1992 jeff schaefer

jeff schaefer had played in 84 games for the mariners in 1991, his third season in the major leagues.  topps didn't include him in their 1992 set, but o-pee-chee did as they replaced the all star cards with commons, creating a slew of checklst variations.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the o-pee-chee back:

here's the topps card schaefer replaced in the o-pee-chee set:

and the topps back:

schaefer hit just .114 for the mariners in limited action in 1992.  he spent 1993 in the indians' organization  and had a short stint in the orioles' fold before resurfacing with the a's in 1994.  he played in 6 games for the a's, getting 1 hit in 8 at bats.  that hit came in his last major league at bat which occurred in chicago against the white sox - the same setting for both of schaefer's career home runs.
voici à vous, 1992 jeff schaefer!

1991 rosario rodriguez

the pirates picked up rosario rodriguez on waivers from the reds during the 1990 offseason.  here is his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

rodriguez has the unusual distinction (at least i think it's fairly unusual) of making his final major league appearance in a post season game.  he pitched one inning of relief for the pirates in the 1991 nlcs against the braves, giving up a three-run home run to sid bream in game 3.  he had saved 6 games for the pirates during the regular season, but had an era of 4.11.
voici à vous, 1991 rosario rodriguez!

1990 kevin bass

kevin bass signed with the giants as a free agent after the 1989 season.  here's his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

bass was originally acquired by the astros in the don sutton trade, which may be a factoid that only i find interesting.  anyway, bass missed out on the brew crew's world series appearance that year and joined the giants the year after they played in the fall classic (he did get to the nlcs with the astros in 1986). 

bass struggled for the giants in 1990 and appeared in only 61 games.  he rebounded in 1991 to play in 124 games but continued to underperform at the plate, hitting just .233.  the giants sent bass to the mets during the 1992 season, and he later rejoined the astros as a free agent.
voici à vous, 1990 kevin bass!

1989 floyd youmans

the phillies acquired floyd youmans from the phillies 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:

youmans made 10 starts for the phillies and went 1-5 with a 5.70 era.  he was released by the phillies in june of 1989 after a start against the mets in which he gave up 4 runs in 4 innings, including a home run to ron darling.  it was the first of only two home runs hit by darling in his career.  strangely enough, darling hit his second and last career homer 6 days later.
voici à vous, 1989 floyd youmans!

1988 vance law

vance law signed with the cubs as a free agent after the 1987 season.  here is his 1988 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

law became the cubbies' everyday third baseman in 1988, and had a career year.  he hit .293 in 151 games with 163 hits and 78 rbi - all career highs.  he also made the all star team, and got in the game as a late inning defensive replacement at second base, taking over for teammate ryne sandberg.  law played for the cubs again in 1989 but was released prior to the 1990 season.  after missing a year, he signed with the a's and finished his career with them in 1991.

voici à vous, 1988 vance law!

1987 gary roenicke

ron roenicke's brother, gary roenicke, signed with the braves as a free agent in 1987 after one year in new york.  here's his 1987 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

at this point in his career roenicke was a platoon player, getting starts mostly against left handed pitchers.  he hit .219 for the 1987 season with 9 home runs and 28 rbi.  he hit 2 of those home runs in the same game off of a young pitcher named jamie moyer.  roenicke returned to the braves for the 1988 season and was released in july of that year, ending his big league career.

voici à vous, 1987 gary roenicke!

1986 jackie gutierrez

in december of 1985, the red sox traded their shortsop, jackie gutierrez, to the orioles for sammy stewart.  here's his 1986 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

gutierrez didn't play short for the orioles in 1986.  instead, he played second and some third.  he appeared in only 61 games, and hit below .200.  he had only 3 at bats for the orioles in 1987, and they released him before the 1988 season began.  that's not a bad thing, as he missed out on the orioles' dismal 0-21 start that year.

voici à vous, 1986 jackie gutierrez!