G, 47 IP, 4-3, 20 R, 18 ER, 13 SO, 12 BB, 3.45 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Red Sox #1st, June 1966. Signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent 06/11/1979. Bats: left, Throws: left.
• Any special information about this specific card: Brett's twelfth regular Topps card (total includes base and traded cards only). The 1980 Topps set kicked off the decade with a design similar to the 1974 effort (just imagine the team and position flags actually aligned with the rectangular picture, and they are eerily similar don't you think???) Brett played in the majors for 14 seasons, for 10 different teams, and even played with his brother for a couple of seasons (you might have heard of him, but we're not talking about that guy today). He was an All-Star for the Pirates in 1974, and was effective as both a starter and a relief pitcher. The backs of many of the players' 1980 Topps card had a cartoon to the left of the stats about the player on the front of the card. Ken himself was a very good hitter for a pitcher (.262, 10 HR, 44 RBI...what do you expect, he's related to some other guy who was known for his hitting). The cartoon highlights the fact that Ken "set mark for pitchers with homers in 4 straight games during June of 1973."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9 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: 1967 Topps #114. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #31 Jay Johnstone

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, March 9, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #31.
• Player Name, position, team: Jay Johnstone, outfielder-first baseman, San Diego Padres.
• Major League Debut: July 30, 1966.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Padres): 75 G, 201 AB, 10 R, 59 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 32 RBI, .294 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed by Angels as a Free Agent 06/30/1963. Traded by Yankees to the Padres 06/15/1979. Bats: left, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Johnstone's twelfth regular Topps card. Sent to the Padres in a midseason trade, he sure looks happy to be part of the Padres. That's one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen. The back of the card includes a cartoon about Johnstone. He went 7-9 for a .778 average for Phillies in the 1976 NL Championship Series against Reds.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.08-$0.25.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 11 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1977 Topps #350. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1977 on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1980 Topps #622 Mario Soto

We're giving the Topps Card Randomizer the week off so we can highlight seven cards redeemed from Topps' Million Card Giveaway. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, February 24, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1980 Topps #622.
• Player Name, position, team: Mario Soto, pitcher, Cincinnati Reds.
• Major League Debut: July 21, 1977.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1979 stats (Reds): 25 G, 37 IP, 3-2, 25 R, 22 ER, 32 SO, 30 BB, 5.35 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed by Reds as a Free Agent 12/03/1972. Bats: right, Throws: left.
• Any special information about this specific card: Soto's second regular Topps card. The 1980 Topps set, with it's simple design, ribbons to indicate team and position, and the facsimile autograph, is mostly remembered for holding the rookie card for a certain Rickey Henderson. But there were 659 other cards in this set. This, was one of them. The set used a blue background for the reverse, and it made for easy reading, as long as the black ink stayed on the card. It was a bit of a stretch to read some of the stats on Soto's card. But there is a cartoon and a couple of blurbs about Mr. Soto (at least both involve the subject on the front of the card). The cartoon indicates that Mario led the Florida State League (A) with 124 strikeouts in 1976. The first note on the back talks about his complete game win for the Reds at Wrigley field in 1976. That's funny, because Soto debuted in 1977 (UNCORRECTED ERROR CARD!!!), and it was Soto's first career MLB start. The second one reads that he picked up a victory in relief against the Braves in 1978, which in five games played was the only highlight for him in 1978.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 17 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1976 Topps #507. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama