#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.

A fan of Mattingly?

I'm not. But I can say that this is one of the coolest things ever:

Mattingly Mosaic

I have no idea how the hell he did it (is there some application that creates mosaics out of individual image files?). Regardless, it's incredibly cool and is worth checking out, especially as it ties nicely to the 1987 Topps set. So check it out, and thanks to Andy for sending it along.

#32 - Tim Leary

When Leary's on the mound, you turn on, tune in, ground out.

OK, that was a little forced, but it was the only joke I could think of for a marginal major league pitcher who shared a name with a famous proponent of LSD.

Anyway, I remember getting this card when I was a kid and thinking Leary looked a lot more like an actor playing a baseball player than an actual player. The combination of the athletic stretch pose, soap opera looks, strong brow...ok, I'm going to go confirm my heterosexuality...

...and we're back. So anyway, the one interesting thing about this shot is that we get a look at the memorial patch the Brew Crew wore during the '86 season in remembrance of longtime Milwaukee equipment manager Robert "Sully" Sullivan.

Predominantly a starter throughout his 13-year major league career, Leary was ineffective (78-105, ERA+ of 90) with one notable exception. In 1988, Leary went 17-11, 2.91 for the World Series champion Dodgers. Like just about any other LA starter, um, ever, Leary benefited greatly from the dimensions of Chavez Ravine (check out his splits), but even his away numbers that year blew his career averages out of the water. His season earned him the Comeback Player of the Year Award, which, in Leary's case doesn't really make sense because he had no history of success to "come back" to.

#31 - Braves Leaders

Wow. I, um, wow.

So here we have our second "leaders" card of the set, and it's the Braves. I put "leaders" in quote here because, as I mentioned, it's the '86 Braves, who didn't lead much of anything. On the front we have Glenn Hubbard putting his arm around Rafael Ramirez as both are clad in those awful powder blue pants the Braves wore in the '80s. I know it's the Braves, but come on, Topps. You're telling me you couldn't have chosen to better players than these two? Dale Murphy? Bob Horner? Ken Griffey? Gene Garber? Somehow Topps managed to choose the two LEAST productive Atlanta regulars for their "leaders" card. Hubbard (76 OPS+) and Ramirez (64 OPS+) didn't exactly rake that year.

Maybe this was the only photo with two Braves that looked like they were actually having fun. I have no idea.

#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.

#29 - Jimmy Key

Not a bad shot at all on this card. It's a good action photo of the lefty's delivery, giving a nice look at the Jays' logo and Jimmy's Rawlings glove. His eyes are in a shadow, but you can still see the focused concentration on his face. Nice card.

Jimmy Key pitched in the AL East at the right time. He spend his entire career in that division for the Jays, Yanks and Os at a time when it wasn't as strong as today. Still, Key was a great pitcher. He won at least 12 games every year from '85 through '97 (except for 1995, which he missed due to injury), and won 16+ games 5 times. He finished his career with a 3.51 ERA (122 ERA+) and was Cy Young runner up twice. The first was in 1987 when Key went 17-8/2.76/1.06. Compare that to that year's winner, Roger Clemens, who went 20-9/2.97/1.18. Key's numbers actually look better, but keep in mind Clemens did his damage for a lousy 78-win Sox team, while Key did it for a great 96-win Toronto team. Add to that Clemens' 256 Ks and you gotta give it to the Rocket.

Key's second near Cy win was in '94 when Key was in New York. He was just barely edged by David Cone who was lights out that year in KC. Cone would join Key in New York the next season.

Overall, it seems as if Key has been all but forgotten over the years, which is a shame, because he was one of the best, most consistent pitchers, in the '80s and '90s.

#28 - Rick Dempsey

Hey, it's Gregg Zaun's uncle! I actually had no idea about that until I looked him up on B-R. Dempsey looks positively weather-beaten in this photo. He was only 36 when it was taken but he looks about 10 years older than that. The stylist should have straightened him up a bit, too. Look how askew his chest protector is.

For some reason I remember Dempsey as a much better player than he actually was. He racked up 400+ ABs in a season only once, which makes it all the more amazing that he stuck around the bigs for an incredible 24 seasons. Think about that for a second. 24 seasons for a catcher. Compare him to his nephew, Zaun who has had a very similar career, numbers-wise. Zaun is 37 years old and would have to play 10 MORE SEASONS to match Dempsey.

Volume metrics aside, Dempsey was a really lousy hitter. Over those 24 seasons he 140 more strikeouts than walks, only 96 homers, 471 RBI, and an OPS+ of 87. OK, so we've established he couldn't hit. Well guess what. HE WAS A WORLD SERIES MVP! That's right, in '83 Dempsey hit .385 over the 5 games with a whopping 1.390 OPS. Amazing. That might have been the best 5-game stretch of his career and he did it in the Series.