Thursday, March 31, 2011

1984 Miscellaneous Cards

1983 was sort of a transition year in major league baseball. The baby boomers who had largely represented most of the players in baseball starting in the late 60s were now arriving at the end of their careers. Topps honored this generation in 1983 with the super veteran subset, and in 1984 we get cards of the players who were the current active career leaders. This was interesting as Pete Rose was nearing setting the record for most hits in a career and the active strikeout record was on its way to being obliterated, as Walter Johnson's record had been passed in 1983 by Nolan Ryan. Ryan and Steve Carlton passed the record back and forth for a while, but Ryan eventually made it maybe untouchable. It is also interesting that to note that the career home run leader going into 1984 was Reggie Jackson with 478 career home runs, which placed him about 90 home runs against the next closest player, Mike Schmidt. In the mid-80s, Hank Aaron's record was very safe. Greg Luzinski was 3rd on the active list with 294 home runs. I think that would place him about 50th today.

We also get the typical subsets...the all-stars, highlights, and team leaders. The team leaders were handled much like Topps has handled them in the past two sets with cards representing the team batting average and team ERA leader from the previous season. Fleer brought back cards noting the previous post season, something that hadn't been in set since the 1981 Topps set. Done a little different than Topps has historically handled postseason cards by creating a card for each game, or at the very least for the entire series, Fleer had cards that honored a few of the players and individual performances from the '83 champion Orioles.





Highlights

__ TO 1 HL Steve Carlton PHI
__ TO 2 HL Rickey Henderson (Steals 100 Bases for the Third Time) OAK
__ TO 3 HL Dan Quisenberry KCR
__ TO 4 HL Strikeout Record (Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Gaylord Perry) XXX
__ TO 5 HL 1983 No-Hitters (Dave Righetti, Bob Forsch, Mike Warren) XXX
__ TO 6 HL Superstars Retire (Johnny Bench, Gaylord Perry, Carl Yastrzemski) XXX
__ FL 626 HL Fred Lynn ('83 All-Star Game Record Breaker) CAL
__ FL 627 HL Manny Trillo ('83 All-Star Game Record Breaker) XXX
__ FL 638 HL The Pine Tar Incident 7/24/83 (George Brett, Gaylord Perry) KCR
__ FL 641 HL Gaylord Perry (Going Out In Style) KCR
__ FL 642 HL Steve Carlton (300 Club & Strikeout Record) PHI
__ FL 628 HL Steve Garvey (NL Iron Man) SDP

Mascots
__ DO 651 SS The Chicken XXX

League Leaders
__ TO 131 LD Batting Leaders (Bill Madlock, Wade Boggs) XXX
__ TO 132 LD Home Run Leaders (Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice) XXX
__ TO 133 LD RBI Leaders (Dale Murphy, Cecil Cooper, Jim Rice) XXX
__ TO 134 LD Stolen Base Leaders (Tim Raines, Rickey Henderson) XXX
__ TO 135 LD Victory Leaders (John Denny, LaMarr Hoyt) XXX
__ TO 136 LD Strikeout Leaders (Steve Carlton, Jack Morris) XXX
__ TO 137 LD ERA Leaders (Atlee Hammaker, Rick Honeycutt) XXX
__ TO 138 LD Leading Firemen (Al Holland, Dan Quisenberry) XXX

All-Stars
__ TO 386 AS George Hendrick STL
__ TO 387 AS Johnny Ray PIT
__ TO 388 AS Mike Schmidt PHI
__ TO 389 AS Ozzie Smith STL
__ TO 390 AS Tim Raines MON
__ TO 391 AS Dale Murphy ATL
__ TO 392 AS Andre Dawson MON
__ TO 393 AS Gary Carter MON
__ TO 394 AS Steve Rogers MON
__ TO 395 AS Steve Carlton PHI
__ TO 396 AS Jesse Orosco NYM
__ TO 397 AS Eddie Murray BAL
__ TO 398 AS Lou Whitaker DET
__ TO 399 AS George Brett KCR
__ TO 400 AS Cal Ripken BAL
__ TO 401 AS Jim Rice BOS
__ TO 402 AS Dave Winfield NYY
__ TO 403 AS Lloyd Moseby TOR
__ TO 404 AS Ted Simmons MIL
__ TO 405 AS LaMarr Hoyt CHW
__ TO 406 AS Ron Guidry NYY
__ TO 407 AS Dan Quisenberry KCR

Active Career Leaders
__ TO 701 LD NL Active Batting Leaders (Bill Madlock, Pete Rose, Dave Parker) XXX
__ TO 702 LD NL Active Hit Leaders (Pete Rose, Rusty Staub, Tony Perez) XXX
__ TO 703 LD NL Active Home Run Leaders (Mike Schmidt, Tony Perez, Dave Kingman) XXX
__ TO 704 LD NL Active RBI Leaders (Tony Perez, Rusty Staub, Al Oliver) XXX
__ TO 705 LD NL Active Stolen Base Leaders (Joe Morgan, Cesar Cedeno, Larry Bowa) XXX
__ TO 706 LD NL Active Victory Leaders (Steve Carlton, Fergie Jenkins, Tom Seaver) XXX
__ TO 707 LD NL Active Strikeout Leaders (Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver) XXX
__ TO 708 LD NL Active ERA Leaders (Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Steve Rodgers) XXX
__ TO 709 LD NL Active Save Leaders (Bruce Sutter, Tug McGraw, Gene Garber) XXX
__ TO 710 LD AL Active Batting Leaders (Rod Carew, George Brett, Cecil Cooper) XXX
__ TO 711 LD AL Active Hits Leaders (Rod Carew, Bert Campaneris, Reggie Jackson) XXX
__ TO 712 LD AL Active Home Run Leaders (Reggie Jackson, Graig Nettles, Greg Luzinski) XXX
__ TO 713 LD AL Active RBI Leaders (Reggie Jackson, Ted Simmons, Graig Nettles) XXX
__ TO 714 LD AL Active Stolen Base Leaders (Bert Campaneris, Dave Lopes, Omar Moreno) XXX
__ TO 715 LD AL Active Victory Leaders (Jim Palmers, Don Sutton, Tommy John) XXX
__ TO 716 LD AL Active Strikeout (Don Sutton, Bert Blyleven, Jerry Koosman) XXX
__ TO 717 LD AL Active ERA Leaders (Jim Palmers, Rollie Fingers, Ron Guidry) XXX
__ TO 718 LD AL Active Saves Leaders (Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Dan Quisenberry) XXX

Team Leaders
__ TO 126 TM Atlanta Braves Team Leaders (Dale Murphy, Craig McMurtry) ATL
__ TO 426 TM Baltimore Orioles Team Leaders (Cal Ripken, Mike Boddicker) BAL
__ TO 786 TM Boston Red Sox Team Leaders (Wade Boggs, Bob Ojeda) BOS
__ TO 276 TM California Angels Team Leaders (Rod Carew, Geoff Zahn) CAL
__ TO 456 TM Chicago Cubs Team Leaders (Keith Moreland, Fergie Jenkins) CHC
__ TO 216 TM Chicago White Sox Team Leaders (Carlton Fisk, Richard Dotson) CHW
__ TO 756 TM Cincinnati Reds Team Leaders (Ron Oester, Mario Soto) CIN
__ TO 546 TM Cleveland Indians Team Leaders (Mike Hargrove, Lary Sorensen) CLE
__ TO 666 TM Detroit Tigers Team Leaders (Jack Morris, Lou Whitaker) DET
__ TO 66 TM Houston Astros Team Leaders (Jose Cruz, Nolan Ryan) HOU
__ TO 96 TM Kansas City Royals Team Leaders (Hal McRae, Larry Gura) KCR
__ TO 306 TM Los Angeles Dodgers Team Leaders (Pedro Guerrero, Bob Welch) LAD
__ TO 726 TM Milwaukee Brewers Team Leaders (Ted Simmons, Moose Haas) MIL
__ TO 11 TM Minnesota Twins Team Leaders (Kent Hrbek, Ken Schrom) MIN
__ TO 516 TM Montreal Expos Team Leaders (Al Oliver, Charlie Lea) MON
__ TO 246 TM New York Mets Team Leaders (Mookie Wilson, Tom Seaver) NYM
__ TO 486 TM New York Yankees Team Leaders (Don Baylor, Ron Guidry) NYY
__ TO 156 TM Oakland Athletics Team Leaders (Rickey Henderson, Tim Conroy) OAK
__ TO 637 TM Philadelphia Phillies Team Leaders (Gary Matthews, John Denny) PHI
__ TO 696 TM Pittsburgh Pirates Team Leaders (Bill Madlock, Rick Rhoden) PIT
__ TO 366 TM San Diego Padres Team Leaders (Terry Kennedy, Dave Dravecky) SDP
__ TO 576 TM San Francisco Giants Team Leaders (Jeffrey Leonard, Atlee Hammaker) SFG
__ TO 336 TM Seattle Mariners Team Leaders (Pat Putnam, Matt Young) SEA
__ TO 186 TM St. Louis Cardinals Team Leaders (Lonnie Smith, John Stuper) STL
__ TO 37 TM Texas Rangers Team Leaders (Buddy Bell, Rick Honeycutt) TEX
__ TO 606 TM Toronto Blue Jays Team Leaders (Lloyd Moseby, Dave Stieb) TOR

Post Season
__ FL 643 WS World Series 1983: The Managers (Joe Altobelli, Paul Owens) XXX
__ FL 644 WS Rick Dempsey (World Series 1983: The MVP) BAL
__ FL 645 WS Mike Boddicker (World Series 1983: The Rookie Winner) BAL
__ FL 646 WS Scott McGregor (World Series 1983: The Clincher) BAL

Checklists
__ TO 114 CH Checklist 1-132 XXX
__ TO 233 CH Checklist 133-264 XXX
__ TO 379 CH Checklist 265-396 XXX
__ TO 527 CH Checklist 397-528 XXX
__ TO 646 CH Checklist 529-660 XXX
__ TO 781 CH Checklist 661-792 XXX
__ TT 132 CH Checklist 1T-132T XXX

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

1984 Player On New Teams

Here is a list of the players who were on new teams in 1984 and had a card in one of the update sets but have cards in the regular set showing them in their old uniform. Think of it as the anti-traded set.

Several hall-of-famers have cards on this checklist. Joe Morgan and Tony Perez get their last cards showing them as members of the Phillies. Phil Niekro appears on his last Braves card until the 1988 sets, as he had one final token appearance for the Braves in 1987 before retiring. He has been on cards showing him as a Brave going all the way back to 1964, when the team was based in Milwaukee. A pair of Yankees also get their last cards showing them as a member of that team, Rich Gossage and Graig Nettles. Both would be moving on to the Padres in 1984.


Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver gets his last card showing him as a member of the New York Mets. How he became a member of the White Sox in 1984 is a complete mystery to me. Here is how the transaction reads at baseball-reference.com:

January 20, 1984
: Chosen by the Chicago White Sox from the New York Mets as a Free Agent compensation pick.

This must be an old way of compensating for free agents, as I have never seen a player switch teams in this manner. Also, how does this make sense. Isn't this the rich robbing the poor. The White Sox had the best record in the AL in 1983 and the Mets had the worst record in the NL. Maybe this is why players no longer switch teams this way. Maybe somebody can enlighten me on this, as many of my knowledgeable readers point out things to me all the time.

Pete Rose
Hey wait a minute, where is Pete Rose on this list? His last Phillies card is in the 1984 sets and he shows up in the update sets with the Expos. You are correct if you thought that, but I try to fill out the rosters as best I can, and if you remember, 1984 was also the year he came back to the Reds at the tail end of the season, so I will put his Phillies cards in that checklist.

Speaking of Rose...this has to be one of the oddest cards in my collection. I know it isn't that uncommon at all, but it just never looked right seeing him in an Expos uniform. There are a few players like this. I think Steve Carlton is another one. When he bounced around at the end of his career with the White Sox and Indians and a few other teams, he didn't look like he belonged with those teams. Gary Carter on the Giants seems odd. Seeing Kirk Gibson manage the Diamondbacks looks odd now to me. Maybe that will grow on me eventually.

__ TO 685 OT Willie Aikens KCR
__ TO 187 OT Luis Aponte BOS
__ TO 417 OT Mike Armstrong KCR
__ TO 654 OT Bob Bailor NYM
__ TO 40 OT Dusty Baker LAD
__ TO 782 OT Steve Balboni NYY
__ TO 513 OT Dave Beard OAK
__ TO 454 OT Joe Beckwith LAD
__ TO 522 OT Dave Bergman SFG
__ TO 41 OT Tony Bernazard SEA
__ TO 302 OT Barry Bonnell TOR
__ TO 428 OT Fred Breining SFG
__ TO 299 OT John Butcher TEX
__ TO 77 OT Brett Butler ATL
__ TO 552 OT Ray Burris MON
__ TO 482 OT Enos Cabell DET
__ TO 787 OT Bill Campbell CHC
__ TO 769 OT Bill Caudill SEA
__ TO 626 OT Bobby Clark CAL
__ TO 22 OT Bryan Clark SEA
__ TO 358 OT Bob Dernier PHI
__ TO 524 OT Carlos Diaz NYM
__ TO 589 OT Mike Easler PIT
__ TO 737 OT Jim Essian CLE
__ TO 325 OT Darrell Evans SFG
__ TO 342 OT Tim Foli CAL
__ TO 142 OT Rich Gale CIN
__ TO 670 OT Rich Gossage NYY
__ TO 741 OT Wayne Gross OAK
__ TO 348 OT Toby Harrah CLE
__ TO 433 OT Richie Hebner PIT
__ TO 199 OT Willie Hernandez PHI
__ TO 679 OT Art Howe HOU
__ TO 731 OT Lynn Jones DET
__ TO 327 OT Ruppert Jones SDP
__ TO 326 OT Bob Kearney OAK
__ TO 573 OT Dave Kingman NYM
__ TO 311 OT Jerry Koosman CHW
__ TO 223 OT Wayne Krenchicki DET
__ TO 598 OT Rusty Kuntz MIN
__ TO 301 OT Frank LaCorte HOU
__ TO 541 OT Dennis Lamp CHW
__ TO 427 OT Rick Leach DET
__ TO 99 OT Craig Lefferts CHC
__ TO 7 OT Gary Lucas SDP
__ TO 74 OT Jerry Martin KCR
__ TO 267 OT Carmelo Martinez CHC
__ TO 70 OT Gary Matthews PHI
__ TO 281 OT Larry Milbourne NYY
__ TO 210 OT Joe Morgan PHI
__ TO 175 OT Graig Nettles NYY
__ TO 650 OT Phil Niekro ATL
__ TO 184 OT Mike O'Berry CAL
__ TO 312 OT Jorge Orta TOR
__ TO 655 OT Amos Otis KCR
__ TO 775 OT Dave Parker PIT
__ TO 385 OT Tony Perez PHI
__ TO 88 OT Rob Picciolo MIL
__ TO 514 OT Floyd Rayford STL
__ TO 43 OT Ron Reed PHI
__ TO 594 OT Gene Richards SDP
__ TO 164 OT Scott Sanderson MON
__ TO 740 OT Tom Seaver NYM
__ TO 772 OT Jim Slaton MIL
__ TO 89 OT Mike Smithson TEX
__ TO 286 OT Lary Sorensen CLE
__ TO 106 OT Tim Stoddard BAL
__ TO 768 OT Champ Summers SFG
__ TO 779 OT Jim Sundberg TEX
__ TO 515 OT Gorman Thomas CLE
__ TO 180 OT Manny Trillo MON
__ TO 601 OT John Tudor BOS
__ TO 642 OT Tom Underwood OAK
__ TO 766 OT Mike Vail MON
__ TO 67 OT Gary Ward MIN
__ TO 563 OT Glenn Wilson DET
__ TO 119 OT John Wockenfuss DET
__ TO 107 OT Ned Yost MIL