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.
Lee May’s another player who finished his career in ’82. He’d played 18 years, and is probably most famous for hitting a ball in the 1970 World Series to Brooks Robinson.
The 1981 Red Sox had four future Hall of Famers on the team, but none of them graced the cover of this 1982 card. They weren’t a bad team at 59-49, but they failed to grab a division title in either half of the split season. The BoSox were a team in transition back then, in between World Series appearances.
It’s not hard to argue that Otto “The Swatto” Velez, is one of the best Blue Jays ever. Through 2009, He has the 5th highest OPS+ in Blue Jays history for players with at least 1,500 PA’s. His .372 OBP ranks him 6th in Blue Jays history. In fact, from 1976-1981, he had the 17th [...]