#121T Dickie Thon

IMPACT FACTOR 3/10: Thon played just one year with the Padres, but he was about league average, which was pretty impressive considering that he was still recovering from the horrible beaning he suffered in 1984. Thon's return to productivity was an inspiration for many people.

#91T Dennis Rasmussen

Nice to see that by the time this photo was taken, Rasmussen had given up on trying to grow a decent mustache. Also, can anybody figure out what writing or symbols are visible through his mesh jersey?

IMPACT FACTOR 4/10: Rasmussen was awesome for the Padres in 1988 when he came over mid-season in a trade for Candy Sierra (who was not a stripper, amazingly.) After that, he had two pretty mediocre seasons as a starter and then walked as a free agent.

#80T Mark Parent

I see Tom Berenger. Whom do you see?

IMPACT FACTOR 2/10: Parent was a no-hit backup catcher for parts of 5 seasons with the Padres.

#72T Keith Moreland

IMPACT FACTOR 2/10: Moreland came and left San Diego in fairly low-impact trades (see also Goose Gossage) and had one relatively unproductive year for the team.

#69T Jack McKeon

IMPACT FACTOR 3/10: McKeon took over the 1988 Padres midseason from Larry Bowa and turned them around, helping them to a winning season. He actually had been their GM for several years previously.

#14T Andy Benes

IMPACT FACTOR 7/10: Benes ate up a lot of innings for the Padres from 1989 to 1995, although pitched to a fairly average record despite an above average ERA. (That's OK, he pitched terribly for the Mariners at the end of 1995 but still ended up 7-2 somehow.) The trade of Benes to the Mariners brought 2 out of 3 pieces they needed to acquire Greg Vaughn, who went on to club 50 homers for the Padres in 1998. Vaughn was later traded himself for some useful players.

#4T Roberto Alomar

IMPACT FACTOR 8/10 Alomar had 3 strong years with the Padres from 1988 to 1990, although he didn't develop much of his extra-base power until he left San Diego. He got on base more and hit for more extra bases after heading to Toronto. The method by which he left San Diego, the biggest trade of the early 1990s, helps increase his impact factor. Packaged with Joe Carter, he brought Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez to San Diego. Fernandez had 2 solid years with the Padres before being flipped to the Mets, while McGriff had his first two really big seasons with the Padres before going to Atlanta for 3 young players.

He might have to wait a year or two because of his attitude, but Alomar will be in the Hall of Fame one day.

#778 Keith Comstock

Why this card is awesome: Because, at least for me, this is the card that started the downward spiral of the hobby. This card was originally released as an error version, where the team name was white instead of teal (see below.) For a period, the error card was worth quite a lot. What made me skeptical was how Topps fixed this error, as well as the two Record Breaker errors, but didn't bother fixing other errors, such as Garry Templeton, Mike Dunne, or Tim Conroy. I also remember that there were error variations--one where the "S" in "PADRES" was partially colored teal. I can't even find any of those on eBay...are they so rare? Anyway, as a kid, I remember thinking that it was intentional on Topps' part, mainly because the correction came out pretty late, so those of us who had already collected the full set from packs were inclined to buy more packs.



Cool stat: Somehow, even before I looked this up, I knew the answer. Who hit the most homers off Keith Comstock? See if you can guess and then click here.

#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.

#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.

#699 Padres Leaders

Why this card is awesome: Because what a difference 6 cards makes. On his own card, Santiago looked like a badass. Here, he looks like he's peeing in his pants.

Who knows which stadium is in the background?

Cool stat: Let me take this opportunity to talk a bit more about Tony Gwynn. In 1987, he hit .370 with 56 stolen bases. Check out where he ranks all-time for most SB in a season with a .370 BA. Gwynn is the only guy in the top 25 from the last 80 years.

Hall of Fame count: 43

Any Tony Gwynn is good Tony Gwynn.

#694 Eric Nolte

Why this card is awesome: Because this is the second consecutive Padres card. Makes me wonder if he was stuck in here in place of some veteran who retired.

Cool stat: Nolte had a short career and I can't find much of interest, statistically speaking. So I'll just point out that Juan Samuel had the most PAs against Nolte and, incidentally, hit the crap out of the ball against him.

#693 Benny Santiago

Why this card is awesome: Because this is a pretty cool shot. Bats in the bat rack, Benito picking out his weapon of choice, and the "P" in "Padres" almost complete covered, just like the "O" on Lee Lacy's card.

This is the first of two cards in pretty quick succession to feature good ol' Benito.

Cool stat: Here's a wacky and wild bit of trivia for you. Santiago is 5th all-time in HRs for a guy who played for at least 9 franchises. If you can get more than 1 of the 4 guys ahead of him, consider yourself a baseball trivia expert.

#640 Garry Templeton

Why this card is awesome: Because this is the most obvious of the uncorrected errors of the 1988 Topps set: a green border on a Padres card instead of the orange border on all other cards from the set. I remember when I first pulled this card out of a pack and assumed it was a one-time error. I desperately tried to pull another Templeton, expecting the next pull to have an orange border. Of course, it didn't. Then, I at least thought I had a few error cards that would eventually be corrected, but that was wrong too. Poor adolescent me. :(

Cool stat: Templeton had the lowest OBP for a qualifying season with at least a .314 batting average (and three of the top six such seasons.) The guy could hit some but he couldn't walk. He was the first guy to get 100 hits from each side of the plate in the same season, but he batted exclusively from one side at the end of the season in order to achieve the feat. He certainly seems to me to have been a pretty selfish player.

#596 John Kruk

Why this card is awesome: Because just like Kevin McReynolds a little while back, Kruk is rockin' the weird combo of warmup jacket and batting helmet.

I have a vivid memory of John Kruk during the 1993 NLCS against the Braves, when he played for the Phillies. In Game 1 of that series (in which the Braves were favored but the Phillies eventually won,) Kim Batiste came in as a defensive substitution for Dave Hollins at 3B in the ninth inning, at the same time that Mitch Williams came in to try to save a tie game. Thanks to a Williams walk and a Batiste error, the Braves tied the game and it went to extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Kruk had one of the biggest hits of his career, doubling off Greg McMichael. Batiste, who was offensively challenged in comparison to Hollins, was then forced to bat for himself after Kruk. He delivered a single, and Kruk scored the winning run. What I remember so vividly is this, though: watching Kruk (who wasn't the fastest runner) round third base and try to score, the TV camera caught him taking at least 3 chews of whatever was in his mouth (I assume tobacco) as he was rounding the base, running home. If you're too young to remember John Kruk, that story tells you everything you need to know about the guy. Very rough around the edges but a damn fine ballplayer.

Cool stat: Not very often does a first baseman score 100+ runs but drive in 95 or fewer. But the Krukster did it in that magical year of 1993. It's been done only 3 times since, including by Kevin Youkilis and Nick Johnson in 2006.

#568 Chris Brown

Why this card is awesome: Because of the unusual black shirt Brown's wearing under his uniform.

Cool stat: Brown was a maddening player to many fans and members of the media due his to rash of strange injuries interrupting a very productive career. Case in point: Brown makes the top 25 for OPS+ over 1985 and 1986, among players with at least 800 AB.

Deceased players and managers: 16

Brown died quite recently, just a year and a half ago, from complications related to a house fire. The cause of the fire, including Brown's role, remains a mystery. Sadly, the odd circumstances of his death mirror the peculiar injuries and behavior he manifested during his career.

It's a bit too morbid for me to research carefully, but I believe Brown is the most recent player in this set to have died. He died a couple of months after Joe Niekro.

#548 Shane Mack

Why this card is awesome: Because of the nice shot of the "RAK" patch on the Padres' uniform sleeve, remembering Ray A. Kroc, onetime owner of the Padres (and, incidentally, founder of McDonald's.) Also, some goofy kid in the background playing air guitar.

Cool stat: Mack is mostly remembered as a flop for a first-round draft pick, and I think that's really unfair. He never got a fair shot at a full-time job, in my opinion, and when he did play, he hit very well. From 1991 to 1994, here are the 17 players with 50-70 HR and 250-300 RBI. Mack is on that list with comparable players such as Ryne Sandberg, Wally Joyner, Tim Wallach, and Lou Whitaker.

#513 Tim Flannery

Why this card is awesome: Because if he had been a great player, his Bermanism could have been Tim "Flannery will get you everywhere."

Cool stat: Flannery hit just 9 career homers, but four of them came off guys who won at least 1 Cy Young award (Sutcliffe, Carlton, Jenkins, and Hershiser.) I wonder how that ranks in terms of highest percentage.

#482 Mark Davis

Why this card is awesome: Because has a bit of a sly look on his face, almost as if he's a year or so away from putting together an awesome season in his free-agency year and then taking on a huge contract that nearly singlehandedly would ruin one of baseball's greatest franchises. If you don't know what I'm talking about, try to figure out the top 5 reasons why the Royals are so bad now after being such a great team in the 1970s and 1980s.

Cool stat: Over the years of his career (1980 to 1994, not counting his brief reappearance with Milwaukee in 1997), Davis is one of just two guys to post multiple seasons with at least 40 IP and an ERA over 7.00. Way to go, Kansas City.

#454 Marvell Wynne

Why this card is awesome: Because this card is an uncorrected error. Up at the top where it's supposed to say "PADRES" it actually says "PADPES."

Cool stat: Can you believe that a guy with a career .297 OBP batted more than half of his plate appearances from the leadoff spot?