“Was NL Player of Week, May 23-29, 1988.  Batted .346 (9-for-26) with 2 Doubles, 2HR, 5 RBI, 6 Runs & .730 S. Pct.”

“The Big Cat” retired during New York Mets Spring Training in 2005, saying that it was “the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play”.  That “younger guy” turned out to be 31-year-old Doug Mientkiewicz.

1989 Topps:

1. #550 Orel Hershiser
2. #778 Bruce Benedict
3. #683 Jose Cecena (Rookie)
4. #740 Dan Plesac
5. #29 Kelly Gruber
6. #226 Bill Doran
7. #506 Kirt Manwaring
8. #508 Wally Backman
9. #386 Andres Galarraga (All-Star)
10. #7 Kevin McReynolds (Record Breaker)
11. #782 Checklist 661-792 (Checklist)
12. #119 Terry Puhl
13. #487 Scott Lusader
14. #525 Chili Davis
15. #151 Terry McGriff

1989 Topps:

1. #587 Mike Stanley
2. #146 Gary Pettis
3. #660 Will Clark
4. #530 Nolan Ryan
5. #176 Jeff Parrett
6. #283 Andy Allanson
7. #763 Dave Martinez
8. #88 Darryl Hamilton (Rookie)
9. #20 Steve Bedrosian
10. #704 Carlos Quintana (Rookie)
11. #315 Greg Swindell
12. #393 Gary Carter (All-Star)
13. #588 Luis Alicea (Rookie)
14. #428 Craig Reynolds
15. #579 Houston Astros (Team Card)

1989 Topps:

1. #749 Rafael Ramirez
2. #372 Craig Lefferts
3. #250 Cal Ripken
4. #70 Mark McGwire
5. #178 Mark Grant
6. #320 Lou Whitaker
7. #632 Bryan Harvey
8. #548 Bobby Witt
9. #437 Andy Benes (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
10. #681 Jeff Robinson
11. #526 Wes Gardner
12. #402 Mike Greenwell (All-Star)
13. #747 Wil Tejada
14. #197 Neal Heaton
15. #362 Jack Lazorko

Last January, McGwire finally decided to move on with his life and admitted to taking steroids.  He then took a job as the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals.

1989 Topps:

1. #329 Bob Melvin
2. #682 Rick Leach
3. #384 Mark Salas
4. #744 Roger Craig (Manager)
5. #50 George Bell
6. #646 Kevin Bass
7. #563 Bill Schroeder
8. #304 Joel Youngblood
9. #260 Dave Winfield
10. #57 Alejandro Pena
11. #737 Norm Charlton
12. #613 Gary Varsho
13. #448 Eric Plunk
14. #552 Greg Cadaret
15. #141 Cleveland Indians (Team Leaders)

George Bell played 7 full seasons and 2 partial seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays and excelled.  During his time in Toronto, he batted .286, hit 202 home runs, won 3 Silver Slugger awards, 2 All-Star selections, and an MVP award.  He is currently enshrined in the Rogers Centre Level of Excellence among other players who have made a big impact on the Blue Jays organization.

John Bateman is gonna love this pack break… 1989 Topps!

1. #706 Pete Incaviglia
2. #635 Willie Randolph
3. #457 Mackey Sasser
4. #289 Ernie Whitt
5. #216 Jack Howell
6. #416 Fred Lynn
7. #273 Jose Lind
8. #466 Chuck Crim
9. #46 Mark Portugal
10. #616 Steve Rosenberg (Rookie)
11. #5 Orel Hershiser (Record Breaker)
12. #20 Steve Bedrosian
13. #704 Carlos Quintana
14. #315 Greg Swindell
15. #393 Gary Carter (All-Star)

“He belted the 300th Home Run of career at Chicago, August 11, 1988.  The wallop helped Mets defeat Cubs by 9-6 score.”

Gary Carter hit 298 home runs as a catcher, ranking sixth all time among catchers.

1989 Topps:

1. #734 Jody Reed
2. #595 Teddy Higuera
3. #267 Jeff Robinson
4. #42 Jim Eppard
5. #249 Tim Leary
6. #279 Scott Bradley
7. #219 Jim Clancy
8. #597 Terry Taylor (Rookie)
9. #291 New York Mets (Team Leaders)
10. #194 Greg Harris (Rookie)
11. #282 Cris Carpenter (Rookie)
12. #445 Matt Nokes
13. #394 Orel Hershiser (All-Star)
14. #767 Mike Capel (Rookie)
15. #287 Alvin Davis

“Was NL Pitcher of Month for Sept., 1988.  Had 5-0 record with 0.00 ERA.  He fanned 34 batters in 55 innings pitched.”

Such horrible writing.  Let me re-phrase that.  Orel Hershiser broke the record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched in 1988 with 59.

1989 Topps #620 Barry Bonds

1989 Topps archives, to be integrated with my main collection:

1. #540 Bo Jackson
2. #553 Luis Salazar
3. #550 Orel Hershiser
4. #554 Nick Esasky
5. #562 Danny Cox
6. #564 Russ Nixon (Manager)
7. #573 Jim Abbott (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
8. #575 Juan Samuel
9. #583 Paul Gibson (Rookie) (Topps All-Star Rookie)
10. #602 Devon White
11. #620 Barry Bonds
12. #621 Rick Mahler
13. #626 Jeff Reed
14. #633 Daryl Boston
15. #637 Carmen Castillo
16. #638 Floyd Bannister
17. #645 Jack Morris
18. #648 Sandy Alomar (Rookie) (Future Star)
19. #669 Los Angeles Dodgers (Team Leaders)
20. #675 Bruce Hurst
21. #698 Keith Atherton
22. #702 Jamie Quirk
23. #713 Ty Griffin (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
24. #725 Terry Steinbach
25. #758 Gene Walter
26. #759 Milwaukee Brewers (Team Leaders)
27. #784 Steve Avery (Draft Pick) (Rookie)

1989 Topps #382 John Smoltz (Rookie)

1989 Topps archives, to be integrated with my main collection:

1. #293 Glenn Wilson
2. #300 Darryl Strawberry
3. #303 Felix Fermin
4. #325 Jesse Barfield
5. #327 Mark Lemke (Rookie)
6. #338 Jim Adduci
7. #340 Kirk Gibson
8. #371 Manny Lee
9. #375 Terry Pendleton
10. #376 Steve Lombardozzi
11. #382 John Smoltz (Rookie)
12. #396 Kirk Gibson (All-Star)
13. #399 Wade Boggs (All-Star)
14. #401 Jose Canseco (All-Star)
15. #441 Jerry Reed
16. #442 Jose Oquendo
17. #447 Donell Nixon
18. #448 Eric Plunk
19. #471 Steve Curry (Rookie)
20. #478 Doug Drabek
21. #482 Steve Peters
22. #494 Shane Rawley
23. #500 Jose Canseco
24. #505 Pete Rose (Manager)
25. #506 Kirt Manwaring
26. #508 Wally Backman
27. #520 Rick Sutcliffe
28. #534 Doc Edwards (Manager) *x2