Friday, February 23, 2018

#758 - Ray Burris


What a card: In 1984, Ray Burris enjoyed one of his more productive pitching seasons since his days with the Cubs in the late 1970s. The A's took advantage of that by trading him to the Brewers after the season for Don Sutton.

My observation on the front: Burris' beard was a late development in his career. It didn't show up until his 1984 cards. (And then, oddly, it disappears from his 1986 Topps Brewers card, even though his '86 Fleer and Donruss cards show him with a beard).

More opinion from me: I like everything about this card, except for all the blasted printing air bubbles on it.

Something you might know: The high point of Burris' career is likely the 1981 NLCS when he pitched for the Expos. He won Game 2, throwing a shutout and outpitching Fernando Valenzuela, and then allowed only one run in eight innings in the decisive Game 5, exiting with the game tied 1-1. Rick Monday would break the tie with a home run off of the Expos' Steve Rogers an inning later.

Something you might not know: Burris grew up in a family of sharecroppers in Oklahoma. Among his duties as a youngster was milking cows, pulling cotton, churning butter, slaughtering pigs and wringing chicken necks.


My observation on the back: Majoring in Recreational Leadership sounds kind of fun.

The blog wants to speak now: The Pop Culture tab is updated.

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