1980's represent!

sometime around the year 2000, i began putting together "sampler" sets of topps sets from 1952 through 1969. i had no intention of ever completing any of those sets, and i figured it would be a fun idea to pick up a card from each team and each subset for those older sets.

i finished the task in a few years (it was a low priority), but then decided to scrap the collection as i began putting together the 1965 and 1957 sets.  now, i've decided to put together a "representative card" mini collection that will make it easier for me to see a great card from each topps flagship set from 1952 on.

i'll show off the cards occasionally, along with a reason for choosing that particular card. i won't use a card that is in my dodger collection, or any other collection for that matter, so i should wind up with a good variety.  here are the cards that represent the 1980's in this mini collection:

1980 - gary carter

man, i loved this card back in 1980. when i first saw it, i hoped that it was from the 1979 all-star game featuring the play where dave parker nailed brian downing at the plate with a great tag by carter. alas, i soon realized that it was not from that play, but rather a spring training affair. i also noticed the olympic patch on his right sleeve, which would put this photo from 1976 (or maybe 1977 if the expos recycled their previous seasons' jerseys in the next spring training as some other clubs used to do). at any rate, i am happy to have this card in this mini-collection. the other card i considered was george foster's which is bad-ass and was the final card i needed to complete my set back in the day. i even wrote topps a letter asking them to send me the card at one point. they did not respond.

1981 - nolan ryan

here is the first nolan ryan as an astro card that i obtained, if you don't count the 1980 o-pee-chee card that i found in a pack of cards the year before this card was issued. having nolan ryan in the national league west was a frightening prospect, especially when you consider that he was paired with jr richard in the astros' rotation. he also no-hit the dodgers to break sandy koufax's record in 1981, which occurred in a game that was on our local tv. i actually stopped watching around the 6th inning or so to play outside, and when my dad came out later he gave me the news that ryan had, in fact, completed the no-hitter. 

1982 - rickey henderson

rickey was a close second to pete rose as my favorite non-dodger by the time 1982 rolled around. i was all-in for billyball and rickey's pursuit of the single season all-time stolen base mark, and i even began collecting a's topps cards back to 1965. a youth group i was involved in sponsored a trip to anaheim to see the a's take on the angels - my second trip to the big a - and i got to see billy martin argue with an umpire and rickey steal a base on his way to 130. it was a good night.

1983 - carl yastrzemski

i knew better, of course, but looking at this card might have given some people the impression that yastrzemski was a coach in 1983. he looks old, and it appears he is hitting fungoes during batting practice. i don't remember when i found out that 1983 was going to be yastrzemski's final season, but i am sure it was sometime during the campaign. i began looking forward to seeing his final stats, and hopefully, a final tribute in 1984. thankfully, fleer came through.

1984 - ryne sandberg

i caught cubs fever in 1984. 'nuff said.

1985 - george brett

i was very happy to see the royals beat the cardinals in the 1985 world series. not just because the cardinals (who had beat the dodgers in the nlcs) lost, but also because brett and frank white and hal mcrae who had stayed together won, along with old friends jorge orta and joe beckwith. i recently saw an interview brett gave where he relayed what he said to bret saberhagen when there were two outs in the ninth inning of game 7, and it made me appreciate brett even more. once the ball came back in from the outfield where the second out was recorded, brett walked the ball to saberhagen and told him that when the third out was made, the pitcher was to come to him first to celebrate. saberhagen agreed, and so the images of the royals celebrating the win now and forever show saberhagen and brett rather than saberhagen and catcher jim sundberg. sneaky smart move on brett's part.

1986 - kirby puckett

i had followed kirby puckett's career starting sometime during his rookie year of 1984. 1986 marked the first time that he surpassed 200 hits in a season (he had 199 in 1985), and that number had always been a big deal to me. he made the all-star team for the first time that year, and his star was definitely on the rise. i like this card for another reason, as 1986 was the last year for the baby blue uniforms for the twins (until recently), and the uniform is fantastically featured on his 1986 card.

1987 - bo jackson

i am not immune to the powers of bo jackson or the king of junk wax . jackson was a spectacular athlete, and although his 1987 season fell below the crazy expectations, it was pretty clear that he was a generational talent. 

1988 - jose canseco

i was a freshman in college during the fall of 1988, and i was paying close attention to baseball even though my card purchasing was way down. i only bought a box of topps that year - no fleer or donruss for the first time in their existence. most of my attention was fixed on the dodgers and their improbable rise to the top of the national league west, but i also followed jose canseco and his march towards 40/40 status. it was late september when canseco reached that milestone, and it was a couple of days after they had clinched the american league west. the a's had the best record in baseball, but fell to the dodgers in the world series. canseco's only hit in the series was a grand slam in game 1, which is one of the hardest hit balls i have ever seen in person.

1989 - eddie murray

less than a couple of months after the dodgers won the world series, they traded for eddie murray. steady eddie had been a player that i'd followed since his rookie year. i grew up as a fan with his career, and marveled at his consistency and overall bad-assedness. he was from southern california, and had me hoping that he would help the dodgers successfully defend their world series title. that didn't happen, but i was still happy to have him on the dodgers. his 1990 season was a great one - he had the highest batting average in the major leagues, but failed to win the national league batting title thanks to willie mcgee being traded to the american league when he was hitting .335 which was higher than murray's eventual .330 average. murray was a dodger in 1991, too, but left as a free agent to make room for eric karros in 1992.

up next, the 1990's represent! stay tuned...