#2T - Bill Almon

What a card: Bill Almon signed with the Pirates as a free agent on April 8, 1985, the first day of the baseball season.

How'd that go: It was Almon's return to the National League since playing for the Mets in 1980. He improved his numbers from 1984, but it also marked the end of his days as a full-time player.

Backatya: The only thing that changes on the card backs from the player's flagship card, other than the card number and the much brighter color, is the acquisition information in the vital stats.

Back to back:

The original card is No. 607, blogged on Dec. 14, 2016.

I enjoy the position change. Also, this is the third Bill Almon card in the 1985 flagship/traded set as he also appeared in the No. 1 draft picks subset. That's pretty impressive for a non-star player.

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

#1T - Don Aase

What a card: After six years with the Angels, Don Aase joined his third major league team by signing as a free agent with the Orioles in December 1984.

How'd that go: Quite well. Aase set then-career marks in appearances and saves in 1985 and won 10 games. He'd enjoy an even better season the following year and receive the only All-Star selection of his career.

Backatcha: This is the look of the Traded card backs. You can see it is much brighter than the flagship card backs because Topps used white card stock for the Traded set for the third straight year. I remember thinking the white stock looked cheap compared with the gray stock that I knew. But little did I know that it would become the wave of the future.

Back-to-back:

The original card is No. 86, blogged on Aug. 24, 2012.

Here is the first comparison of the Traded card with the flagship card. This is the part that awed me about Traded sets when they first became a regular thing in the early 1980s.

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

#792 - Darrell Evans

What a card: Darrell Evans struggled during his first season in the American League in 1984 after 16 seasons in the National League. He'd more than make up for it in 1985 though.

My observation on the front: That's a rare appearance by a pencil on a card. I didn't know that was there until I scanned the card.

More opinion from me: This is the last card in the set, but don't fret. We're not done yet!

Something you might know: Evans hit 40 home runs in 1985 at age 38, becoming the oldest player to lead the AL in home runs.

Something you might not know: One of Evans' nicknames was "UFO" because he claimed to spot an unidentified flying object while with his wife in 1982.

My observation on the back: This is the fourth year of a 792-card set for Topps. I remember the first year Topps went to 726 cards in 1978. It seemed out of hand then. I can't remember my reaction to the first 792-card set in 1982.

The blog want to speak now: Now that the main set is done, we're moving on to the Traded set. I'm not going to do as much research for the Traded set. If the player is new to the set -- meaning he didn't appear in the flagship set -- then I will write it up as I did all the cards in the flagship set. But if the player did appear in the flagship set, too, the post will be something sweet and simple, with a comparison of the two cards, because Traded cards really blew my mind back in the early '80s.

#791 - Ivan DeJesus

What a card: Ivan DeJesus enjoyed his last full-time season in the majors in 1984. He'd become a part-time player for St. Louis in 1985 and then spent much of the rest of his time in the pros in the minor leagues.

My observation on the front: A skinny man in baby blues choking up on the bat.

More opinion from me: DeJesus is part of the rare father-son combination in which both started out with the Dodgers. DeJesus Sr. began in L.A.'s organization in 1970 and Ivan DeJesus Jr. started with the Dodgers in 2005.

Something you might know:  DeJesus was part of the trade that brought Ryne Sandberg from the Phillies to the Cubs. DeJesus got the Cubs both Sandberg and Larry Bowa. The headline for the Chicago Tribune was rather dismissive of Sandberg.

Something you might not know: DeJesus is one of 12 players to obtain the "anti-triple crown," finishing last in the league in a single year in home runs, RBIs and batting average. He did so in 1981 with a .194 average, no home runs and 13 RBIs.

My observation on the back: It's interesting that this bio write-up was written before DeJesus Jr. was born. He arrived on May 1, 1987.

The blog wants to speak now: Got an early shift tomorrow, so I'll sit this one out.

#790 - Ron Guidry

What a card: Ron Guidry endured a down year in 1984, winning just 10 games and posting a 4.51 ERA after a 21-win season in 1983. He'd bounce back mightily in 1985 winning 22 games.

My observation on the front: Guidry looks much taller on this card than the 5-foot-11 that is his measurement on the back.

More opinion from me: I associate Guidry so much with the 1970s and his monster season in 1978 that I'm always surprised when I'm reminded that he pitched into the late '80s. My brain always thinks he was long gone by then.

Something you might know: Louisiana Lightning went 25-3 in 1978 with an ERA under 2 and everyone wanted his 1977 and 1978 Topps cards.

Something you might not know: Guidry played center field for the Yankees twice, once in the 9th inning of a late September game against the Blue Jays in 1979 and once for the final out of the resumption of the "pine-tar game" against the Royals in 1983. Yankees manager Billy Martin sent Guidry to center and Don Mattingly to second base to protest the decision to let George Brett's home run stand. Guidry has said that he always felt he could be a better center fielder than pitcher.

My observation on the back: I've heard about Guidry being a Yankee fan while growing up in Louisiana since I was a kid. I thought it was a fairy tale dreamed up by George Steinbrenner to talk up Guidry as a "true Yankee". I still don't know if I believe it.

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

#789 - Luis Salazar

What a card: After playing regularly for the Padres the previous three years, Luis Salazar was limited to part-time status in 1984, brought on by the acquisition of Graig Nettles at third base.

My observation on the front: Dugout cards are always tremendous. Salazar features the additional bonus of the bubble-letter Padres uniform and the flip-sunglasses.

More opinion from me: The Padres should always wear the bubble-letter jerseys. It won't make me like them any more but at least they'll be fun to view.

Something you might know: Salazar's acquisition by the Cubs at the end of August in 1989 helped boost Chicago to the NL East title as he hit .326 in his 25 games with Chicago in September. He also batted .368 in the NLCS against the Giants that year.

Something you might not know: Salazar lost his left eye seven years ago after he was struck in the face by a foul liner hit by the Braves' Brian McCann while watching a spring training game in the dugout. Salazar was removed from the game via ambulance but was back coaching a month later. This season he's the manager of the Braves' Florida State League team, the Florida Fire Frogs.

My observation on the back: Willie Wilson has been joined by Ichiro Suzuki (704 in 2004) as the only AL players to reach 700 at-bats. At the time, Wilson held the major league record with 705. That record was broken in 2007 by Jimmy Rollins with 716.

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

#788 - Steve Comer

What a card: Steve Comer had completed his major league career when this card was issued. The Indians released him in October of 1984. He spent the 1985 season with the Phillies organization in Triple A.

My observation on the front: The perfect example when I say that the 1985 set reverted back to the 1970s with some of its photo choices. Something like this would never fly in 1983 or 1984 Topps.

More opinion from me: Many of Comer's cards look the same. I like his 1983 Topps card because he's not standing like a statue.

Something you might know: Comer won a team-high 17 games for the Rangers in 1979, his second year in the majors. He threw more innings for Texas than anyone that year besides Fergie Jenkins.

Something you might not know: Comer is still the University of Minnesota's all-time leader in victories and complete games.

My observation on the back: Every time I see mention of Three Rivers Stadium I can hear former Pirates slugger and longtime Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner saying virtually every time the Mets played in Pittsburgh that the stadium was located "near the confluence of the Ohio, Allegeny and Monongahela rivers." I'm sure most of those times he mentioned it, I had no idea what "confluence" meant.

The blog wants to speak now: The Other Cards category is updated.

#787 - Jim Wohlford

What a card: Jim Wohlford posted a .300 batting average for the first time in the 13th of his 15 major league seasons in 1984.

My observation on the front: Expos. Red jerseys. Batting cage. You can't beat it.

More opinion from me: Wohlford comes out looking a lot better on this card than on this card.

Something you might know: Wohlford was a career backup outfielder for four teams, the Royals, Brewers, Giants and Expos.

Something you might not know: According to the book The Bronx Zoo, teammates would taunt Lou Piniella with Wohlford's name because it enraged him that the Royals traded him to the Yankees so manager Jack McKeon could play Wohlford.

My observation on the back: The Cowboy Cookie and Grub Company apparently still exists, although it's located in San Luis Obispo, which is just south of Atascadero. Wohlford, who became a financial planner, apparently is long gone from the place.

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

#786 - Enos Cabell

What a card: Enos Cabell batted over .300 for the second straight year in 1984. They were the only .300 seasons of his 15-year major league career.

My observation on the front: Cabell is sporting a large bandage on his right forearm.

More opinion from me: I vividly remember my baseball world being turned upside down by reading Bill James' Baseball Abstract publications in the early 1980s. I was shocked when James said that Cabell could not play baseball (it was contained in a rant about Sparky Anderson, which turned into a slam on Cabell). Man, I wish I still had those Abstracts.

Something you might know: Cabell was the starting third baseman for the 1980 Astros, the first Houston Astros team to make the postseason.

Something you might not know: James said that he met Cabell at a party not too long after he wrote those words about the player. James said Cabell was aware of what James wrote but was so cordial about it that James said he never wrote another negative word about him.

My observation on the back: The 1984 season was Cabell's last as a full-time player. He'd be caught up in the Pittsburgh drug scandal in 1985 and didn't play in the majors after 1986.

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

#785 - Tony Armas

What a card: Tony Armas enjoyed a career year in 1984, setting career highs in just about everything and blasting 43 home runs for the Red Sox.

My observation on the front: This kind of captures the thrill of the game that I felt as a youngster. The player stepping to the plate, looking to the first base coach, bat in hand. Add the old-school Boston road jersey and it's very awesome.

More opinion from me: Armas really liked to strike out and did not like to walk.

Something you might know: Armas' son, Tony Jr., pitched for several MLB teams, including the Expos, during the early 2000s.

Something you might not know: Armas was the first player from Venezuela to receive a million-dollar-a-year salary in the major leagues.

My observation on the back: Add Randy Johnson, Clemens, Blyleven, Seaver and Sutton to the list of those who have surpassed Walter Johnson.

The blog wants to speak now: The Dodgers have just thrown the first combined no-hitter in their epic pitching history. I'm going to celebrate instead of research.

#784 - Checklist, Cards 661-792

What a card: This is the last of the six checklists in the set.

My observation on the front: I like the little star next to each of the all-star cards. It's like a little emoji 25 years before anybody knew what that was.

More opinion from me: Nobody's convinced me that numbered checklists no longer belong in baseball card sets.

Something you might know: In Topps sets between 1973-1977, this checklist wouldn't exist because there were only 660 cards in the set.

Something you might not know: This is Tom Seaver's final time with a Topps card ending in a zero.

My observation on the back: Avert your eyes from the bottom right corner if you don't want to know the final eight players to receive posts on this set blog (prior to the traded set anyway).

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