#690 Dave Kingman
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the 1982 National League home run leader, Dave Kingman…
#140 Ron LeFlore
1982 was the season Ron LeFlore went from being the reformed felon baseball star, to unwanted trouble…in a hurry.
#47 Jeff Leonard
Jeff Leonard was a cast off from Houston, who helped the Giants nearly capture the NL West in 1982 as they fell short by just 2 games. I suspect they would’ve won it, if Jeff didn’t miss 82 games due to a hand injury early in the season.
#195 Paul Molitor
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.
#134 Dan Ford
“Disco Dan” Ford was traded to the Orioles in January ’82 and proceeded to have the worst season of his career up to that point. Very disappointing to Baltimore fans, since Dan was hailed as a star slugger who’d be the bulk of the offense.
#322 Gary Hancock
Is Gary Hancock standing there disgusted with you and turning his nose up like a bratty rich sissy, or is he lookin’ off daydreaming of having a better career? Considering he only played 11 games in ’82, he’s probably daydreaming…
#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.
#341 All-Star Andre Dawson
This is Andre Dawson’s 1st All-Star card. At the break in ’81, Dawson’s OBP was .380 and he was slugging .598! Definitely deserved his spot on the team. His career stats show he didn’t get on base that often all the time, but he was very clutch.
#363 Bob Molinaro
Bob Molinaro doin’ his impression of the White Sox logo, used the power of the ‘stache to hit better with RISP than when nobody was on. Too bad 52% of his plate appearances (mostly as a PH) came with nobody on base.
#3 Tim Raines Sets The Rookie Steals Record
This is the only ’81 highlight card that celebrates an entire season, not a specific event. Tim Raines had an awesome rookie season to set fire to a great career that was, in some ways, better than many Hall of Famers. Don’t believe me? Read on.
#124 Reid Nichols
Reid Nichols was 23, and trying to break into the Boston outfield when they already had Rice and Evans. Tough to do in ’82. He made the most of it, especially after June 9th.
#126 Atlanta Braves Team Leaders
Is it just me or does Claudell Washington look kinda goofy here? Rick Mahler looks like a perfect fit for a southern team with that shave. I’ve always imagined he’s in the middle of telling about a fish he caught earlier.
#60 Tony Armas
One of the best cards in the set. Great photo, that shows 3 All-Stars on one card. Not only did Tony Armas have a great card in ’82 but he also had some great perfomances on the field that season, including a record setting defensive game in Toronto
#434 Joe Lefebvre
The ups and downs of Joe Lefebvre. He had some wide split stats, and I’m not even sure why the Padres left him in the majors so long in ’82. By the way, we know who the other 2 players in this card are, and approximately what game this is.
#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