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!