Saturday, July 12, 2008

#528 Checklist 397-528



Why this card is awesome: Because, umm, well, we're two-thirds of the way done with the set. Exactly.

Friday, July 11, 2008

#527 Steve Henderson


Why this card is awesome: Because, man, I love the yellow warmup jersey. At least a few A's were rocking those on their 1988 Topps cards. These days, we're so used to alternate jerseys that the teams use to try to encourage more merchandise sales. But back then, except for batting practice, it was rare to see a player in an alternate jersey. It was home whites, road grays, and that's it. Oh, and his entire face is in the shadow.

Cool stat: Since 1978, Henderson is in an 8-way tie for most seasons with exactly 10 HR. Also, Henderson hit 3 walk-off homers, all at Shea when he was playing for the Mets, and all were 3-run jobs.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

#526 Juan Berenguer



Why this card is awesome: Because, bear with me on this one: for cards where the entire player's body is shown on the card (or nearly entire body, as we're missing bits of both of Berenguer's feet) I think his body occupies a higher percentage of the card area than anybody else. That's not supposed to be a fat joke--I'm referring to how the photo captures him bent over in a pretty compact position, and they crammed that all onto the card.

Cool stat: Since 1983, Berenguer is one of 23 pitchers to have at least 2 career shutouts and 30 career saves.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

#525 Marty Barrett



Why this card is awesome: Because any card that mentions Ray Boone is awesome. Plus, Barrett is rocking that helmet-over-cap look that was so popular back in the 80s. Looks like that helmet might come flying off at any moment. Seems like nearly all of the BoSox cards in this set were taken at Comiskey Park.

Cool stat: 60 different players had at least 2800 PAs from 1984 to 1988. Only three had fewer extra-base hits than Barrett. In that stretch, five players--Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, George Bell, Juan Samuel, and teammate Dwight Evans--had more than double the number of XBHs as Barrett had.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

#524 Gary Lucas



Why this card is awesome: Because, wow, his cap looks to be about 6 sizes too large. I think maybe he has a ham sandwich under that thing.

And, this is the second Gary card in a row.

Cool stat: Lucas pitched in some bad luck in 1982. That was one of just 10 seasons since 1956 where a pitcher who pitched exclusively in relief had an ERA+ of at least 105, got 10 or more losses, and no more than 5 wins. And Lucas had the lowest W-L% of all. There are some good names on that list, including Lee Smith who did it twice.

Sort of the opposite of Mitch Williams.

Monday, July 7, 2008

#523 Gary Roenicke



Why this card is awesome: Because for those who cannot remember, Gary is the "good" Roenicke brother (besting brother Ron) although that's very much on a sliding scale.

Roenicke is pronounced "REN-ickey."

Cool stat: Roenicke, ala Ken Phelps, had 2 seasons with 20+ HR and yet fewer than 400 ABs. Over the period 1979-1982, he was the only guy to do that twice.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

#522 Bob Patterson



Why this card is awesome: Because where the heck is Patterson looking? Down and to the left? At a little bird sitting on the grass in front of the mound? That's how you get creamed by line drives, my friend. Just ask Bryce Florie.

Cool stat: Patterson was a top mop-up guy of the 1990s. For pitchers with at least 160 games finished, Patterson was tied for the second-fewest saves.