1985 joe morgan

joe morgan announced his retirement from the game prior to the 1985 season. here's his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

this is the third 'announced his retirement' text variation in the 1985 set (the others are bob watson and greg luzinski). morgan had returned home to oakland for the 1984 season in which he recorded his 2500th hit and 1100th rbi. he hit .244 on the year, playing in 116 games as a second baseman and sometimes dh. shortly after he announced his retirement, morgan revealed that he would become an announcer for some cincinnati reds games, which paved the way for the eventual establishment of one of my favorite websites.

voici à vous, 1985 joe morgan!

1982 bo diaz

bo diaz was acquired by the phillies from the indians in a november 1981 three-team deal that also involved the cardinals. here is his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

diaz had his best season that first year with the phillies as he hit 18 home runs, drove in 85 runs and hit .288. in 1983, his production dropped off to the tune of a line of 15/64/.236, but the phils made the world series nonetheless. diaz himself hit .333 in the fall classic, but was relegated to backup duty behind ozzie virgil when the 1984 season rolled around thanks to his injuries and virgil's play while diaz was out. diaz was eventually traded to the reds in august of 1985 where he once again filled the role of starting catcher.

i was surprised to learn that diaz passed away in 1990, just over a year after a knee injury ended his career. i was further surprised to learn that his death was caused when the satellite dish he was working on fell and crushed him. yikes.

voici à vous, 1982 bo diaz!

1980 aurelio rodriguez

aurelio rodriguez had his contract purchased by the san diego padres in december of 1979. here is his 1980 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

rodriguez played in 89 games for the padres in 1980, and hit an even .200 before his contract was purchased by the yankees in august. rodriguez finished out the season in the bronx, hitting .220 with 3 homers in 52 games. his first yankee home run came a few days after he joined the club, and was a walk-off job against britt burns and the white sox.

rodriguez's travels continued after the season ended as the yankees sent him to toronto, and the blue jays traded him to the white sox prior to the start of the 1982 campaign.

voici à vous, 1980 aurelio rodriguez!

1979 pete rose

in december of 1978, pete rose signed a free agent deal with the philadelphia phillies. immediate dividends were paid. here is his 1979 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

actually, the phillies, who had won the nl east two years in a row only to fall to the dodgers in the nlcs, took a step backwards in 1979, losing the nl east to the pirates. they rebounded in 1980, however, to win it all for the first time in franchise history. i remember being perplexed when rose signed his deal with philly. they didn't need a third baseman, as they had mike schmidt over there. i was slightly horrified when rose moved to first base because i knew it wasn't good for steve garvey's all-star chances. still, the dodger fans kept garvey as the starting first baseman in the all-star game through 1980 before rose finally took over.

charlie hustle still made the all-star squad those first two seasons with the phillies, and deservedly so. in 1979, rose played in all 163 games for the phillies, and hit .331 with 208 hits and a career high 20 stolen bases. rose got 826 of his 4256 hits with the phillies, but was just 10 hits shy of 4000 when the phillies released him following their loss in the 1983 world series. rose, of course, wound up in montreal to claim that milestone hit before returning to the reds to finish out his career and time as a person in good standing with major league baseball.

voici à vous, 1979 pete rose!

1977 joe ferguson

joe ferguson, who had been acquired by the cardinals during the 1976 season in the reggie smith trade, was sent to houston in november of 1976 for larry dierker and jerry davanon. here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

this card is pretty hideous, and i'm a joe ferguson fan. i'm also pretty sure that the original photo used by o-pee-chee has fergie in a dodger uni.  i recognize those trees.  here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

since ferguson was featured as a dodger in the 1976 topps and o-pee-chee sets, and wasn't in the traded set, o-pee-chee collectors at the time may not have ever seen joe ferguson as a cardinal. they even got rid of him on the bobby murcer card, as we will see sometime in the future.

the astros installed ferguson as their everyday catcher, and he responded with 16 home runs, 61 rbi and a .257 batting average. he also played some first base for the first time in his big league career, and even stole a career high 6 bases! ferguson returned to houston for the 1978 season, but was traded to the dodgers after 51 games, earning a spot as a dodger 'double dipper'.

voici à vous, 1977 joe ferguson!

1992 wally joyner

wally joyner signed as a free agent with the royals in december of 1991. here's his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

wally world parlayed a big contract year (21/96/.301) into a big contract and quickly faltered. his first year in kansas city saw his home run total fall to 9, and his average tumble all the way to .269, both perilously close to his career lows at the time. the next three years however, he kept his average up near or over .300, and he always fielded his position well, so maybe the royals didn't lose out on their investment too much. after the 1995 season, the royals moved him to san diego for which i am grateful because it made this card possible.

voici à vous, 1992 wally joyner!

1991 mark parent

mark parent was traded from the padres to the rangers 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:

parent had just 1 at bat for the rangers (he struck out) in 1991. that was because he was severely injured during a spring intrasquad game. that injury was significant, not just for parent, but for the rangers as well. as a result of parent being unavailable, they promoted ivan rodriguez, and the rest of history. after the season, parent became a free agent and signed with the baltimore orioles.

voici à vous, 1991 mark parent!

1990 jim gott

jim gott left the pirates and joined the dodgers as a free agent in december of 1989.  here's his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

once in la, he was a standout in the bullpen for some very forgettable, and i'll be honest - bad, dodger teams.  he allowed less than a third of his inherited runners to score, while maintaining an era in the twos for most of his dodger career.  he even spent a single season (1993) as the dodgers' primary closer, and saved 25 games in that role.  things fell apart in 1994, however, as his era ballooned to over 5.  after that season, he became a free agent and wound up re-signing with the pirates once the strike ended

voici à vous, 1990 jim gott!

1989 jeffrey leonard

the seattle mariners signed jeffrey leonard to a free agent 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:

leonard had his best power year as a 33-year old in 1989. he hit a career high 24 home runs and drove in a personal best 93 runs while playing in 150 games, the most he had ever played in a single season. he hit only .254 and struck out a career worst 125 times, though. still, chicks dig the long ball, and leonard was named to the all-star team. in the midsummer classic, he struck out against jay howell in his only plate appearance.

leonard hit two home runs in a game against the angels in early august. one of them came in the top of the 10th inning, and proved to be the game-winner.  not sure if he rounded the bases with one flap down.

voici à vous, 1989 jeffrey leonard!

1985 vance law

vance law was traded from the white sox to the expos in december of 1984. here is his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

i love the text on the back regarding the first initial 'v' because i vividly recall vin scully commenting/lamenting during a dodgers/expos game that despite all the names beginning with 'v' in the law family, there was no vincent.

the expos moved law back to second base, although they also used him at first, third and in right field occasionally. he also made a few mound appearances for them in 1986 and '87. he had 6 such appearances during that time, and allowed only 2 earned runs in 7.1 innings pitched. he also struck out 2 batters (dave henderson and robby thompson, both giants - ha!). law spent 3 years in montreal before moving on to the cubs prior to the 1988 season.

voici à vous, 1985 vance law!

1982 ken griffey

ken griffey was traded by the reds to the yankees in november of 1981. here is his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the yankees moved griffey back to right field, and in return he rediscovered his power stroke. after hitting just 2 home runs in 1981, griffey hit 12 in 1982. he even victimized tommy john again for old times' sake in 1983. griffey lasted with the yankees until midway throught the 1986 season when he was dealt to the braves for claudell washington.

voici à vous, 1982 ken griffey!

1980 nolan ryan

after 8 years in california, the angels' owner gene autry, along with gm buzzie bavasi, allowed nolan ryan to leave as a free agent. he chose to go home to texas by signing with the houston astros. here is his 1980 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

this is one of my favorite variations, by the way. ryan's future hof status, the fact that he started the 1979 all-star game for the american league, and the colors themselves combine to make an unforgettable card.

anyway, ryan went on to have a typical nolan ryan season for the astros in 1980. he had a good era (3.35), and at least 200 strikeouts, but his record was just one game over .500 (11-10). he also led the league in walks. clearly, there was some truth to bavasi's statement that he would replace ryan 'with two 8-7 pitchers'.

on the other hand, ryan threw a 2-hitter (one of 18 in his career) against the cubs and recorded his 3000th career strikeout on july 4th, getting the reds' cesar geronimo (who had also been bob gibson's 3000th victim). to top it off, ryan hit his first career home run off of another future hall of famer (don sutton) and helped the astros get to the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

voici à vous, 1980 nolan ryan!

1979 toby harrah

toby harrah was traded by the rangers to the indians in december of 1978 for buddy bell, straight up. here is his 1979 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

harrah had been a shortstop for most of his career when the rangers converted him to a third baseman in 1977. he took over for bell at the hot corner and hit .279 with 20 home runs and 77 rbi for the tribe in 1979. one of his home runs was a grand slam against his former team on august 4th. he eventually made his way back to texas for the final two seasons of his career (1985 and 1986) where the rangers converted him again, this time to second base.

voici à vous, 1979 toby harrah!