Showing posts with label Miscellaneous Cards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous Cards. Show all posts

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 22, 2011

1984 Unwanted Cards

Kicking Off 1984

1984 was a different sort of year for collectors. Maybe this has something to do with my age at the time, as I would turn 11 in September '84. Collecting cards was more about actually completing a set of baseball cards and less about chewing gum for me by this time. The 1984 Topps set was (and still is) the earliest set that I have completed. Beckett Price Guide magazine also made its debut in November 1984. The hobby was changing a bit. I think this was about the time trades with friends were made based less on wanting a certain player for whatever reason, but actually thinking about the actual value of the cards. In 2011, this is funny because these cards are probably worth less now than they were then.

As for the cards produced in 1984, we again get the big three of Topps, Donruss, and Fleer. I think all companies were firing on all cylinders during this year. They all had very good designs, and in Donruss's case, maybe the best in the history of that company. Donruss gave us the first Rated Rookie cards that were noted in the front this year and the set is full of rookie cards that don't show up in other sets. Of course Donruss gives us one of my least favorite subsets again, leading off their set with the Diamond Kings. I can't stress enough how awful these cards look. They look like they were painted as a project in a high school art class. Check out the Lance Parrish card to the left. One of the ugliest cards I have ever come across.

The 1984 Fleer set is about as redundant as any set got in the 1980s. There are only 2 cards in the whole set of active players in 1984 that aren't in any other companies set. No kidding...only 2. You do get the final cards of Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, and Gaylord Perry in the Fleer set though, which is cool as you get to see their entire career statistics on a baseball card. The bigger news from Fleer is that they also give us an update set of 132 cards. This will give us 14 more cards to help fill in our checklists.

I will start off 1984 providing a checklist of all of the cards I am not considering for my ultimate set, but if you are keeping score at home, you may be interested in these. I always try to keep cards showing highlights of the previous season, but dislike the Superstar Specials and Diamond Kings, so don't bother collecting those. Fleer did have some cards highlighting the 1983 post season, so those will be placed in the ultimate set. I also don't save the checklists from sets other than Topps.

Donruss Living Legends
There were two cards honoring players retiring (I know Rollie Fingers didn't retire, I will get to that in a second). I know these cards came in packs with the rest of the set, but they weren't numbered as if they belonged to the set. These may be the first case of insert cards, although Topps did issue a glossy all-star set in rack packs of 1983 cards.

The players on these two cards are A) Gaylord Perry/Rollie Fingers and B) Carl Yastrzemski / Johnny Bench. The interesting player out of these four is Rollie Fingers. Fingers did not play in 1983. He came back with the Brewers in 1984 and 1985 and then called it a career. Why is he on these cards? Was this Donruss's way of placing him on a card, or was there speculation that he would retire? I honestly don't remember.

Donruss Diamond Kings
__ DO 1 DK Robin Yount MIL
__ DO 2 DK Dave Concepcion CIN
__ DO 3 DK Dwayne Murphy OAK
__ DO 4 DK John Castino MIN
__ DO 5 DK Leon Durham CHC
__ DO 6 DK Rusty Staub NYM
__ DO 7 DK Jack Clark SFG
__ DO 8 DK Dave Dravecky SDP
__ DO 9 DK Al Oliver MON
__ DO 10 DK Dave Righetti NYY
__ DO 11 DK Hal McRae KCR
__ DO 12 DK Ray Knight HOU
__ DO 13 DK Bruce Sutter STL
__ DO 14 DK Bob Horner ATL
__ DO 15 DK Lance Parrish DET
__ DO 16 DK Matt Young SEA
__ DO 17 DK Fred Lynn CAL
__ DO 18 DK Ron Kittle CHW
__ DO 19 DK Jim Clancy TOR
__ DO 20 DK Bill Madlock PIT
__ DO 21 DK Larry Parrish TEX
__ DO 22 DK Eddie Murray BAL
__ DO 23 DK Mike Schmidt PHI
__ DO 24 DK Pedro Guerrero LAD
__ DO 25 DK Andre Thornton CLE
__ DO 26 DK Wade Boggs BOS

Other Donruss Cards
__ DO 0 ST Living Legends (Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Bench) XXX
__ DO 0 ST Living Legends (Gaylord Perry, Rollie Fingers) XXX
__ DO 625 ST Runnin' Reds (David Green, Willie McGee, Lonnie Smith, Ozzie Smith) STL
__ DO 648 ST Duke Snider (Puzzle) LAD

Fleer Superstar Specials
__ FL 629 ST Rod Carew (AL Batting Runner-Up) CAL
__ FL 630 ST Wade Boggs (AL Batting Champion) BOS
__ FL 631 ST Tim Raines (Letting Go of the Raines) MON
__ FL 632 ST Al Oliver (Double Trouble) MON
__ FL 633 ST Steve Sax (All-Star Second Base) LAD
__ FL 634 ST Dickie Thon (All-Star Shortstop) HOU
__ FL 635 ST Ace Firemen (Dan Quisenberry, Tippy Martinez) XXX
__ FL 636 ST Reds Reunited (Tony Perez, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan) PHI
__ FL 637 ST Backstop Stars (Lance Parrish, Bob Boone) XXX
__ FL 640 ST Retiring Superstars (Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski) XXX