1991 willie fraser

willie fraser was traded from the angels to the blue jays in december of 1990. here is his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

after beginning his career with the angels as a starter, fraser had been converted to a middle reliever for the 1989 and 1990 seasons. the blue jays used him primarily in this role during his short tenure in toronto with fraser losing both of his decisions. of the 13 appearances he made for the jays in 1991, fraser started only once, allowing 6 runs and lasting just 3 innings against his former team.

the cardinals selected fraser off of waivers in june of 1991, and used him exclusively in a relief role. fraser responded positively to his first foray in the national league, winning 3 of his 6 decisions while allowing over a run less per 9 innings than he had with the blue jays.
 
voici à vous, 1991 willie fraser!

1990 don slaught

free agent don slaught signed with the pirates prior to the 1990 season. here is his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

it's hard to believe that going from the yankees to the pirates would actually improve one's chances at reaching the postseason, but such was the case in 1990. while the yankees went 67-95 (last in the al east) to miss the postseason for the 9th straight year, the 1990 pirates won the nl east by 4 games.

as half of the pirates' catching platoon with mike lavalliere, slaught hit an even .300 with 4 home runs and 29 rbi in 84 games helping the pirates reach the playoffs. making his second postseason appearance (the 1984 royals lost in the alcs), slaught went just 1 for 11 in the 4 nlcs games in which he played. slaught would return to the postseason with the pirates in 1991 and 1992, but would not advance beyond the lcs in either year.

voici à vous, 1990 don slaught!

1989 tom niedenfuer

 the mariners signed orioles' free agent tom niedenfuer to a contract in december of 1988.  here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front: 

now the o-pee-chee back: 

and the topps back: 

neidenfuer pitched just one season for the mariners, and it was likely his worst as evidenced by his inflated 6.69 era.  he did not record a save for the first time in his career, and the mariners' record in his appearances was a dismal 3 and 22.  that is skewed slightly, as neidenfuer was used primarily as an innings-eater in blowout losses the last half of the season.  he had only 3 save opportunities all year, and blew them all.

the mariners released neidenfuer just before the start of the 1990 season and he was quickly signed by the cardinals.  in saint louis, he pitched much better, shaving 3 runs off of his 1989 era while recording the final 2 saves of his career.

voici à vous, 1989 tom neidenfuer!

1988 chili davis

in december of 1987, free agent chili davis signed with the california angels. here is his 1988 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

davis had spent the first few seasons of his career with the giants playing mostly centerfield, but quickly converted to a rightfielder for the angels. eventually, davis would become a full time dh when he moved on to minnesota in 1991. after two years and a world championship, he returned to the angels for the 1993 season. the only non-dh appearance davis made that season was as a pitcher when he was called upon to pitch in a blowout against the texas rangers. in his 2 innings of work, davis allowed no runs or hits, although he did hit a batter - fellow dh jose canseco.

davis stayed with the angels until they traded him to the royals after the 1996 season. following one year in kansas city, he signed with the yankees, just in time to win two more rings in the final two years of his career.

voici à vous, 1988 chili davis!

1987 rick dempsey

longtime orioles backstop rick dempsey signed as a free agent with the cleveland indians in february of 1987.  here is his 1987 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the 1983 world series mvp was coming off of a year in which he set a career high (for the third year in a row) in home runs, although his rbi total and batting average had dropped significantly.  still, the indians did not likely expect dempsey to hit only .177 with just 1 home run in 60 games.  unfortunately, that's what he did.  although he was released at the end of the season, dempsey did not appear in a game for the indians after july 21st.

still, fred claire saw something and added dempsey to the dodgers' roster for the 1988 season.  in la, dempsey enjoyed a comeback season of sorts, hitting .251 with 7 home runs in 77 games as he helped the dodgers win the world series.

voici à vous, 1987 rick dempsey!

1986 joaquin andujar

joaquin andujar was traded from the cardinals to the a's in december of 1985. here's his 1986 o-pee-chee card (which also happens to be one of my favorites):

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

note that o-pee-chee deleted the reference to andujar's first topps card.  i wonder why they didn't note his first o-pee-chee card?

andujar was coming off of two straight 20-win seasons and 4th place finishes in the cy young race when he was dealt. he had performed poorly in a disappointing postseason with the cardinals in 1985, and was ejected from game 7 of the world series by don denkinger in a memorable confrontation.

after joining the a's, he was saddled with a suspension for his actions in the world series, as well as a punishment for his participation in the drug use that was the center of the pittsburgh drug trials. on the field, he managed to win 12 games in 28 starts, including a 5-hit shutout of the orioles in august.

voici à vous, 1986 joaquin andujar!

1985 greg luzinski

after 15 seasons in the major leagues, greg 'the bull' luzinski retired prior to the 1985 season.  here is his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

luzinski spent 11 seasons with the phillies and 4 with the white sox.  he made the all-star team and finished in the top 10 for mvp votes for 4 straight years from 1975 through 1978.  he appeared in 5 postseasons, winning a world series championship with the phillies in 1980.  not the best defensive player, luzinski was able to leave his glove behind when he went to the american league and focus on what he did best - hitting.  it is worth noting, however, that in 1983 luzinski played a couple of games at first base to prepare for the world series, just in case the white sox made it.  they didn't, as luzinski went just 2 for 15 in the alcs against the orioles in the alcs.

these days, luzinski is into bbq.  he has a sauce on the market, and hosts a restaurant in citizen's bank park, much like boog powell does in baltimore.

voici à vous, 1985 greg luzinski!

1984 dave parker

in december of 1983, the cobra signed as a free agent with the reds after 11 years in pittsburgh. here's his 1984 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

notice that o-pee-chee changed the text under the stat lines slightly - they used 'hit' instead of 'slammed'.  maybe 'slammed' doesn't translate well?

parker succeeded roberto clemente in right for the pirates, and was at first a worthy standard bearer on the field. off of it, the 1978 nl mvp was involved in a big cocaine scandal, becoming an integral figure in the 'pittsburgh drug trials' of the early 80's. after a few down years with the pirates parker rebounded with the reds. in 1984 he drove in 94 runs, the most since his 1979 season. then, in 1985, he put up some big numbers across the board - 34 home runs (a career high), 125 rbi (another career high while also leading the national league), a .312 batting average, and a .916 ops.

what i remember most about parker is his arm. the guy had a gun. i can remember watching him in the 1979 all star game, when he threw a bullet to ron cey at third in the bottom of the 7th to get jim rice, and then an inning later he threw out brian downing at home on the fly to preserve a tie. this week in baseball used to use that footage at the end of the show and it would give me goosebumps every time.

voici à vous, 1984 dave parker!

1983 tony armas

tony armas was sent to the red sox in the deal that brought carney lansford to the a's in december of 1982.  here's armas' 1983 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

armas would set a career high in home runs with the red sox in 1983 (36) only to surpass it in 1984, when his 43 homers would lead the league.  he played centerfield between jim rice in left and dwight evans in right while also serving as the dh every so often for pretty much his entire stint in boston - at least through game 5 of the 1986 alcs.  in fact, tony armas was just 2 for 16 in the series when he was replaced in the 5th inning of game 5 by dave henderson.  4 innings later, henderson hit the 2-run home run off of donnie moore to give the red sox the lead.  armas would have just one more at bat as a red sox - a pinch hit performance in game 7 of the world series in which he struck out against roger mcdowell.  he would finish his career with three seasons in anaheim playing for the angels.

voici à vous, 1983 tony armas!

1982 george foster

in the further dismantling of the big red machine, george foster was traded by the reds to the mets in february of 1982. here's his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the former nl mvp was coming off another fantastic season at the time of the trade. in 1981, foster had his 4th top-6 mvp performance, finishing 3rd in the voting with a .295 average, 22 home runs and 90 rbi in the strike shortened campaign. with the mets in 1982, however, foster faltered. in 151 games, he hit only 13 home runs and had just 70 rbi with an average of .247. all were significantly lower offensive production totals than he had posted since becoming a full time player.

as a team, the mets won only 65 games and foster was the focus of the fans' frustration. he bounced back in subsequent seasons, but it seemed that the initial feeling of disappointment and perceived lack of value for the large contract he had signed after the trade stuck with fans until he was released by the mets in 1986.
 
voici à vous, 1982 george foster!

1981 cliff johnson

in december of 1980, the cubs traded first baseman and sometimes catcher cliff johnson to the a's.  here's his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

 and the topps back:

 

i always thought of johnson as a catcher, primarily because he backed up thurman munson on those yankees teams that beat the dodgers in the world series in 1977 and 1978.  however, johnson caught only one inning of one game for the cubs in 1980, and that would turn out to be his last career appearance behind the plate.  with the a's, he served primarily as a designated hitter, appearing in that role in 68 of his 84 games.  in his first home at bat of the season, johnson homered (going back to back with dwayne murphy), and he finished the season second on the team in home runs with 17 (tony armas had 22).

he helped the a's get to the postseason, and hit .286 in their alds sweep against the royals.  in the alcs against the yankees, however, johnson was held hitless in 6 at bats over two games of the three game series.  johnson may well be best known for getting into a clubhouse scuffle with goose gossage that ended with goose on the dl with ligament damage in his thumb which led to johnson being traded just a few weeks before munson died in a plane crash, and for holding the record for most career pinch hit home runs with 20, 1 of which he hit with the a's in 1981.

voici à vous, 1981 cliff johnson!

1980 luis gomez

luis gomez was traded from the blue jays to the braves as part of the chris chambliss deal in december on 1979.  here's his 1980 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

gomez replaced pepe frias as the braves' regular shortstop as bobby cox led the team to an above .500 finish for the first time since 1974.  gomez wasn't much help offensively, however, as he hit .191 with an obp of .239 and an ops of .451 in 121 games.  he returned to the braves in 1981, his final season in the major leagues, but was supplanted at shortstop by rafael ramirez.  the final game of his career was also mario soto's one-hitter (but not the george hendrick one) on the final day of the 1981 season.  gomez went 0 for 3.

voici à vous, 1980 luis gomez!

1979 wayne twitchell

wayne twitchell, who was released by the expos on the eve of spring training in 1979, was signed by the mets just before the start of the season. here's his 1979 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

twitchell had his best season in 1973 with the phillies when he was used primarily as a starter and won 13 games with a 2.50 era for the last place phillies. for the majority of his career, however, he was used as a swing man - starting and relieving throughout the course of the season. in 1979, he rebounded from a poor april and may to pitch well in june, lowering his era by 2 runs and winning his first 3 decisions. in august, his contract was purchased by seattle, and he made his final 4 major league appearances in a mariners' road uniform.

voici à vous, 1979 wayne twitchell!