1985 tim lollar

the padres traded tim lollar to the white sox in december of 1984 in the lamarr hoyt deal.  here's his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

i think derek lowe got in trouble for hitting on a dodger reporter during his time in la, but he was married at the time.  looks like lollar played it above board.  anyway, lollar (lollar, lollar get your adverbs here) appeared in just 13 games for the white sox in 1985 before they shipped him off to the red sox.  in boston, he finished the season in the bullpen although he won 2 of his last 3 starts, including a complete game 5-hitter against the indians.

lollar was back with the bosox in1986, pitching in 32 games (1 start) and was 2-0 with a 6.91 era.  he was left off of the postseason roster, and then released during spring training in 1987.

voici à vous, 1985 tim lollar!

1984 gorman thomas

stormin' gorman thomas was traded by the indians to the mariners in december of 1983, a scant 6 months after they had acquired him from the brewers.  here's his 1984 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

i must admit, i had no idea thomas was a centerfielder until i went to write this post.  i figured him for a corner outfielder who was, by this time in his career, a dh.  nope.  prior to 1984, when he appeared as the dh just once, thomas had appeared as a dh about 18 times total in his career. 

gorman struggled with injuries in 1984 and appeared in only 34 games for the m's.  he came back in 1985 to slug 32 home runs (as the mariners' dh) and earn comeback player of the year honors.   thomas finished his career with a third stint in milwaukee after the mariners released him in the middle of the 1986 season (he had previously been traded by the brewers to the rangers after the 1977 season, although he was re-acquired by the brewers shortly thereafter).

voici à vous, 1984 gorman thomas!

1983 joe morgan super veteran

joe morgan was traded from the giants to the phillies in december of 1982.  here's his 1983 o-pee-chee super veteran card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

it's not often you see three teams represented on one card as is the case with the opc version of this card (colt .45s, giants, phillies) so that is cool in and of itself.  i posted morgan's base 1983 card a while back, so i'll just focus on the milestones in this post, like i did with tony perez. 

morgan played just two more seasons after 1982, so he didn't rack up a lot of new milestones or new seasonal bests.  he did wind up with just over 2500 hits (steve garvey had more - ha!), getting number 2500 on july 23, 1984 at minnesota.  he is currently 91st on the all-time hit list and 179th on the all-time rbi list.

voici à vous, 1983 joe morgan super veteran!

1982 doug decinces

with cal ripken jr in the fold, the orioles traded doug decinces to the angels in january of 1982.  here's his 1982 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

decinces responded with a career year for the al west champion angels in 1982.  he hit .301 with 42 doubles, 30 home runs and 97 rbi - all career highs - and finished 3rd in the league mvp voting.  in the postseason, decinces hit .316 in the angels' 5-game alcs loss to the brewers.

voici à vous, 1982 doug decinces!

1981 fred lynn

perennial all-star fred lynn was traded by the red sox to the angels in january of 1981.  here's his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

it's one of my favorites, simply because of the translation of his all-star designation, which is something o-pee-chee did not do in 1979 or 1980.  here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

i recall being pretty excited about lynn joining the halos in '81, even though it meant the loss of frank tanana.  unfortunately, lynn's first year in anaheim was disappointing - 76 games played, just 5 home runs and a .219 batting average.  he didn't homer after may 1st, and his average was in the .270s when the strike started, meaning that his second 'half' of the season really stunk.  still, he was named to the al all-star (vedette de la la) squad, and had a pinch-hit rbi single off of burt hooton in his only at bat of the game.

lynn rebounded in 1982, hitting .299 with 21 home runs and 86 rbi while helping the angels get to the postseason for only the second time in their history.  in the alcs, lynn went off, batting .611 with 11 hits and an ops of 1.539!  unfortunately, the angels dropped three straight to the brewers after winning the first two and failed to advance to the world series.

voici à vous, 1981 fred lynn!

1980 john denny

john denny was acquired by the indians in the december, 1979 bobby bonds trade. here's his 1980 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

denny, who led the nl in era in 1976, had posted an era of almost 5 in 1979. in 1980, he lowered it a touch to 4.39 and then to 3.15 in 1981. in 1982, the tribe sent him to philadelphia when his era topped 5.00 late in the season. he found renewed success in philly, winning the cy young award in 1983.

voici à vous, 1980 john denny!

1979 greg gross

greg gross was traded from the cubs to the phillies in february of 1979. here is his 1979 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the trade worked out pretty well for gross, as he made the postseason with the phillies three times during his tenure there, including a world series championship in 1980. in 1979, he hit .333 in 111 games while playing all three outfield positions. known mostly as a pinch hitter, gross had 55 plate appearances at 14 hits in that role in 1979, for a .275 average.

voici à vous, 1979 greg gross!