My First Cards

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.

Read the rest of the entry.

To me, this is one of the worst cards in the whole set. Mark Belanger, known for his glove for a generation, and this card shows him…standing at the plate. Sad. Although, he got a hit in his final career PA. He wasn’t even an Oriole anymore, by the time ’82 began.

Read the rest of the entry.

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.

Read the rest of the entry.

The Jeff Schneider rookie card is the most valuable card of the whole ’82 Topps set. This is my least favorite card in the entire set, because I just don’t think any of these players should’ve been on this particular card. Seriously, I’d put 3 different guys on here.

Read the rest of the entry.

The first of a trio of related cards, Rick Burleson was a star shortstop entering the ’82 season, having already been an All-Star 4 times and just won his first silver slugger award. But an injury during the April 17, 1982 game, would change his career forever.

Read the rest of the entry.

The Memorable Mario Mendoza was infamous for being unable to get a hit or even draw a walk, and his major league career finished in May ’82 after 9 seasons. Little does anyone know though, that his career ended with great irony, thanks to a smart and daring manager, against a legendary closer.

Read the rest of the entry.

I love this card. Mark Wagner looks so deep in thought, perhaps thinking about how he’s going to hit this pitcher or how he’s going to make up for a misplayed ball when he was playing short. He looks like he’s talking to himself in his head. It’s another one of those classic baseball player moments. A quiet moment in the head of a man in the middle of a not so quiet place and time.

Read the rest of the entry.

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.

Read the rest of the entry.

Who was Dave Rosello? I don’t remember having this card when I was a kid, but I must’ve, ’cause I had all the cards. First thing I notice is that he looks a little like he was trying to be a 1970′s ladies man, and his stats didn’t surprise me.

Read the rest of the entry.

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.

Read the rest of the entry.