#51 Chicago Cubs Future Stars
Whoever designed this card, had to be a perfectionist. Everybody’s facing the same direction like they’re some kind of singing group in the middle of a synchronized dance step.
#436 Joe Strain
Joe Strain finished his major league career on June 2, 1981 as a pinch hitter. Scoring a run was the last thing he did in the show. He spent the next two and a half seasons in AAA before retiring and becoming an excellent minor league manager for the rest of the 1980′s.
#215 Mike Krukow
Mike Krukow won just 9 games in 1981. The Phillies knew he could be better, so they traded for him and Mike won 13 games and lowered his ERA by a full run, also earning over 3 WAR for the 1st time in his career.
#452 Lee Smith
Current Hall of Fame candidate Lee Smith’s rookie card, from his breakout season of 1982. A top quality reliever in his time who saved 478 games, but doesn’t quite look like a Hall of Famer when you compare his ERA to his peers.
#33 Jerry Morales
Not the best player in any card collection, but he managed to last 15 seasons, playing for 5 teams, and earned a trip to the All-Star game in 1977. Digging a little into his stats and his 1982 season, is actually rather interesting. Like any major leaguer who stuck around a while, Jerry Morales had his moments.