Wednesday, April 2, 2014

#278 - The 1980 No. 1 Draft Pick - Darryl Strawberry


What a card: This card recalls the Mets' selection of Darryl Strawberry as the No. 1 pick in the 1980 MLB draft. He was the only real star to be drafted in the first round, with No. 10 pick Kelly Gruber ranking a distant second.

My observation on the front: This is Topps' first posed shot of Strawberry, which makes it seem more like a Donruss or Fleer card from that time. Topps was totally into the action shot at that point in the '80s.

More opinion from me: I'm wondering if Strawberry is the reason this subset was created in the first place. Strawberry was huge among collectors then and it was the perfect excuse to get another Strawberry card in the set.

Something you might know: Strawberry hit the Mets' pro ranks as an 18-year-old. At age 21, he made the big-time and was NL Rookie of the Year for the Mets in 1983.

Something you might not know: Strawberry's big brother, Michael, was also drafted in 1980, by the Dodgers in the 31st round. He played two years in the low minors for L.A.


My observation on the back: I'm positive the competition Strawberry faced in high school was much more intense than it is where I live. But our best high school players hit like .700 in a season, so .400 doesn't look that impressive to me.

The blog wants to speak now: The News category is updated.

2 comments:

steelehere said...

Daryl's high school team, LA Crenshaw High School, lost the Los Angeles City Title one year to a team whose starting pitcher was John Elway.

Unknown said...

Is this card worth a dime