What a card: This is the first Topps base card of Jackie Gutierrez. He appeared in the 1984 Topps Traded set, as well as the '84 Fleer Update set.
My observation on the front: One thing I haven't mentioned is that the 1985 set was special in that it devoted quite a bit of space to the photograph. This was particularly unusual after the Topps sets of 1983 and 1984 in which the main photographed was compromised by the mug shot inset and the design. Especially in the 1984 set.
More opinion from me: I can't get used to the Red Sox road uniforms of the 1980s. I know it was a return to their pre-1970s days, but I came to baseball with the Red Sox road uniforms featuring old-English red lettering on the jerseys, and I was pleased when Boston returned to that in the '90s. Today, I believe the red lettering is gone on the road unis, but it's not quite as dull as the '80s uniforms.
Something you might know: Gutierrez enjoyed his only real season as a starter in 1984, playing in 151 games and hitting .263 for Boston as its shortstop. He slumped the following year and lost his starter's role, eventually getting traded to the Orioles and the end of 1985.
Something you might not know: Gutierrez is the third Colombian-born player to reach the major leagues. His sister is the mother of one of the children of Orlando Ramirez, the second Colombian-born major league player.
My observation on the back: Two choices on the trivia question? I wish I had math questions like that in school.
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It seems like an awful lot of Red Sox photos in '80s Topps set feature those road uniforms. I guess they wouldn't have taken many photos at Fenway (was it New York and Oakland where a lot of photos were taken?), so unless you have a spring training shot in a home uniform, road grays it is.
ReplyDeleteI was looking through some old Red Sox cards with my 9-year old daughter a while back and she was puzzled by these uniforms -- they looked nothing like any Red Sox uniform that she's ever seen.