#69 - Lonnie Smith

Lonnie Smith is officially the happiest guy in the set. And why not? His card is balanced and fun. Except for the guy's head in the background.

Lonnie Smith was an underrated player. He hit for average, got on base, swiped bags, and even almost won an MVP in 1982. He also had one of the great fluke years in 1989 for Atlanta when hit .315 with 21 homers (his only double-digit homer year) and a finished with a .948 OPS (.791 career).

#58 - Thad Bosley

Now we're talking. This a much more interesting card than the Scott Nielsen one. There's tons of red, blue and white in the photo with Bosley's '80's Cubs uni, the matching logo in the upper left corner, the red nameplate...it's all great. Bosley is also standing almost straight up after his swing, which is pretty rare. Plus, you have a few Mets in the dugout watching the action. Anyone know who those guys guys are?

I'm not too keen that Bosley's left foot is cut off, or that it's clear he popped out, but hey, you can't have everything.

Bosley wasn't a great hitter, and was exclusively a part-timer during his career. He had almost zero pop, something that doesn't happen much anymore for an outfielder, so let's move on. The fact at the bottom of the card reads, "Thad has recorded a gospel contemporary album 'Pick Up The Pieces.' He enjoys writing poetry." Why do I bring this up? Well, I searched the iTunes store for "Thad Bosley" and found one track. I listened, and, well, let's just say Thad was just as good a hitter as he was a lyricist. In the 30-second clip (I refuse to pay for the whole song), you can hear:

Where are the answers?
Who really knows?
It can't be religion
Because no one agrees
And it's not in the movies
Or late night TV

Deep stuff, Thad.

#53 - Ruppert Jones

Bland photo. Except for the fact that the catcher looks like he was cut out and pasted on, there's nothing much to say.

Ruppert Jones is our second guy in the last few cards who played in Japan. (Mel Hall did, too.) Jones was a decent player and even made two all-star teams. He had some power (24 homers in '77), some speed (33 SB in '79) and was a full-time center fielder for a few years. He was pretty inconsistent from year to year, at least in terms of batting average, which is probably why he couldn't stick with a team for long (6 teams in 12 seasons).

#51 - Mel Hall

Not much to say about this card. Boring, and slightly peculiar shot, nothing interesting going on in the background. Even Mel's name is boring. That said, Hall is one of those *somewhat* obscure players I'll never forget, mostly because he is inextricably tied to a period of Yankee futility. (He played for the Bombers from '89-'92, a time when they never finished better than 4th in the AL East.) He's a perfect example of what was wrong with those Yankee teams. He was paid like a star but the only place he produced like one was in his own head.

Plus, he was a colossal idiot. I've heard/read a bunch of stories similar to those chronicling his torture of Bernie Williams, who, by most accounts is a pretty decent guy. And let's not even mention the allegations of sexual assault.

I'm not trying to associate his assholedness solely with the Yankees, he did play for the Cubs and Indians (and the Giants for bit after he came back from Japan), but I remember him mostly as a Yankee.

#49 - Terry Harper

Geez, I thought Willie McGee was the only guy who constantly looked like he was undergoing a rectal exam. Harper looks pained here. And check out the guy in the dugout, bottom right. He's either wearing a very large hat or has some crazy hair. Or both.

I don't have much recollection of Harper, for good reason. He played all but 31 games of his 8-season career with not-so-good Braves teams, and he was a regular only once, getting nearly 500 ABs in '85. That year he was right around the league average, hitting .264 with 17 homers and 74 RBI for a 100 OPS+. Problem was, he didn't walk enough, struck out too much and didn't have the power you want in a corner outfielder. Which is why he didn't play much.

#46 - Danny Gladden

I never think of Gladden as a "Danny," always a "Dan." I also think of him as a Twin and looking like this. Whoever created that had a pretty funny idea. (It's supposed to be George Brett sprinting out of the dugout during the pine tar game.)

It's a pretty boring card so I'll get right to his career. After getting out to a blazing start as a rookie, hitting .351 over 342 ABs, Gladden settled into his role as a light-hitting, defensive-minded, stolen base threat. He never did much with the bat, but was a big part of the Twins' World Series wins in '87 and '91, scoring the winning run in game 7 against the Braves in '91.

Checking out his Wikipedia page, there's a good piece of trivia. Gladden was one of 7 Twins on the team for both World Series teams. Who can name the other 6? Without looking of course.

#42 - Gary Redus

A lot of dirt on the uni in this photo, which is perfectly appropriate for Redus. You also get a nice look at the name on the back of his jersey, while still seeing his face. Very cool. And as a bonus we get a nice shot of a catcher between Gary's legs. John Russell maybe? It doesn't look like Darren Daulton to me.

While the guy never had a season with 500+ ABs, he stole a ton of bases. From '83 to '87 he stole 48+ bases three times despite having only two seasons with over 400 ABs during that time.

#37 - Marvell Wynne

Decent action shot of Marvell Wynne as he rolls his wrists over. It looks to me as if he was a tad ahead of this pitch, but he did manage to stay back. If that makes sense. They guys in the dugout almost look like they're re-enacting that scene from Major League where the players are stomping their feet in unison.

Marvell didn't stick around the bigs for very long, mostly because he wasn't a very good baseball player. I don't know him well as a player, but judging by his stats he seems to fit the profile of a speedy defense-first center fielder. His limitations, which were many are summed up by his 1984 season:

653 AB
.266 BA
0 HR (!!)
.310 OBP
24 steals in, wait for it, 43 chances
.647 OPS (82 OPS +)

Blech. It didn't help that he followed up that season with 337 ABs and an OPS+ of 43. Double blech. Oh well, at least he had a good sports name.

#33 - Any Van Slyke

Interesting photo of Van Slyke. The photographer caught him on the backswing after what looks like a foul ball. It COULD have been a swing-and-a-miss judging by the look on Andy's face, but I'm going to stick with a foul ball. The shot makes him look like a real gamer, eye black and all, but it's also Stripe City, and we all know how I feel about stripes at this point. As for the guy on dick, (yes you read correctly, look at the guy), I'm not sure who it is, but Van Slyke batted 8th most of the season, so it could be that game's starter. However, the guy's right arm has a few too many to be a pitcher. So I'm guessing it was a game when Andy didn't hit 8th. If anyone has an idea, let me know.

Van Slyke had a pretty short career (he was done by 34) but he was a great player. He didn't come into his own until he was traded to the Pirates with Mike Dunne and Mike LaValliere for Tony Pena, but in 1990 he was one third of a fantastic Pittsburgh outfield of Barry Bonds in left, Andy in center and Bobby Bonilla in right. As we all know (and I'll talk more about when we get to Jose Rijo), that team lost to the eventual Word Series champion Reds in the NLCS. Van Slyke would go on to win 5 gold gloves (nothing to scoff at for a centerfielder) and was 4th in MVP voting twice. Great player.

#30 - Tim Raines

Remember when "Rock" started appearing as Raines' first name on cards in the early 90s? I never understood that. Did he insist that he be referred to that way in official communications? If he did, I can't say I blame them because I doubt I'd have the stones to disagree with this guy.

This is a nice shot of a great player. We get the full body photo as Raines drives a ball to what looks like right field. You can even see the bat he just dropped and the lines of the batter's box. My only quibble is that I'd rather Topps picked a shot where Raines was either running the bases (they almost never used photos like that back then) or taking off after a line drive.

Raines was one helluva baseball player and it bothers me that most people don't seriously consider him for the HOF. I'm not saying he should be a lock by any stretch, but just that there should be more debate about his qualifications. This is a guy who stole 70+ bases 6 consecutive seasons, something Rickey never did. He also hit .300+ for four straight seasons over that same stretch, another thing Henderson never accomplished. Keep in mind I'm not saying he was a better player than Rickey, but they're closer than people seem to accept. Take a look at their career numbers:

Henderson: .279 BA, 297 HR, 1406 SB, 127 OPS+
Raines: .294 BA, 170 HR, 808 SB, 123 OPS+

Sure, Raines isn't close in SB, but no one is, and Rock IS 5th all time. And despite all those walks Rickey racked up and his superior homer totals, Raines still has an OPS+ right in the same range.

#24 - Tony Walker

OK, let's start with the good: It's our first rookie card! And now the bad: It's Tony Walker.

Visually, the card is pretty decent. It's a nice look at the 'Stros uniforms of the 80s, marking the transitional period between the horrific 70s ones (see, it still has those stripes on the sleeves) and the modern day ones (note the predominantly blue and white design). There's not much to say about the photo, it's a pretty standard batter shot.

Now, about the player himself. Um, I got nuthin. Walker had a cup of coffee in '86 after spending 5 years in the minors. He had three minor league seasons with 40+ stolen bases, so the Houston brass must have thought they could make the kid into a leadoff hitter. Unfortunately, he hit .222 in 84 games in '86 an was summarily sent down to Tucson, never to return.

On an unrelated note, I played Babe Ruth League baseball (age 13-15) for the Astros and our manager was a crusty old Asian guy who owned a lamp store. He wasn't a very good manager, and it didn't help that he spit when he talked and had a thick accent that resulted in a lot of embarassing calls to the team, "Assholes, ova hee-uh!" It really sounded like that.

#15 - Claudell Washington

Aside from the fact that the background in this photo looks way too artificially blurry, this is a pretty great card. Claudell has clearly poked what looks like a lazy fly to right and is appropriately taking his time getting out of the box. But not before he kicked up a nice cloud of dirt, a very cool touch. (Thanks for not making this green, Topps!) Plus, it's a great full body shot, with Claudell squarely and completely in the frame.

I don't have many memories of Claudell Washington, but he's a lot older than I thought. I had assumed he came up around 1980, but 1975 was his first full season. Looking at his stats, he had a fairly productive, although somewhat middling career, which explains why he played the As, Rangers, ChiSox, Mets, Braves, Yankees, Angels and Yankees again. He would have been a lot more valuable if he could draw a walk once in awhile (.325 career OBP), but guess what? His career OPS+ was STILL better than Joe Carter (106-105).

#13 - Nick Esasky

Finally, a player I actually liked! Esasky was a pretty productive player and seemed like a solid guy. He had his best season with the Red Sox in '89, hitting .277 with 30 homers and 108 RBI, but suffered from vertigo the next season, tragically ending his career.

Looking at the back, I may have to re-evaluate my assessment of his niceness, because, just like Jeff Sellers, he named his kid after himself. You're killing me, Nick!

Onto the card. Not bad. Decent photo, although I wish you could see a little more of his face. And the way his arms are shot, it makes it look like he has one big arm instead of two normal-sized ones. But overall, the action in the photo is just what you want on a great baseball card.

#6 - Ruben Sierra Record Breaker

This is a pretty decent card. Nice photo (beautiful, powerful swing with a good shot of the shin guard before it was so popular-hate the guy standing between his legs though), semi-interesting fact (at 20, Sierra was the youngest player to hit HRs from both sides of the plate in a single game). Remember when Sierra was supposed to be a superstar? What happened to that guy? He had that rare blend of power and speed, then before he turned 30 he just stopped...being...good.

#3 - Dwight Evans Record Breaker

Dewey! If you remember Dwight Evans at all, you remember his stance. He came up under the hitting tutelage of Walk Hriniak, who somehow managed to ruin the swing of about half of the Sox hitters in the 80s. But it did mean he looked nutty in the batter's box, putting all of his weight on his back foot, drooping the bat way back and basically breaking every rule of hitting, aesthetic and otherwise. There was a kid on one of my little league teams who use to stand in the dugout and stretch a piece of chewed gum into a long strand, then hold it back like a bat and pretend to be Dewey. I wonder where that kid is now.

Anyway, Evans homered on the first pitch of the SEASON in 1986. This has always confused me, because why on earth was Dwight Evans leading off? According to B-R, he led off for the first 34 games of 1986 and a good portion of '85. That makes no sense to me. Whatever speed he had was gone by the mid 80s, he struck out a ton, and he had the kind of power you'd want in the middle of the order. I guess he did walk a lot, but still. Not your typical leadoff guy.