Why this card is awesome: Because for all the color schemes Topps chose for its 1988 set, the Mets' was absolutely the best, perfectly matching the blue and orange of their uniforms. This HoJo is one of a series of 1988 Topps Mets cards that have great coloring. These days, when teams have 17 different jerseys they use during the year, HoJo's blue pullover doesn't look weird. Back then, though, it would mean that this photo was taken for sure during either batting practice or spring training.
Cool stat: Johnson didn't have a great or long career, but he is still one of just 4 guys with at least 3 seasons with 30+ HR and 30+ steals. Also, one time I saw him sitting on the team bus after a game, waved to him, and he nodded his head back at me.
3 comments:
The HOJO card is sweet. A question, though...it looks as though the stands are full in the background...wouldn't that make it likely the pic was taken during spring training instead of BP?
Or, a more likely scenario, am I demonstrating my ignorance here for all to see? Did Topps manipulate the background in some way to make it appear to be fans?
Jason, you're probably right. It's also possible that it's BP and what we're seeing is the first few rows of fans, packed full of auto-graph seekers and such. But more likely, it's S.T. as you suggest. I think some of the other Mets cards were taken at similar times, so we'll get more data as we keep moving through the set.
Why is he wearing long sleeves? To protect his 30-30 elbows?
Many questions remain about this card.
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