What a card: Mike Schmidt delivered his usual impressive output in 1984, but the team that made the World Series in 1983 was in trouble. The Phillies finished at .500 in 1984 and were about to plummet into some dark years.
My observation the front: I've been a little harsh on the photos selected for Schmidt for Topps cards. But some of them are pretty good and this one isn't bad. Schmidt on the base paths. It's different.
More opinion from me: Schmidt looks like he could break anything in half just by looking at it.
Something you might know: The greatest power hitter of the 1980s and in Phillies history, Schmidt led the league in home runs eight times.
Something you might not know: On the day that Schmidt hit four home runs in a game in 1976, he used the bat of pinch-hitting reserver infielder Tony Taylor. The bat was an ounce lighter and an inch shorter than the one he normally used.
My observation on the back: This is the 4th of 5 straight years that Schmidt received a card number with a double zero. Also, there is just no need to abbreviate Ohio to "O."
The blog wants to speak now: The News category is updated.
The good ol' days when there was no hoopla about who was going to be card #1. The best players were every 100th card.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Schmidt photo selection. I create all-decade teams, and try to keep a card of each player in the spine of one my 3-ring binders for a set from that decade. It's an arbitrary process (limit, one decade per player), but as easy a choice as Schmidt was, it was very difficult to pick a Schmidt card. I ended up going with a '76 Schmidt and even that felt like a compromise.
ReplyDeleteHe's the anti-Carlton Fisk.