What a card: Dave Rucker was coming off his best season of his seven-year major league career when this card was issued. He appeared in 50 games as a reliever in 1984 and posted a 2.10 ERA.
My observation on the front: Rucker was already a Phillie by the time a lot of collectors pulled this card. He was dealt to Philadelphia for reliever Bill Campbell and shortstop Ivan DeJesus on April 6, 1985.
More opinion from me: Someone is going to have to do a study on why batting cages in the background make a photo so much better.
Something you might know: Rucker was a middle reliever for the Tigers, Cardinals, Phillies and Pirates. Not a lot else to say.
Something you might not know: Between 1960-86, Rucker made the second-most appearances among left-handed relievers (34 in 1983) without recording a save. Ed Vande Berg was far away the leader with 60 in 1986.
My observation on the back: Topps could be accused of rubbing it in with the trivia question here. The Padres lost to the Tigers in the 1984 World Series. The Tigers were Rucker's former team. He was traded from the Tigers the year before they won the World Series.
The blog wants to speak now: The News category is updated once again.
I'm replaying the 1984 season on my Statis Pro blog, and that Cardinals team had a FILTHY bullpen, with Rucker one of many good arms they had that year...
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