#177 John Ellis
John played in parts of 13 major league seasons, with his best years coming as a Cleveland Indian. By 1981, he was finishing up his career in Texas.
#554 All-Star Carlton Fisk
In his first season wearing his new Sox, Carlton Fisk earned his eighth All-Star appearance. He didn’t just sneak in because of his reputation like some guys who weren’t having very good years in ’81. Carlton Fisk was an asset to the pitching staff and a deterrent to base thieves when he was behind the [...]
#11 Gary Alexander
Gar Alexander’s one of those mystery players in this set. Guys that, I just don’t know whatever happened to them. All I know is that the Pirates “asked waivers on Gary Alexander for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release”. The way that’s worded, sounds like they were doing the man a favor. What [...]
#381 Boston Red Sox Future Stars
Boston actually had a shot at a playoff spot in ’81 until an ugly 8th inning in Cleveland on October 2nd tore that dream to shreds. When the following season started, they were seen as a mediocre team just trying to hang in there with Milwaukee, Detroit, Baltimore, and New York. The only reason the [...]
#469 Ed Ott
When I was a kid, I was always fascinated with Ed Ott’s name. It’s not just short, it’s different. Both parts of his name end with a sudden jolt of stop. In hindsight it’s very appropriate, considering that his career was suddenly cut short.
#384 Keith Moreland
For a long time, this guy was the only player with last name “Moreland”.
#111 Carlton Fisk in Action!
Epic.
#401 Johnny Bench in Action!
Arguably the best catcher in history was winding down his career by 1982, but what a career it was! MVP’s, World Championships, All-Star games, and a variety of records to hold. This card is also awesome because it actually has just enough detail for us to figure out what game this might’ve been.
#615 Bob Boone
Bought from Philadelphia for $300,000 in late ’81, Bob Boone became a very important part of the why the Angels won the AL West in ’82.
#429 John Wathan
August 24, 1982, John Wathan stole 3rd base in a game against the Rangers, to break the single season steals record for catchers.
#368 Alex Trevino
Alex Trevino was traded to the Reds just before the season, then hit awful for the year but managed to hit his 1st major league HR and hit well against the best team in the majors. Did you know there’s a stat mistake on the back of this card?
#171 San Francisco Giants Future Stars
The Chili Davis rookie card, yep…. but could there be anyone older looking than Bob Brenly to appear on a “future stars” card? Who in the world is Bob Tufts? The Giants AAA team was loaded with future major leaguers and these are the ones picked for this card? Heh
#730 Gary Carter
Ok, so you probably know a lot about Gary Carter already, but you probably don’t know that he might’ve won the NL MVP in ’82 if the Expos played more games on grass…
# Minnesota Twins Future Stars
By 1982, the Minnesota Twins had to look to the future. The previous season was their worst since 1957 and if that wasn’t worrisome enough, they started ’82 going 15-52. The franchise had been crumbling slowly since 1975 and had to rebuild using the draft.
# Dave Roberts
Dave Roberts was drafted by the Padres about 4 years after he was drafted by the Padres. If that ain’t weird enough for you, Dave Roberts played his first big league game on the same day he was drafted, and 3 weeks later, he hit a ball pitched by Dave Roberts. Dave Roberts was traded to the Astros before he was in the big leagues, and even later he was traded from the Padres to the Astros without ever being on the Padres a 2nd time. What’s all this nonsense about?