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!