What a card: Mickey Hatcher receives a rather nice card coming off his best statistical season in the major leagues. In 1984, Hatcher played in nearly 40 more games than he would in any other season. He compiled 174 hits, 35 doubles and a .302 batting average.
My observation on the front: I love the close-up view, Hatcher choking up on the bat, and the off-center positioning of the batter. Unfortunately, this card also displays a drawback of the '85 set -- off-center/miscut cards. I purchased the whole set at the start of the 1985 collecting season and there are several cards in the set that are off-center like this.
More opinion from me: Hatcher played exactly one game at third base in 1984. One. The rest of his time was in the outfield or at designated hitter.
Something you might know: Hatcher was known as a wacky prankster, the man with the giant glove, and a clutch guy off the bench who hit two home runs in the 1988 World Series for the Dodgers, despite having hit only one during the regular season. He is a longtime Angels coach.
Something you might not know: When Hatcher was a prospect in the Dodgers organization, he was considered the eventual third base replacement for my favorite player Ron Cey. But his fielding wasn't up to par, and -- with the exception of Adrian Beltre -- the Dodgers are still looking for Cey's suitable replacement.
My observation on the back: Misaligned stats -- as with Hatcher's 1983 and 1984 seasons -- drove me nuts when I was young.
The blog wants to speak now: The first Other Cards category entry should be up by the end of the day.
4 comments:
You touched on a pet peeve of mine...incorrect positions on the card front. It makes me wonder what they used to determine what pos they listed. I imagine two older guys in an office as they put card design together...
"Hey Frank, what position does Mickey Hatcher play?"
"Well George, I think Hatcher is a thirdbaseman, he plays some outfield too...better hyphenate that one..."
Big glove? Did someone say BIG glove? http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5595706218/
Grrr, these new blogger capchta's are driving me nuts this past week. I keep getting them wrong.
Choking up is an understatement - he's got 6 inches of lumber underneath that grip...
You never see guys choke up like that anymore...unless it's in a domestic incident. That may be the lamest trivia question ever.
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