My First Cards

Dickie Thon was a rising star in 1982, part of a group of young shortstops who could field AND hit. He might’ve gone on to the Hall of Fame if not for a nasty beaning in early ’84 that changed his career forever.

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The leadoff hitter for the AL Champion Milwaukee Brewers, Paul Molitor had his first great season in ’82 on his way to a Hall of Fame career while scoring a career best 136 runs.

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At the beginning of ’82, nobody viewed the Yankees as a team in need of talent. They either had it, or could buy it when they needed it. Of course, history tells us that ’82 was the start of the Yankees playoff drought and time for some rebuilding of the franchise during some dark years.

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Manny Trillo’s another one of the best cards in the set, as this also has 3 All-Stars in it (one of them being a Hall of Famer). How cool is that? Manny was one of the best gloves in his day, but he can sympathize with Bill Buckner …or laugh at him.

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After nine years with the Pirates, Rennie Stennett left as a free agent to play in San Francisco. He experienced being part of two World Championship teams while in Pittsburgh. He’d been pretty good with the Pirates in 1970 and 1977 but was otherwise not a very good hitter. For his career, he got on [...]

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Doesn’t he look like he was standing in his stance, but then he noticed something down towards 2nd base, and so he slooped to peer at it like he’s trying to look through the pitchers legs? Crazy stance. Beyond that, this card had just enough detail to help me figure out what game was being played when the photo was shot.

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Aviles was a man who’d lived a dream by playing for the 1980 World Series Champion Phillies, even if it was just as a backup role. When I looked further into this player, I found he had some surprising statistics and a nephew playing in the major leagues 20 years after himself. I love this card, as the photo really captures a part of what the game is all about.

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Heading into 1982, he was a solid pinch hitter during his career and was often used as a utility man. Then, suddenly, Lee Lacy became a real tough out and a good clutch hitter. Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner noticed this and Lacy played in more games than he had in any other season.

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