Alvis Woods looks kinda scary in this photo. That expression, with a baseball bat over his shoulder. I feel like I’m going to get beat up if he catches me looking at him. So I’ll say something nice….
On April 7, 1977, Alvis Woods swung at the first pitch he saw from the White Sox Francisco Barrios, and drove it over the outfield fnece at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, and that’s how his major league career began.
He never developed into the star player that at-bat seemed to suggest he might become, but he was a regular on the Blue Jays from 1977-1982. His best season was clearly 1980, when he smacked 15 HR’s and 47 RBI’s, while batting .300/.364/.480 over 109 games.
The highlight of his ’82 season would arguably be the September 5th game in Cleveland. The Blue Jays snuck out a victory 6-5, largely due to Alvis’s 3 for 4 day, driving in half the Jays runs.
And that’s true for Alvis. After ’82, he disappeared from the majors until 1986, when he suddenly shows up in 32 plate appearances for the Twins. This is what puzzles me most though. In those 32 PA’s, he hits really well — .321/.375/.571, but never gets another shot.
Of course, if the best thing Topps can think of saying about you on the back of your baseball card is that you are the career leader in a category for a team who’s only existed for 5 seasons, your career is probably just about over.
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Great blog. I bought the complete set that year instead of collecting from packs — the cards went into a binder and stashed on a shelf. I’m actually looking at these cards for the first time through this blog. Keep up the good work!
I just did a small post on some ’82s I found.
82 was the first year I had cards from as a kid and most of mine are damaged in a fantastic manner.
Are all yours in mint condition?
Glad you’re enjoying it Matt! I’m trying to show how every single card is more interesting than meets the eye. Some of the stuff I say, is stuff I already knew, but some stuff… wow, I’m learning new stuff as I research these cards & players.
Hey Sharpe, nice blog. All these cards I’m scanning are mint, yeah. I bought the whole set on eBay in September. I gave away my original set of ’82 Topps in 1990. I know, that sounds sacreligious LOL
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