I Love the 80s - 1982 Milwaukee Brewers

    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!

In 1981, The Brewers were 2nd half champs in the AL East, which bought them a ticket to the ALDS against the New York Yankees. It was a close and tightly contested series, but the Yankees prevailed in 5 games. It was a great season for the Brewers all the same, as they reached the post season for the first time in their franchise history. Rollie Fingers was the AL Cy Young Winner, and the league MVP, the first American League Relief pitcher to win MVP honors.

The Brewers had quite the encore planned for 1982. A Brewer would win MVP again, this time it was Robin Yount, and the team would once again win the AL East. It was a close pennant race all season, and it would come down to one game against the rival Baltimore Orioles. After beating Baltimore and taking all 5 games to outlast the formidable California Angels, the Brewers took the St. Louis Cardinals to the limit as well. Game 7 would ultimately tip in the Cardinals' favor, but the Brewers proved to be a tough test and a worthy opponent.

The Cards:

Fleer # 146 Paul Molitor - The knock on Molitor early in his Hall of Fame career was his inability to stay on the field. Injuries limited him to just 64 games in an already strike shortened 1981 season, but he proved his durability in the Brewers' pennant winning 1982 campaign. Piling up base hits at the top of the Brewers' lineup, Molitor had the most plate appearances and most at bats in the league. More importantly, he led the AL in runs scored with 136, which was the highest run total in the American League since 1949! Molitor also hit .355 in the 1982 World Series in a losing effort. He would go on to win the WS MVP in 1993 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Molitor was a 7 time All-Star and finished his career with 3,319 hits which ranks #10 All-Time.

Fleer # 141 Rollie Fingers - Acquiring Fingers before the start of the 1981 season (along with fellow HOFer Ted Simmons), turned the Brewers into a contender nearly overnight. He demonstrated exactly what they were trading for when he posted an absurd 333 ERA+ (100 is league average), tallying 28 saves in 47 appearances. He allowed just 9 runs all season, for a 1.04 ERA and cruised to a Cy Young and a league MVP award. His final save of the regular season came in the team's final game, when he struck out Lou Whitaker to pinch the Brewers post season ticket. The 7 time All-Star won 3 World Series with the Oakland A's in the mid 70s, and helped the Brewers get very very close to two more. After his playing days, he allowed his name to be attached to arguably the worst sports card repack product ever assembled. But what a moustache!

Donruss # 510 Robin Yount - Had to get a card of Yount on this page, This one was my favorite of the options available. Yount of course was the 1982 AL MVP, leading the league in hits, doubles, slugging pct, OPS+ and total bases. He was the first SS to lead the AL in slugging, and along with Cal Ripken helped re-define the position from the offensive side of the plate. Yount's offensive outburst continued in the post season, hitting over .400 in the World Series, but it wouldn't be enough to beat the Cardinals in the end. Yount would win another MVP in 1989, and finished his career with over 3,100 hits. In some ways he was an underappreciated superstar, making just 3 All-Star teams in his 20 year career. He excelled both at SS and in CF, playing roughly half of his career at either position. 

Topps # 542 Ned Yost - Better known in recent years for his time as a manager, Yost was a 3rd string catcher for the Brewers behind Simmons and Charlie Moore. He would have his most productive season with Texas in 1984, playing in 80 games. He would hit just .182/.201/.273 that season in 242 plate appearances, which resulted in the the Rangers granting him his release in advance of the 1985 season. Yost moved into the coaching ranks as a bullpen coach in Atlanta during their 1990s dynasty and worked his way up to becoming the Milwaukee Brewers manager in the early to mid 2000s. He would move to Kansas City where he presided over the team's resurgence as an AL Central power and led the team to back-to-back World Series appearances and a Championship in 2015. Yost retired following the 2019 season. 

Fleer # 150 Charlie Moore - Moore brought creativity and flair to Male Pattern Baldness as the everyday Catcher for the Brewers for a several years, and in 1981 as the primary backup catcher to Hall of Famer Ted Simmons. Moore had several seasons with above average offensive production while providing some excitement behind the plate - leading the league in passed balls in 1977. To make room for Simmons, Moore moved from behind the plate to Right Field for 1982 and 1983. Moore also had sneaky speed for a catcher; he had double digit steal totals twice, and for his career hit more Triples than Home runs.

Topps # 93 Larry Hisle - Larry seems to be saying, "Get your own helmet, this ones mine!" Hisle was a two sport star in high school, and opted for baseball despite a scholarship offer from The Ohio State University. He still attended the school in the off-season, while climbing through the minor league systems of several teams. Injuries would ultimately de-rail a promising career, highlighted by a 1977 campaign that saw Hisle lead the AL in runs batted in. He'd follow that up in 1978 with a 30+ homer and 100+ RBI season with his first season in Milwaukee. Hisle would tear his rotator cuff in 1979, which severely limited his productivity in the field and at the plate. Hisle would go on to serve as the Blue Jays hitting coach in 1992 and 1993 for a pair of World Series rings. Blue Jays batters finished 1-2-3 in the AL batting race in 1993.

Fleer # 146 Rickey Keeton - Keeton appeared in 22 big league games in 1980 and 81 for the Brewers, winning 3 games and losing 2. In College, he pitched in the College World Series and earned a win in his first start. He moved quickly through the minors as a 3rd round pick in 1978 by the Brewers, winning 29 games in two full seasons. After being traded by the Brewers, he pitched for several more seasons in the high minors for the Astros and Royals. Following his playing career, he became a coach and was the pitching coach for several minor league teams in the 1990s. He returned home to Cincinnati and serves as a youth pitching instructor for a baseball academy. 

Fleer # 145 Roy Howell - A first round pick by the Rangers, Howell became an All-Star as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1978. He almost didn't make it to the big leagues, being shot(!) twice (!!) in two weeks (!!!) by strangers in two different off-season hunting accidents (no, really, read his SABR bio). A starter in Toronto, Howell was a Free Agent following the 1980 season, and opted for a reserve role with an up and coming Milwaukee team. Howell filled in at both corner infield positions, RF, and DH as needed for the Brewers, and turned up in the 1981 ALDS against the Yankees with a pair of singles and a pair of walks in 7 plate appearances. He'd go hitless in the 1982 World Series but did score a run, the first run of Game 2, which the Brewers ultimately lost. After his playing days, Howell spent time working in the insurance industry before returning to baseball as a coach in the Padres system. He was a hitting coach as recently as 2020 with the Tacoma Rainiers.

Topps # 280 Ben Oglivie - Oglivie was already a long time MLB veteran when he came to the Brewers in 1978, and had his best seasons in Milwaukee. The 3 time All-Star led the AL in homers with 41 in 1980, while hitting .304/.362/.563 as the Brew-Crew's middle of the order thunder. Born in Panama, he was the first foreign-born MLB HR king. For his career he posted a 118 OPS+, well above league average at the plate, even though his last few seasons were marred by nagging injuries and limited production. After his final MLB season, Oglivie spent two years in Japan with the Osaka Kinetsu Buffaloes, joining forces with his former Brewers teammate Dick Davis. He slashed .306/.375/.539 in Japan and hit 46 homers over the two seasons. 

I Love The 80s - 1981 Milwaukee Brewers

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!

In 1980, The Brewers finished 3rd in the AL East, ultimately falling short to a pair of 100 win teams in New York and Baltimore. The following season they would come out strong, again finishing in 3rd place in the first half. They came roaring out of the gate in the second half of the season following the strike, with a 31-22 record which was the best in the division. They would fall in the divisional series to New York, the first half winners of the AL East.

Ok so I can already hear you say "where's Robin Yount?" But I just wasn't a fan of his cards in 1981. If the series moves into the rest of the 80s, Yount will definitely see some time on these posts in the future. Ben Oglivie probably deserved some love too - He'll probably be in future installments as well.

The Brewers actually had a case for being a hard luck team - playing in the AL East with Boston, New York, and Baltimore was rough at the time. Since there were no Wild Cards, the Brewers could routinely win 90-95 games a year with a combo of speed and power to go with good pitching, and still be shut out of the post season. They'd break through in 1981 thanks to their tremendous 2nd half, and go even further in 1982.

The Cards:

Topps #701 Bill Travers - Travers was the team's 4th Starter in 1980, going 12-6 with a 3.91 ERA in 154 innings pitched. He was an All-Star in 1976, and collected all 65 of his major league victories as a Milwaukee Brewer. He became a free agent following the 1980 season, and signed with Angels. He struggled to get on the field however, and made his final MLB appearance in 1983 for California. 

Fleer Star Stickers #82 Paul Molitor - The future Hall of Famer from Saint Paul, MN didn't travel too far to get to the big leagues. Despite his great success over the course of his career, it was still a very bumpy ride, especially in the early days. Molitor missed 50 games in 1980 after pulling a muscle in his rib cage. Even with the shortened season, he managed to steal 34 bases and hit .305 with 29 doubles. 

Topps Traded #761 Rollie Fingers - Ace relief pitchers can be overrated for the impact they have on a team's fortunes, but you shouldn't think that about Rollie Fingers and the 1981 Brewers. The AL MVP, Cy Young Winner and Saves leader had a microscopic 1.04 ERA in 1981. Fingers was brilliant, finishing 41 games for the Brewers. He came over with Ted Simmons from the Cardinals in what amounted to a log-jam clearing move by Whitey Herzog, but a team re-defining move to Milwaukee.

Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars #53 Paul Molitor - If you do the math (and who doesn't love doing the math?) counting time lost to 2 player's strikes and multiple trips to the injured list, Molitor could have played in more than 500 more games before his retirement in 1999. He finished his career with more than 3,300 hits. with another 500 games, it's possible he could have gotten close to 4,000 for his career. As it was, he has the 10th most hits all-time. 

Topps #135 Gorman Thomas - From 1977 to 1982, there were few hitters in baseball more menacing than Gorman Thomas. He led the AL in homers twice, and strikeouts twice, confirming the stereotype of the big hulking slugger. In 1980, Thomas cracked 38 homers and drove in 105 Brewers runs. 

Fleer #519 Lary Sorenson - Sorenson was a key part of the Brewers rotation in the late 70s, making the All-Star team in 1978 with an 18-12 record. In 1980, still just 24 years old, Sorenson would win 12 games and toss a pair of shutouts. He was also the centerpiece of the trade that brought Fingers, Simmons, and Pete Vukovich to Milwaukee. Sorenson would pitch just one season in Saint Louis, and would be on the move again for 1982, now in a 3-team deal that netted Lonnie Smith for the Cardinals. 

Fleer #527 Dick Davis - At 26 years old, Davis was playing in his last productive season for the Brewers in 1980. He peaked with 12 homers and 41 RBI a year earlier, and would find his greatest success overseas playing for Kinetsu in the Japanese Leagues. In 1985 he had a career year, hitting 40 homers and driving in 109 Buffaloes. Davis would find controversy in Japan, once for charging the mound after a beaning, then for an off-field incident involving drugs found at his home that resulted in his suspension from the team. 

Fleer Star Stickers #77 Gorman Thomas - Gorman Thomas made his lone All-Star Appearance in 1981, following the great season in 1980 with another solid campaign in the strike shortened 1981 campaign. Following his time with Milwaukee, Thomas had a career renaissance for the Seattle Mariners in 1985, belting 32 homers as the team's primary DH.

Topps #555 Cecil Cooper - Cooper was Milwaukee's best hitter in 1980, finishing the season with a .352 Average. He had a team leading 219 hits, and led the AL with 122 RBI and 353 total bases. He finished 5th in the MVP vote. In '81 he would lead the AL in doubles, and again hit well as the team's first baseman. Cooper's career numbers may fall a little short, but it surprises me that he was not given more Hall of Fame consideration. He'd fit right in with guys like Garvey, Dave Parker, Tony Oliva, Mattingly, and Will Clark. Maybe he's worth another look by the veteran's committee the next time around. 

Well, we're getting close to the end of the list here, just a few more teams to go from each league from 1981. I plan on moving straight over to 1982 teams once these are done, will need to do a little re-organizing to be sure I've filled those pages up.   

rack 'em up

This past weekend I made it out to a local card show for the first time. This show takes place in a church/high school gymnasium, and is actually easier for me to get to compared to the monthly club show I usually attend. Jim from cards as i see them asked me if I was going to this one, and I probably would have missed it if not for his e-mail. I always just assumed that it was farther away than it actually is! The added bonus was that Jim had a stack of cards waiting for me when I arrived.

I am looking to find a team photo (card) for each year the Twins have been in existence. Didn't have this one from 1999 yet!

There were some fun parallels in the stack, including these green Bowmans.

Still building the bat rack frankenset - I don't know if there are enough bat rack cards to get to numbers #204, 393, or 421, but it's fun to be optimistic! Even if I never fill the gaps between these three cards, they are all more than welcome in the mini collection.

Some more parallels - hoping that Luis Arraez has a strong 2nd season! The first big signing this off-season for the Twins was giving Odorizzi the Qualifying Offer, so they will have him in the rotation for at least one more season.

It was an odd phrase to promote the 2018 season, but "THIS IS HOW WE BASEBALL" makes for a dramatic photo!

Saint Paul, MN represent! Also, I bought 2 boxes of Stadium Club and didn't get the Killebrew card, so I am very happy to not have to buy the single on COMC!

Jim was part of a couple box breaks earlier this year and had the Twins, and I am the lucky recipient of the sick hits! The Twins would have been in a very rough place the last two years if Jake Cave hadn't been there to fill in for all of the injured outfielders.

This card is super thick - like, Maximum thickness. You can tell it's a big card when the jersey swatches are out of focus on the scanner!

Jim, great as always to chat baseball and swap some cardboard. I am hoping my Dodger luck never fades!

1993 Topps Traded Set

Found a nice deal on a sealed 1993 Topps Traded Set, so today I am sharing some of the highlights with you! Mike Piazza was already an established star when this set was issued, even though he was still a rookie.

The 1993 Topps Set featured a 2nd player photo on the back, a flourish they hadn't tried in a long long time. But the pressure was on to keep up with Johnny Fleer and Joey Donruss and uh, Janey Upper Deck, so that means photos on both sides! I don't know if this a common issue with the traded set, or a symptom of being in a sealed box for so many years, but the ink on the backs looks a little runny to me.

Also - what's the deal? For the first time, the traded set was no longer in alphabetical order. Also ALSO, " IT - 132T ?" I? Weird.

Piazza was one of 6 Hall of Fame players in the set (with 2 or 3 more possibly to add later?). Boggs defected from Boston to the Yankees, where he would finally win a World Series, and get to ride a NYC Police horse after the clinching game. Andre Dawson went from the Cubs to Beantown, now towards the end of his magnificent career. Greg Maddux and Paul Molitor were thinking championship as well, and both would be rewarded by the end of their tenures with their new teams.

Now that Bowman has returned and the Prospect Machine was in full motion, finding quality rookies in the traded set was becoming more rare. The Team USA issue provided opportunities to add more young players to the set, and like Nomar in 1992, another Freshman made a splash in the new traded set.

The Team USA backs are a little different, so I figured I'd share those, too. Todd was quite the athlete!

The Twins representatives had nearly 20 seasons combined in the big leagues by the time the set came out - granted, they were all from Hall of Fame OF/1B/DH Dave Winfield. Todd Walker technically wasn't with the Twins organization yet, but he'd be drafted in the first round in 1994 by the Twins. David McCarty and Pat Meares were expected to take the reigns in the infield for Greg Gagne and Kent Hrbek. Meares ultimately did become the team's everyday SS, and McCarty had flashes of brilliance, but never really became the player to match the potential.

This group of guys might have a Hall of Famer or 3 in it, you can argue about which 3 they might be. Bonds had card #1T honors, all of these guys became key pieces of their team's success for the rest of the 1990s.

Lastly, here are a couple of my favorite photos from the set, and two guys that were appearing in familiar uniforms. The traded sets can be light on action and personality, but Boomer Wells listening to the national anthem and Erik Pappas sporting some gnarly hat hair. The Big Cat had a miserable 1993 in Saint Louis, playing in fewer than 100 games, and hitting just 10 homers. But Colorado would prove that he still had a few of those 9 lives remaining, and in fact would have the best years of his career. Kirk Gibson was returning to Detroit where he found his early post season success.

Gopher Cards? Required Learning!

Here in MN, the Golden Gophers have been about as fierce as they sound during my lifetime in baseball and football. But there was a period of time in the 70s when the University saw several outstanding athletes. Jim from cards as i see them sent over a mailer highlighted by some Hall of Fame locals.

Morris went to Brigham Young, but just like Winfield and Molitor, he spent his high school career in Saint Paul, MN.

Jim sent along several more Twins, including a snazzy metallic blue Ozzie Arcia rookie, numbered to just 250.

Hoping for a healthy and productive season for phenom Byron Buxton, and on the other end of the spectrum, Rick Stelmaszek was a fixture on the Twins' bench for 32 years - the longest tenure of any Twins coach. He was briefly a MLB catcher (his only career homer cam against HOFer Don Sutton), but made his mark in coaching, serving as bullpen coach and bench for 5 different Twins skippers.

The toast of the town in 1987 and 1988? Frank Viola!

Thanks again, Jim - I've always got an eye out for Dodgers for ya.

Spiderman and The Ignitor

Yes the World Series has begun, and yes, it's the top of the 11th inning, but there's Twins new to be had.

First the good news - Manager Paul Molitor was named the Sporting News AL Manager of the Year. The award is voted on by managers throughout the league, so it is a special honor for the rookie skipper.

Congratulations, Paulie! Well deserved, as the expectations were not too high coming into the year and you delivered.

Now the not so good news - Old Torii Two Eyes, Spiderman, winner of Gold Gloves and hitter of home runs, is retiring. Torii Hunter's Major League debut was to pinch run for Paul Molitor way back in 1997. Since then, he's hit 353 Home Runs. He's driven in 1,395 Runs, and scored 1,296. Winner of 9 Gold Gloves, Torii played in 4 All-Star games. Torii has been in the playoffs in 8 years, though his teams never made it to the World Series.

I know! I'm impressed too!

Some of the guys with similar numbers to Torii include Dave Parker, Chili Davis, Carlos Lee, Carlos Beltran, Luis Gonzalez, Dwight Evans, Joe Carter and Garret Anderson. All great players, but not quite Hall of Famers (maybe Beltran gets in). No shame in that - he'll get a few votes and might stick on the ballot for a few years, it will be nice to talk about what a great career he had. So, it is bittersweet, but congratulations to Torii on 19 excellent years in the big leagues.

All The Way from France (via Washington State)

 Kevin from The Card Papoy shops smart. He doesn't let an ocean come between trade partners, and this time around he let COMC do the mailing for him, ordering some trade pieces online and then shipping them direct rather than having them cross the Atlantic twice.

 Big swatch from a Kennys uniform. If he wasn't a giant, I would believe that the 49 cards could make one complete jersey. I really like the Immaculate Collection, they are doing a real nice job making up for the lack of a license.

 If you touch your right ear to your right shoulder, the patch looks a little like the French Flag! This is an awesome looking patch in person. You can't be upset about no license here, the tri-color patch is practically the whole logo. Both of these Kennys are new additions to my collection, and very welcome ones at that.

Paul is definitely in a Brewers uniform and Rod is definitely in an Angels Road jersey, but if Panini says "Minnesota" who am I to argue? I am very happy to see a card with these two guys together - it's a pairing of guys you wouldn't necessarily group together but actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Hall of Famers and 3,000 hit club members. Very Very cool.

Thanks so much Kevin, sending some stuff your way very soon!