1977 rollie fingers

o-pee-chee didn't mess with the mustache, but they did move rollie fingers' facsimile autograph on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

what a bad job of airbrushing.  now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

fingers had signed as a free agent in december of 1976 - plenty of time for topps to get him in his padres' gear.  with the friars, fingers appeared in a career high 78 games (the 4th straight season he had appeared in at least 70 games) and he pitched 132.1 innings.  he also won 8 games and saved 35 games for the 69-93 padres.  not a bad trick.

voici à vous, 1977 rollie lingers!

1977 mark fidrych

so, here we are with a second straight 1977 post - proof positive that all of the non-1977 variations have been posted!  the end is in sight, or at least becoming more of a certainty.  today, we'll explore the dual awards being stripped from mark fidrych's card, as well as the adjustment of his facsimile autograph.  here is fidrych's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front, with the all-star banner and the rookie cup:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

maury wills gets a cartoon!  1962 was a big season for wills, and 1976 was a biggie for fidrych.  1977, not so much.  the bird followed up his rookie-of-the-year season by going 6-4 with a 2.89 era.  he had injured his knee shagging fly balls during spring training, and then suffered an arm injury after a handful of starts.  he was named to the all-star team, but did not appear in the game.  in fact, fidrych did not pitch at all after the all-star break due to his arm injury. unfortunately, fidrych would pitch in only 16 more big league games over the next 3 seasons before his career was over.

voici à vous, 1977 mark fidrych!

1977 jon matlack

jon matlack got the autograph placement (along with an ever so slight photo cropping) variation on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

take a look at his cleat.  now, here's the topps front:

topps gives us a tad more of the left foot.  looks like o-pee-chee just moved the photo slightly north-south.  now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

a carl furillo reference!  and a firearm!  those were the days.

matlack enjoyed (maybe enjoyed is not the right word) his final season as a met in 1977.  he had been an all-star in 1976 and even finished 6th in the cy young award voting, but his 1977 season was bad.  he finished with a record of 7-15 and a 4.21 era.  3 of his 7 wins came by shutout, but i'm too lazy to see how many wins the mets' bullpen might have cost him.

after the season, matlack was dealt to the rangers in the bert blyleven/al oliver deal that netted the mets willie montanez, tom grieve, and ken henderson; and as a bonus, we got a fantastic team and text variation for matlack in 1978.

voici à vous, 1977 jon matlack!

1992 eric davis

eric davis joined the dodgers by trade in november of 1991, coming over from the reds to be reunited with his boyhood pal, darryl strawberry.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the hopes were high for the 1992 dodger outfield of davis, brett butler, and strawberry, but the results were low.  davis was able to play in only 76 games and hit just .228.  he had 5 home runs and did manage to steal 19 bases while getting caught only once.  davis battled back, and appeared in 108 games for the dodgers in 1993 before they traded him to the tigers at the end of august.  and with that, we are down to only 1977 o-pee-chee variations remaining as i saved eric the red for the last of the 1992 variations.

voici à vous, 1992 eric davis!

1977 nolan ryan

o-pee-chee figured that nolan ryan was ready for his close up in 1977.  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

they also un-stacked his autograph.  now here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

not sure why they made a big deal about grant jackson's behind the back grab in the cartoon.  that play seems to be fairly common these days.  in fact, i saw nick blackburn do it in a game earlier this season.

as for ryan, the express was rolling in 1977.  he won 19 games and struck out over 300 batters (341) for the fifth time in his career.  he also threw 22 complete games and had a nice 2.77 era.  ryan also finished third in the cy young award voting, and was named to the all-star team (he didn't pitch) in 1977.  he did not, however, throw a no-hitter in 1977 - he would have to wait until 1981 to get the fifth no-no of his career.

voici à vous, 1977 nolan ryan!

1992 tim belcher

tim belcher was traded by the dodgers to the reds in november 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:

belcher equaled his career high in wins for the reds in 1992, going 15-14 in 34 starts.  he also made a single relief appearance.  belcher won each of his final four starts of the season, including a 6-1 win over the padres in which he struck out 13.  the ohio native was traded to the white sox at the trading deadline in 1993, and helped the chisox reach the postseason for the first time since 1983.

voici à vous, 1992 tim belcher!

1977 jason thompson

jason thompson was stripped of his rookie cup by o-pee-chee in 1977.  don't believe me?  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

his autograph also got moved further towards the left edge where the cup appeared on the topps card.  here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

thompson lived up to the rookie cup hype in 1977, hitting 31 home runs with 105 rbi and a respectable .270 batting average.  although he had some more good years in detroit and california, thompson wouldn't hit 31 homers with over 100 rbi again until 1982 when he was with the pirates.

voici à vous, 1977 jason thompson!

1992 bip roberts

bip roberts was traded by the padres to the reds in december of 1991 for randy myers.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

in cincy, bip hit .323 with 44 steals while playing mostly left field with some second, third and center thrown in for good measure.  he was named to the all-star team and finished 8th in the league mvp voting.  in the all-star game, bip was 2 for 2 with a pair of singles, a run scored and two rbi.  he eventually returned to the padres in 1994 as a free agent.

voici à vous, 1992 bip roberts!

1977 john candelaria

o-pee-chee took a different approach than topps when it came down to the facsimile autograph on his 1977 o-pee-chee card, as seen here:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

nice of o-pee-chee and topps to remind me of the no-no that the candy man spun against the dodgers in 1976.  1977 turned out to be candelaria's best season of his career.  he won 20 games for the only time, led the league in era, and was named to the all-star team for the first and only time, although he didn't appear in the game.  he also finished 5th in the cy young voting.

voici à vous, 1977 john candelaria!

1992 jesse orosco

jesse orosco was sent to the brewers by the indians in december of 1991 as part of a 'conditional deal'.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the brewers were only orosco's fourth major league team and fifth organization (he was originally signed by the twins who traded him to the mets for jerry koosman in 1978).  he was 3-1 with a 3.23 era and a save in 59 games for the brew crew in 1992.  he pitched in milwaukee for a total of 3 seasons, averaging 52 appearances and 48 innings of work each season.  after he left the brewers, orosco suited up for 6 more teams, including the dodgers for the second time and the twins, his original organization.

voici à vous, 1992 jesse orosco!

1977 bob boone

phillies' catcher bob boone got a slight photo crop adjustment and facsimile autograph rotation on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

boone caught 131 games for the nl east champion phillies in 1977.  he set career highs in runs scored, doubles, and rbi that year, and topped his previous career high of 10 home runs with 11 long balls.  he also went 4 for 10 in the nlcs that year against the dodgers.  but we all know how that series turned out.

voici à vous, 1977 bob boone!

1992 randy myers

randy myers was traded by the reds to the padres in december of 1991 for bip roberts.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the reds had moved myers to the starting rotation in 1991, and the padres had the good sense to put him back in the bullpen.  myers finished 57 of the 66 games in which he appeared for the pads in 1992, and finished the season with a 3-6 record and 38 saves.  unfortunately for san diego, myers left after the season ended and signed a free agent deal with the cubs, for whom he saved 53 games in 1993.

voici à vous, 1992 randy myers!

1977 vida blue

vida blue got an autograph placement variation in 1977.  here's his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

it's nice to see hank aaron appear in the 1977 set after he was denied a true 'final tribute' in the set.

as for blue, 1977 turned out to be his last year in oakland.  charlie o. finley had tried to sell blue's contract to the yankees during the 1976 season, but the deal was voided by the commissioner's office.  i am guessing blue knew it was a matter of time, and he was ultimately traded to the giants during spring training in 1978.

but, before that happened, blue was named to the all-star team in 1977 despite a less than .500 record at the break (he didn't pitch in the game) and he wound up losing a total of 19 games over the course of the season.

voici à vous, 1977 vida blue!