1977 phil garner

phil garner was traded from the a's to the pirates in march of 1977.  here's his 1977 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 o-pee-chee variations.  they really focus on the mustache, although the topps card also gives a decent view of it.  either way, what a glorious mustache! 

garner was coming off of an all star season when he was traded, and, as the o-pee-chee card notes, he even changed positions once he got to pittsburgh.  as an athletic, garner was not on the postseason roster in 1973 or 1974 so he missed out on their world series victories, but he was a big part of 'the family' in pittsburgh that won the championship in 1979.

voici à vous, 1977 phil garner!

1992 lance blankenship

lance blankenship did not appear in the 1992 topps set, but o-pee-chee included him on their checklist.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the o-pee-chee back:

blankenship was a super-utility guy who played second, third, the outfield and even some first base over his career.  in 1992, he started 69 games at second, 33 in the outfield, and 4 at first base on his way to appearing in a career high 123 games.

now here's the topps card blankenship bumped from the set, the will clark all star card:

and the topps back:

it wasn't the first time that oakland knocked off san francisco - blankenship won a world series ring in 1989 when the a's beat the giants (he was 1 for 2 with a run scored in the series).

voici à vous, 1992 lance blankenship!

1991 eric show

eric show signed with the a's as a free agent prior to the 1991 season.  here is his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

show had exactly 100 wins when he left san diego, and he retired with 101.  that's because he won only 1 game for the a's (in 23 appearances) in 1991 which proved to be his final big league season.  no word on whether he took his jazz 'show' on the road to the bay area when he left san diego.

voici à vous, 1991 eric show!

1990 rick cerone

rick cerone became a yankee for the third time when he was acquired prior to the 1990 season.  here's his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

cerone was primarily a back up to bob geren, and played in just 49 games.  he did hit .302 in 139 at bats though, and had a couple of dingers to boot.  after the season, he was on his way again - this time to the crosstown mets.

voici à vous, 1990 rick cerone!

1989 mitch williams

mitch williams was traded from the rangers to the cubs in the december 1988 deal that sent rafael palmeiro to texas.  here's his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

williams had a huge year in 1989, helping the cubbies get back to the nlcs for the first time since 1984.  he appeared in 76 games and had 36 saves with a 2.76 era.  he was named to the all-star team and finished in the top 10 in both cy young and mvp voting.  williams finished the all-star game for the nl squad in a losing effort.  he walked the first batter he faced (former teammate ruben sierra) but promptly picked him off.  he then retired the next two batters without incident.

voici à vous, 1989 mitch williams!

1988 dave parker

the reds traded dave parker to the a's in december of 1987.  here's his 1988 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

parker replaced the retiring reggie jackson on the roster, and helped the a's get to the world series in both 1988 and 1989.  he went to milwaukee for the 1990 season, and then split 1991 between the angels and the blue jays.  sadly, there are no o-pee-chee variations to mark those movements. 

voici à vous, 1988 dave parker!

1987 storm davis

storm davis was acquired by the padres from the orioles in an october, 1986 trade.  here is his 1987 o-pee-chee card: 

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

davis did not benefit from the move to the national league.  he was 2-7 with a 6.18 era in 21 games for the pads when they shipped him to oakland on august 30, 1987.  he went 1-1 and 3.26 for the a's after the trade, and then won 16 games (with a 3.70 era) for them in 1988 (although he took the loss in two world series games against the dodgers).  then, in 1989, davis won 19 games with less than stellar 4.36 era.  he took a loss in the alcs and did not appear in the earthquake series against the giants.

davis parlayed his 19-win season into a free agent deal with the royals, creating the need for another o-pee-chee variation in 1990.

voici à vous, 1987 storm davis!

1986 rich thompson

the indians traded rich thompson to the brewers in december of 1985.  here is his 1986 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

thompson spent all of 1986 in the brewers' minor league system.  in fact, he never appeared in the big leagues for milwaukee.  instead, he toiled in the minors for a few seasons, splitting the 1987 campaign between the yankees, expos and royals systems.  he hung on with the royals through the 1988 season before returning to the expos organization.  it was as an expo in 1989 that thompson returned to the big leagues. 

although he was 0-2 in 19 games, thompson did post a 2.18 era in 33 innings.  he made just one more big league appearance - a one inning stint for montreal in april of 1990 in which he gave up a double but retired the other 3 batters he faced without incident - after which he was sent back down to aaa.

voici à vous, 1986 rich thompson!

1985 bill caudill

we're wrapping up bill caudill weekend today.  he was traded from the a's to the blue jays in december of 1984.  here is the resultant 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

rather than celebrate caudill's 3-k performance in the 1984 all star game, or his 36 saves, topps focuses on his fashion sense.  caudill had 14 saves for the al east champs in 1985 to lead the club, although he shared the closer role with jim acker until tom henke took over from both of them in august. with the terminator in control, caudill did not appear in the alcs against the royals.  he pitched for the blue jays in a setup role in 1986, and then was released by toronto during spring training in 1987.  he signed on with the a's for another go around, but appeared in only 6 games for oakland before calling it quits.

voici à vous, 1985 bill caudill!

1984 bill caudill

it's day one of bill caudill weekend here at oh my o-pee-chee!  in november of 1983, caudill was traded from the mariners to the a's.  here's his 1984 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

caudill was the mariners' first real closer, as he saved a then team record 26 games in each of his two seasons in seattle.  with the a's in 1984, caudill saved a career high 36 games, and was named to the all star team.  in the midsummer classic, caudill pitched a perfect inning in relief, striking out tim raines, ryne sandberg and keith hernandez in succession.  after the season, the a's traded caudill to the blue jays.

voici à vous, 1984 bill caudill!

1983 tony perez

tony perez signed as a free agent with the phillies in january of 1983.  here is his 1983 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the phillies re-assembled the big red machine in 1983, adding perez and joe morgan to their roster, reuniting them with charlie hustle.  it worked, too, as the phillies returned to the world series, but things turned out differently than they did in 1980 as the phils lost.  for his part, perez was just 2 for 10 in the fall classic.  in the regular season, the 41 year old posted his lowest batting average and slugging percentage since his debut 1964 season.

voici à vous, 1983 tony perez!

1982 fergie jenkins

hall of famer fergie jenkins left the rangers for the second time in his career in december of 1981, and joined the cubs for the second time in his career.  here is his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the card erroneously listed the vehicle of jenkins' arrival in chicago as a trade, but all information i have seen indicates that he was a free agent.  anyway, he was 36 wins short of 300 and 38 strikeouts shy of 3000 when he rejoined the cubs.  although he didn't make it to 300 wins (he won a total of 20 games in his final two seasons), he did hit the 3000 k mark on july 25, 1982 when he fanned garry templeton.

this month, jenkins' native canada released a postage stamp featuring his likeness as part of black history month.  there is no us manufactured variation, however.

voici à vous, 1982 fergie jenkins!

1981 tony bernazard

tony bernazard was traded by the expos to the white sox in december of 1980.  here is his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

he was installed as the white sox' starting second baseman, and held that post until he was traded during the 1983 season to the mariners.

voici à vous, 1981 tony bernazard!