Nominations for the best card in the 1988 Topps set

Reader David suggested that I make a poll for the best card in the 1988 Topps set (regular set, not traded) and I like his idea.

First, though, we need to get a list of cards to use for the voting.

So, your task is to nominate cards you'd like to see considered. Your basis for calling a card "the best" can be anything you want--best player, best design, best photograph.

Post a comment here nominating 1 to 5 cards. Please include card # and name. You might also include your rationale for why the card is so great if it isn't already obvious. I'll take nominations for the entire week of Sept 15. We'll finish out the set by Wednesday so you'll have time to review all 792 cards.

Afterwards, I'll get some polls going and we'll determine the overall best card.

#760 Mike Scott

Why this card is awesome: Because this is the only Astros card in the set where you can't see any rainbow coloring on the uniform, due to Scott's arms being over his head. Kevin Bass' card is close, but there is just a hint.

Interesting, too, that this card comes pretty soon after Danny Heep's, as Scott was traded for him.

Cool stat: Scott has the weirdest neutralized stats I've ever seen.

In 1986, we was actually 18-10 with a 2.22 ERA. Neutralized, it's 22-8 with a 2.49 ERA. In 1989, he was actually 20-10 with a 3.10 ERA. Neutralized, it's 13-11 with a 3.67 ERA. I've never seen a guy have such wildly large swings on his W-L record in individual years.

Overall, Scott was actually 124-108 (.534) with a 3.54 ERA (exactly league average.) Neutralized, he was 117-119 (.515) with a 4.05 ERA. This much as not that surprising. We know that the Astrodome was a pitcher's park and therefore shouldn't be surprised that his neutralized numbers are worse overall. But that 1986 is a strange artifact.

#759 A's Leaders

Why this card is awesome: Because this reminds me of how confused I was in 1988 as to whether the team was called A's or Athletics. I thought that since this card said A's, then A's must have been their official name. I was confused to later learn about them also being called Athletics.

Also, back in 1988, I think it goes without saying that this was a pretty damn awesome card. McGwire was the best young power hitter in the game and Canseco was the first 40-40 guy in history.

Wow, Luis Polonia got his name on a leaders card not once but TWICE.

Cool stat: Here's a list that really shows how the Steroids Era began in 1993. This is most recent seasons with 120+ runs and 120+ RBI. Nineteen such seasons were recorded in the first 8 years of the current decade. Twenty such seasons were recorded 1993 to 1999. Before that, Canseco's 1988 was one of just two such seasons in the 1980s.

#758 Eddie Williams

Why this card is awesome: Because it's nice to see a guy who looks genuinely happy! It's a real-looking smile for once.

Cool stat: Williams had an absolutely wild 1994. Firstly, he made it back to MLB after 3 years in Japan and the minor leagues. Then, he batted .331 but didn't reach even 200 PAs, and yet still managed 42 RBI. Only 2 guys have ever had a season like that.

Introducing 1988 Topps Traded Tiffany (part 1)

This is part 1/4 of a teaser series for the 1988 Topps Traded Tiffany set we'll crack and display on this blog as soon as we finish the regular 1988 Topps set.

Here's a "before" shot of the box.



As you can, it's a pretty nice package. The gold label says "CONTAINS ONE COMPLETE SET" and is the equivalent of a factory seal. I also noticed that the box is a bit damaged on most corners, which makes me nervous about whether the cards are going to have dinged corners. Pretty safe bet they will.

In case anybody out there doesn't know what traded sets are, Topps issued these set--every year since 1981 I believe--to include rookies or players who changed teams either during the previous season or during the off season. They also included cards for new managers. As will become obvious, they used some photos taken from spring training of 1988, so many of the photos are much as one full year newer than the photos used in the regular 1988 set (many of which were taken in spring training 1987.)

#757 John Marzano

Why this card is awesome: Because this card had more baseballs on it than any other card in the set! I count at least 5 for sure.

Cool stat: Marzano's home run log is pretty interesting. Of his 11 career dingers, 4 came off 2 guys, and those 4 were the first 4 he ever hit, coming in the first 13 games of his career. After that, he sprinkled 7 more off 7 different guys.

Deceased players and managers: 19

#756 Mike Maddux

Why this card is awesome: Because, hey, there's Steve Bedrosian in the background!

Mike Maddux had it a bit rough as an MLB ballplayer. He was actually a pretty good pitcher, but is remembered much worse than he was due to his much better brother. (In case you're living under a rock, his brother is one Greg Maddux.)

Cool stat: Maddux is one of just 18 relievers to pitch at least 600 innings from age 29 season onward while compiling no more than 20 saves. Over that part of his career, he had a very nice 112 ERA+. The fact that so few guys lasted long enough to get 600 IP tells you that they either became closers or weren't good enough to stay in the league. The guys on this list were probably not utilized as best as they could have been given the level of their talent. Like I said, Mike Maddux had it a bit rough. Not as good as his brother, but WAY better than most people think.

#755 Ozzie Virgil

Why this card is awesome: Because after Dave Palmer, this is the other Braves card with a retro uniform. Weird. I also like that we can see a lot of the umpire. Maybe this card can help us figure out why they are wearing strange uniforms. The player in the background looks to me a lot like a Yankee wearing a road jersey, which would make this an exhibition game, and perhaps the Braves wore special jerseys for this game. Anybody else have a better theory?

Cool stat: Only two catchers ever managed a season with at least 27 HR and 72 RBI (btw, aren't those very Fiskian numbers?) and an OPS+ of 107 or less. Virgil did it in the homer-crazy 1987.

#754 Mike LaCoss

Why this card is awesome: Because of cool stuff in the background. There's another pitcher warming up on the right, and some very blurry stuff on the left. I can't tell if Topps airbrushed that stuff or not.

Cool stat: LaCoss wasn't all that good a pitcher, but he had a few moments in the sun while holding a bat. He has one of the more recent batting seasons by a pitcher with at least 2 HR and 9 RBI.

#753 Danny Heep

Why this card is awesome: Because you get a nice shot of that patch on the Dodgers uniform. And, leave it to Topps to find a way to get a guy's entire face in the shadows except for the tip of his nose. Consequently, they've made Heep look a bit like Pinocchio in this photo.

Cool stat: Heep was the ultimate part-time player for most of his career. From 1982 to 1989, he and Mickey Hatcher tie for most seasons appearing in 80 to 120 games.

#752 Mark Grant

Why this card is awesome: Because this card is just like Chris Brown's, clearly taken at the same time. Both players have been airbrushed out of Giants unis and into Padres unis.

Cool stat: Grant was fairly consistently a below-average pitcher, but his 1989 is one of the last seasons a guy ever pitched as many as 116 innings in a season without making any starts.

#751 Jim Morrison

Why this card is awesome: Because here we see the final appearance of the giant ice cube that was chasing Barry Jones and Bill Long. Look out, Jim! It's right behind you! Damn, that ice cube really made it around during spring training. I wonder how it survived in the sun for so long.

Cool stat: In 1980, Morrison hit 40 doubles but scored only 66 runs. That's one of the lowest totals in the last 50 years for a guy with 40+ doubles. Chances are, unless he was a terrible baserunner, this had more to do with Morrison's White Sox teammates than with himself.

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #3 Bo Jackson

This is the last Fan Favorites card we'll be featuring here. Also, this is the last set of scans provided by dayf at Cardboard Junkie.

Why this card is awesome: Because of the mention on the back of Jackson's catch in the 1989 All-Star game. If you saw that catch, you remember and will NEVER forget it. If you haven't seen it, check out this incredible video.

#750 Bo Jackson

Why this card is awesome: Because this is the last great card of the 1988 Topps set. It's another beautiful blue Royals card, too. Bo Knows Pretty Much Everything, if I recall correctly. This card was never worth a ton, but it was still a great pull in 1988.

Cool stat: Jackson is among 11 players to have 4 or more seasons with 20 HR and 10 SB among their first 5. Imagine what he could have done if hadn't hurt his hip.

#749 Mark Eichhorn

Why this card is awesome: Because we saw Duane Ward, a relatively ignored great reliever for the Blue Jays, and here is another such guy in Eichhorn. See below for more.

Cool stat: For relievers with a minimum of 800 IP, check out the highest career ERA+. You'd never think of Eichhorn, right? But there he is at #6 all time, right behind Quisenberry, Wilhelm, and Hoffman, and right ahead of Franco and Sutter.

Serious--this guy kicked ass.

#748 Reid Nichols

Why this card is awesome: Because, hey, it's another Expos card at Shea. Boy oh boy. Also, he led the league with 156 hits in 1979, but had just a .293 BA? Interesting...

This was Nichols' last card.

Cool stat: Nichols hit one triple every year from 1980 to 1985. He was the only guy to do that.

#747 Bobby Witt

Why this card is awesome: Because he was born in Arlington VA but lived (at least at that time) in Arlington TX. A Tale of Two Arlingtons. And, he led the league in walks twice in a row (see back of the card.)

Cool stat: Of the 437 pitchers to throw at least 1800 innings since 1901, guess who had the highest walk rate? Yup.

#746 Gene Larkin

Why this card is awesome: Because, my friends, love him or hate him, that is actually George W. Bush pictured. Seriously.

Cool stat: Larkin is by far best remembered for the game winning hit in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, widely regarded as The Greatest World Series Game Ever Played, thanks in large part to Jack Morris' 10-inning CG. Larkin had 3 other walk-off hits in the regular season, all singles, including a 2-run come-from-behind job off Gene Garber.

#745 Bill Doran

Why this card is awesome: Because whoever photographed the Astros in this set did a good job. This card is similar to Denny Walling's card in that it captures the motion of the at-bat very nicely. There was some very capable action-photographer working that day.

Cool stat: Since 1982, Doran had one of the wierder seasons in terms of doubles and triples. He makes the top 25 for fewest doubles in a season with at least 11 triples. Most of these guys were speed demons who turned doubles into triples. I never thought we'd see anything about Deion Sanders on this blog, but there he is at number 1 on that list. 14 triples and only 6 doubles...imagine that!

#744 Whitey Herzog

Why this card is awesome: Because it's Whitey!! Some love him, some hate him, but we all know him. This card has pretty unusual coloring, thanks to all the extra yellow in the corner.

Cool stat: Herzog had a pretty unremarkable playing career, but check out his home runs log. Off his 25 career homers, 8 came off two guys: Paul Foytack and Barry Latman. Plus, 15 either tied the game or put his team ahead.

#743 Larry Herndon

Why this card is awesome: Because I sure don't know what he's doing with his eyes. Flirting with the pitcher, perhaps?

Cool stat: Herndon was a pretty good player who had a great year in 1982. In his career, he had 5 different games with 3 extra base hits, all wins for his team.

#742 Mark Clear

Why this card is awesome: Because this card is a bit of an optical illusion, making clear look like one of his legs is about 2 feet shorter than the other.

Cool stat: Clear was lucky. He finished with a career ERA+ of 109 but didn't really deserve it due to all the hits and walks he gave up. In fact, he has the highest career WHIP of anybody with an ERA+ that high, minimum 700 IP. (If I lowered the innings limit a bit, Mitch Williams would slide into the #1 spot.)

#741 Mike Easler

Why this card is awesome: Because there is some stuff visible in Mike's helmet although I can't quite make it out. These days, mirror-finish sunglasses are common and we've all become accustomed to seeing stuff reflected. But it was rare back in 1988. Can anybody figure out what is visible?

Cool stat: Easler had one of the top HR totals in a season with fewer than 450 PA but a BA of at least .330.

#740 Rick Sutcliffe

Why this card is awesome: Because, man oh man, 16 wins in 20 games with the Cubs in 1984. Nobody will ever forget that, although C.C. Sabathia might do as well with the Brewers this year.

Sutcliffe has one of what seems like a rash of former players making embarrassing appearances in TV when he appeared on an ESPN telecast obviously drunk. I would guess the video is around somewhere. To his credit, he wasn't working, he was just in the crowd. There's nothing wrong with drinking off the job--or at least in that case, how much you drink is your own business, not your employer's.

Cool stat: It's pretty rare to register 300 decisions in MLB with a below-average ERA. Only 17 guys in history have done it. Sutcliffe was one of the very lucky ones, registering a very healthy W-L% of .552 despite that very average ERA. Of course, nobody was luckier than Lew Burdette, who managed more than 200 wins despite being very average.

#739 Darryl Boston

Why this card is awesome: Because the shadow over Boston's face combined with his cool pose makes him look super badass!

Cool stat: Boston was a good part-time player. Since the beginning of his career in 1984, he's one of just 3 guys with at least 3 seasons having double-digit HRs and SBs in no more than 370 AB.

It seems criminal that Boston never played for Boston.

#738 Scott Bankhead

Why this card is awesome: Because, yeah, if being Pitcher of the Week is the best minor-league stat Topps can find on you, you might not be in for a long major-league career.

Cool stat: Truth be told, Bankhead has pretty impressive career stats. A guy with a career WHIP under 1.30 should have had a longer and more successful career. Anyway, George Bell smacked him around pretty well, hitting 5 homers off him while nobody else had more than 3.

#737 Butch Wynegar

Why this card is awesome: Because of the cool wrist band with the diamond on it. Who knows what it says?

Cool stat: Wynegar had a great start to his career. He's one of just 5 guys to have at least 10 HR, 2 3B, 600 PAs, and 68 BB in each of his first two seasons. The others include Ted Williams, Albert Pujols, and Jeff Bagwell (wow!) But Wynegar wasn't a great hitter nor did he have great power, and his career went downhill from there.

Two notes: 1) As always, B-R.com counts cups of coffee as a first season, so this search may miss some guys who should really be on the list. 2) It's pretty remarkable how similar Wynegar's first two seasons are to each other, statistically. Pujols did the same thing.

What should I do with the 1988 Topps Traded Tiffany set after I post the cards here?

I bought this set, factory fresh and sealed, on eBay in anticipation of posting it here. I know I've been giving everything away, but in this case I'm tempted to try to get something back for it. What do you think I should do?

#736 Matt Young

Why this card is awesome: Because of the rare glimpse of a scoreboard in this set! Young is standing right in front of the word "BALL" and I assume that's the beginning of "STRIKE" further to the right, with the "S" stuck behind his name banner. Cool.

Cool stat: Matt Young has been robbed by history. He was not such a bad pitcher. For example, his 1990 remains the most recent season that a pitcher lost 18 games with an ERA+ of 113 or better. The Mariners were terrible that year. He's also, though, remembered for losing this no hitter.

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #66 Kevin McReynolds

Am I sounding like a broken record yet? These are more scans by dayf at Cardboard Junkie.

Why this card is awesome: Because unlike many of the other Fan Favorites cards we've seen, this one is actually a very different shot, giving us a posed torso photo of McReynolds instead of an action batting shot as from his regular card. Variation is nice.

#735 Kevin McReynolds

Why this card is awesome: Because of the mention of Adam Ging on the back. He never made the big leagues but has quite an unusual name. I wonder what his middle name is? At least he got his name on a big-league card.

Kevin McReynolds was one of the key players on the day I fell in love with baseball. I was at a Mets-Phillies game (this one) with a couple friends. He took one pitch, a ball, and I remember thinking that Don Carman was just not getting things done for the Phillies. Out loud, I said that I thought McReynolds would homer in this at bat. About 3 seconds later, he did just that, to the amazement of my friends. Then, on of them said they thought that the next batter, Darryl Strawberry, would homer too. Three pitches later, he did just that too. We were all pretty excited and gleeful, and that feeling has pretty much never left me.

Cool stat: With just a bit of luck, McReynolds could have been considered a star. From 1986 to 1988, he was the only player to top 90 RBIs ever year without ever topping 100.

#734 Craig Lefferts

Why this card is awesome: Because, hey check it out, here is a Giant who was traded to the Giants during 1987 and yet is pictured in an actual Giants jersey, instead of an airbrushed one (like Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, Dave Henderson, etc.)

Also, a couple of years ago, I assembled a pretty cool trade tree for the Padres. I can't figure out how to upload a high-enough resolution image, so you'll just have to imagine it. But Craig Lefferts appears twice in the same tree.

Anyway, it goes something like this: The Padres drafted Gary Lucas in 1976, and between the '79 and '80 seasons traded him for Al Newman, Fritzie Connally, Carmelo Martinez, and Lefferts. Lefferts was traded before the '87 season to the Giants with Kevin Mitchell and Dave Dravecky (hence the airbrushing in this set) for Chris Brown, Keith Comstock, Mark Davis, and Mark Grant. Chris Brown and Keith Moreland were traded the next year for Walt Terrell. Moreland had been acquired in 1985 with Mike Brumley for Rich Gossage and Ray Hayward. Brumley was traded in 1988 for Luis Salazar. Shortly thereafter, Salazar was packaged with Marvelle Wynne to acquire Calvin Schiraldi, Darrin Jackson, and Phil Stephenson. In 1991, Jackson was flipped for Derek Bell.

Now here's where it gets interesting. In 1993, Bell was packaged as part of a huge trade. Most of you probably remember it. The Padres sent Bell, Ricky Gutierrez, Phil Plantier, Pedro Martinez (not that one), Craig Shipley, and Doug Brocail to the Astros in exchange for Andujar Cedeno, Ken Caminiti, Roberto Petagine, Steve Finley, and Brian Williams. What's fascinating is that the Padres originally obtained Gutierrez from the Orioles in a 1991 trade along with Erik Schullstrom in exchange for...wait for it....wait for it....Craig Lefferts! Lefferts had been re-signed by the Padres as a free agent in 1989.

So the same guy appears in a single trade tree twice, which is pretty unusual.

Whew!

Cool stat: It's easy to see why Lefferts was so highly desired in the first half of his career. From 1983 to 1990, he had one of the best ERA+ among relief pitchers with at least 500 IP. Most of the guys ahead of him were dominant closers, too.

#733 Spike Owen

Why this card is awesome: Because this is yet another BoSox card taken at Comiskey with the catcher's mitt sticking in the photo. Whoever the catcher was that day (either Fisk or Karkovice one would assume) is probably on the most cards in this set.

Cool stat: If you check back on Mike Schmidt's card, you can see the link showing how Owen was one of a handful of players to have a truly terrible first year in MLB. Owen is one of just 6 guys to have a homer and a triple every season from 1983 to 1995. The others, including Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, and Tim Raines, were all much better players.

#732 Dave Palmer

Why this card is awesome: Because, wow, Palmer is wearing an older uniform than every other Brave in this set (save for Ozzie Virgil, as dayf pointed out to me.) I wonder why? Maybe this photo is from 1986?

Can anybody remember: I recall a pitcher for the Phillies tripping very badly (and comically) on 3rd base and I think it was Palmer. Does anybody remember for sure?

Cool stat: Since 1901, only 19 pitchers have had at least 2 seasons by age 21 with 120 IP and 120 ERA+. Palmer's one of them, joining names like Christy Mathewson, Fernando Valenzuela, Babe Ruth, Dwight Gooden, Bob Feller, and Walter Johnson.

#731 Rick Schu

Why this card is awesome: Because, loyal readers, as we are getting very close to the end of this set, you should now be able to figure out on your own why THIS card is awesome. Who can be the first to realize why? There's a very good reason why it is awesome.

Schu was involved in a very interesting trade:

March 21, 1988: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Keith Hughes and Jeff Stone to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later and Mike Young. The Baltimore Orioles sent Frank Bellino (minors) (June 14, 1988) to the Philadelphia Phillies to complete the trade.

All four of the big-leaguers involved were often viewed as flame-outs. Schu was supposed to take over 3B from Mike Schmidt when he moved across the diamond, but it never worked out. (And the Phillies didn't have another great 3B until Scott Rolen--sorry Charlie Hayes.) Keith Hughes was, for some odd reason, always considered a prospect but did practically nothing in MLB. Jeff Stone we've talked about already. And Mike Young had that one really good year that he never came close to repeating.

Cool stat: Why all the complaining about Rick Schu? He was totally reliable. Between 1985 and 1990, you could always count on him for 7 or 8 homers.

Hall of Fame count: 45

#730 John Franco

Why this card is awesome: Because somebody's wearing Chris Sabo's goggles! Also, what is that knobby thing behind the fence?

Also, that's s pretty bad trade for the Dodgers mentioned on the back. Franco went on to have a very long and productive career. Landestoy had 22 hits over parts of two seasons for the Dodgers.

It's also kind of interesting to see what Cincinnati did with Franco. Eventually, they traded him for Randy Myers and Kip Gross. They traded Myers and turned him into Bip Roberts (WAAHHHH! MORE BIPS!!) Meanwhile they packaged Gross with Eric Davis and picked up Tim Belcher and John Wetteland. Belcher was later traded to the White Sox for Johnny Ruffin and Jeff Pierce. Wetteland was later traded with Bill Risley to Montreal for Dave Martinez, Scott Ruskin, and Willie Greene. Greene got traded straight up for Jeffrey Hammonds. Hammonds was packaged with Stan Belinda and traded to Colorado for Dante Bichette. Later, they traded Bichette to Boston for Chris Reitsma and a minor leaguer. Reitsma was flipped to Atlanta for Jung Bong and a minor leaguer named Bubba. Bong was released in 2006.

Whew, that's a long chain.

Cool stat: Franco has the most career games pitched without ever making a start.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Franco comes up for the HOF vote. It seems that voters don't really know how to handle closers yet, with guys like Sutter and Gossage getting in fairly late, and Lee Smith not getting much support so far. Franco was the active saves leader for 7 years after Smith retired although he led the league only 3 times. His HOF stats on B-R.com are weird. His HOF Standards are only 11.0, with an average HOFer at 50. But his HOF Monitor, a better judge of how likely he is to be elected, is 124.0, with a likely HOFer at 100.

#729 Blue Jays Leaders

Why this card is awesome: Because it looks like George Bell just told a joke but the other guy (Lloyd Moseby I think?) Fred McGriff didn't find it funny.

Cool stat: IN 1988, Toronto was one of three teams to have 7 of their 9 starters (all AL clubs) hit at least 10 homers.

#728 Andy Allanson

Why this card is awesome: Because Allanson got totally slimed! Right under his nose! Somebody get him a handkerchief.

Also, if you're not careful, you might confused this guy, Andy Allanson, with Twins pitcher Allan Anderson.

Also, it appears he's holding Brett Butler's bat. Allanson wore #6 with the Indians. It was Butler who wore #2.

Cool stat: I'm amazed: Allanson managed 3 different games with 2 extra base hits. For a guy who had only 68 XBHs in an 8-year career, that's surprising. One of those games featured 2 of his 18 career homers.

#727 Greg Booker

Why this card is awesome: Because here is more family tree craziness on the back. Not quite as dizzying as the back of Gary Thurman's card, though.

Incidentally, what the back of the card fails to mention is that Kelly McKeon is the son of Jack McKeon, who became Booker's manager.

Cool stat: Booker has one of the most recent careers with a K/BB of 1.01 or worse, minimum 250 IP.

#726 Alfredo Griffin

Why this card is awesome: Because what in the hell is Griffin looking at? I'll cut him some slack and suggest it's a batting-practice homer being launched into the upper deck by Canseco or McGwire. Hopefully he's not just staring at a cloud.

Cool stat: Griffin was a bad base stealer. He's very high on the list of most seasons with at least 11 CS while having no more than 33 SB. Note that for players in the early part of the 20th century, CS totals are often wrong or absent, so this search doesn't count those guys very well. Griffin's career SB% of 58% is really lousy and he shouldn't have been allowed to run. His career OPS+ of 67 suggests that he shouldn't have been allowed to bat, either.

#725 Mike Boddicker

Why this card is awesome: Because I can't see Mike Boddicker without thinking of Jeff Bagwell. Why, you ask? Well Boddicker was a late-season pickup by the Red Sox in 1988, allowing the Orioles to pick up Curt Schilling and Brady Anderson. Hell of a good trade for Baltimore (although Boddicker was great for Boston in the rest of the 1988 regular season.) Two years later, Boston traded another minor leaguer, Bagwell, to pick up Larry Andersen from the Astros. I always think of these two trades together. Bagwell might be the best player ever traded before he appeared in the big leagues, based on his final career numbers. Never thought about it...anybody else come to mind?

Cool stat: Robin Yount had the most homers (5) off Boddicker. He also had the 2nd-most plate appearances. The guy with the most PAs, George Bell, couldn't hit a lick off Boddicker.

#724 Danny Tartabull

Why this card is awesome: Because, hell yeah, there are more Expos in the background. No team is safe from the intruding background Expos! Also, Tartabull is demonstrating how to properly drop your bat so you don't get saddled with an automatic out in Tee ball. Last time we saw that was all the way back on teammate Argenis Salazar's card.

Tartabull's father, Jose Tartabull, also played in the big leagues.

Cool stat: Tartabull's career was ruined by injuries. In addition to missing lots of time during the middle part of his career, the Phillies got a terrible shock when Tartabull fouled a ball off his foot in just his 3rd game with the team and never played again. This guy had massive potential. From 1987 to 1993, he registered 4 different 100-RBI seasons, tied for most in baseball behind Mr. Overrated.

How on earth Tartabull didn't get a better card number is beyond me. He had a very good 1986 and a monster 1987 and was one of the best young players in the game at this point.

#723 Bob Kipper

Why this card is awesome: Because what's that Kipper throwing in front of? Sort of looks like a cruise liner.

Cool stat: Kipper had a couple of really good years, including 1989 when he made the top 10 for fewest hits/9 among pitchers appearing in at least 50 games.

#722 Manny Lee

Why this card is awesome: Because, again, that ridiculous abbreviation "S. P. DE-M., D. R." kills me. It's a tad disrespectful, I think. You don't see "W. D. C., U. S." on any of these cards.

Cool stat: Lee remains the only guy to ever strike out 100 times in a season with no homers. Another way you can look at this is like this, which shows others who got close. Oh Gary Pettis!

Lee, who usually was called Manuel (not Manny) later in his career, was an abysmal offensive player, finishing with a career OPS+ of (gulp!) 73.

#721 Pete O'Brien

Why this card is awesome: Because cruel Topps used a photo where O'Brien obviously popped up. Why did they pull crap like that?

Cool stat: I can't understand why Topps didn't give O'Brien a better card number in this set. Coming in to 1988, he had 4 consecutive years with an OPS+ over 110, and averaged over 150 games played those years. That's pretty good. He had the 41st best OPS+ over those years for players with at least 600 games played (which means he was among the 2 best players on each team.) For those same criteria, he was in the top half of all first basemen.

#720 Tim Raines

Why this card is awesome: Because, boy oh boy, is Tim Raines underappreciated. Look at all the slanty text on the back of the card. This guy was an awesome ballplayer. This photo is another one of the Expos taken at Shea Stadium.

Raines' son played big-league ball too. His name was, uhh, Tim Raines. They both played for the Orioles in 2001.

Cool stat: Check out all the guys who have more CS than Raines but fewer SB. Raines was a better base stealer than everybody from #5 on down. And his career SB% (84%) is higher than Brock's (75%) and Henderson's (80%). Ty Cobb's career totals are inaccurate because CS were not recorded for many of the years he played. A pretty good argument can be made that Raines was the best base stealer of all time.

In his first year of eligibility, Raines did not make the HOF, but he had a strong showing and will probably make it. I, for one, am all in favor of that.

The first person to criticize Raines for the cocaine thing get banned from the blog. He admitted his mistakes publicly and took all necessary steps to correct them. He screwed up and took full responsibility, which is more than can be said for most people these days.

#719 Denny Walling

Why this card is awesome: Becasue this is one of my favorite cards of the set, with Walling seriously leaning over as he moves his way out of the batter's box. Along with Eddie Murray's card, this is one that captures a real sense of motion. Lovely photo.

Cool stat: Check out Walling's career splits as a starter vs. as a sub. Not only were his BA/OBP/SLG essentiallty identical in both cases, but he put together a nice season-equivalent line as a sub: 555 AB, 34 doubles, 6 triples, 7 homers, 98 RBI. Of course, a lot of those were probably pinch-hit opportunities with guys on base a bit more often than usual.

#718 Mike Felder

Why this card is awesome: Because I can imagine Mike saying "Felder? I didn't even touch her!"

OK, OK, I may be getting a bit punchy as we near the end of this set. I will say that Felder's helmet looks like a big boy helmet that he has yet to fully grow into.

Cool stat: Felder had two career 5-hit games. In one of them, he also scored a career-high 4 runs.

#717 Jay Baller

Why this card is awesome: Because, what more can I say about this card than what was already written here by Ben Henry. At least Baller joins our little necklace club. And I can just hear Jay saying "Baller? I didn't even touch her!"

Cool stat: A surprisingly large number of players have had a season allowing exactly 10 ER and 10 hits. They all, for lack of a better word, sucked.

#716 Lenn Sakata

Why this card is awesome: Because someone needs to wake Lenn up and tell him that it's the 80s, not the 70s. Unless he was going for the retro look with those sunglasses, long before retro was cool.

This was Sakata's final card.

Cool stat: Here's a fun list. Sakata makes the top 10 for most AB in a season with a batting average of .500 or better.

#715 Todd Worrell

Why this card is awesome: Because I can't figure out who the blurry figure in the foreground is. It might be somebody catching Worrell, or it might be somebody just watching him throw. I am going for catcher, though, since you can see what looks like the strap from the catcher's mask on the guy's head. His number seems to end in 0 and is either 10 or 40. Checking out here, though, suggests Doug DeCinces (#10) or Tim Conroy (#40), neither of which makes sense, nor does the name on the back of the jersey look like either. Maybe it was a bullpen catcher. Who knows?

Cool stat: Worrell had an interesting career, coming back from a bad injury that caused him to miss 2 full seasons to have some great years with the Dodgers. Checking out his career home run log, note that he gave up more homers to Howard Johnson and Ken Griffey (Sr.) than anybody else, plus two of the walkoff homers he allowed were in consecutive games in 1987.

#714 Jim Fregosi

Why this card is awesome: Because right behind Fregosi's name, this is the only instance in this set of the older White Sox logo showing the little abstract figure batting. I wonder if this is an older photo and that logo was out of use by 1987, or if we see it here only because this is the only White Sox card in the set showing a warm-up jersey. Oh, Steve? Little help?

Cool stat: Fregosi had long careers as both a player and a manager. He was a good hitter in the first half of his career, and makes this list of the only guys to have at least 220 total bases every year from 1963 to 1970. Check out his company: Yaz, Billy Williams, Santo, Clemente, and Bad Henry. Pretty damned impressive, actually.

Also, check out the pitchers listed below on the back of the card. With that staff, it's a wonder they won any games at all.

#713 Willie Hernandez

Why this card is awesome: Because, wow, there is sure a lot of color contrast between the "TIGERS" team name and the light blue sky behind there.

Cool stat: Hernandez was the first pitcher ever to appear in 80 or more games and finish with an ERA+ of 200 or better. He won both the AL Cy Young and AL MVP awards that year.

#712 John Moses

It seems kind of fitting that this post for a guy named Moses is getting published at a time when many people are in church.

Why this card is awesome: Because this is yet another Mariners card from this set where the player looks tentative and/or nervous. Topps screwed a few teams in this set, including the Phillies and the M's.

Cool stat: Moses is the 11th most-recent major leaguer to play at least 3 games in the outfield and 3 games at pitcher in his career.