1989 world series (kirk gibson)

in 1989, o-pee-chee one-upped topps and included a 1988 world series subset on their checklist. we've seen all but one so far, and here is the last - it's the game 1 recap (sorry - premier match) featuring, of course, kirk gibson:

 here's the back:

what more is there to say about this card? it is awesome. it's also the last of the variations from the 1989 o-pee-chee set. another year down.

voici à vous, 1989 world series (kirk gibson)!

1989 willie randolph

it turned out that the dodgers and yankees essentially swapped second basemen prior to the 1989 season when yankee veteran willie randolph signed a free agent deal in december of 1988, a month after steve sax bolted for the bronx. here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the two even faced off against each other in the 1989 all-star game, each earning a backup spot on the team. like sax, randolph was 0 for 1 in the game. randolph appeared in 145 games and hit .282 with 7 steals and negligible power. he also made 9 errors in 681 chances playing second for the dodgers, which is about the same performance the yankees got out of sax. in the end, maybe the dodgers should have tried harder to re-sign sax, if only to have avoided the merry-go-round that was the second base position in the early 1990's.

voici à vous, 1989 willie randolph!

1989 steve sax

steve sax took his world series ring and left la for the bronx by signing a free agent contract in november 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:

saxy played well in 1989, hitting .315 with 205 hits and 43 steals for the yankees. he made the all-star team (he flew out in his only at bat) and only made 10 errors in 782 chances, the lowest full season total of his career.

he stayed with the yankees for two more years before moving to the white sox in 1992. that season, he committed 20 errors at second, and the chisox moved him to the outfield for '93. sax's career ended, like a few other dodger standouts, with a short stint in oakland in 1994.

voici à vous, 1989 steve sax!

1989 jody davis

jody davis was traded by the cubs to the braves in september 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:

this is one of my favorite variations just from the standpoint that topps had the text on the card, but o-pee-chee decided to modify it. unlike the 1987 darryl motley card or the 1988 doug decinces card, o-pee-chee made a text variation when one really wasn't needed.

as you can see, davis appeared in only 2 games for the braves in 1988, but did connect for a home run. he had a decent year in 1989 for atlanta as a backup backstop even though he hit well below .200, but was released by the club only a month into the 1990 season.

voici à vous, 1989 jody davis!

1989 jamie moyer

jamie moyer was traded to the rangers in december of 1988 in the rafael palmeiro deal. here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

moyer was coming off of consecutive 15-loss seasons for the cubs, but he managed to do better for the rangers in 1989. it helped that he only made 15 appearances (all starts). he was 4-9 in those games with a 4.86 era. the rangers split his time between the rotation and the bullpen in 1990, and moyer pasted a record of 2-6 with a 4.66 era that year. the rangers wound up releasing him at the end of the season.

voici à vous, 1989 jamie moyer!

1989 nolan ryan

in december of 1988, when he was one month from turning 42, nolan ryan signed a free agent contract with the texas rangers. here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

it's not as awesome as his 1980 o-pee-chee variation, that's for sure.

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

when ryan joined the rangers, he became the first player to play for all four of the original expansion franchises (the mets, angels, astros/colt 45s, and the rangers/senators). he also was 27 wins shy of 300, and 225 strikeouts shy of 5000 for his career. the strikeouts came easily, as they always had. ryan led the league with 301 k's in 1989, recording his 5000th strikeout on august 22 when he victimized rickey henderson. as for the wins, ryan had 16 in 1989 which was his highest season total since 1982.

although he didn't throw a no-hitter in 1989, he made the all-star team (he pitched 2 scoreless innings and picked up the win) and finished 5th in the cy young voting.

voici à vous, 1989 nolan ryan!

1989 jeffrey leonard

the seattle mariners signed jeffrey leonard to a free agent contract 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:

leonard had his best power year as a 33-year old in 1989. he hit a career high 24 home runs and drove in a personal best 93 runs while playing in 150 games, the most he had ever played in a single season. he hit only .254 and struck out a career worst 125 times, though. still, chicks dig the long ball, and leonard was named to the all-star team. in the midsummer classic, he struck out against jay howell in his only plate appearance.

leonard hit two home runs in a game against the angels in early august. one of them came in the top of the 10th inning, and proved to be the game-winner.  not sure if he rounded the bases with one flap down.

voici à vous, 1989 jeffrey leonard!

1989 shane rawley

shane rawley was traded by the phillies to the twins in october of 1988, just after the world series ended. here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

rawley made 25 starts for the twins, and had two additional appearances in relief. his era was a full run higher at 5.21 than it had been in 1988, and his record was 5-12. he became a free agent at the end of the season, and we know how that turned out.

voici à vous, 1989 shane rawley!

1989 keith moreland

keith moreland was traded by the padres to the tigers shortly after the 1988 season ended. here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

everything was going well for moreland in the 1989 season up until the trade deadline. he was hitting .299 for the tigers, with 5 homers and a .357 obp after 90 games. then, the tigers (who were going nowhere in 1989) traded him to the orioles who were fighting toronto and boston for the nl east title. in 33 games for the orioles after the trade, moreland hit just .215 with a single home run and an obp of .243. the orioles wound up 2 games back of toronto in the standings, and moreland became a free agent but wasn't signed by anybody and hung up his spikes.
 
voici à vous, 1989 keith moreland!

1989 wil tejada

wil tejada was traded from the expos to the giants in november 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:

tejada never wore a big league uniform after he departed the expos, as the giants sent him to the minor leagues where he hit .212 and failed to earn a callup. he missed a season after being released by the giants in march of 1990, but then spent the 1991 season in the a's organization. after that, he played for a few years in the mexican league. tejada is currently managing an indians affiliate in the dominican summer league.


voici à vous, 1989 wil tejada!

1989 rick mahler

rick mahler signed as a free agent with the reds 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:

as he had done 3 times previously, mahler led the nl in hits allowed in 1989. he pitched 220.2 innings in 40 appearances (31 starts) and finished with a 9-13 record, his fourth straight year with fewer wins than losses. he threw 5 complete games and two shutouts, and also threw 10 shutout innings in a start against the cardinals on august 30. that was the game where the cardinals' jose deleon threw 11 shutout innings while facing the minimum number of batters (he allowed only a 4th inning single which was then wiped out by a double play) before todd worrell, after pitching a perfect 12th, gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the 13th to lose the game.

mahler spent most of 1990 in the bullpen, finally finishing with a winning record and also picking up a world series championship with the reds.


voici à vous, 1989 rick mahler!

1989 rob murphy

rob murphy was traded by the reds to the red sox 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:

murphy had led the league in appearances in 1988 with 76, although he threw just 84.2 innings on the year. he was 0-6, but his era was a decent 3.08, showing that a win-loss record is fairly meaningless. in boston, murphy was 5-7 with a career high 9 saves and an era of 2.74. he pitched in 74 games, but threw 105 innings in those appearances. in 1990, he was back to his winless ways, going 0-6 as he had in 1988, but this time his era was a telling 6.32.


voici à vous, 1989 rob murphy!

1989 lance mccullers

lance mccullers was traded to the yankees shortly after the end of the 1988 season. here is his 1989 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

mccullers appeared in 52 games for the yankees in 1989, including one spot start in july against the brewers (the yankees lost 10-2). mccullers finished the season 4-3 with 3 saves and an era of 4.57, well above the 2.49 era he boasted in 1988 with the padres.


voici à vous, 1989 lance mccullers!