#77 - Joe Beckwith

What a card: This is Joe Beckwith's first Topps base card with the Royals. He appears as a Royal for the first time in the 1984 Topps Traded set.

My observation on the front: The card's off-center two ways -- left-to-right and top-to-bottom.

More opinion from me: I really liked Joe Beckwith when he was with the Dodgers. In 1980, his second season in the major leagues, he led the team in earned-run average with a 1.95. I thought he was going to be something special. But he missed the entire 1981 season with an eye injury.

Something you might know: Beckwith pitched for the Royals' 1985 World Series championship team. He threw two scoreless innings during Game 4 of the World Series. He was the only reliever Kansas City used in the Series besides Dan Quisenberry.

Something you might not know: Beckwith was a bat boy for Auburn University, the team for which he would play in college. One of Beckwith's memories of legendary Auburn baseball coach Paul Nix was during his time as a bat boy. One of Beckwith's jobs was to get the scoreboard ready for the game. Once, before a game, he decided to fill the innings on the scoreboard with zeroes, like he saw at Wrigley Field, to cut down on his workload. Nix saw the scoreboard and told Beckwith, "Boy, what are you doing with that scoreboard? The game hasn't even begun yet. Get your butt back up there and take those numbers down."

My observation on the back: Beckwith spent the entire 1981 season on the disabled list having corrective surgery on both of his eyes. He developed double vision during spring training.

The blog wants to speak now: Just a quick update of the Pop Culture tab. The blog will be taking a brief break. See you on the weekend.