John Smiley was a two-time All-Star pitcher who played for the Pirates, Twins, Reds, and Indians 1986-1997.  At the peak of his career in 1991, he went 20-8 with a 3.08 ERA, while finishing third in Cy Young Award voting.  His career ended abruptly when he broke his throwing arm while warming up for a start in the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen on September 20, 1997.

Unfortunately for this post, John Smiley was one of those players who pretty much disappeared from the public spotlight after his career ended.  More than two years after his broke his arm, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training for a possible comeback, but things never panned out.  John Smiley never pitched another professional baseball game.

1988 Topps:

1. #768 Dickie Noles
2. #25 Andres Galarraga
3. #181 Dave Cone
4. #393 Matt Nokes (All-Star)
5. #195 Dan Quisenberry
6. #102 Barry Larkin
7. #215 Von Hayes
8. #552 Mark Thurmond
9. #114 Jeff Russell
10. #141 Kansas City Royals (Team Leaders)
11. #790 Dave Righetti
12. #423 John Smiley
13. #625 Frank Viola
14. #542 Paul Noce
15. #547 Felix Fermin

1988 Topps:

“Led California League with 103 Runs & 183 Hits, 1982.”

1. #14 Sparky Anderson (Manager)
2. #66 Shane Rawley
3. #702 Mike Gallego
4. #734 Craig Lefferts
5. #484 Pat Clements
6. #211 Frank DiPino
7. #585 Ozzie Guillen
8. #243 Mark Ryal
9. #429 Detroit Tigers (Team Leaders)
10. #371 Joe Hesketh
11. #387 Willie Randolph (All-Star)
12. #168 Barry Jones
13. #97 Scott Garrelts
14. #291 Houston Astros (Team Leaders)
15. #567 Mike Diaz

1988 Topps:

“Bo was named Southern League Player of the Week at Memphis, July 15-21, 1986 with 11-for-26 performance including a Double, 3 Triples and 2 HR.”

1. #750 Bo Jackson
2. #418 Joel Youngblood
3. #724 Danny Tartabull
4. #259 Ron Kittle
5. #400 Ozzie Smith (All-Star)
6. #452 Willie Wilson
7. #560 Tim Wallach
8. #536 John Morris
9. #756 Mike Maddux
10. #695 Shawon Dunston
11. #628 Dave Henderson
12. #669 Philadelphia Phillies (Team Leaders)
13. #443 Ken Griffey
14. #713 Willie Hernandez
15. #730 John Franco

1988 Topps:

1. #191 John Cerutti
2. #431 Casey Candaele (Topps All-Star Rookie)
3. #397 Jack Clark (All-Star)
4. #778 Keith Comstock
5. #512 Alex Trevino
6. #588 Jeff Parrett
7. #599 Calvin Schiraldi
8. #767 Jose Lind (Future Stars) (Rookie)
9. #376 Bill Wilkinson
10. #498 Bob Boone
11. #468 Darren Daulton
12. #126 Steve Jeltz
13. #72 Dennis Eckersley
14. #489 Los Angeles Dodgers (Team Leaders)
15. #743 Larry Herndon

“Ellis played baseball at Ranger (Texas) Junior College.”

Ellis Burks ended his playing career in 2004 with a bang, returning to Boston where his career began in 1987 to be part of the World Champion Red Sox.

1988 Topps:

1. #336 Ed Lynch
2. #269 Ellis Burks (Topps All-Star Rookie)
3. #128 Johnny Grubb
4. #505 Willie Upshaw
5. #716 Lenn Sakata
6. #286 Chuck Crim (Rookie)
7. #366 Chet Lemon
8. #180 Terry Kennedy
9. #326 Al Nipper
10. #647 Pascual Perez
11. #8 Kevin Elster (Future Star)
12. #662 Jim Rice (Turn Back the Clock)
13. #236 Ted Power
14. #73 Randy Bush
15. #550 Pedro Guerrero

“Bobby was traded by the White Sox to the Pirates in exchange for Pitcher Jose DeLeon, July 23, 1986.”

Bobby Bonilla played for 8 different Major League teams 1986-2001.  He is best remembered for the formidable combination he formed with fellow Pittsburgh Pirates teammates Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke to lead the team to consecutive 1990 and 1991 NL East titles.

1988 Topps:

1. #100 Jack Clark
2. #89 Gary Thurman (Rookie)
3. #543 Kent Tekulve
4. #770 Lou Whitaker
5. #54 Jim Clancy
6. #55 Phil Bradley
7. #143 Mickey Tettleton
8. #116 Jerry Don Gleaton
9. #681 Bobby Bonilla
10. #515 Juan Nieves
11. #666 Mario Soto
12. #528 Checklist 397-528 (Checklist)
13. #382 Keith Miller (Rookie)
14. #548 Shane Mack (Rookie)
15. #183 Tom Lawless

1988 Topps:

1. #19 Mark Davidson
2. #530 Gary Carter
3. #358 Rey Quinones
4. #705 Juan Samuel
5. #470 Dwight Evans
6. #395 Jimmy Key (League Leaders)
7. #570 Jeffrey Leonard
8. #745 Bill Doran
9. #700 George Brett
10. #677 Eddie Milner
11. #2 Don Mattingly (Record Breakers)
12. #531 Rich Yett
13. #136 Brian Dayett
14. #445 Mike Krukow
15. #12 Bill Schroeder

“Had .281 Batting Average in 318 minor league games.”

George Brett only started batting over .300 on his third Major League season.  He batted only .270 through his first two seasons, then after that the hits kept coming in.  He would go on to get more than 3,000 more hits in his 21-season career.  His final career batting average was .305.

1988 Topps:

1. #43 Dick Schofield
2. #612 Curt Ford
3. #113 Kelly Gruber
4. #644 Terry McGriff (Rookie)
5. #140 Jesse Barfield
6. #657 Gary Redus
7. #487 Jim Pankovits
8. #374 Doc Edwards (Manager)
9. #96 Todd Benzinger (Rookie)
10. #367 Tim Leary
11. #82 Darrel Akerfelds
12. #172 Lloyd McClendon (Rookie)
13. #355 Roger McDowell
14. #497 Kevin Mitchell
15. #503 Junior Noboa

“Kevin led Texas League 3rd basemen with 224 Assists in 1983 and IL 3rd basemen with 215 Assists in 1984.”

Kevin Mitchell currently plays amateur baseball in the San Diego Adult Baseball League.