i was never much of a keith hernandez fan. maybe it's because i coveted his 1975 topps rookie card because it featured phil garner, who i needed for my burgeoning oakland a's team collection, and by the time i tried to get a copy in the early 1980's, hernandez's success had jacked up the price beyond the reach of my meager allowance. or maybe it's because he supplanted steve garvey as the national league gold glove winner. or perhaps because topps gave him the all-star cards in 1985 and 1986 instead of garvey, who actually started those games in the previous seasons.
at any rate, i do appreciate topps' take on their 1983 traded
and 1984
hernandez cards.
seeing these cards next to each other in my dad's hernandez topps collection really made them stand out as a yin and yang. it's a way better treatment than mike piazza received 10 years later with his 1993 traded and 1994 flagship cards which featured pretty much the same photo.
