Retro Jays Cards

Craig Kusick, 1980 Topps, #693

In my latest piece over at Back in Blue I look back on an afternoon in August of 1979, when Craig Kusick became something of a baseball oddity.

I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope you check it out. Read “When Mongo Faced Rod Carew” here.

Shawn Green, 1992 Topps Stadium Club, #67

When I was 18, I spent the summer working at a local butcher shop in Burlington, Ontario called “Ernie’s Meat Market.” I would make sausage, grind beef, and clean bloody dishes and butcher tables until my hands were raw. It was actually a decent job and I enjoyed it.

When Shawn Green was 18 he spent his summer doing clerical work for a local construction company in Tustin, California and negotiating what would ultimately be one of the largest draft bonuses in MLB history.

Green got $725,000. I got a free sandwich on my breaks.

The fresh faced, pipe cleaner armed high school youngster pictured on this card was something of a California high school legend at Tustin High School. His 147 hits tied the California Interscholastic Federation record and he was also a first team selection to USA Today’s High School All Star team in 1991. So when the Jays selected him 16th overall, they knew they would have to pay him to keep the straight A student from accepting a scholarship to Stanford. They initially offered $400,000 and went into a negotiating standoff before finally caving and helping the young man come damn close to his first million dollars. Ultimately Green delivered on the contract and became one of the top prospects in all of baseball, peaking at #6 on Baseball America’s list after the 1994 season where he hit .344/.401/.510 for Syracuse in AAA.

Incidentally, Tustin High School has a track record for producing professional athletes. Current Arizona reliever (and punching bag for all who want to comment on the dangers of overpaying “proven closers”) Heath Bell and former Cubs first baseman and current inmate Mark Grace were both products of the Tustin baseball program. A number of NFL players including DeShaun Foster, Sam Baker, Chris Chester, Matt McCoy and the incredibly named Frostee Rucker also attended Tustin High. The school’s drama program should also be proud as both Cuba Gooding Jr. and someone named Amberlina Lynn (who is apparently a star of the adult cinema) were once students.

John Mayberry/John Castino/Jim Palmer, 1981 Topps Scratch-Off Baseball, #’s 15, 33 and 50.

In the early 1980’s the world of baseball cards changed pretty drastically. Anti-trust court rulings had put an end to Topps’ reign as the exclusive manufacturer of MLB cards and upstart companies like Fleer and Donruss were rushing to get into a booming market. Topps had a long history of experimenting with gimmick and novelty products, but in the face of actual competition they stepped up efforts to set themselves apart and change the way people thought about baseball cards. They tried different sizes, stickers and “3D” or motion cards but none really found an audience.

They also tried to launch a playable card game that resembled a lottery ticket, where kids and collectors could assemble their own teams and compete against friends. Likely heavily influenced by Strat-O-Matic baseball, which launched in the early 1960’s, Topps was trying to turn card collecting into a more social and interactive experience.

1981’s Topps Scratch-Off Baseball never really caught on and the product only ran the one year.

The rules were pretty simple (as you can maybe read in the fine print on the back). Each pack had nine American League players and nine National League players (plus gum, of course), on three player sheets like the one pictured above. So all you needed was one pack to play. You separated the cards from the sheet and made a lineup. Position didn’t matter so pitchers like Jim Palmer on this card would slot in just like any position player and you could have a whole team of first basemen if you wanted.

You would choose a “home” team and an “away” team and each player would take turns scratching a dot off the card as they went through their order. Each time the player on the card “came to bat”, you would scratch a dot to uncover a single, double, triple, home run, ground out, strike out or fly out. Runners would move accordingly and the inning would keep going until you had three outs. On the back of the middle cards in the sheet was a Scoreboard for keeping score. As far as I can tell no player had any unique or different attributes like more home runs for known power hitters, etc., so the actual player on the card was kind of meaningless.

Kind of a fun idea and one I can actually imagine playing with my brothers if it were around when I was a kid.

Jayson Werth, 2002 Bowman, #158

One of the reasons I love baseball so much is the way it allows a kind of fandom that can be spread across the sport, without diluting the passion. For example, in addition to being a Blue Jays fan I am also a Reds fan. While the creeping grip of interleague play continues to make the American League/ National League distinction increasingly fuzzy, I am able to enjoy both teams without worrying about the potential impact on the other or go through the conflicted emotions involved with yearly battles between the two.

But more than teams, the nature of baseball allows me to embrace players for their greatness and their quirks. They are out there virtually every night, not hidden behind large padding and facemasks. They are not flying around in a brief 45 second shift before hiding from view on the bench. They stand on the field for great lengths of time and allow you to stare and embrace or reject their performances and personalities as players (or their lack thereof).

All this to say- I love me some Jayson Werth. I love that I witnessed a journey that went from this awkward looking Orioles catching prospect, to this majestic, hirsute wonder.

I am well aware of his faults on the field, and that his contract is among the worst in the game, but Jayson Werth is a player whose story appeals to me and whose willingness to show some personality is part of what I love about baseball. The eras of Jayson Werth’s career can be classified by team, and sum up the gamut of frustrations faced by up-and-coming ballplayers.

Orioles Jayson Werth: Drafted in the first round in 1997 as a catcher out of a baseball playing family (we all remember his uncle Dick Schofield, right Jays fans?) and the hype and promise that comes with being a top pick begins. But minor league disappointment that came from never really developing any power and questions about defensive mechanics led to the Orioles pulling the plug in 2000. Traded to the Jays for John Bale. The burden of potential and the creeping pace of catcher development. To quote John Sickels on Werth at the time- “I dropped his rating to Grade C, and was concerned that this was a serious case of Young Catcher Stagnation Syndrome.”

Blue Jays Jayson Werth: The promise of the young player returns. The bat begins to come alive and his prospect status returns. But the wall of positional blocking appears in the form of Josh Phelps. Phelps at the time was a highly touted prospect (who himself would eventually move off of catcher) and the Jays begin to look at Werth and see diminishing returns and injury issues behind the plate. Keith Law was in the Jays front office at the time of this decision and broke it down in one of his chats.

Klaw  (1:07 PM)

Actually it was one of the first decisions JP made after I got there. I pointed out that players as tall as Werth did not last, health-wise as catchers, and that Werth’s speed made him a good candidate to move to CF. We also discovered that he already had damage in one of his knees and that he might not be able to last the season behind the plate. So while you’re right about Werth’s production, I don’t think catching was ever in the cards for him. His knees blew out even though we moved him.

The change started off a little rocky.

In his first game at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex in Clearwater, Fla., Werth lost sight of a fly ball and stood motionless as it banged off the fence behind him. When he looked imploringly toward the infield, he saw his teammate, second base prospect Orlando Hudson, “rolling on the ground” with laughter.

But he picks it up quickly and begins to climb the Jays prospect ranks. Third on Baseball America’s org list in 2002. Second in 2003. It is all coming together and manager at the time Carlos Tosca says he represents part of the future of the team. But the wall of positional blocking is back again. This time Simon Pond. The 1 HR in 56 PA’s and a .236 wOBA Simon Pond. Yup, that Simon Pond. Not to mention Gabe Gross and some guy named Alex Rios. So out the door again, this time to the Dodgers for Jays legend Jason Frasor, the sausage king himself.

Dodgers Jayson Werth: Welcomed with open arms by the Dodgers and performs well down the stretch in 2004. “He has meant an awful lot to our team,” Dodgers manager Jim Tracy says. “Not only in the run to win our division but also … for our ballclub in the future. He is a special player, in my mind. He’s a five-tool player.”

But then, the injuries start to pile up. An AJ Burnett fastball to the wrist and a series of medical misdiagnoses lead to the Dodgers letting him head off to free agency and an entire season missed in 2006. The physical barriers appear to be derailing his career.

Phillies Jayson Werth: Kaboom. 2007- 3.1 WAR. 2008- 4.9. 2009- 4.8. 2010- 4.9. A World Series title, an all-star appearance and two years receiving MVP votes. Redemption.

Nationals Jayson Werth: Get paid, son. $126 million. Here come the expectations. Unfortunately, there go the results. A middling 2011 and an injury filled 2012 set up this season. He’s on a Washington Nationals team among the favourites to win it all and part of the core of a deep lineup.

And he comes to the plate to the theme from Game of Thrones.

A career arc not yet finished, but filled with all types of twists, turns and roadblocks of most “late bloomer” careers.

That was a lot of words to say “I love his beard”, wasn’t it?

Pat Hentgen, 1998 Fleer Tradition, #101

I sense frustration among the Blue Jays fanbase. 2-4 is not the start many were looking for and we are already seeing the dreaded “real fan vs. bandwagon” backlash rearing its head.

But I want to be a uniter. Someone who brings peace to the land. So here is Pat Hentgen with a moustache, drinking some All Sport. If that little piece of heaven above Pat’s lip can’t bring a smile to your face, well, then the season is already lost.

You’re welcome.

Paul Molitor Home Field Advantage, 1994 Upper Deck, #294

It has been a while since you could describe the atmosphere at Blue Jays games as a “Home Field Advantage.” The card may have Paul Molitor on it, but it is really a tribute to the incredible atmosphere in the Skydome twenty years ago.

Tonight, there will be close to 50,000 fans at the stadium and, hopefully, it won’t be the last time this year. Let’s make the Rogers Centre a place other teams hate to visit. Be loud, but (to use a terribly worn cliché) act like you’ve been there before. Don’t be the drunken idiot who ruins things for someone else.

Otherwise, let’s get back our home field advantage this year. Enjoy the season.

Go Jays.

SkyDome, 1992 Donruss Triple Play, #1

I wrote a post over at Back in Blue on the changes in store for fans this year at Jays games. Please check out A Fond Farewell to a Deserted Dome.

Chuck Hartenstein, 1977 Topps, #416

I recently finished reading Dan Epstein’s awesome book “Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging 70’s.” As someone born in the early 80’s, I missed out on baseball in the 1970’s, something that makes me a little sad when I read in Epstein’s book “…in those categories that continue to defy statisticians – weirdness, hairiness, overall funkiness, and sheer amusement – the 1970’s still tower over every other baseball decade before or since.”

But when I dream of baseball in the 1970’s (and I do…often) I see Chuck Hartenstein. To be specific, I see this exact photo of Chuck Hartenstein. The sideburns. The hair. The glasses. The hint of a double chin. If this photo doesn’t scream overall funkiness then the term has lost all meaning.

Chuck Hartenstein is a great illustration of just how bad the inaugural Toronto Blue Jays were. You see the 54-107 record and you think you understand, but when you have to buy the contract of a 34 year old player who hadn’t pitched in the majors in six seasons, you begin to get the picture.

Hartenstein pitched in the majors for the Cubs, Pirates, Cardinals and Red Sox in the mid to late 1960’s before spending six seasons in AAA for the Red Sox, White Sox, Giants and Padres. When the Blue Jays were looking to fill out their roster for the 1977 season, Hartenstein got one last moment in the sun. The Jays bought his contract from the Padres and he threw 27 relief innings, giving up 22 runs (20 earned) and was eventually shown the door at the end of July.

But he will always have this card and its incredible photo to preserve his Blue Jays legacy. Kudos to Topps for a somewhat passable painted on logo. They have had mixed results on the old 70’s cards and this one is not a complete train wreck.

Bonus- if you ever wondered where Angels (also NPBN’s Taiheiyo Club Lions) outfielder Winston Llenas’ parents got the inspiration for his name Topps has provided a handy cartoon to inform and entertain.

Roy Halladay Studio Stars, 2004 Donruss Studio, #SS-43

You all want to bury him, huh? You all want to talk about how his velocity has dropped. Or how he seems to be labouring on the mound. Or how he isn’t getting any younger and has had shoulder and back issues. Keep shovelling dirt on his casket. He will rise and smite his enemies. He will grind the doubters under his cleats and smile…well, OK not smile. Let’s not get ridiculous. But he will indulge the world with a look of vague bemusement. Then immediately revert back to a killing stare and start running laps.

Sorry, got a little off track. (Love you forever Roy. I will never stop believing.)

Since I did a Chris Carpenter post the other day it only made sense to follow it up with his fishing buddy and soul mate Roy Halladay. If you read this blog regularly, you know I have a thing for insane attempts at creativity in card design that go horribly astray. For example this.

The first piece I did for Back in Blue was on the bizarre 1995 Studio series which was made to resemble credit cards. Consider this something of a sequel. In 2004 Donruss Studio did a series of “Studio Stars” insert cards that were made out of plastic, had rounded corners and were made to look like a drivers license. I have no idea why they thought this was a good idea, but you have to admire their, I don’t know, ambition? Maybe? 

The commitment to some of the minor details is particularly remarkable. For example, the decision to take the photo (complete with grey government-mugshot-style backdrop) and just drop it over half of the American League logo as if it was an old fashioned laminate style license. I’m a little disappointed they didn’t carry the theme all the way through the card. The back of the card is pretty typical. The 1995 series I mentioned earlier went all in with the credit card theme, complete with fake metallic swipe stripe and “anti-fraud” markings below the signature. If you are going to go with this level of weirdness with a card don’t half-ass it.

Chris Carpenter, 1998 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice, #122

From earlier today in the St.Louis Post-Dispatch:

Asked if he sees a way back to the ballpark as a player, Carpenter did not sound hopeful.

“I do (want to keep playing),” Carpenter said. “I don’t think I can.”

So here we are. When Chris Carpenter announced that he was done for the season, I still held on to some hope that one day he would be on the mound again. But that hope is fading quickly.

Outside of fictional, and often delusional, trade proposals there are few questions that have been trotted out by fans more than the dependable, “what if…”

What if Player A had not gotten injured last year? What if we had drafted Player B instead of Player C? What if (insert any trade) never happened? And on and on we go, further down the seemingly endless rabbit hole of speculation and revisionist history. While every decision and outcome can certainly be re-evaluated with the benefit of hindsight, every team has a few “what ifs” that seem to never die.

Teams with long, rich histories are littered with them. The Red Sox and the Ruth trade, or the role of Ted Williams military service. The Yankees with Mantle’s injury or Lou Gehrig’s health issues. The Cubs and…well, pretty much everything.

Not all teams have that depth of material to draw from. For the Blue Jays, start playing the “what if” game and Chris Carpenter’s name comes up quickly. Bring up Carpenter’s 2002 departure in a group of Jays fans and it won’t take long before someone wonders what could have been. And with his career seemingly coming to a close, it seems like the question “what if” will always be a part of Carpenter’s legacy.

Drafted in the first round of the 1993 draft (the infamous A-Rod draft), Carpenter was one half of the supposed future of Blue Jays pitching. Along with good friend Roy Halladay, the two were supposed to be the heart of a competitive young rotation and sat #1 and #2 atop Baseball America’s prospect rankings for the team in 1997.

But then the injuries began to mount and even when he was healthy, Carpenter never could quite put it together. 1998 and parts of 1999 saw a pitcher with promise who was refining his craft and showing progress. Some time on the DL and an early shut-down in 1999 were concerning, but his disastrous 2000 made many begin to doubt his future. Then came 2001 and renewed hope. His best Jays season yet with a 112 ERA+, and most importantly, more than 215 innings pitched.

Then 2002. Just…ugh. In the course of one season Carpenter went from the team’s Opening Day starter, to essentially being shown the door via a minor league offer from the team. I will forever think of Carpenter when I hear the word “labrum.”

You all know this. I don’t have to detail it. But I did. Because I am cruel. Here’s more cruelty: 

In six seasons with Toronto- 6.4 WAR. In eight seasons with the Cardinals- 26.4. (Baseball Reference)

St. Louis showed faith in Carpenter and were rewarded with a Cy Young season in 2005, a World Series title in 2006 and another in 2011. If he wasn’t already forever linked with Halladay his epic 2011 Game 5 NLDS duel with Doc sealed the deal. But the DL was never too far away from Carpenter and now we are left to consider his legacy.

Toronto’s decision after 2002 was understandable, and possibly even advisable. And there is no way anyone can reasonably argue the success he had in St. Louis could have been replicated had he stayed with the Blue Jays. But the “what if” of the St. Louis era Carpenter and the glory years of Halladay will always be a sports bar staple in Toronto.

So here is a card featuring a summary of Carpenter’s first ever big league start in 1997. It was a different kind of “what if” question we asked back then.