1986 jerry mumphrey

jerry mumphrey was traded by the astros to the cubs in december of 1985. here is his 1986 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

mumphrey, who had been the astros' primary right fielder in 1985, played mostly center for the 1986 cubs. he played well, hitting over .300 (.304) for the first time since 1982. three of his 5 home runs in 1986 came against the world champion mets, including two (one a pinch-hit 3-run blast that broke a 3-3 tie in the 8th) against their closer, roger mcdowell.


voici à vous, 1986 jerry mumphrey!

1985 mike stenhouse

mike stenhouse was traded from the expos to the twins in january of 1985. here is his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

a collegiate star at harvard, stenhouse established career highs in virtually every offensive category as a twin in 1985, except for doubles and obp. that year, he hit over .200 for the only time in his career and also stole the only base of his career.


voici à vous, 1985 mike stenhouse!

1984 mike easler

mike easler was traded from the pirates to the red sox in december of 1983. here is his 1984 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

this was the second time the red sox acquired easler, but the first time he would play for them. they had purchased his contract from the pirates after the 1978 season, but then traded him back to pittsburgh during spring training in 1979. in 1984 with the red sox, easler set career highs in just about every offensive category. he hit .313 with 27 home runs and 91 rbi, and also had a 20-game hitting streak as he lived up to his 'hit man' nickname. his first home run of the season came in the second game of the year and was a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th to give the bosox a 2-1 lead against the angels. he also had a 12th inning walk-off later in the year against the white sox. he played one more year for the red sox before they sent him to the yankees.


voici à vous, 1984 mike easler!

1983 steve garvey

well, what can i say about this card.  i saved it for the last of the 1983 o-pee-chee variations.  this card (and the events surrounding the need for it) broke my heart.  ultimately, it helped me realize that, more often than not, you cheer for the name on the front of the jersey rather than the one on the back.  which is not to say that i stopped cheering for steve garvey.  ever. 

in december of 1982, steve garvey, the anchor of the infield of my youth, signed a free agent deal with the san diego padres.  here is his 1983 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

1983 turned out to be a mixed bag for the garv.  in april, he passed billy williams to set the all-time national league record for consecutive games played at 1,118.  he did it, fittingly enough, in a game against the dodgers, at dodger stadium, with yours truly in attendance.  in game 1207, however, garvey was injured in the first inning on a play at the plate and was removed from the game, and he wound up missing the rest of the season. 

although he played in only 100 games, he had his groove back.  at the time of injury, he was hitting .294 with 76 runs scored, 114 hits, 22 doubles, 14 home runs, 59 rbi and 29 walks.  those numbers project out to 123 runs scored, 185 hits, 36 doubles, 23 home runs, 96 rbi, and 47 walks over 162 games, and it would have equated to his best season since 1980, at least.

garvey was back and healthy in 1984, playing in 161 of 162 games (and 153 in a row) and helping the pads get to the world series via a walk-off home run in the nlcs against the cubbies. 
 
voici à vous, 1983 steve garvey!

1982 joe rudi

joe rudi returned to the oakland a's as a free agent in december of 1981 after just one year with the red sox. here is his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

rudi played a bit better in oakland than he had in boston the year before. he upped his average to .212, but hit only 5 homers in 71 games. his last career home run came in his last big league game, and his last major league at bat as well. he started game 162 at first base and doubled against the royals' larry gura his first time up. in his second (and final career) at bat, he took gura deep for career home run number 179. he came out of the game the next inning and, although he was still under contract with the a's for the 1983 season, did not appear in another big league game due to a recurring achilles injury.

voici à vous, 1982 joe rudi!

1981 joe rudi

about 4 and a half years after charlie o finley tried to sell joe rudi to the red sox, the outfielder finally made it to boston. joe rudi was traded by the angels to the red sox in january of 1981. here is his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

rudi had a horrific year for the red sox in 1981. he played in just 49 games and hit .180. he had only 22 hits all year, although 9 were for extra bases (3 doubles and 6 home runs). he became a free agent after the season and signed with his old team, the oakland a's.

voici à vous, 1981 joe rudi!

1980 jerry mumphrey

jerry mumphrey was traded twice after the 1979 season. the first time, in december of 1979, the cardinals sent him to the indians for bobby bonds. the second time came a couple of months later when the indians flipped him to the padres for bob owchinko. here is mumphrey's 1980 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

'back' in the nl, mumphrey tore up the basepaths, stealing a career high 52 bases while playing in 160 games for the padres. he also garnered a career high 168 hits and batted .298 for the friars. just for good measure, he hit .362 in 12 games against the cardinals. despite his good year in san diego, or perhaps because of it, the padres traded mumphrey to the yankees at the close of spring training in 1981.

voici à vous, 1980 jerry mumphrey!

1979 jerry morales

in 1978, and for the second year in a row, jerry morales was part of a december trade. this time, he got an o-pee-chee variation. here is his 1979 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the first time he was traded, back in 1973, morales got a unusual (for 1970s topps) 1974 card that showed him in his padres uniform but listed him as a cub. no fancy airbrushing for him or his trade counterpart glenn beckert. then, in december of 1977, the cubs traded him to the cardinals, but he didn't make the 1978 o-pee-chee checklist. thankfully, he was included in the 1979 set.

in his lone year in saint louis, morales had hit .239 with just 4 home runs. he brought his power numbers up somewhat in detroit, twice hitting two home runs in a game and swatting 14 homers on the season as a whole, but his average dipped further, all the way to .211. after the season ended, morales was traded for the third year in a row, but unfortunately did not get another variation in 1980.

voici à vous, 1979 jerry morales!

1977 joe rudi

joe rudi was going to be a free agent after the 1976 season, so a's owner charlie o finley tried to sell him to the red sox in june of that year. the commissioner vetoed the deal, and rudi played out the season with the a's. in november, he signed a free agent deal with the california angels. here's his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

as expected, opc was quick to the punch - they had rudi in his angel gear.  now, here's the topps front:

hey! way to go topps.  now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

as we can see from above, the 1977 rudi card is an autograph placement variation, which is kind of boring.  however, it is also the heretofore unrecognized by me 'position variation'.  notice that o-pee-chee lists rudi as an outfielder, while topps gave him both first base and outfield.  joe had spent most of 1975 (91 of 137 games) at first base, but made only 2 appearances there (with no starts) in 1976.  in 1977, he didn't make any appearances at all as a first baseman.  advantage, o-pee-chee.

rudi spent 4 seasons with the angels, and although he helped them reach the postseason for the first time in 1979, he was not the same player he had been with the a's. he managed 57 home runs during his tenure in anaheim, but his average steadily declined each season with the halos. as for the 1979 alcs, rudi missed the last month and a half of the season due to an achilles tendon injury and was not part of the angels' postseason roster.

voici à vous, 1977 joe rudi!

1992 chuck crim

chuck crim was traded by the brewers to the angels in december of 1991. here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

crim was a workhorse for the brew-crew during his 5 years in milwaukee. he never appeared in fewer than 52 games and twice led the league in games pitched. unfortunately, his era climbed significantly in 1991 to 4.63 and the brewers sent him packing. for the angels, crim pitched in 57 games and earned a save to go along with his 7-6 record. his era continued to climb, all the way to 5.17. he pitched one more season in anaheim before finishing his career in 1994 with the cubs.


voici à vous, 1992 chuck crim!

1991 steve farr

steve farr signed as a free agent with the yankees in november 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:

farr, who had taken a year off from closing duties in 1990, was back in the closer's seat with the yankees. in fact, he never started another game after leaving the royals. in 1991, farr saved 23 games for new york and posted an era of 2.19 in 60 games. in 1992, he lowered his era to 1.56 and saved 30 games. he saved another 25 games for the yankees in 1993, but left as a free agent after the season ended.

on october 4, 1991, farr surrendered a 9th-inning home run to a rookie named jim thome.  it was the 1st home run of thome's career.  not a bad home run to give up.

voici à vous, 1991 steve farr!

1990 tony phillips

tony phillips signed with the tigers as a free agent in december of 1989. here is his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

phillips had one of his best years to date with the tigers in 1990. he scored 97 runs, had 144 hits and drove in 55 rbi while posting an obp of .364 - all were career highs at that point. in the field, he played everywhere but pitcher, catcher and first base and played in 152 games.  you can read about how he transformed his career in detroit in this post over at baseball reference.

voici à vous, 1990 tony phillips!

1989 lance mccullers

lance mccullers was traded to the yankees shortly after the end of the 1988 season. here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

mccullers appeared in 52 games for the yankees in 1989, including one spot start in july against the brewers (the yankees lost 10-2). mccullers finished the season 4-3 with 3 saves and an era of 4.57, well above the 2.49 era he boasted in 1988 with the padres.


voici à vous, 1989 lance mccullers!