Retro Jays Cards

Craig Kusick, 1980 Topps, #693 In my latest piece over at Back...

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:01:03 -0400

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...

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:41:04 -0400

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...

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:31:30 -0400

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...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:10:00 -0400

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...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:19:52 -0400

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...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:23:12 -0400

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...

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:15:12 -0400

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...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:12:31 -0400

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...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:49:15 -0400

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,...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:50:03 -0400

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.

Devon White, 1993 Studio, #60 Oh man, this one hurts. I could...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:22:29 -0500

Devon White, 1993 Studio, #60

Oh man, this one hurts. I could dance around it, but let’s just pull the band-aid off quickly.

“Favorite sports announcer is Chris Berman”

Ugh. Dammit Devo.

Really? Berman?!?!? This guy? Maybe he just really likes satin jackets.

Kill your idols everyone.

Mark Eichhorn, 1988 Topps Big, #208 This past weekend as...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:41:00 -0500

Mark Eichhorn, 1988 Topps Big, #208

This past weekend as Sportsnet was rebroadcasting the second game of the 1993 World Series, one player started to suddenly flood my twitter feed.

“Mark Eichhorn on for the Jays. Further evidence that the 1993 Jays were the best.” - @TaoofStieb

“I had forgotten how wonky Mark Eichhorn’s pitching delivery was. His follow through takes him to third base….literally.” - @GrubersMullet

“Mark Eichhorn. Man I miss that guy.” - @BlueJaysBatBoy

Apparently a brief Mark Eichhorn sighting can stir up feelings many Jays fans had forgotten. So in the immortal words of Diamond Joe Quimby “Very well. If that is the way the winds are blowing, let no one say I don’t also blow.“

This is Mark Eichhorn’s 1988 Topps Big card. I will take a moment to delve into card nerdiness before getting back to Eichhorn. Topps Big is weird. Like, really weird. For three years in the late 80’s and early 90’s Topps produced this stand alone series, which were just slightly larger than typical baseball cards (12% larger actually). Why? I have no earthly idea. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s Topps played around with different sizes of card as if that was some great market ineffieciency, but ultimately all were mostly forgettable novelties. The Big series featured a player headshot next to an action shot and on the back were a series of (possibly racist?) cartoons depicting details of the player’s career and personal life.

So let’s go through the three cartoons for Eichhorn.

Mark was Blue Jays’ 1986 Rookie of the Year- He was incredible in 1986. Not only was he the Jays Rookie of the Year but he finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in the Cy Young race. Eichhorn was the type of “super reliever” many baseball analysts, and myself, would love to see back in the game. In 69 games he threw 157 innings of side arm magic with a 1.72 ERA and WHIP below 1.00. According to Baseball Reference he was worth a staggering 7.1 wins above replacement (“Only” 5.3 by Fangraphs) and according to this card he apparently “earned his wings.” Sure.

He is an Accomplished Impressionist- I don’t know about accomplished, but he certainly was known for his impressions. A 1995 Baltimore Sun article listed these as his top 5 impressions:

1. Popeye.

2. The Cowardly Lion.

3. Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias.

4. The Wicked Witch of the West.

5. John Wayne.

… wow. I want a video of Mark Eichhorn doing both parts of “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” and I want it now. But despite the cartoon there does not appear to be a Groucho Marx.

His Brother, Dave, Pitches in Dodger System- Dave never made the big leagues despite seven years in the Dodgers and Astros minor league systems. Originally, Dave was drafted by the Blue Jays.

So there is a journey through the life of Mark Eichhorn via some terrible cartoons on the back of a weird novelty card. On a final note, I am a little worried about Mark these days. He appears to be involved in some kind of sketchy financial advice program and based on this video I am really worried he has dragged Kelly Gruber into a pyramid scheme.

Dave Stewart, 1994 Pinnacle, #374 “Hey guys, how does it...

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:10:00 -0500

Dave Stewart, 1994 Pinnacle, #374

“Hey guys, how does it look?”

…

No Dave Stewart. No.

John Olerud Hitting Machine, 1994 Fleer Ultra, #8 of 10 The...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:28:15 -0500

John Olerud Hitting Machine, 1994 Fleer Ultra, #8 of 10

The first thing everyone raves about is the swing. John Olerud just might have the prettiest swing in baseball. It is fluid, it is effortless and there is no sense of panic in his eyes or his hands as his bat slides through the strike zone. Olerud simply waits, sees the ball and then strokes it. Beautiful.

That is from a Jack Curry New York Times piece in 1993 and throughout John Olerud’s career there have been plenty more like it. His swing has become something of a legend in the minds of baseball fans in Toronto and around the league, so much so that his history as a prospect pitcher in the organization seems to have been forgotten.

A 1989 Baseball America piece by Jim Callis is a fascinating look back at Olerud as a two way prospect. After an extensive college career as both a hitter and a pitcher, Olerud signed with the Jays in August of 1989 and was a September call up a few weeks later. In fact, he never spent any time in the team’s minor league system so the Jays had to make the decision on his usage pretty quickly. Much of the article is on Olerud’s well documented health issues, but there is some really interesting analysis of John Olerud as a pitcher.

Much of the language in the article bears a striking similarity to the Curry quote above

Soon he takes the mound to throw to outfielder Mark “Hard-Hittin’ ” Whiten. He coordinates his entire 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame in a beautiful motion, as smooth as butter, tossing strike after strike.

But the most interesting quotes are found towards the end of the article as the Jays contemplate his ultimate role with the team.

Whether Olerud concentrates on hitting or pitching, or becomes the first player to do both on a regular basis since Babe Ruth in 1919, depends on what Toronto wants. Blue Jays instructors think he has the skills to play two ways.

Gene Tenace says Olerud the hitter reminds him a little of George Brett.

“Brett uses the whole field and has a lot of natural ability and great mechanics. You just don’t see that in young hitters. (Olerud) has good poise, and he’s very selective. That’s what you teach young kids, and he’s already got it.”

Tenace says Olerud could hit in the major leagues today. As a pitcher, he’s a little farther off.

“He might need to quicken his slider a little bit,” Mel Queen says, “and get his fastball a little more sink. But he’s thrown batting practice three times, like he’s a 10-year pro in the big leagues. Nothing but strikes.

“He throws in the mid-80s, so he’s not overpowering. He’s a control-type pitcher. Everyone looks for the 90-mile-an-hour pitchers they like to have, but you look at major league staffs and most of those guys throw in the mid-80s. His fastball has enough velocity for him to pitch in the big leagues.”

Olerud, rightly, concludes the article saying he believes the team ultimately sees him as a hitter and that is his preference. And the team clearly saw the benefit in getting him on the roster and getting major league value right away. But the prospect of hitting machine John Olerud as a combination position player and pitcher is a fun idea to look back on. I recommend everyone give the article a read.

Joey McLaughlin, 1982 Fleer, #620 I miss the days when baseball...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:47:56 -0500

Joey McLaughlin, 1982 Fleer, #620

I miss the days when baseball had players that looked like Joey McLaughlin. Those were truly the good old days.

Tom Henke All Star, 1988 Topps, #396 Another request. This one...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:37:31 -0500

Tom Henke All Star, 1988 Topps, #396

Another request. This one came into the mailbox anonymously.

Do you have that hilariously bad Tom Henke card?

In most cases if you are looking for a specific card you are going to have to give me more than that…but not in this case. There is only one Tom Henke card that can earn that description.

Tom Henke’s 1988 Topps All Star card is infamous for featuring one of the worst portrait photos ever taken of a baseball player. There is a reason you never got too many photos of the man with a full smile.

This horrible card has been celebrated far and wide as among the worst of all time.

It made the Acid Cow list of the 30 worst cards of all time (which was weirdly picked up by media across North America and spread by celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel). An article in the UK’s Daily Mail said “his unflattering picture does little to back up his ‘Terminator’ nickname given to him for being the most dominant and feared closers during the late 1980s and early 1990s.”

The card made the Ugly Baseball Card blog, the (wonderful) blog Baseball Card Bust and was listed in a Bleacher Report* slideshow of the 50 Ugliest Baseball Card Photos Ever with the caption “When Tom Henke makes the All-Star team, he smiles. So maybe we don’t name him to anymore All-Star teams…”

* Yes, I linked to a Bleacher Report slideshow. No, I don’t feel good about it.

Basically, it is widely regarded as the worst Blue Jays card ever produced. Which, in my opinion, makes it amazing and a personal favourite. So thank you to whoever anonymously requested this gem.

Roberto Alomar, 1992 Pinnacle, #586 Happy birthday to Roberto...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:03:03 -0500

Roberto Alomar, 1992 Pinnacle, #586

Happy birthday to Roberto Alomar.

One of the sweetest parts of Roberto’s Hall of Fame induction last year was seeing the emotion from his father. It has been great to see not only Roberto working with kids at the recent team camps, but Sandy as well.

So happy birthday Robbie and as a birthday present I hope everyone sends this clip to Dennis Eckersley today (@Eck43 on twitter).

Roy Lee Jackson, 1984 Fleer, #158 Over at Back In Blue I took a...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:25:00 -0500

Roy Lee Jackson, 1984 Fleer, #158

Over at Back In Blue I took a look at a fun challenge from The Hardball Times surrounding this card. Check it out here.

Jesse Barfield Canadian Greats, 1986 Leaf, #254 More...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:06:30 -0500

Jesse Barfield Canadian Greats, 1986 Leaf, #254

More requests.

This one came in from Scott who has started up his own home on tumblr for vintage Blue Jays items. I full recommend you check out his site at http://randomjaysstuff.tumblr.com/ and follow him on twitter @randomjaysstuff.

Scott wanted to see more of Jesse Barfield, his favourite all-time Blue Jay.

So here is noted baseball artist Dick Perez’s portrait of Jesse Barfield, complete with confused/pained/uncomfortable facial expression. Do we really need the “Canadian Greats” graphic for a guy born and raised in Illinois? Must we make sure to puke branded national pride over anything connected to pro sports in this country?

I’ll stop because I have another soapbox to climb on.

Now I love Jesse Barfield, I really do. And I understand that former players have been put in something of a difficult situation by the PED era and the public outcry that followed. They are caught in a difficult position of having to balance their legacies, the public image of their friends and teammates and the struggle to have their voices sound credible. Especially for a player like Jesse whose power numbers will always be underappreciated as they came right before home runs began spiking throughout the 1990’s. I understand the temptation to try and celebrate your accomplishments by distinguishing yourself as a “clean” player.

But don’t do stuff like this (From the London Free Press a year ago):

Since Barfield is so familiar with strong arms he thinks it’s a giveaway to which players are on performance enhancing drugs. The giveaway is not when an outfielder suddenly develops a rocket arm. It’s when someone with a rocket arm suddenly can’t throw.

“When you look at guys, you have a pretty good idea of whether they are on something or not. It’s not natural to have muscles growing out of your neck like this,” Barfield said, holding his hands on his neck in a big circle.

Barfield said outfielders using PED’s build up their muscles so much around their shoulders, they can’t throw.

“They can’t get the arm up over the top because of how the muscles are built up,” he said. “It’s not natural. Guys who could throw, suddenly can’t throw.”

Stop feeding the already incredibly uninformed debate on PED’s, their effects, player motivation, etc. Every player who says something along the lines of “I can tell when a player is using…” is being deliberately misleading or is simply woefully misinformed. This is a remarkably nuanced and complex issue and every time someone weighs in with something like this it only serves to spread misinformation and fuel empty rhetoric.

This is not meant to single out Jesse as some particularly egregious offender on the PED debate. He’s not. But the nature of my site format means someone has to be the face of this rant, so it ends up being him. I will climb down off my soapbox now.

Mark Bomback, 1982 Donruss, #559 I’ve been rather negligent...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:30:49 -0500

Mark Bomback, 1982 Donruss, #559

I’ve been rather negligent lately and let requests pile up so I will try and clear a bunch out over the next couple of weeks.

First, I wanted to revisit a list sent to me some time ago from @The_Elevator man. He sent me a list of seven random players and I only chose one. I felt it was worth grabbing at least one more from the list and with opening day fast approaching I thought junkballer Mark “Bomber” Bomback made sense.

For some insane reason Mark Bomback was the opening day starter for the Blue Jays in 1982. I have to believe Bobby Cox made the decision based solely on quality of hair, because that is one luscious mane.

Jim Clancy and Dave Stieb were passed up for the honour of throwing out the first pitch for the Jays in favour of a pitcher coming off a 1981 season where he only made 11 starts and posted a league average ERA. Though as the card says, only two Jays pitchers had records of.500 or better so what can you do? But, it was not as if Mark Bomback was the definition of confidence in 1981. Here he is after picking up his first win as a Blue Jay, and first in the American League, in April of 1981:

“It was to my advantage today in that the Tigers didn’t know who I was or anything. It might stay that way one time around the league. Then they’ll get wise to me and know what to expect.”

That’s the spirit.

I guess by 1982 the league knew what to expect because right from the start of opening day he got smacked around. He threw just 1/3 of an inning to the Brewers giving up six runs on the way to the Jays being clubbed 15-4. My favourite quote from the Milwaukee Sentinel story on the beatdown?

Every starter but Jim Gantner had at least one hit and one run batted in. “Somebody had to make the outs,” straight-faced the Brewers second baseman, “or we’d still be out there.”

Ouch. And it wasn’t until July 30 of that season that Exhibition Stadium began serving beer, so that game had to be absolute torture for fans.

Bomback kept getting shelled throughout 1982 prompting the Daily Union in Junction City Kansas to break out this clever(?) bit of wordplay after a rare Bomback strong performance against the Royals.

It was getting to the point where the first four letters of Mark Bomback’s last name comprised an apt description of his pitching performance this season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Some real witty wordplay going on in Junction City.

Partway through the 1982 season the Jays pulled the plug on Bomback and his career came to an end. But he will always have a place in Blue Jays history as the most out of place name on the Blue Jays list of opening day starters.