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

1989 Topps #30 Doc Gooden

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

1. #13 Doug Sisk
2. #14 Tom Kelly (Manager)
3. #30 Doc Gooden
4. #34 Ken Williams
5. #44 Jim Snyder (Manager)
6. #45 Kal Daniels
7. #47 Carney Lansford
8. #51 California Angels (Team Leaders)
9. #69 Jeff Ballard
10. #71 Mike Boddicker
11. #81 Montreal Expos (Team Leaders)
12. #86 Al Nipper
13. #95 Gerald Young
14. #97 Greg Mathews
15. #99 Sherman Corbett (Rookie)
16. #108 Fred Manrique
17. #128 Milt Thompson
18. #137 Geno Petralli
19. #148 Bill Pecota
20. #172 Frank Williams


1989 Topps #260 Dave Winfield

21. #173 Mel Hall
22. #182 Bob McClure
23. #183 Oddibe McDowell
24. #193 Sparky Anderson (Manager)
25. #195 Ozzie Guillen
26. #203 Rob Ducey
27. #217 Joe Price
28. #221 Cecil Espy (Topps All-Star Rookie)
29. #226 Bill Doran
30. #237 Glenn Hubbard
31. #239 Tim Laudner
32. #242 Ed VandeBerg
33. #247 Shawn Hillegas
34. #248 Tony Phillips
35. #252 Billy Hatcher
36. #260 Dave Winfield
37. #262 Jeff Pico (Rookie)
38. #271 Jay Tibbs
39. #288 Pat Sheridan
40. #290 John Franco

1989 Topps #764 Robin Ventura (Draft Pick) (Rookie)

1989 Topps:

1. #274 Mark Eichhorn
2. #31 Terry Francona
3. #764 Robin Ventura (Draft Pick) (Rookie)
4. #559 Juan Agosto
5. #555 Bert Blyleven
6. #109 Hipolito Pena
7. #657 Joe Magrane
8. #444 Moose Stubing (Manager)
9. #17 Brian Downing
10. #666 Randy St. Claire
11. #101 Les Straker
12. #621 Rick Mahler
13. #645 Jack Morris
14. #637 Carmen Castillo
15. #108 Fred Manrique

The Robin Ventura rookie is probably the best card I got this week.  At least I didn’t get any doubles.

“Robin was selected as College Baseball’s Player of the Year for 1987 at Oklahoma State after setting an NCAA record with 58-game hitting streak.  A member of the 1987 USA Intercontinental Cup Team, he fell below the .400 mark for the first time in his career by batting .391 in 1988.  Robin was selected to 1988 USA Olympic Team.  He went 3-for-5 with 2 Doubles and 3-run Triple in 12-2 win vs. Australia, September 21 at Seoul, Korea.”

Robin Ventura, the guy who got a famous beating from a 46-year-old Nolan Ryan in 1993.  This was when Robin Ventura was 26 years old and in his prime, while Nolan Ryan was making his final appearances before retiring.  After the incident, Ryan stated that he used the same maneuver on Ventura that he used for branding cattle on his Texas ranch.  Watch the video on Youtube.

Another interesting note, Nolan Ryan was playing in the major leagues before Robin Ventura was even born!

1989 Topps #570 Tony Gwynn

1989 Topps:

1. #408 Greg Walker
2. #486 Jack McDowell
3. #196 Denny Walling
4. #296 Ron Gant
5. #678 Dion James
6. #8 Dave Eiland (Rookie)
7. #584 Randy Velarde
8. #724 Jerry Don Gleaton
9. #705 Terry Kennedy
10. #529 Tom Foley
11. #655 Dave Magadan
12. #113 Lloyd Moseby
13. #570 Tony Gwynn
14. #482 Steve Peters
15. #520 Rick Sutcliffe

According to his Wikipedia entry, Tony Gwynn is one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history.  He played his entire 20-year career with the San Diego Padres and was selected to the All-Star team 15 times.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

1989 Topps #150 Fernando Valenzuela

1989 Topps, perhaps I’ll get a special Christmas present today?:

1. #319 Greg Booker
2. #73 Pascual Perez
3. #60 Tom Brunansky
4. #667 Dwayne Murphy
5. #484 Steve Shields
6. #74 Nick Leyva (Manager)
7. #658 R.J. Reynolds
8. #139 Mike Flanagan
9. #312 Tom Lawless
10. #754 Bob Brower
11. #150 Fernando Valenzuela
12. #719 Danny Darwin
13. #714 Joe Morgan (Manager)
14. #614 Whitey Herzog (Manager)
15. #598 Ken Gerhart

Looks like my Christmas present today is Fernando Valenzuela.  Hmm.

“Fernando devotes much of his off-the-field time to his “Be Smart, Stay in School” program that rewards youngsters who have had a perfect school attendance.”

He set off a craze in the early 80′s dubbed “Fernandomania”.  However, his arm lost its heat by the end of the 80′s and his decline was so long and drawn-out that it pretty much killed his Hall of Fame chances.

Later on, Hideo Nomo would play a very similar career.  His craze in the mid-90′s was called “Nomomania” and his decline was equally slow and painful to watch.

1989 Topps #391 Andre Dawson (All-Star)

1989 Topps:

1. #593 Drew Hall
2. #539 Barry Jones
3. #723 Rafael Belliard
4. #43 Guillermo Hernandez
5. #391 Andre Dawson (All-Star)
6. #254 Tom Lasorda (Manager)
7. #692 Steve Ontiveros
8. #626 Jeff Reed
9. #276 Paul Kilgus
10. #165 Mike Dunne
11. #213 Rene Gonzales
12. #314 Bobby Valentine (Manager)
13. #130 Gerald Perry
14. #410 Jack Clark
15. #671 Jim Gantner

“Was NL Player of Week, May 2-8, 1988.  Batted .391 (9-for 23) with 2 Doubles, 3 HR, 9 RBI & .517 On-Base Pct.”

Nicknamed “The Hawk”, Andre Dawson had a 21-year career spanning 1976-1996.  He is one of those borderline Hall of Famers who has been on the ballot for a number of years, but never quite got enough votes.  He is on the 2009 ballot.

1989 Topps #662 Lou Brock (Turn Back the Clock)

1989 Topps:

1. #662 Lou Brock (Turn Back the Clock)
2. #599 Tom Candiotti
3. #735 Roger McDowell
4. #111 Cincinnati Reds (Team Leaders)
5. #258 Checklist 133-264 (Checklist)
6. #543 Damon Berryhill (Topps All-Star Rookie)
7. #546 Mark Williamson
8. #98 Larry Sheets
9. #224 Tony LaRussa (Manager)
10. #503 Al Newman
11. #253 Jose Alvarez
12. #518 Bruce Ruffin
13. #684 Dave Johnson (Manager)
14. #268 Keith Miller (Rookie)
15. #251 John Dopson

TEN YEARS AGO

1979 — Three brother combinations achieved notoriety on the mound in 1979… When Braves’ Phil Niekro and Astros’ Joe Niekro tied for NL lead with 21 Wins, it marked the first time two brothers reached 20 Victories in the same league in the same season… Astros’ Ken Forsch authored the campaign’s only No-Hitter by victimizing the Braves, April 7.  He thus shared distinction with 188 pitchers before him including his brother, Cardinal’s Bob Forsch, who spun No-Hitter vs. Phillies, April 16, 1978.  However, they were the only brother combination ever to have achieved feat… A baseball first occurred at Toronto, May 31, when Tigers’ Pat Underwood made his major league debut with his brother, Blue Jays’ Tom Underwood, pitching for the opposition… The most outstanding individual achievement of 1979 occurred as Cardinals’ Lou Brock set a major league record with his 938th Stolen Base, September 23.  The Theft gave him one more than Hall-of-Famer Billy Hamilton whose career spanned 1888-1901.  Lou recorded 2 Stolen Bases in a game 135 times, 3 Stolen Bases in a game 19 times and 4 Stolen Bases in a game 3 times (August 29, 1969, September 6, 1971 and September 1, 1974).

Not sure what was the point of Topps writing all that prose about the Niekros and the Forsches before mentioning Lou Brock near the bottom.

I looked at Brock’s career stats and found it interesting that he only batted .257 while playing for the Cubs at the beginning of his career 1961-1964.  He also only stole 1 base for every 3.5 games played with the Cubs.  However, his career took off when he was traded to the Cardinals, where he would spend the rest of his career 1964-1979.

With the Cardinals, Lou Brock batted .297 and stole a base once every 2.7 games on average.  In case you’re wondering, Rickey Henderson batted .279 during his career, but stole a base on average every 2.2 games.