I Love The 80s - 1982 Cincinnati Reds

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!

" . . .  by 1982 the Reds dynasty lay in ruins" -- Anthony Giacalone

"Bards of Cincinnati now prefer the Big Dead Machine" - Bob Kravitz 8/1/1982

1981 saw the Reds very nearly make the post season - they probably should have. They had a better record than both NL play-off teams, but due to the rules set following the strike, they were shut out. They were a half game behind the Dodgers in the first half, and 1.5 games behind Houston in the second half. After finishing with a first place record but still missing the post season, the wheels fell off. 

1982 was the worst performance by a Cincinnati Reds team in franchise history. For a team that keeps records back to 1876, that is saying a lot. So, what went wrong? The team had already adjusted to losing Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and Tony Perez to free agency, but the Big Red Machine was just missing too many parts by 1982.v Before the season started, George Foster and Ken Griffey would also depart, leaving the team scrambling to fill their lineup. To make matters worse, their Hall of Fame Ace was having the worst season of his MLB career. 

The Cards:
Donruss #538 Mike O'Berry - The search for "the next Johnny Bench" began in earnest in 1981 when the Reds added Mike O'Berry. At the very least, O'Berry could provide superior defense to give Bench more rest. Despite his defensive chops behind the plate, he was never really able to master hitting at the MLB level. His career MLB batting average was just .191. O'Berry had a successful run as a minor league manager, winning a championship in the Appalachian League in 1992 with the Orioles. 

Fleer #57 Johnny Bench - The 1968 Rookie of the year, and 2 time League MVP, Johnny Bench was nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career in 1982. he caught 100 or more games for 13 consecutive seasons until the strike shortened 1981. Transitioned from catching to play 3rd Base for the Reds in 1982, Bench still had 13 homers good for 2nd best on the team. His 10 gold gloves as a catcher didn't translate exactly to the hot corner, where he had 19 errors, 5th most in the NL. Bench was one of the first players to have a "farewell tour" announcing his retirement before the end of the 1983 season. Though he was no longer the same player, he was definitely still Johnny Bench, which Cincinnati fans would not soon forget.

Topps #620 Ken Griffey - The outfielders of the Big Red Machine didn't necessarily get the same star treatment as the infield, but they were no less essential to the great Reds teams of the 1970s. In 1976, it was Griffey that hit .336/.401/.450 with 34 stolen bases, and scored 111 runs. He finished 8th in the MVP balloting that year. He had his 3rd All-Star season in 1980, hitting 28 doubles, 10 triples, and 13 homers to go along with 23 steals. In 1981, Griffey hit .311 as the Reds' everyday center fielder. Griffey would be traded following the 1981 season to the Yankees.

Topps #31 Tom Seaver - If you have Tom Seaver at the top of your rotation, what could go wrong? In 1982, just about everything. The 5 time NL stikeout king managed just 62 Ks in 111 innings for the Reds in '82. He would see his ERA climb by more than 3 runs and by any objective measure, the season was a disaster. What made it more shocking was that it came after a season in which he led the NL in victories and finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting to Fernando Valenzuela's historic season. Seaver of course had already won 3 Cy Young awards, and would have a renaissance season with the White Sox in 1985, but his 1982 season was a perfect example of the disaster that befell the Reds organization as a whole this year.

Fleer #630 "Big Red Machine" - George Foster was now with the Mets, Dan Driessen and Concepcion however were still trying to make the Machine hum. Driessen was still just 30 years old and primarily played 1st base for the Reds in 1982. He was the team leader in homers. Driessen was usually not the big power guy like Perez and Bench, and he didn't hit for average, but he did draw a fair number of walks and was tough to strike out. In '82 he had just 64 strikeouts in 606 plate appearances. He would be moving along as well, traded to the Expos in 1984. 

Donruss #421 Dave Concepcion - Though known more for his glove than his bat, the 9 time All-Star Concepcion won his 2nd consecutive Silver Slugger award as a short stop in 1982. He also had a special day during the 1982 All-Star game, hitting the decisive 2 run homer. Concepcion played 2,488 games for the Reds, and earned 5 Gold gloves. His batting similarity scores compares him favorably to Hall of Famers Alan Trammell, Pee Wee Reese, Bobby Wallace, and his hero- fellow Venezuelan Luis Aparicio. 

Donruss #273 George Foster - In 1981, Foster finished 3rd in the MVP race, Seaver was 2nd in the Cy Young Voting, and the team finished in 1st place. In 1982, Seaver had a terrible season, and Foster didn't play a single game for the Reds. It's no wonder the season was a disappointment. Foster did play in 1982, of course, but as a New York Met. While it wasn't his best year, he would find his footing and had several more productive seasons in New York. Foster was the 1977 NL MVP with 52 Homers and 149 RBI. He led the league in those categories and runs scored (124) and total bases (388) and slugging (.631). He was the All-Star MVP in 1976. 

Topps #97 Paul Moskau - Like many of the players on this page, Moskau was playing for a different team in 1982. He was traded to the Orioles before the '82 season, but actually played for the Pirates that year after being selected on waivers. Moskau was a spot starter for the Reds in the late 70s, then used in the bullpen in the 80s. Moskau was part of the "Little Red Wagon" Eugene Emeralds minor league championship team in 1975 while the major league Big Red Machine was in its heyday. Moskau gave an interview for Haught Corner in 2018.

 Fleer #67 Ken Griffey - I just liked this card - it's like Griffey is floating in mid-air with the blue sky and fluffy clouds in the background. Just like Concepcion and Foster, Griffey was an All-Star MVP as a Red. For Griffey, the game was 1980, going 2-3 with a homer as a reserve behind Dave Kingman. Griffey would go on to hit a home run back to back with his son, the "other" Ken Griffey, in 1991. He and his son have the most career hits of any father son duo in MLB history. While he did not win a Gold Glove, he was known as an excellent defender, and compares similarly to hitters Melky Cabrera, Amos Otis, Carney Lansford and Keith Hernandez.  

Junior Senior - The 1989 Topps Traded Set

The 1989 Topps Traded Set has some of the more iconic cards in the Traded series of the 80s - and with the exception of the Ripken Rookie, the Ken Griffey, Jr Rookie is at the top of that list. I mean, it´s not even his most easily recognizable rookie card, but this was the card to chase from this set. He was already considered a candidate for all-time greatness, and he did not disappoint.

He wasn´t the only Hall of Fame player in the set - in fact, he wasn´t even the only Mariners Rookie Hall of Fame player! Rickey returns to Oakland, back where he made the biggest impact and where he would again bring greatness and glory to the Bay Area. Eddie Murray and Bert Blyleven both came home to Southern California- with Murray joining the Dodgers and Blyleven heading to the California Angels.

One more Hall of Fame homecoming - Texas born fireballer Nolan Ryan makes his last move and comes to the Texas Rangers.

Pretty good. Doesn´t even have a column for all the no-hitters, but they are still in there mixed in with those 55 shutouts.

Rookies! Omar Vizquel is still getting some Hall of Fame buzz, which I can see from a certain point of view, but right now I feel like there are still more than 10 candidates on the ballot I would rather have inducted first... Tom Gordon has an awesome delivery - he gets so low to the ground and just drives to the plate. Deion Sanders is an NFL Hall of Famer, and he had an eventful MLB career as well -- He played in parts of 9 MLB seasons, missing parts of the regular season for NFL responsibilities. He led the NL in Triples in 1992, even though he only played in 97 games. He also excelled in ¨Prime Time¨ hitting .533 with 5 stolen bases and 4 runs scored in the 1992 World Series against the Blue Jays. Which Kenny Rogers would you say is more famous? The pitcher, or the country singer?

3 Twins in the Traded Set - these guys were all added to the team in hopes that they would rebound from bad/sub-par seasons or breakout to their prospect glory... Long story short, that didn´t happen.

Some of my favorites from the set - I always think of Franco as a Ranger, even though he played seemingly everywhere else. A great candid shot of Bip Roberts, not really sure how he ended up in the Traded set again, he was already a rookie in the 1986 traded set... but that´s cool. Nothing wrong with more Bip! Steve Sax as a Yankee always makes me think of that Simpsons episode. ¨You don´t know when to keep your mouth shut, do you Saxy Boy?¨ I wonder if Jeffrey Leonard was a trendsetter for Griffey.. Hey, it´s Kent Tekulve´s birthday today! Happy 72nd, Kent!

Oh, maaaaan. Nice pinstripes.