What a card: This is Marty Bystrom's first card as a Yankee ... well, he's listed as a Yankee, anyway. He was traded from the Phillies in the deal that brought Shane Rawley to Philadelphia on June 30, 1984.
My observation on the front: This is obviously an airbrushed job. It's been awhile since there's been an airbrushed card featured in this set. It won't take nearly as long to see the next one.
More opinion from me: That's a brutal painting. The "NY" looks like ghost letters. The pinstripes are two different colors. It doesn't help that Bystrom's portrait shot is off-center.
Something you might know: Bystrom made an instant impact in his first year in the majors. A September call-up by the Phillies in 1980, he pitched a shutout against the Mets in his first start and would start in the League Championship Series and World Series during Philadelphia's trip to the championship.
Something you might not know: Bystrom was a replacement player during spring training of 1995, leaving his job of selling swimming pools at age 36 to wear a big-league uniform again. He drew a lot of wrath from unionized players who had staged a strike in 1994 that led to the cancellation of the World Series.
My observation on the back: So, Marty played American Legion ball. I'm guessing you could put that on 98 percent of card backs in 1985.
The blog wants to speak now: The Ballgames category is updated.
Q: If Bystrom was called up in September, how was he eligible for the post-season?
ReplyDeleteA: After he went 5-0 during September, the Phillies manufactured "injuries" to pitchers Nino Espinosa and Randy Lerch, and were then allowed to include Bystrom on the post-season roster. After being cheated out of their post-season eligibility, Espinosa and Lerch were then unceremoniously dumped in the off-season.