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.   

I love the 80s : The 1981 San Diego Padres

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!

The Blog once again travels to Sunny California, here are the cards of the 1981 San Diego Padres. The Padres finished 6th in the NL West in 1980, and did not fare much better in 1981. They managed to slump in the first half with a pre-strike record ten games below .500, only to fall even further after the break with an 18 - 36 record to close the season. 

You might be tempted to ask- how could the Padres have such a tough time with 3 Hall of Famers on their roster? Well, those three - Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, and Rollie Fingers - were playing at a Hall of Fame level. Winfield led the team in homers and RBI in 1980, and was top 10 in the NL in several offensive categories, and also was a Gold Glove winner in the outfield. He would leave San Diego for the New York Yankees beginning with the 1981 season. Ozzie Smith did not hit for average with Padres, but he did actually reach base at a respectable clip given his contact struggles. Once on base, he terrorized opposing defenses, stealing  57 bags in 1980, and 22 in the strike shortened 81 Season. Smith would also win his first of 13 straight Gold Gloves at SS in 1980. Rollie Fingers was a tremendous closer on a team that did not have many leads.

The Cards:
Topps #254 Ozzie Smith - The Wizard of Oz was brilliant again for the Padres in 1980, with speed on the basepaths and sterling defense up the middle. In 1981, Smith led the NL in games, at bats, plate appearances. On defense, he was the NL leader in Range Factor, fielding pct., and assists. He is the All-time MLB leader in defensive WAR among shortstops.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his 1st year of eligibility with 91.7% of the vote.

Topps #72 Barry Evans - There were fewer cards for the Padres than for any other MLB team in 1981, so the pickings were slim. Most of the Topps photos of the hitters were shot from the first base camera well. Evans is swinging hard, but it looks like he might have just rolled over on one. Evans was a utility infielder for San Diego in 1980 and 1981. His batting average climbed nearly 100 points from 80 to 81. In 1979, he refused a demotion to the minors by announcing that he was retiring from baseball to play pro tennis. 

Topps #370 Dave Winfield -  Winfield's San Diego career ended in 1980, after peaking in 1979. He finished 3rd in the NL MVP vote, trailing the co-winners Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell. He was the NL leader in RBI, Total bases, intentional walks and OPS+. His free agency move to New York proved to be a mixed blessing - while he was a perennial All-Star and went from last place to a World Series team, Winfield had a tumultuous relationship with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. 

Donruss #121 Dave Cash - The 3-time All-Star concluded his MLB career in 1980 with the Padres, hitting just .227 as the team's everyday second baseman. He was a instrumental part of the late 70s Phillies teams, and led the NL in base hits in 1975. He was also the 1970 Topps All-Star Rookie at 2B during his tenure with the Pirates.  

Donruss #2 Rollie Fingers - Fingers converted 23 of 29 save chances in 1980, and sported a 2.80 ERA. He would be traded to Saint Louis, then flipped to Milwaukee before the 1981 season, where he would continue to dominate the back end of games. Fingers led the AL in saves in 1981 with the Brewers with a miniscule 1.04 ERA. 

Donruss #1 Ozzie Smith - The famous knock on Ozzie Smith was that he was all glove and no hit. It is true that he did not hit well early in his career, but he did work and refine and improve as a hitter over the years. His average as a Padre was just .233, but as a Cardinal he hit .272. Add in his clutch post-season homer in the NLCS, and you get a more forgiving story.

Fleer #494 Jerry Mumphrey - The 1980 everyday Center Fielder for the Padres joined Dave Winfield in New York, coming to the Yankees in a a big trade. Mumphrey hit .298 and stole 52 bases in 1980 for the Padres, having come to them via trade that off-season from Cleveland. Mumphrey was traded 5 times between December 1979 and 1985, finally landing in Chicago with the Cubs for 3 seasons. He would make the NL All-Star squad in 1984 as a member of the Houston Astros. 

Fleer Star Stickers #17 Gene Richards - So, Mumphrey stole 52 bases, Ozzie stole 57 . . . and neither one led the team that year. Instead, it was Gene Richards, who swiped 61. He was also the only regular Padres hitter to crack .300 on the season. In 1981 he stole 20 more bags, and led the NL in triples with 12. He'd finish his big league career in 1984 with a season in San Francisco.

Fleer #499 Barry Evans - Evans would also move to the Yankees to join Winfield, arriving a year later. Evans would accept a minor league assignment this time, and would spend a few years in the Yankees, then the Cleveland minor league system. Evans is shown here, possibly wishing he stuck with tennis?  

Any requests for the next team to cover? 

Highly Subjective Definition of "Vintage" with Completely Arbitrary Collation

Ok, what do you consider to be "vintage" baseball cards? Pre-war/pre-Topps? 1960s/70s? 1995? I was curious about Rollie Fingers' definition of vintage when he put his name on this box in 2004, promising "7 Vintage Cards Per Pack."

A Brief Video Interlude of the first 2 packs...

This was an impulse purchase - I wanted to bust open some packs and I was looking at a wall of uninspiring 80's and early 90's offerings when I spotted this box all alone for $10. 

This is a typical pack - there's no vintage there, at least based on most accepted definitions. I would say "vintage" should be 15 - 20 years old, at least. Technically 2003 to 1983 works, but to me that should be the most recent card. The definition of vintage today is generally 1979 or older-- the offerings from the 1980's and 1990's are rarely placed in vintage bins or boxes at card shows.

The "vintage" definition aside, after opening a few packs, patterns began to emerge.

It was borderline comical! P.S. there were no Rollie Fingers cards in the box, though he was still in the league in the early 80's.

Ha, joke's on you, Rollie! Technically those two shades of red on the '91 Topps logo represent variations! So you didn't give me 6 identical Tom Glavines, instead there were 3 each of the two variations. Don't know if it counts, but half of the Kent Hrbeks had printing smears on the front, the other half did not...

The oldest card in the whole box? 1980 Topps Hosken Powell. The newest? 1995 Pacific Omar Olivares. 1995?!?! Less than 10 years old when it was placed in the box. C'mon, man!

The best thing in the box was in the very first pack (I'm thinking this is by design?) - a 1983 Starline Sticker of Mickey Mantle. You can find a copy on COMC for around $5, so I can say that I spent $5 to get this sticker, and I paid another $5 for some very elaborate packing material.