I Love the 80s - 1982 California Angels

   This is a series of posts on a 1980's Frankenset. Each page features a different team, with 9 of my personal favorite cards from that year's team. You might find players repeated, you'll definitely see brands repeated, but hopefully you'll agree that there are some interesting selections from the 1980s!

The 1981 California Angels picked up where the 1980 version left off, with a slow start. Angels manager and "close, personal friend of Angels' owner Gene Autry" Jim Fregosi was let go. Replacing the Angels legend was Gene Mauch, who had a track record of successful winning ballclubs. The strike killed any momentum the team may have found under new leadership, and they finished a distant 5th place in the AL West.

The Angels' ownership group has never been shy about spending to acquire talent. While injuries limited the team in 1980 and a disappointing 1981 saw the team struggle to meet expectations, a new year meant another chance to make a run at a championship. 1982 very could have been that year, with the Angels going after one of the biggest free agents in recent memory, and locked up Reggie Jackson. They also added veteran Bob Boone, and traded for Doug DeCinces to fill in the infield. The result was another Division win for the Angels, and a playoff run that fell just short of the World Series.

 

The Cards

Fleer #451 Don Baylor - The 1979 AL MVP was up to his old tricks again in 1981 and 1982, serving as the Angels' everyday DH and providing a punch in the middle of the lineup. Baylor hit 26 homers and ended up gathering a handful of MVP votes again in 1982, helping to lead the Angels to the post-season. Baylor was a post-season magnet, reaching the playoffs 7 times with five different teams. His lone World Series win came as a late season waiver pickup for the 1987 Minnesota Twins. Baylor was an aggressive base runner in his prime before an injury riddled 1980 season sapped his speed. Baylor finished his career with over 2100 hits, and over 330 homers.

Fleer #459 Ken Forsch - An All-Star for the Angels in 1981, Forsch led the AL in shutouts that season with 4. His claim to fame includes his brother Bob - the pair are the only siblings to both throw no-hitters in their MLB career. Forsch had 114-113 career record, which included 6 straight seasons with 10 or more victories. 

Topps #134 Dan Ford - Ford paired up with Baylor in 1979 as a formidable 1-2 punch in the heart of the Angels' lineup. Originally coming up with the Twins, Ford was consistent hitter and talented fielder, but it was his distinctive style that earned him the nickname "Disco Dan." Ford came to the Angels a year ahead of Twins teammate Rod Carew, and would depart prior to the 1982 season in a trade with the Orioles. Ford would rise to the occasion more than once with Baltimore, but most notably he hit a homer in Game 3 of the 1983 World Series off Phillies' great Steve Carlton. 

Topps #702 Steve Renko - Renko had many talents, he was drafted by the Raiders to play football, and started his pro baseball career as a two-way player, pitching and playing first base. He switched to pitching full time in the minors, and made his MLB debut as a member of the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969. Renko became the team's first ace, and he played the role of savvy veteran for the 1981 and 1982 Angels. He was known as a fast starter, often racking up victories and strikeouts in the first half the season. In 1982, he was 7-1 with 2.66 ERA in the first half. 

Topps #47T Reggie Jackson - The straw the stirs the drink switched from a Manhattan to a nice Napa Valley Sauvignon. Reggie returned to Southern California in 1982, after a successful run as a World Series hero in New York. The script was a simple one, join the Angels and make them a winner. In his 5 seasons with the Angels, the team won a pair of AL West crowns. He led the AL in homers in 1982 and won a Silver Slugger with a 147 OPS+. Jackson is MLB's all-time strikeout leader, but he more than makes up for that with 563 career homers. 

Topps #465 Butch Hobson - Hobson came to the Angels with Rick Burleson prior to the 1981 season. Hobson had a pair of very promising seasons in Boston, sandwiched between a not so promising one. His 1981 season with the Angels left much to be desired as he hit just .235/.321/.326 while leading the AL in errors among third basemen. His breakout season in 1977 came as member of Boston's "Crunch Bunch"  - hitting 30 homers and driving in 112 runs. Hobson became a manager following his playing career, including a stint as the Red Sox skipper in the 90s. Hobson won a pair of Atlantic League titles in the 00s.

Donruss #587 Juan Beniquez - Beniquez signed with the Angels as a free agent before the 1981 season and provided defense and the occasional timely hit. He won a Gold Glove in 1977 in center field, and known mostly for his defensive prowess. Something clicked in California, and the lifetime .257 hitter had 3 seasons hitting above .300 with the Angels and then another in Baltimore. His career year came in 1984 when he hit .336 and an OPS+ of 128 in 110 games. 

Topps #503 Rod Carew - 18X All-Star. 7X Batting Champ. 1967 Rookie of the Year. 1977 AL MVP. Rod Carew was a legit all-time great, who was a magician with the bat and a fearless baserunner. He stole home 7 times in 1969 alone. 3,053 career hits in his 19 seasons. In 1982, Carew hit .319/.396/.403 with an OPS+ of 121, helping the Angels to their second division title in 4 years. 

Topps #252 Fred Lynn - The 1975 ROY and MVP was finding life on the West Coast a little rougher than Boston. The truth was that he was still a great hitter, but balls that would clear the fence in Boston wouldn't in Anaheim. In 1982, for instance, Lynn hit just 21 homers, but hit .299/.374/.517 with an OPS+ of 143. His rough 1981 season (his first in California) likely makes people think he was a flop, but it turns out that Lynn had decent numbers throughout his Angels career. He captured a little of that Boston magic in the 1982 ALCS, when he hit a blistering .611/.650/.889 with 11 hits in the 5 game series. 

Dave Winfield, Greatest Minnesota Athlete?

Dave Winfield tips his cap after getting his 3,000th hit off of fellow Hall of Famer and birthday buddy Dennis Eckersley. He became the 19th member of the 3,000 hit club, and he did it in Minneapolis, just a few miles from Saint Paul, where Winfield grew up.

Winfield was a superstar Pitcher and Outfielder in college at the U of Minnesota- MVP of the 1973 College World Series. He was also a very good basketball player, and was drafted to play in the NBA (and the ABA), but chose baseball instead. He was also drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, though he did not play football in college at all. If you're keeping count, that's 3 different sports and 4 professional leagues that all drafted Winfield.

San Diego Padres - 1973 - 1980

The Padres selected Dave with the 4th overall pick in 1973. The teams that passed on him (The Rangers, Phillies, and Brewers) would probably want another chance in hindsight. The Brewers ended up with Robin Yount at #3 Overall, so not a bad choice either. Winfield went straight from the College World Series to the Draft to San Diego. Even though he was a Pitcher first in college, the Padres were more intrigued at thought of him playing everyday and used him in the outfield right away. He never pitched in the big leagues, a missed opportunity if you ask me! His bat did not develop instantly, though he had flashes of brilliance from the beginning. Unfortunately for the Padres, Windfield would hit free agency just as he was reaching his peak, entering his age 29 season. In 1979 he had a fantastic year, leading the NL in RBI, OPS+, Total Bases, and Intentional Walks.

Totals with the Padres above

New York Yankees 1981 - 1990

Winfield became baseball's highest paid player in 1981, the biggest free agent of the off-season and George Steinbrenner's most wanted. Winfield would join Reggie Jackson in the outfield for just one season, and it was shortened by a Player's Strike.  They would get all the way to the World Series, though Winfield's bat would slump at the worst possible time. In the 1981 World Series, Winfield hit just .045, getting just one hit in the 6 game series. Despite a .350 average in the Divisonal playoffs to propel the team to the Series in the first place, Steinbrenner only cared about the World Series struggles.
He had a tremendous season in 1982, hitting a career high 37 homers and winning a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger to go with his 6th straight All-Star appearance. In 1984, he and teammate Don Mattingly completed for the batting title all season long. Winfield finished with a career high .340 average, but was ultimately 2nd to Donnie Baseball. The public feud between Steinbrenner, which could be traced all the way back to signing Winfield (Steinbrenner thought the contract was for a smaller amount than it actually was), began to boil over in ugly ways. Steinbrenner hired a private investigator to find dirt on his slugging outfielder, but all he got for his troubles was a temporary ban from baseball. Winfield had a serious back injury in 1989 which threatened to end his career. Steinbrenner finally traded him mid-way through the 1990 season.

Winfield's Career totals following his Yankees' tenure.

California Angels - 1990 - 1991

Winfield returned to Southern California, and continued to rack up extra base hits. He reached the 400 home run mark while in an Angels uniform, and gave the team 263 hits in 262 games. He was the 1990 Comeback Player of the Year, re-starting his career after missing the entire 1989 season.

Whew, the print is getting smaller, y'all. Career Totals through Padres/Yanks/Angels seasons.

Toronto Blue Jays - 1992

Winfield had hit for power, hit for average, stole bases before his back injury, and won 8 gold glove awards. One thing that had eluded him was playoff success. As a free agent in 1992, Winfield came to the Toronto Blue Jays, who had just missed the playoffs the year before. The addition of Winfield ignited the offense and the fan base. Early in the 1992 season, Winfield was giving an on field interview and asked the crowd to be more vocal and support the young team. "Winfield Wants Noise" became a rallying cry in the SkyDome that season, and his bat provided plenty of thunder on his own. In the 1992 World Series, Winfield became "Mr. Jay" after Steinbrenner's insulting "Mr. May" nickname following the 1981 World Series struggles. Winfield hit a game 6 game winning 2-run double to clinch the first World Series victory for a Canadian team.

That stat sheet is filling up, check it out, 2,866 career hits!

Minnesota Twins - 1993 - 1994

Big Dave was coming home! Winfield joined forces with Bloomington MN kid Kent Hrbek and Twins legend Kirby Puckett to try to bring another World Series victory to the Twin Cities. The team fell short of the playoffs, finishing with a rough 71-91 record. It was disappointing to say the least as the team had finished 90 - 72 in 1992, seemingly just a piece or two away from a playoff run. The starting pitching, which had been a strength in 91 and 92 had a serious free-fall. The top four starters all had ERAs over 4.00. Winfield did his part offensively, even at the age of 41, with 21 homers and 76 RBI as a DH. Things were not looking much better in 1994, the team was again doing just fine offensively, but the pitching was suspect again. The team looked to move Winfield, and traded him to Cleveland near the August waiver deadline. Of course, there was no baseball being played that August, the player's were again on strike. The return for Winfield would not come to the Twins until the off-season, but he had officially been traded.

Career totals through 1994

Cleveland - 1995

Winfield joined Eddie Murray with an otherwise young and hungry Cleveland team. Not hungry were the Minnesota Twins, who completed their trade for Winfield in exchange for a nice dinner. The Cleveland GM took the Minnesota GM out for dinner, and picked up the tab, thereby finishing the trade for Winfield. No, really! In 1995, Winfield played the final 46 games of his career, while dealing with a rotator cuff injury. He would end up missing Cleveland's playoff run, and would retire following the season.

Final MLB Career Stats

The 1974 Topps Rookie All-Star Team - John D'Acquisto

Here they are - the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, selected "by the Youth of America" by a vote of fellow MLB players following the 1974 season and featured in the 1975 Topps set. 

I have completed the run of these up through 2018 Series Two, at least all regular issue cards that bear the All-Star Rookie Trophy. 

Topps decided to skip the Trophies on the 1974 Topps Set, but they made a triumphant return in 1975. I wanted to show my appreciation for this expression of good judgement, so for the 1974 Lineup, I will do a separate post for each player. This was a pretty good crop of players, so let's dive in! 

Well, at the end of the day, Topps made a pretty good run in 1975, festooning the worthy rookies with a gaudy golden bowl of greatness. But John D'Acquisto was given the short end of the stick. The Righty from SoCal worked his way up the Giants' minor league ladder for a hearty snub from Topps.

See? He was the Giants' leader in Ks in 1974 - and Topps had him on the 1974 Rookie All-Star Team, but denied him the trophy. Topps also named him the Rookie Pitcher of the Year. It's a shame!

Also a shame? I thought I had a copy of D'Acquisto's sweet 1977 Topps card as a Saint Louis Cardinal, but I can't find it in my 70s binder. It might be in a box somewhere, but who knows which one? After a couple solid seasons in San Francisco, and a brief 3 game stint in Saint Louis, D'Acquisto moved to his hometown team of San Diego. The Padres revived an injury plagued career by shifting John to the bullpen. He still wanted to start however, and found limited success that way. He was pretty good in the bullpen again in 1980, splitting time between the Padres and the Montreal Expos. In 1981, he pitched just a handful of games for the Angels before the strike hit. He would end up finishing that year in AAA Salt Lake. In 1982 he was a minor leaguer in Atlanta's system, then finished his MLB career back in the bay in 1983 with the Oakland A's. D'Acquisto also found time to appear in the Senior League, like so many other 1974 Topps Rookie All-Stars.

The 1974 Topps Rookie All-Star Team - Claudell Washington

Here they are - the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, selected "by the Youth of America" by a vote of fellow MLB players following the 1974 season and featured in the 1975 Topps set. 

I have completed the run of these up through 2018 Series Two, at least all regular issue cards that bear the All-Star Rookie Trophy. 

Topps decided to skip the Trophies on the 1974 Topps Set, but they made a triumphant return in 1975. I wanted to show my appreciation for this expression of good judgement, so for the 1974 Lineup, I will do a separate post for each player. This was a pretty good crop of players, so let's dive in! 

Washington did not play organized baseball in high school - instead he was a track and field star. Similar to the grooming of Herb Washington, Claudell was a speedster that was destined to be a pinch runner for Charlie Finley's A's. There was just one problem with that plan - the guy could hit pretty well, too!

Despite his limited experience, Washington breezed through several levels of minor league ball and wound up on the MLB roster in his 2nd full professional season. He stole 80 bases in the minors and was a major leaguer for good at age 19. He was used as the team's 4th outfielder and Lefty DH in the second half and was a key part of Oakland's third straight World Series title.

That would be his only trip to the World Series in his 17 year career. He did show impressive speed and power early on, however, and made his first All-Star appearance in 1975 at just 20 years old. While base stealing was considered his biggest asset, it was his tape measure home runs that really caused fans and rival GMs to take notice. His power potential made him an attractive trade piece 5 times in his career. He was swapped for other outfield bats like Bobby Bonds (in a trade from Texas to the White Sox) and Ken Griffey, Sr. (from Atlanta to the Yankees).

The Braves signed Washington to a five year, $3.5MM contract after the 1980 season, in which he stole 21 bases and hit 11 homers for the White Sox and the Mets. The contract had some scratching their heads, but the truth was that Washington had not been given a regular starting role at any point in his career and was motivated to show what he could do. In 6 seasons in Atlanta, Washington had 647 hits, and 115 stolen bases including his 2nd and final All-Star selection in 1984. It was also during this stint that he hit a memorable foul ball at Wrigley Field, the footage of which was used for the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Washington did have some off field issues in the 80s, and was one of several players implicated during the infamous Pittsburgh cocaine trial. For his part, Washington sought treatment and donated a portion of his Braves' contract to drug treatment and prevention programs. His character and reputation was damaged but not destroyed, and it was his years in pinstripes that saw a late career renaissance. His 1988 season in particular was a return to his early career form, batting over .300, while stealing 15 bases and hitting 11 homers. He had worked diligently over the years on his defense in the outfield, his one glaring weakness as a player had become a strength.

Another season of double digit homers and steals pushed his career totals to 163 round trippers to go along with 308 steals. Some highlights from his career include 3-Homer games in both the AL and the NL, hitting the 10,000th homer in Yankees' history, as well as a walk off blast in the 18th inning for a marathon victory for New York over Detroit in 1988. He would finish his career in 1990, with a brief stint with the Angels before being traded to the Yankees for his final 33 games. He finished with over 1,800 career hits, 334 doubles and 824 runs batted in. 

The 1974 Topps Rookie All-Star Team - Frank Tanana

Here they are - the Topps All-Star Rookie Team, selected "by the Youth of America" following the 1974 season and featured in the 1975 Topps set. 

I have completed the run of these up through 2017 Series One, at least all regular issue cards that bear the All-Star Rookie Trophy. 

Topps decided to skip the Trophies on the 1974 Topps Set, but they made a triumphant return in 1975. I wanted to show my appreciation for this expression of good judgement, so for the 1974 Lineup, I will do a separate post for each player. This was a pretty good crop of players, so let's dive in! 

Left Handed Pitcher - Frank Tanana

Frank had two very different major league careers. He came up to the California Angels in 1973 as a pretty boy flamethrower, and re-invented himself in the mid to late 80s as a gritty left handed finesse pitcher.

Despite the stereotype that hard-throwing fastball pitchers are wild, Tanana was known for great control throughout his early career, which helped propel him to the big leagues. Pitchers that throw hard also allow hard contact - limiting walks meant that the home runs allowed hurt a little less. His rookie season he gave up 27 home runs, which was the 3rd highest for any pitcher in the American League. But Tanana also missed bats with regularity, ranking 7th in the league in strikeouts. His 19 losses in his rookie campaign did not make a dent in his confidence, as his sophomore season was a breakout success. His strikeout totals spiked, leading all of baseball with 269 Ks. His strikeout rate per nine innings also was tops in the AL, and he led the league for the next two seasons in his ratio of strikeouts to walks. He was still giving up over 20 homers a season, but his ERA and FIP was near the best in baseball.   

Tanana reeled off three straight All-Star seasons in 1976, 1977, and 1978. He led the AL in ERA in '77, and shutout the opposition a league leading 7 times. One shutout came on Opening Day, the debut of Seattle's Kingdome. The Mariners were held scoreless despite getting 9 hits and drawing 2 walks against the rising star. The innings were piling up for Tanana, which didn't seem to bother him. In May of 1977, he pitched a complete game in every single start - and then did it again in June. All told, he had a string of 14 consecutive complete games from April 29th until July 7th. He allowed 72 runs in 1977, but 24 of those runs came in the last full month of the season. Something was wrong. 

With his signature pitch,  a 100+ mph fastball, taken out of his arsenal, he struggled with "a sore arm" as he bounced from the Angels, to Boston for half a season, to Texas where he lost a league high 19 games in 1982.  By 1985, the Rangers were looking in other directions for rotation help, and were happy to find a taker for Tanana. The Detroit Tigers gave up minor league prospect Duane James. The Rangers probably didn't think Tanana would outlast the young righty by more than 8 seasons.

Tanana credits his faith and his arm injury for turning around his life. Losing teammate Lyman Bostock also gave him a new perspective. But it was the trade to Detroit that turned around his career. His hometown team provided a chance for Tanana to take the same repertoire of fastball, curveball, change-up as his early days and slow everything down. In California, his bread and butter was revving up the fastball to triple digits. With the Tigers, it was taking a fastball in the high eighties and pairing it with an agonizingly slow change up. His curve was not as sharp as it used to be, but the break was still sufficient to fool hitters and throw off their timing.

He pitched his final season in 1993, splitting his time between the Tigers, the Mets, and 3 starts for the New York Yankees. He finished with 34 career shutouts, 2773 Strikeouts, and 240 wins. He amassed over 30 WAR by the age of 24, which was similar to guys like Vida Blue, Hal Newhouser, Dennis Eckersley, Don Drysdale, Felix Hernandez and Fernando Valenzuela at the same age. He is 22nd All-Time in career Strikeouts. When he reached the Hall of Fame ballot, he did not receive a single vote. He shared that ballot in 1999 with inductees Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount, and George Brett; not to mention Bert Blyleven, Tommy John, Jim Kaat, and Luis Tiant - pitchers with similarly uneven but strong cases. But none of those guys were Topps All-Star Rookies!

I Love The 80s : 1981 California Angels

Just a quick refresher - this is a series of posts on a 1980's Frankenset. Each page features a different team, with 9 of my personal favorite cards from that year's team. You might find players repeated, you'll definitely see brands repeated, but hopefully you'll agree that there are some interesting selections from the 1980s!

Shifting gears from North of the Border to Sunny California, here are the cards of the 1981 California Angels. The Angels finished 6th in the AL West in 1980, and did not fare much better in 1981. They managed to grind out a winning record pre-strike, but the second half saw the Halos fade with a record ten games below .500.  

 Rod Carew led the offense, with contributions from DH Jason Thompson and Bobby Grich. The rotation in 1980 was led by Frank Tanana the 26 year old lefty ace. The following year saw the rotation undergoing a near complete overhaul as Tanana left the team that drafted him for the Boston Red Sox as the main prize in the Fred Lynn trade. The Halos had to depend on 20 year old phenom Mike Witt and 34 year old crafty veteran Ken Forsch. Andy Hassler was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise shaky bullpen.

The Cards:
Fleer #283 Freddie Patek - The 3-time All-Star closed out his career with the Angels in 1980 and 81. He played about half the 1980 season as the Angels primary shortstop, splitting time with the even older Bert Campaneris. A key member of the Royals playoff teams in the late 70s, he just missed the 1980 Royals' World Series appearance.

Topps #639 Carney Lansford - Moving from California to Boston in the same off-season as Tanana, Lansford may have proved the argument that a player's home park can make a guy look completely different. Carew didn't seem to struggle in any venue, but Lansford hit .261 for the Halos in 1980. Moving east to Fenway (along with another season of maturation as a major league hitter), Lansford tore the cover off the ball and won his first and only batting title in 1981. He did hit for some power with California, coming in second on the team with 15 round trippers in '80. Lansford may be best known for being the glue that held the flashy Oakland A's offense together at the end of the 80s. His 1989 playoffs were tremendous and a main reason why the team steamrolled to their only World Series title.

Drake's Big Hitters #2 Rod Carew - Carew was featured in last week's 1967 Topps Rookie All-Star Team post. In 1980, he hit .331 with a .396 on base percentage. Carew continued his climb up the all-time hitting charts in '81, rapping out 111 hits in the strike shortened campaign.

Donruss #171 Frank Tanana - In 1980, Tanana was a year removed from three straight All-Star appearances, A career record of 91-66 with an ERA of 2.93. As the defacto Ace of the Angels staff, Tanana struggled to win games and to strikeout batters. The arm woes suffered in 1979 seemed to be lingering and he was unable to regain his status as a fireballer in the mold of a left-handed Nolan Ryan. He was able to change his approach later in life and became a fixture in the Tigers rotation in the mid 80s and into the 90s.

 Fleer #268 Rod Carew -  This shot of Carew with the mountains in the background is one of my favorite cards of Carew of all time.

Topps  #263 Brian Downing - Downing is one of those very good major league players that tend to fall out of the conversation when talking about the greatest of all time. Downing wasn't as good a catcher as contemporaries like Bob Boone, or as good a hitter as guys like Reggie or even Don Baylor once Downing shifted to being primarily a DH. But Downing was a very good hitter for a very long time. He had a late start, too - used mostly in a backup or utility role in 1980 and 1981, he started a string of solid offensive seasons throughout the 80s, finishing his career with 2,099 hits, 275 homers, and over 1,000 RBI. Downing also had an exceptional eye at the plate, finishing his career with an OBP of .370 despite regularly hitting in the .250s and .260s.

Fleer # 290 Andy Hassler -  Andy was one of the Angels closers in 1980, finishing with 10 saves. Along with Mark Clear, Hassler anchored the back end of the bullpen, arguably as the better half. The lefty debuted with the Angels way back in 1971 as a 19 year old. He bounced around the league over the decade of the 70s, with stops in Kansas City, New York, Pittsburgh, and Boston before finding his way back to the Halos in 1980. The came over in June after having his contract purchased from the Pirates. Hassler followed up his much anticipated return with a solid 1981 as well.

Fleer Star Stickers #122 Don Baylor - The 1979 MVP had a rough year in 1980. At age 31, he played in just 90 games, and hit just 5 home runs a year removed from 36. Baylor followed that up with a disappointing 1981 as well, and some may have written him off at that point. He would go on to hit another 150 career homers, and became a mercenary of sorts, called in to be the big middle of the order bat on several playoff contenders, including a short stint with the 1987 Minnesota Twins, just in time to hit a home run in the World Series. He played in the World Series in 1986, 1987, and 1988 with three different AL teams. Not a bad way to close out a career!

Donruss #174 Joe Rudi -  Rudi was finishing up a 4 year stint in the California Angels' outfield in 1980. Better known for his thrilling run as the sparkplug in the Oakland offense during their 1970s three-peat, he came to the Angels in 1977 after becoming too costly for the frugal Charlie O. Finley. Along with Campaneris, Carew, and Freddie Patek on the team the 1980 Angels had a wealth of experience to help the young players coming up.

       Any requests for the next 1981 team to cover?