#20 - Gary Carter

What looks like a nice action shot here is just Carter throwing down to second after some warmup pitches. Knowing that, it's not as cool a photo as it seems at first glance. But it's a decent look at a Hall of Famer who was seen as the premier offensive catcher in the National League during the late 70s and early-mid 80s.

Because of his position, Carter was a bit overrated as an hitter, but he certainly was a gamer. Twice in his career he caught over 150 games ('78 and '82) which is extremely rare in today's game, and even through history stands up as quite an achievement. In fact, Johnny Bench only did it once, Yogi never did it, Fisk did it twice, Bob Boone never did it, Campy never did it...the list goes on.

#19 - Matt Young

Yay! More stripes! At least we get a nice look at the Mariners old logo on Young's jersey and in the upper left corner. I actually liked that trident M. But what I don't like is that cheesy glove. Really? You're a starting pitcher for a Major League Baseball team and you're using a freakin' Velcro glove? OK, I know they were popular there for a little while, but come on, Matt.

As a rookie, Matt made the All Start team despite ending the season at 11-15. He did have a nice 3.27 ERA, which is exceptional for a rook. And I'm assuming he was the lone Seattle representative on the AL squad that year. But just for the hell of it, let's look at his splits to see how well he was doing when he was elected to the team, and how well he finished up the year.

Before the Break
W/L: 7-8
ERA: 2.86
IP: 116 1/3
GS: 17
CG: 3
SHO: 2

That's a nice first half for any pitcher, let alone a rookie, despite the fact that Seattle's anemic offense refused to help the guy out. Seriously, their best offensive player that year was Pat Putnam, who hit .269 with 19 homers. If you have any recollection of Pat Putnam, you're a better man than me.

After the Break
W/L: 4-7
ERA: 3.81
IP: 87 1/3
GS: 16
CG: 2
SHO: 0

He trailed off a bit, but that's still an impressive half season for a rookie starter. Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. Young was an ineffective starter for the rest of his career. Ironically, his best season came when he returned to the Mariners after a brief sojourn on the west coast (OAK, LA), when he had a 3.51 ERA...and went 8-18. That's criminal.

#18 - Dick Howser, Manager

I remember thinking as a kid that Dick Howser was just a few letters away from having the coolest name in the history of sports. Dick Howitzer. Can you imagine that? There's no way a guy named Dick Howitzer wouldn't be successful. But even with a fairly forgettable name, Howser was an excellent manager. He won two World Series (with the Yanks in '78 and the Royals in '85) and had only one finish lower than second place at a time when there were only two divisions. And that was '86 when he didn't even finish the season due to a brain tumor. He came back for '87, but was unable to manage due to his condition, and ultimately died later that year.

It's a sad story, and an abrupt end to a very successful, albeit short managing career. Fittingly, the last game he ever managed was the '86 All Star Game.

It's difficult not to evaluate the card with all that in mind, but it's a pretty standard manager shot. One leg up on the dugout step, one hand in the back pocking, looking out to the diamond. We'll gloss over the fact that he looks a little too much like Dick Van Patten in this photo.

#17 - Pete O'Brien

Funny, he doesn't LOOK like a guy who would leave depraved voicemails. Oh wait, that was PAT O'Brien. With that weird semi-smile on his face, Pete doesn't look quite as ready as the situation might require. He almost seems like he knows his photo is being taken. Hey at least we get a break from the stripes.

There have been three Pete O'Briens in major league history and this Pete was by far the most successful. He had a very consistent career, and was generally one of those .270, 15-20+ homer guys, numbers that seem paltry as we emerge from the steroid era, but he was a pretty well regarded player who was a regular first-baseman for Texas, Cleveland and Seattle.

#16 - Pat Clements

Aside from the fact that he looks like he's 12 in this photo, I don't have a lot to say about Pat Clements or his card. Decent shot of a Rawlings glove and that goofy Pirates that looks like something you might have seen John C. Reilly wear in Gangs of New York.

Pat was was a reliever for his somewhat brief major league tenure but did make two career starts. One came October 2, 1988, when Pat threw 6 innings o 3-run ball against a Tigers team who finished 1 game out of first in the AL East. He got a no-decision as a guy we just looked at, Dave Righetti, picked up the loss. A year later, this time pitching for San Diego, he gave up 5 runs in 3 innings to St. Louis. No wonder he didn't start many games.

#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).

#14 - Dave Stewart

Ugh. It would be hard to find a baseball player I disliked in the late '80s more than Dave Stewart. Mostly because he was such a postseason force for Oakland. But man was he a man of two careers. He was a below average pitcher until he moved to the Bay, when he promptly won 20+ games four straight seasons, all after his 30th birthday. I wonder if anyone's ever done that before.

The photo does a good job of capturing that intimidating stare Stewart used on the mound. He looks downright scary in this photo. Although it would be hard to be intimidated by a guy wearing all those goofy stripes. In fact, let's count them.

3 at the collar
3 on the left sleeve
3 at the waist
3 on the left leg
4 counting each side of each stirrup (yes, i consider those stripes)

That's a total of 16 stripes in one photo. I think that's about 12 too many.