1977 keith hernandez

just like they had for graig nettles (as shown a few days ago), in 1977 o-pee-chee went for a close up of keith hernandez, while also adjusting the location of his facsimile autograph.  here is hernandez's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

hernandez played in 161 games in 1977 for the cards, and he hit 41 doubles and 15 home runs in what was his first full season as a regular first baseman.  one reason for his full-time status in 1977 was that he proved that he could hit leftys pretty well.  in 1976, his batting average splits showed a .306 average against right handed pitchers, but only .250 versus leftys.  in 1977, he turned that around by hitting .313 against leftys, and 8 of his 15 home runs were hit off of southpaws.

it should be noted that he did not win the gold glove award (1977 was the last of four consecutive years that steve garvey received the award), but would begin a streak of 11 straight seasons as the recipient of the award in 1978.  i still think garvey should have won it again in 1978 (he had one less error in 87 more chances and actually had a better range factor/game than hernandez in 1978 and was the incumbent although he had fewer assists) but nobody asked me what i thought.

voici à vous, 1977 keith hernandez!

1977 pete falcone

not satisfied with an actual photograph of pete falcone in a cardinals' uniform, o-pee-chee went into the way-back machine and found a photo that they could airbrush.  they also moved and stacked his facsimile atuograph on this, his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

falcone had spent all of 1976 in saint louis after his 1975 rookie campaign in san francisco.  i am guessing that o-pee-chee didn't care for the shadows on falcone's topps card.

after winning 12 games in each of his first two seasons, falcone won only 4 games in 1977.  one of those wins came via a 6-hit shutout against the cubs in which falcone failed to strike anybody out.  later in the season, he was moved out of the rotation and into the bullpen where he recorded his first career save.

voici à vous, 1977 pete falcone!

1977 john denny

a slight difference in cropping, a rotation of the facsimile autograph, and a mean mustache combine to give us john denny's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

 here's the topps front:

ok - so the mustache is the same on the topps card.  now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

denny led the league in era in 1976 with a 2.52 mark, but wound up with a 4.51 era in 1977.  he was 8-8 in 26 starts for the cardinals and started the season strong.  he won all 5 of his starts in april, and was even 7-0 at the end of may.  he wound up missing most of july and losing his next 8 decisions before pitching a complete game to get his 8th win of the season in his final start of the year.  denny, of course, would later go on to win the cy young award in 1983 as a member of the nl champion phillies.

voici à vous, 1977 john denny!

1977 ted simmons

it looks like o-pee-chee was up to their typical tricks again in 1977, this time adjusting ted simmons' photo ever so slightly, and moving his facsimile autograph around.  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

it looks like the photo just got moved up in the window slightly as there is more of simmons' back pocket showing on the o-pee-chee version with less head room.

now the o-pee-chee back:

a babe ruth comic!

and the topps back:

simmons caught in 143 games in 1977, down slightly from his career high of 154 in 1975.  he did set a career high with his .318 batting average which he posted along with 21 homers and 95 rbi.  he was named to the all-star team for the fourth time (he went 0 for 3 in the game) and finished 9th in the 1977 national league mvp voting.

voici à vous, 1977 ted simmons!

1990 bryn smith

bryn smith, the pride of santa maria and longtime expo, signed a free agent contract with the cardinals after the 1989 season ended. here's his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

what a nice photo of smith pitching in beautiful dodger stadium! if i am laying it on a bit thick, it's only because this is the last 1990 o-pee-chee variation to be featured on this site. we've seen 'em all now. anyway, smith went 9-8 for the redbirds in 1990 in 26 games (25 starts) and also hit the third and final home run of his career. it was a two-run job against the expos in montreal of all places. smith did better on the bump in 1991, winning 12 games while lowering his era from 4.27 to 3.85. after one more season in saint louis, smith joined the rockies for their inagural season of 1993 and ended his career by going 2-4 in 11 games for colorado.

voici à vous, 1990 bryn smith!

1992 andres galarraga

the 'big cat', andres galarraga, was traded in november of 1991 by the expos to the cardinals. here's his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

in his lone season with the cardinals, galarraga played in 95 games and hit 10 homers with 39 rbi. it was a down year for galarraga, and perhaps the lone highlight of the season was the grand slam he hit off of john wetteland when he returned to montreal in august. after the season was over, he was granted free agency and ultimately signed with the rockies. to say his career enjoyed a resurgence as a result is an understatement.

voici à vous, 1992 andres galarraga!

1991 jamie moyer

after being released by the rangers following the 1990 season, jamie moyer signed a free agent deal with the cardinals. here is his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

moyer wound up making 7 starts for the cards, plus one relief appearance. he was 0-5 with a 5.74 era and the cardinals summarily released him after the end of the season. moyer went through the cubs and tigers' organizations in 1992 without getting back to the big leagues before signing with the orioles for the '93 season and pulling things together. hard to believe after his rocky first few years in the bigs that he would pitch for 24 seasons and rack up 267 career victories. and maybe even a couple more - moyer recently announced that he is preparing for a comeback after missing the 2011 season due to injury.

voici à vous, 1991 jamie moyer!

1985 george hendrick

george hendrick was acquired by the pittsburgh pirates in a december, 1984 trade with the cardinals. here is his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

hendrick did not stay long in pittsburgh as the pirates sent him to the angels in an august veteran trade dump. he was hitting just .230 with 2 home runs and 25 rbi at the time of the trade, and was equally as bad at the big a. in 16 games for the halos, hendrick hit .122 with an ops of .488. he rebounded nicely in 1986 to the tune of 14/47/.272 in 102 games as the angels won the west. he was just 1 for 12 in the alcs against the bosox though.

voici à vous, 1985 george hendrick!

1977 joe ferguson

joe ferguson, who had been acquired by the cardinals during the 1976 season in the reggie smith trade, was sent to houston in november of 1976 for larry dierker and jerry davanon. here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

this card is pretty hideous, and i'm a joe ferguson fan. i'm also pretty sure that the original photo used by o-pee-chee has fergie in a dodger uni.  i recognize those trees.  here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

since ferguson was featured as a dodger in the 1976 topps and o-pee-chee sets, and wasn't in the traded set, o-pee-chee collectors at the time may not have ever seen joe ferguson as a cardinal. they even got rid of him on the bobby murcer card, as we will see sometime in the future.

the astros installed ferguson as their everyday catcher, and he responded with 16 home runs, 61 rbi and a .257 batting average. he also played some first base for the first time in his big league career, and even stole a career high 6 bases! ferguson returned to houston for the 1978 season, but was traded to the dodgers after 51 games, earning a spot as a dodger 'double dipper'.

voici à vous, 1977 joe ferguson!

1991 terry pendleton

terry pendelton joined the braves in december of 1990 as a free agent. here is his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

pendleton wound up having a good year for the braves, leading the national league in hits, total bases and batting average en route to winning the mvp award over a probably more deserving barry bonds. pendleton also reached the world series for the third time in his career in 1991 (he was a member of the cardinals' losing teams in 1985 and 1987). pendleton wound up in a total of 5 fall classics, but failed to win a ring. he left the braves for the marlins prior to their triumph over the indians, and then returned to atlanta in time for their 1996 loss to the yankees.

voici à vous, 1991 terry pendleton!

1977 lou brock

lou brock did not switch teams or have an all-star banner removed from his 1977 o-pee-chee card.  no, he just gets to suffer the smallest of variations - a slight difference in cropping and an adjustment in the placement of his facsimilie autograph.  wanna see?  here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the best part about these cards, however, is brock's helmet.  i don't think even the pirates striped their helmets.

1977 was brock's last year as the cardinals' regular left fielder, although he did appear in 120 games in 1979, his final season.  he scored his 1500th career run in '77, and also led the league in times caught stealing for the 7th and final time of his career.  he did still manage to steal 35 bases, however.  and at 38 years old to boot!

voici à vous, 1977 lou brock!

1991 gerald perry

gerald perry signed as a free agent with the cardinals in december of 1990. here is his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

perry, whose 1990 o-pee-chee card inexplicably lacked the text regarding his having been sent to the royals (both players the braves got back from the royals - charlie leibrandt and rick luecken - got the text variation treatment) returned to the national league after a single season in the al. he hit .240 in his return, with 6 homers and 15 steals in 109 games.

voici à vous, 1991 gerald perry!

1981 ted simmons

ted simmons went from the cardinals to the brewers in the december 1980 rollie fingers trade. here is his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

despite hitting just .216 for the brew crew in '81, simmons was named to the american league all-star team. in the midsummer classic, simmons hit a pinch-hit rbi single off of burt hooton to drive in the american league's 4th run of the game and give them a 2-run lead. rollie fingers would later give up a two-run homer to mike schmidt as the nl came back to win the game.

simmons had a much better season in 1982, with a .269 average, 23 home runs and 97 rbi, helping the brewers get back to the playoffs and into the world series for the first time. he may be the best eligible offensive catcher not in the hall of fame.


voici à vous, 1981 ted simmons!