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!