Luis Aquino is one of those players who sort of slowly faded away from baseball.  He was best known as a pretty average pitcher who had pitched a no-hitter in the minor leagues and posted a not-too-shabby 3.54 ERA for the Kansas City Royals 1988-1992.  Over the course of his career, he was generally a relief pitcher, though he was called upon to start and close games as needed.

The fade started soon after his 1993 season with the inaugural Florida Marlins.  He was plagued by injuries and was permanently moved to the Marlins’ bullpen in 1994.  He played brief stints in Montreal and San Francisco in 1995, before heading to Japan in 1996 to seek better fortunes there.  In 1998 he played some independent league baseball in the Atlantic League, but that’s where his trail disappears.

1987 Topps:

1. #301 Luis Aquino
2. #291 Mitch Williams
3. #626 Joel Skinner
4. #671 Ray Soff
5. #374 Glenn Hoffman
6. #615 Teddy Higuera (All-Star)
7. #205 Graig Nettles
8. #551 Frank Wills
9. #622 Glenn Braggs
10. #479 Bob Sebra
11. #85 Kevin Bass
12. #509 Enos Cabell
13. #76 Rafael Ramirez
14. #345 Andre Dawson
15. #28 Rick Dempsey
16. #490 Dale Murphy
17. #228 Curt Wilkerson

Shawon Dunston was a two-time All-Star who played 18 seasons 1985-2002.  He was on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2008, but was dropped from the ballot after only receiving 0.2% of the vote.  He is currently working as a special assistant for the San Francisco Giants.  His son, Shawon Dunston Jr., was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 11th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

1987 Topps:

1. #613 Lance Parrish (All-Star)
2. #683 Gary Roenicke
3. #314 Carl Yastrzemski (Turn Back the Clock)
4. #193 Roger Craig (Manager)
5. #676 Charlie Moore
6. #709 Dave Kingman
7. #211 John Morris
8. #705 Bruce Hurst
9. #315 Maury Wills (Turn Back the Clock)
10. #99 Darryl Motley
11. #180 Chris Brown
12. #77 Bryan Oelkers
13. #237 Jim Morrison
14. #625 Mookie Wilson
15. #346 Shawon Dunston
16. #16 Pat Clements
17. #397 Greg Walker

A waxpack of 1987 Topps:

“Jamie pitched 3 consecutive No-Hitters at Souderton Area High School, Souderton, Pa. in 1980.”

Jamie could have quit a long time ago.  He could have quit in 1991 after going 0-5 for the St. Louis Cardinals, being demoted to the minor leagues, and then released.  Or maybe his rough season with the Baltimore Orioles in 1995 and subsequent release could have been enough for him to quit.  Or perhaps his shoulder injury and kneecap fracture suffered in his 2000 season with the Mariners when he was 37 years old could have done in his career.  But Jamie Moyer never quit.  In fact, he made a career out of not quitting.

Today, 24 seasons, 628 starts, 4,000+ innings, and a career-threatening injury later, Jamie Moyer is planning his comeback.  The soon-to-be-49-year-old Moyer recently showcased his surgically repaired arm to scouts representing 6 MLB ball clubs.  I really hope he gets signed and succeeds in 2012, because that would make a great fable.

1. #738 Jorge Orta
2. #227 Jamie Moyer
3. #159 Ed Olwine
4. #120 Eddie Murray
5. #780 Andre Thornton
6. #1 Roger Clemens (Record Breaker)
7. #418 Dick Williams (Manager)
8. #383 Ron Davis
9. #206 Minnesota Twins (Team Leaders)
10. #25 Bert Blyleven
11. #9 Jay Tibbs
12. #409 Milt Thompson
13. #580 Mike Krukow
14. #488 Ray Knight
15. #485 Tony Fernandez
16. #108 Jim Gantner
17. #432 Jim Slaton

“Allan pitched 4 No-Hitters, 2 of them consecutive, in senior year at Lancaster (Ohio) High School.”

Allan pitched 6 seasons for the Minnesota Twins 1986-1991.  He led the American League in ERA in 1988 by going 16-9 with a 2.45 ERA.

25 years later, it appears that Allan is a firefighter in Columbus, Ohio while going bow-hunting on his free time.

1987 Topps:

1. #501 Craig Lefferts
2. #427 Ed Nunez
3. #157 Danny Darwin
4. #311 Rickey Henderson (Turn Back the Clock)
5. #56 Milwaukee Brewers (Team Leaders)
6. #609 Cal Ripken (All-Star)
7. #750 Steve Trout
8. #603 Dwight Gooden (All-Star)
9. #336 Allan Anderson (Rookie)
10. #521 Rick Reuschel
11. #593 Chuck Tanner (Manager)
12. #586 Ben Oglivie
13. #359 Doug Corbett
14. #558 Greg Gagne
15. #472 Bill Doran
16. #343 Hal Lanier (Manager)
17. #565 Dusty Baker

“Jeff and his wife have a son, Jeffrey Doyle, Jr.”

Jeff Sellers started 51 games for the Boston Red Sox 1985-1988, going 13-22 with a 4.97 ERA.  He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1989 season, but suffered an injury before playing a single game for the Reds.  He made comeback attempts in 1991, 1992, and 1994, playing minor league games in the Yankees, Rangers, and Rockies organizations, but never made it to another big league team.  Following his release from the Colorado Rockies Spring Training camp in 1995, Sellers drove home to Southern California and faded out of the public spotlight.

1987 Topps:

1. #688 Juan Beniquez
2. #128 Checklist 1-132 (Checklist)
3. #197 Mark Bailey
4. #739 Chet Lemon
5. #748 Mike Flanagan
6. #6 Ruben Sierra (Record Breaker)
7. #701 Willie Randolph
8. #663 Cliff Johnson
9. #778 Jack Morris
10. #136 Ron Romanick
11. #179 Bill Wegman
12. #450 Kirby Puckett
13. #355 Don Carman
14. #644 John Denny
15. #55 Tim Wallach
16. #12 Jeff Sellers
17. #285 Dennis Boyd

“Mark’s father, Anthony, pitched in White Sox chain, 1950-1952.  He lists his hobby as being music.”

Mark Gubicza is a 2-time All-Star who is known for his 13 seasons as a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.  Despite his long history with the Royals, he spent the last season of his career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and currently does color commentary for the Angels on the Fox Sports network.

1987 Topps:

1. #723 Brett Butler
2. #80 Wally Joyner (Topps All-Star Rookie)
3. #318 Jim Fregosi (Manager)
4. #762 Gary Ward
5. #691 Dave Parker
6. #215 Mark Langston
7. #436 Andy Allanson (Topps All-Star Rookie)
8. #724 Greg Minton
9. #775 Joaquin Andujar
10. #509 Enos Cabell
11. #76 Rafael Ramirez
12. #345 Andre Dawson
13. #28 Rick Dempsey
14. #490 Dale Murphy
15. #228 Curt Wilkerson
16. #528 Ken Dixon
17. #326 Mark Gubicza

Luis Quinones was a utility infielder who played a total of 8 Major League seasons for 5 different teams.  He is best known for the four seasons he spent in Cincinnati, 1988-1991, including the Reds’ 1990 World Series championship.

Quinones was the hitting coach of the short-season Oneonta Tigers in 2009.  In 2010 he was promoted to hitting coach of the single-A West Michigan Whitecaps.  I couldn’t find any information about his plans for 2011.

1987 Topps:

1. #272 Andres Galarraga
2. #62 Bobby Meacham
3. #788 Tim Stoddard
4. #703 Dave Schmidt
5. #406 New York Yankees (Team Leaders)
6. #618 Tom Kelly (Manager)
7. #757 Nolan Ryan
8. #555 Dennis Rasmussen
9. #174 Henry Cotto
10. #265 Darrell Evans
11. #154 Tom O’Malley
12. #344 Joe Niekro
13. #245 Willie Upshaw
14. #103 Rick Aguilera
15. #362 Luis Quinones (Rookie)
16. #135 Mike Easler
17. #93 Jim Leyland (Manager)

Jose Canseco rose quickly to super-stardom while playing with the Oakland Athletics in the late 80′s and early 90′s, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1986, AL MVP award in 1988, and a World Series championship ring in 1989.  Numerous injuries led to his decline in his post-Oakland years, though he did experience career revivals in 1994 (when he won the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award) and 1998 (when he won a Silver Slugger Award, then was selected as an All-Star the following season).

Since his last Major League appearance in 2001, Canseco has managed to stay in the public limelight, living a life worthy of a reality television show.  His 2005 autobiography, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, blew the whistle on baseball’s rampant steroid abuse.  He played independent professional baseball in 2006.  In 2008, he began a career in professional fighting, accepting a challenge from former NFL football player Vai Sikahema to fight for $30,000.  Also in 2008, it was reported that Canseco lost his house to foreclosure, citing the costs of his two divorces.  Last season, Canseco played professional baseball once again for the independent Laredo Broncos of the now-defunct United League Baseball.

Today, you can catch Jose Canseco competing for a job on NBC’s reality show Celebrity Apprentice.

1987 Topps:

1. #672 Chili Davis
2. #266 Jeff Hamilton (Rookie)
3. #401 Billy Jo Robidoux
4. #654 Checklist 529-660 (Checklist)
5. #728 Tippy Martinez
6. #714 Dan Quisenberry
7. #620 Jose Canseco (Topps All-Star Rookie)
8. #581 Chicago Cubs (Team Leaders)
9. #591 Spike Owen
10. #127 Vance Law
11. 38 Dennis Leonard
12. #37 Marvell Wynne
13. #280 Jeffrey Leonard
14. #165 Jeff Reardon
15. #133 Jose Oquendo
16. #552 Larry Sheets
17. #617 Al Nipper