What a card: This is Dennis Rasmussen's first Topps card. He appears in the 1984 Donruss set with the Padres.
My observation on the front: I think you get a good idea that Rasmussen is 6-foot-7 from this card.
More opinion from me: I remember Rasmussen winning 18 games for the Yankees in 1985 and thinking "who the heck is this guy?"
Something you might know: Rasmussen came to the Yankees in the trade that sent Graig Nettles to the Padres. Nettles claims he was dealt because George Steinbrenner didn't like the third basemen's just-published book, "Balls".
Something you might not know: Rasmussen played college basketball for Creighton University. In 1978, Rasmussen's Creighton team played Larry Bird's Indiana State team three times ... and won all three games.
My observation on the back: Bill Brubaker played infield for the Pirates in the mid-1930s.
The blog wants to speak now: The Pop Culture tab is updated.
I was confused by the succession of minor league teams Rasmussen played for, particularly that he played for Columbus, which was the Yankees' AAA affiliate at the time, in both 1983 (when he appeared in the majors for the Padres) and 1984 (when he appeared in the majors for the Yankees). Per baseball-reference, here's the full story:
ReplyDeleteRasmussen was drafted by the Angels in 1980, and played in their farm system in 1980, 1981 and 1982.
In November 1982, he was sent to the Yankees as the player to be named later in the August 31, 1982 trade that sent Tommy John to the Angels (just before the postseason eligibility deadline).
Rasmussen then spent most of the 1983 season at Columbus. In September 1983, the Yankees sent him to the Padres as the player to be named later in a trade that had happened a few weeks earlier (on August 26, again just before the postseason eligibility deadline) which sent John Montefusco to the Yankees. By the time Rasmussen went to the Padres, rosters had expanded to 40, and most minor league seasons were probably over. So the Padres called him up to the majors, and he appeared in four major league games.
On March 30, 1984, just before the start of the following regular season, Rasmussen went back to the Yankees in the Graig Nettles deal. Rasmussen spent most of the '84 season in the majors with the Yankees (appearing 24 games), but also played part of the season in Columbus again (6 games).