1979 paul hartzell

paul hartzell was acquired by the twins in the rod carew trade prior to the 1979 season.  here is his 1979 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

with the twins, hartzell matched his 6-10 record he posted with the angels in 1978, although his era went up to 5.36.  tomorrow (july 1) is the 32nd anniversary of hartzell's 10-inning complete game victory over the white sox.  in that game, he allowed 8 hits and just one run (on jorge orta's 8th inning home run) as the twins won on a pinch-hit single by glenn adams in the bottom of the 10th.  unfortunately, hartzell was released after the season ended, and landed in baltimore for the 1980 season.

voici à vous, 1979 paul hartzell!

1977 dave collins

o-pee-chee preferred a full image of dave collins' face on cardboard, and so replaced the topps photo with this one on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

o-pee-chee also got rid of his curls and they even rotated the facsmilie autograph slightly!  now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

collins, dubbed the fastest white man in baseball, was a first round pick of the angels in 1972.  three years later he made his debut for the halos, but was unprotected during the expansion draft and the mariners snapped him up.  collins was the first batter in mariners' history, and he hit .239 in 120 games with 25 steals for the m's.  1977 turned out to be his only season in seattle, as he was traded to the reds following the mariners' inaugural season for shane rawley.

o-pee-chee did not include collins in the 1978 set and so missed out what would have been a nice team and text variation.  that's ok, however, since collins got more than his fair share of variations in the 80's as we will see over the next week or so.

voici à vous, 1977 dave collins!

1992 danny tartabull

as we learned a few days ago, the yankees signed danny tartabull to a free agent deal prior to the 1992 season.  here's his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

tartabull played three full seasons in new york, plus part of a fourth.  he was used primarily as a dh, although he did play a fair amount of right field.  his best season for the yankees came in 1993 when he hit 31 home runs and drove in 102, although he hit only .250.  apparently, tartabull left his ability to hit for average in kansas city.

voici à vous, 1992 danny tartabull!

1991 dave righetti

the giants signed dave righetti to a free agent deal in december of 1990.  here's his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

rags took over as the giants' primary closer upon his arrival, and saved 24 games for the 4th place giants.  in 1992, rod beck claimed the closer role, and righetti was relegated to setup duty.  he also made 4 starts for the no-cals that season while matching his 2-7 record from the year before.  righetti remained in san francisco for one more season before returning to the american league.

voici à vous, 1991 dave righetti!

1990 mike brumley

mike brumley was traded from the tigers to the orioles in january of 1990.  here's his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

what o-pee-chee was not able to tell us with the 1990 mike brumley card, is that the orioles released him at the close of spring training and he was signed by the mariners a few days into april.  in seattle, brumley appeared in 62 games and hit .224 with a career high 4 triples.  at the end of the season, brumley was released by the mariners, but he was picked up by the red sox for 1991 and beyond.

voici à vous, 1990 mike brumley!

1989 paul kilgus

paul kilgus was part of the december, 1988 trade between the cubs and rangers that saw rafael palmeiro head to texas while kilgus went to chicago.  here's his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

kilgus had won 12 games for the rangers in 1988, but he went on to win just 6 for the cubbies.  still, the cubs won the nl east in 1989, and kilgus was part of the postseason roster.  in what would be his only postseason appearance, he pitched three scoreless innings in relief of greg maddux in game 1 of the nlcs.  after the season, he was traded to toronto.

voici à vous, 1989 paul kilgus!

1987 danny tartabull

danny tartabull was traded from the mariners to the royals in december of 1986.  here's his 1987 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

tartabull had finished 5th in the al roy voting in 1985 despite striking out 157 times.  his high finish was due to the 25 home runs he hit, and he delivered exactly what the royals expected in 1987.  paired with bo jackson in the outfield, tartabull hit .309 with 34 home runs and 101 rbi his first season in kansas city.  the royals finished in second place behind the twins.  tartabull led them to another second place finish in 1989, but that was as close as he would get to the postseason with the royals.

he had perhaps his best season in 1991, his last as a royal, as he hit .316 with 31 home runs and 100 rbi and led the league with a .593 slugging percentage.  as is the case these days, such a performance meant that the yankees came calling, and the bronx bombers did in fact sign tartabull to a free agent deal heading into 1992.

voici à vous, 1987 danny tartabull!

1986 gary roenicke

gary roenicke was traded from the orioles to the yankees in december of 1985.  here's his 1986 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

roenicke was moved further into a reserve role with the yankees in 1986.  he appeared in just 69 games and slugged a then-career low .368.  he hit .265 with 3 home runs and 18 rbi and became a free agent after the season.  roenicke signed with the braves prior to the 1987 season, and spent the last two years of his career in atlanta.

voici à vous, 1986 gary roenicke!

1985 steve kemp

after two years in the bronx, steve kemp was traded to the pirates 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:

part of what the yankees got in return for kemp (and tim foli) was jay buhner who was famously traded to the mariners for ken phelps. anyway, kemp hit just .250 for the pirates in 1985 with 2 home runs and 21 rbi over 92 games. in 1986, he played in only 13 games and his only home run (and rbi) came on an inside-the-park home run off of dennis eckersley. kemp was released by the pirates during the 1986 season and spent time in the padres and rangers' systems before resurfacing in the majors during the 1988 season for texas.

voici à vous, 1985 steve kemp!

1984 tom seaver

the bumbling mets left team legend tom seaver unprotected and he was selected by the white sox in the free agent compensation draft prior to the 1984 season.  here is his 1984 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

white sox gm roland hemond selected seaver as compensation for the white sox' loss of dennis lamp to toronto via free agency.  the pale hose didn't really need pitching - they had the reigning cy young winner lamarr hoyt, rich dotson, floyd bannister and others - but the addition of tom terrific allowed them to trade hoyt to the padres for a starting shortstop named ozzie guillen.  hemond also wanted to keep seaver from going to oakland, an al west rival, who also had a pick in the draft.

although he contemplated retirement, seaver reported to chicago and went on to win 15 games in '84.  he threw four shutouts, including a 3-hitter against the royals and even picked up a win in relief.  that victory game with courtesy of seaver pitching the last inning in the white sox/brewers' 8-hour, 25-inning game on may 8th that harold baines won with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 25th.  the next season, he won 16 games for the white sox, including his 300th career game which came back in new york, although it was at yankee stadium, not shea.

voici à vous, 1984 tom seaver!

1983 steve kemp

after one season in chicago with the white sox, steve kemp signed a free agent deal with the yankees for the 1983 campaign. here is his 1983 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

kemp's numbers took a tumble in the bronx in '83. his average dropped from .286 to .241, and his rbi total was halved from 98 to 49. he rebounded a bit in 1984 when he hit .291 in 94 games, but his power didn't come back and he hit only 7 home runs.

voici à vous, 1983 steve kemp!

1982 steve kemp

lou ferrigno look-alike steve kemp was traded from the tigers to the white sox in november of 1981.  here's his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

kemp played just the one year in chicago, as he left for the green fields of free agency after the 1982 season.   and who could blame him - he put together a good season for the southsiders, batting .286 with 19 home runs and driving in 98 while playing in 160 games.

some highlights for kemp during his 1982 season include his 100th career home run, a walk-off against former dodger dave goltz, and a two-home run game against mike norris and the a's.

voici à vous, 1982 steve kemp!

1981 ken reitz

ken reitz was traded to the cubs, the team against which he got his 1000th hit (thanks topps) in the bruce sutter deal in december of 1980.  here's his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

reitz, who had started at third for the national league in the 1980 all-star game (mike schmidt was hurt), was installed as the cubs' third baseman, and he did not respond as they had hoped.  he hit just .215 with 2 home runs and 28 rbi in 82 games during the strike-shortened season.

in 1982, the cubs released him at the close of spring training, and he was signed shortly thereafter by pittsburgh.  unfortunately, he went 0 for 10 as a pirate and was released.

voici à vous, 1981 ken reitz!