Monday, April 29, 2019

#124T - John Tudor


What a card: John Tudor was traded to the Cardinals in a deal with the Pirates on Dec. 12, 1984. The Pirates sent Tudor and Brian Harper to St. Louis for outfielder George Hendrick and a minor leaguer.

How'd that go: Stellar ... until the World Series. Tudor went 21-8 with a 1.93 ERA and 10 shutouts in 1985 for the Cardinals, finishing second in the Cy Young Award voting. He started Game 7 of the World Series that year, but failed spectacularly in an 11-0 defeat to the Royals.


Backatya: As an upstate New York guy I hoped that Tudor did some of his high school pitching in Schenectady. But he went to high school in Peabody, Mass.


Back-to-back: The blurry-hand effect on the Traded card is very '70s/'80s. But it is definitely more interesting (aside from the Pirates pillbox hat) than the flagship card, which is No. 214 in the set and was originally blogged on Sept. 17, 2013.

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

Friday, April 26, 2019

#123T - Alex Trevino


What a card: Alex Trevino arrived with the Giants on April 17, 1985 in a trade with the Braves, who received catcher John Rabb in exchange.

How'd that go: Trevino batted just .217 in 57 games with the Giants. He was dealt to the Dodgers after the season as he continued to tour what was then the NL West. Between 1984-88, he played for the Reds, Braves, Giants, Dodgers and Astros -- everyone except the Padres in that division.


Backatya: Trevino was signed out of the Mexican League. Major League Baseball recently ended a brief ban on transactions with the Mexican League, enacted in 2018, by signing a new agreement in March.


Back-to-back: The flagship Braves card is more interesting. It was originally blogged on Jan. 24, 2018.

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

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

#122T - Rich Thompson


What a card: This is the 30th rookie card in the 1985 Topps Traded set. Rich Thompson pitched in 57 games for the Indians in 1985, his first year in the major leagues.

My observation on the front: Thompson appears to be quite pleased he's made it to the majors.

More opinion from me: Thompson is one of the players in the 1986 Topps set that convinced me that I no longer knew as much about major league baseball as I once did. Thompson's '86 Topps card is quite memorable, yet the only thing I could focus on is that I had no idea who he was.

Something you might know: Thompson's rookie season was his busiest. Even though he posted a 6.30 ERA that year, the last-place Indians kept putting him out there. He wouldn't return to the majors until 1989 when he was with the Expos.

Something you might not know: After his playing career, Thompson became a lawyer.


My observation on the back: I've never described my baseball card collection as "a fine collection." I wonder what a "fine collection" looks like and whether he still has it.

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

Monday, April 22, 2019

#121T - Derrel Thomas


What a card: Derrel Thomas was purchased by the Phillies on May 15, 1985 after playing for both the Expos and the Angels in 1984. (Interestingly, he was purchased from the Miami Marlins, who were a Class A team in the Florida State League at the time and had signed several former major leaguers as the basement-dwelling club attempted to attract fans).

How'd that go: Thomas, known for being a super-sub, appeared in 63 games with just 92 at-bats in 1985, batting a mere .207. That was the end of his major league career.


Backatya: Derrel Thomas wore No. 18 while with the Phillies. No. 30 was worn by infielder Steve Jeltz and No. 3 was worn by pitching coach Claude Osteen.


Back-to-back: As mentioned on the post for Derrel Thomas' flagship card, which is No. 448 in the set and was blogged on Sept. 3, 2015, there is a no Angels card for Thomas. He played 14 games for the Angels between his stay with the Expos and the Phillies.

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

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

#120T - Mickey Tettleton


What a card: This is the 29th rookie card in the 1985 Topps Traded set. Tettleton played in 78 games for the A's in 1985, but the future power-hitter hit just three home runs in 211 at-bats.

My observation on the front: That appears to be the back of a scoreboard in the background of the photo. You don't see that a lot on cards.

More opinion from me: It's just now occurring to me that if this design was made today, the "A's" would be spelled out as "ATHLETICS" and how terrible that would look.

Something you might know: Tettleton was fond of Fruit Loops cereal and his food choice became so popular that fans would send him boxes of the cereal to sign.

Something you might not know: Tettleton once held the record for most strikeouts in a season by a switch hitter with 160 in 1990. That record is now 217, set just last year by the White Sox's Yoan Moncada.


My observation on the back: Tettleton was named after Mickey Mantle. Both are Oklahoma natives. Maybe pick a Mantle trivia question?

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

Monday, April 15, 2019

#119T - Walt Terrell


What a card: Walt Terrell arrived with the team that won the World Series two months prior in a trade that sent third baseman Howard Johnson from the Tigers to the Mets on Dec. 7, 1984.

How'd that go: Terrell would post double-figure wins for the Tigers for three straight years between 1985-87.


Backatya: You can see why the Mets called up Terrell from Tidewater in 1983 -- 10 wins in 12 starts.



Back-to-back: The color scheme is essentially reversed for Terrell's traded and flagship cards.

The flagship card is No. 287 in the set and was originally blogged on April 29, 2014.

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

Friday, April 12, 2019

#118T - Tom Tellmann


What a card: Tom Tellmann was signed as a free agent by the Oakland A's on April 11, 1985, two weeks after being released by the Brewers.

How'd that go: Tellmann's MLB career ended in 1985 with just 11 games pitched for Oakland and a 5.06 ERA. In fact, I'm a bit surprised Topps made a Traded card of Tellmann as he didn't have an appearance for the A's in '85 beyond June 2.


Backatya: Fernando Valenzuela tied the rookie shutout record set by Ewell Russell of the 1913 Chicago White Sox. Valenzuela's feat is all the more amazing considering he accomplished it during a strike-shortened season.


Back-to-back: You be the judge: Tellmann's Traded card is better because that hairstyle is best viewed at a distance or Tellmann's flagship card is better because of the mustache significance.

The flagship card is No. 112 in the set and was originally blogged on Nov. 8, 2012.

The blog wants to speak now: How about that? The last post I didn't know when I'd get back to this blog and now I post on the regular pattern! I don't know if I'll keep this up though. We'll see.

Also on the good side, I caught my spelling mistakes on Tellmann's name on the original post.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

#117T - Kent Tekulve


What a card: Kent Tekulve parted with the Pirates when Pittsburgh traded him to Philadelphia for pitcher Al Holland and a minor leaguer on April 20, 1985.

How'd that go: Tekulve enjoyed four more years of successful relieving with the Phillies, although the save rate went way down.


Backatya: Tekulve completed his career with the Reds, which was his hometown team.


Back-to-back: Two Kent Tekulve cards back-to-back is a whole lot of fun.

I prefer the flagship card (No. 125 in the set and originally blogged on Dec. 17, 2012), but the traded one is cool, too. That's a nice look at old Veterans Stadium with the Marlboro sign in the distance.

The blog wants to speak now: Unfortunately, this blog will be taking a break for a little bit. I'm not sure how long. Could be a few days, could be a couple weeks. But we'll get back at it for the grand finish.

Monday, April 8, 2019

#116T - Don Sutton


What a card: Don Sutton was dealt to the A's in a trade on Dec. 7, 1984. The Brewers sent Sutton to Oakland for pitcher Ray Burris and a player to be named, minor-leaguer Ed Myers.

How'd that go: In Sutton's only season for Oakland in 1985, he won in double figures (again) at 13-8 and pitched closed to 200 innings (again). He was traded to the Angels in September of that year.


Backatya: You can tell by Sutton's birthdate that he pitched for Oakland when he was 40. He did pretty well for himself in his early 40s.


Back-to-back: Two candid shots in what may or may not be the same ballpark.

The flagship card is No. 729 in the set and was originally blogged on Nov. 28, 2017.

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

Friday, April 5, 2019

#115T - Bruce Sutter


What a card: Bruce Sutter signed as a free agent with the Braves on Dec. 7, 1984, cashing his chips after setting the National League record (and tying the overall record) for saves in a season with 45 with the Cardinals.

How'd that go: Sutter started off OK for the Braves in '85 but the team was far from the Cardinals at that time and he managed just half of the save total he had in St. Louis with 23 and the ERA ballooned to 4. After that injuries took their toll and Sutter was never the same as he was with the Cubs and Cardinals.


Backatya: Pretty impressive that Sutter never pitched in fewer than 48 games in a season up to this point.


Back-to-back: The Sutter Traded card is the fourth card of Sutter in Topps' flagship and Traded sets. The Braves Sutter card stands out, not only because of the different uniform but because the other three are remarkably similar.

The flagship Sutter is No. 370 in the set and was originally blogged on Jan. 19, 2015.

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

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

#114T - Jim Sundberg


What a card: Jim Sundberg came to the Royals in the big four-team trade involving the Brewers, Mets, Royals and Rangers on Jan. 18, 1985. It was Sundberg's part of the deal (the Royals shipped catcher Don Slaught to the Rangers) that had an effect on the postseason that year.

How'd that go: According to plan. The Royals acquired Sundberg, known for years for his defensive ability, to handle a talented-but-young pitching staff. Sundberg played 115 games for the Royals in 1985 and K.C.'s pitching staff went all the way to the World Series and hurler Bret Saberhagen became a star. Sundberg added a few key postseason hits, too. His three-run triple in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Blue Jays was the big blow.


Backatya: It's often difficult to find confirmation of some of the baseball card info about hobbies. Sometimes I think the players make them up to goof on Topps.


Back-to-back: These cards are very much alike in color scheme both in design and uniform.

The flagship card is No. 446 in the set and was originally blogged on Aug. 28, 2015.

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

Monday, April 1, 2019

#113T - Tim Stoddard


What a card: Tim Stoddard signed as a free agent with the Padres on Jan. 8, 1985, three months after he played on the Cubs team that lost to the Padres in the NLCS.

How'd that go: Not tremendous. The man with 76 career saves managed just one save in 1.5 seasons with the Padres and was shipped to the Yankees for Ed Whitson in the middle of the 1986 season.


Backatya: A 6-foot-7 pitcher was pretty freakish in the days before Randy Johnson, Jon Rauch and the like.


Back-to-back: The Traded card is quite an improvement on Stoddard's odd flagship card, which is No. 693 in the set and was originally blogged on Aug. 18, 2017.

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