#82 Darrel Akerfelds

Why this card is awesome: Because nobody told Akerfelds that when you only wear your warmup jacket for running and not for tossing, so everybody realizes that this is a staged shot.

Cool stat: Akerfelds was a hot prospect who didn't pan out, but he did have an amazing year in 1990, pitching 93 innings and allowing only 65 hits. That's a low enough rate to make the top 25 seasons in hits/9 in the last 20 years. Of course, he also walked 54 that year while striking out just 42. OK, so maybe it wasn't quite an "amazing" year. This reminds me of a problem the Phillies are likely to have with J.C. Romero in 2008. In 2007, he allowed just 15 hits in 36.3 innings with the Phillies, helping him to compile a 1.24 ERA. But he'll never be able to maintain that low hit rate, and I bet he gets hit hard this year. Shout out to Tim at MLBtraderumors.com for being the one to make me aware of that.

#81 Reds Leaders

Why this card is awesome: Because of the hilarious Happy Clown / Sad Clown action. Ron Robinson looks like somebody just gave him a puppy, while John Franco looks like somebody just killed his puppy. Of course, nobody in the entire 1988 Topps set looks more like a clown than Robinson.

Cool stat: Who do you think the highest-paid player was on the 1988 Reds? Check it out here, toward the bottom of the page. Not Eric Davis, Barry Larkin, Dave Concepcion, Kal Daniels, Paul O'Neill, Nick Esasky, Buddy Bell, Tom Browning, John Franco, or Rob Murphy. Nope, it was Leon Durham.

Franco's got a small (and I do mean small) chance at the HOF.

#80 Mark Langston

We're 10% of the way done with the set!



Why this card is awesome: Because it's such a great photo. Like the Clemens photo on card #70, I love that they got Langston's entire body in the shot, but he's also in such an interesting pose. I also like being able to see the warning track and the far wall. To me, this is a classic baseball photo.

Cool stat: Langston had a very nice career, although he's best remembered for two things that weren't his fault: being traded away by the Mariners to acquire a package including Randy Johnson, and for giving up a grand slam to Tino Martinez in the 1998 World Series, one pitch after he struck out Martinez but the umpire missed the call. A little love for Langston: he owned a lot of hitters. Check out the low OPS and crooked strikeout numbers among players with at least 50 career PAs against him.

#79 Ernie Whitt

Why this card is awesome: Because of all those game-winning RBI, 51. For those who don't know, GWRBI was an official stat for a relatively short period of time, until MLB finally realized that it was pretty stupid. But 51 is a very nice total for a part-timer like Whitt.

Cool stat: Whitt, one of the original expansion Toronto Blue Jays, was a remarkably consistent player from 1982 to 1989. His OPS was between .757 and .805 every year. In fact, for the 1980s, Whitt has the most seasons with an OPS between .750 and .810. He wasn't spectacular, but he was very dependable (especially in an era when catcher was not emphasized for offensive prowess.)

#78 Dan Petry

Why this card is awesome: Because is it just me, or does Petry look like a right-handed version of Jim Abbott in that photo? (If any readers don't know Jim Abbott, we'll be coming to him in about another 800 cards, in the traded set. And Petry does in fact have a left hand.)

Cool stat: Petry was an elite pitcher from 1982 to 1985. Over that period, he had the 4th-highest winning percentage among pitchers with at least 800 IP, and he pitched more innings than all three guys ahead of him on the list. Unfortunately, after 1985, he never again approached having a league-average ERA and he was finished in the majors after 1991 at age 32.

#77 Tom O'Malley

Why this card is awesome: Because of that unbelievably huge guy sitting in the first row wearing white. He kind of looks like a modern-day Tony Gwynn to me.

Cool stat: O'Malley has the 6th most-recent season batting over .500 with at least 10 at-bats.

Also, I didn't know this until just now, but after leaving the major leagues, O'Malley had a very productive playing-career in Japan.

#76 Denny Martinez

Why this card is awesome: Because this is the only card I can think of that features ACTUAL REAL wood paneling, unlike the 1968 and 1987 sets, which feature fake wood paneling.

Cool stat: Two interesting stats about El Presidente: Firstly, he finished 1 out shy of 4000 IP. Secondly, he went through a really weird period from 1983 to 1986, where he pitched very consistently, but also very poorly. Check it out: 4 straight years with an ERA+ between 72 and 79. Luckily for the Expos, they picked him up at the end of that streak, and he ripped off10 years with an ERA+ over 100 after that (though not all for Montreal.)

Next giveaway

Having reached card #75, you might expect me to give away cards 51 to 75. However, I've decided to increase the number of cards per giveaway to 50, so the next giveaway will be cards 51 to 100. I am also going to post more cards per day, though, so we might reach 100 by the end of this week.

#75 Joe Carter

Why this card is awesome: Because Louisville Slugger obviously paid a chunk of change to Topps to get prominent placement on this card. By the way, I always thought that if Joe Carter had a great sense of humor and told jokes all the time, we could call him "Joke Arter."

Cool stat: Joe Carter was tremendously overrated. Let's mine some of the content over at the SOTD blog. For starters, Carter has 2 out of just 25 seasons in history where a guy who hit 20+ HRs managed to slug under .400. He also had the worst OPS of all-time for a season with 100+ RBIs. There are lots of other lowlights as well. Of course, Carter will be best-remembered for his game-winning homer in the 1993 World Series, as well he should be.

#74 Tom Lasorda

Why this card is awesome: Because of the utterly hilarious photo. We all know Lasorda was a SlimFast representative, but he seems to be going out of his way here to look heavy and out of shape.

Cool stat: Well what more can be said about the 1988 Dodgers? We know that Hershiser had an amazing career year. But the two Tims, Leary and Belcher, also had career years. For Leary, 1988 saw his career high in wins, IP, Ks, ERA+, and WHIP (the last two ignoring his 1-game season in 1981.) For Belcher, his 1988 carried his best W-L%, and among his best in ERA+, K/BB ratio, and other stats too.

Hall of Fame count: 11 (for Tommy Lasorda, inducted as a manager in 1997.)

Reminder: 1988 Topps Gallery of Champions giveaway

Here's your final reminder of our 1988 Topps Gallery of Champions giveaway.

Click this link for directions on how to enter.

The contest closes this Wednesday.

#73 Randy Bush

Why this card is awesome: STIRRUPS!

Cool stat: Bush wasn't spectacular, but he was good and consistent. In fact, Bush is tied for fourth in all-time seasons with 35 to 55 RBIs and 10 to 14 homers. Interestingly, a lot of the guys on that list are catchers, which is to be expected.

#72 Dennis Eckersley

Why this card is awesome: This card might be the most awesome card of the 1980s. Seriously. Here's why: Eckersley had two careers. From 1975 to 1986, he was a starting pitcher, and often a very good one. He won 20 games for the Red Sox in 1978, and that came after he pitched a no-hitter for the Indians in 1977. By the end of 1986, though, he had lost his effectiveness and developed dependence on alcohol. Cast off, he joined Oakland to try to reclaim his career. The above photo was taken in 1987, when Eckersely's career seemed to be teetering on a knife edge and he was struggling with addiction. He looks very tentative in the photo, perhaps an accurate reflection of how he was feeling.

In 1987, Tony LaRussa experimented with Eckersley. He got a couple of game starts in 1987, but also finished 33 games and registered 16 saves. He had a beautiful WHIP of 1.00 and an ERA+ of 137. Encouraged, LaRussa converted Eckersley to a full-time closer in 1988, and all Eckersley did was become the prototype dominant reliever of the current era. By 1989, LaRussa developed the model that all managers use today: the closer is a 9th-inning only guy, except in emergencies where he comes in with 1 or 2 outs left in the 8th. Eckersley excelled in the role, and we all became accustomed to seeing his massive fist-pumps when he closed out big wins for Oakland.

Eckersley gets high marks in my book. He went through a ton of difficulties, worked extremely hard, took responsibility for himself, and achieved great things on the baseball field. To me, this card represents hope and determination, and reminds me that all of our lives hang in the balance of pivotal decisions we make and actions we take.

Check out a 1978 Topps Eckersley card here.

Cool stat: Check out this list of most career saves for pitchers who also had at least 100 complete games. Guess who's way out in the lead?

Hall of Fame count: 10

#71 Gary Pettis

Why this card is awesome: Because of the mention of a baseball lifer, scout Loyd Christopher. He played in the 1940s for the Red Sox, Cubs, and White Sox, and later became a scout. Plus, Pettis is less than 30 in this photo but looks about 50 to me.

Cool stat: Pettis was a great base-stealer. In fact, he's one of just 5 guys with fewer than 1200 games played but at least 350 stolen bases. And Juan Pierre will drop off the list in 2008.

#70 Roger Clemens

Why this card is awesome: Because it's the second-best card in this set. It's just an awesome photo of Clemens from head to toe, beautifully cropped with a great background. I'm not sure if the photo was taken at Fenway, but that green certainly feels like Fenway and he's wearing home whites. Simply fantastic and the way all cards should be. My only beef is that Topps gave him just number 70...I mean the guy was coming off back-to-back Cy Young awards and was 2 years removed from winning an MVP. Would a number like 100 or 250 be too much to ask?

Cool stat: Clemens has so many great statistical achievements. Here's one I borrowed from an old post I made at the SOTD blog: Clemens has the highest post-season game score of all time, with the Yankees in 2000 against Seattle. And you know how he loves pitching against Seattle. For more Clemens content, just search on his name on that SOTD page and you'll find all sorts of stuff.

#69 Mike Hart

Why this card is awesome: Because of all the time in the minor leagues. Just look at the back of his card! Other than a cup of coffee with the Twins in 1984, he was all over the minor leagues from 1979 to 1987. In the end, what you see below is Hart's complete professional baseball record, as he never played another game (majors or minors) after 1987. His last name should have been spelled "Heart."

Cool stat: Hart hit 4 career homers (in just 105 career at-bats) and three of them were off good pitchers: Jim Clancy, Mike Morgan, and Mike Witt. (The fourth guy, Bill Wilkinson, put up good numbers too but had a very short career. We'll come to him later.) And although Hart's career was short, it wasn't the shortest by a player named Mike Hart.

#68 Dave Dravecky

Why this card is awesome: Because this photo of Dravecky looks to me just like actor David Strathairn as White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte from the movie Eight Men Out. Except Dravecky looks like he's been in the tanning booth.



Cool stat: Dravecky pitched very well in the post-season for two teams (the '84 Padres and the '87 Giants) that didn't make it out of the playoffs. Then, in 1989, when the Giants lost the World Series to Oakland (in the year that the Bay-area earthquake interrupted the series), Dravecky wasn't available to pitch in the post-season. He had broken his arm in August of that year, after a long rehab coming back from major arm surgery. As has been well-documented, Dravecky's arm was broken again in September when the Giants won the pennant, and less than two years later, the arm was amputated.

These days, Dravecky is a popular motivational speaker. (He's also very religious, as you'll see from that site. My linking to it is for informational purposes, and I'm not trying to either support or criticize him for that.)

#67 Ken Oberkfell

Why this card is awesome: Because Oberkfell is doing the State of Liberty.

Cool stat: Oberkfell walked 13 times in his career with the bases loaded. Two of them were walk-off walks: in a 12-12 game in the bottom of the 9th, and a 0-0 game in the bottom of the 11th. He also walked with the bases loaded in lots of other close games, and walked a lot more than he struck out in his career.

#66 Shane Rawley

Why this card is awesome: Because 66s are wild on this card. It's card #66, and Rawley had 66 strikeouts in his first year on the card, and 66 walks in his last year on the card.

Cool stat: In 1983, Rawley completed 13 games despite just a .500 record. Since 1980, just 5 pitchers have had more CGs in a season with a .500 or worse record.

#65 Leon Durham

Why this card is awesome: Because of a very thought-provoking trade on the back, essentially Leon Durham for Bruce Sutter. It's an interesting debate as to which team got the better side of the deal. The Cardinals got 4 years of Sutter plus one World Series victory. Then Sutter walked as a free agent. Durham played 7+ years for the Cubs, and made an error that some feel cost them a shot at the World Series in 1984.

Cool stat: People forget that Durham was a pretty good player in the 1980s. In fact, from 1982 to 1987, among players with at least 125 HR, Durham had the 10th highest OPS. He was grouped right around George Bell, Kent Hrbek, Dave Winfield, and Jim Rice, and he was higher than Cal Ripken, Harold Baines, Andre Dawson, Dave Parker, Reggie Jackson, and a bunch of others.