Tim Raines baseball cards spent most of their lives chasing the the cardboard version of that other all-time leadoff man who plied his trade during the 1980s and 1990s, and who shall remain nameless (for a few paragraphs, at least).

In many ways, the cards mirrored the men themselves.

But …

Tim Raines was a giant killer, and that was never more evident than at the 1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Oakland

That summer, Andre Dawson was playing for peanuts in Wrigley Field, trying to prove himself after being shunned on the free agent market. He was smashing baseballs like no one since George Foster had 10 years earlier.

In the American League, strapping young Mark McGwire was a rookie first baseman for the hometown A’s. On the heels of teammate Jose Canseco‘s monster rookie season in 1986, McGwire took up the Bash Brother mantle and matched Dawson homer-for-homer throughout the season.

But on that sweltering July 14th night in the Coliseum, two of the most potent lineups in recent memory battled to a 0-0 tie after nine innings. And after 10 innings. And after 11 innings.

And after 12 innings.

Finally, in the top of the 13th, NL catcher Ozzie Virgil led off with a single against Jay Howell. Lee Smith struck out, Hubie Brooks singled, and Willie McGee lined out.

The number-5 hitter in the inning thus strode to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second.

There is more than a little irony in the fact that that hitter was Tim Raines, the Montreal Expos’ speed burner who normally slotted into the leadoff position. On this occasion, though, it was up to Raines to bring home the bacon — and he delivered by smacking a two-run triple that gave the National League a 2-0 lead.

It didn’t matter that Juan Samuel — another burner — lined out to end the inning, because Sid Fernandez set down the AL in order after allowing a leadoff walk to Kevin Seitzer.

For the game, Raines went 3-for-3 and was an easy pick for MVP, besting all the sluggers and lockdown pitchers who had pushed the contest deep into the night.

It was a stellar performance by a superstar at the peak of his game, but it was soon forgotten as baseballs continued to fly out of stadiums faster than Donruss and Fleer wax packs flew off store shelves that year. By October, Raines had amassed 50 stolen bases, 123 runs, and batted .330. He was one of the very best players on the planet but finished a distant seventh in MVP voting, far, far behind Dawson, who won the NL award.

That season was a microcosm of Raines’ career: consistent superlative play with frequent flashes of otherworldly talent.

But he was always overshadowed.

For most of his time in the Majors, it was Rickey Henderson who relegated Raines to an afterthought in the conversation about the best leadoff men in baseball.

Even when Rickey had a rare down season, Raines was mired in the obscurity of Montreal.

And when the Expos finally let him go, four years after Dawson’s escape, Raines landed with the Chicago White Sox and was immediately eclipsed by “Big Hurt” Frank Thomas.

As the speed began to erode, Raines moved to the New York Yankees, where he won titles in 1996 and 1998. Stints in Oakland, Montreal (again), Baltimore, and Florida left the speedster with 2605 hits, 808 stolen bases (against just 146 times caught stealing), and a lifetime batting average of .294.

It was all great stuff, but by that time, Barry Bonds and others were swatting home runs like they were fleas, and the public was hungry for bigger numbers, more gawd, more flash. Raines slid into retirement as an interesting footnote to the pre-Millennium era in baseball.

It was little surprise, then, that he languished on the Hall of Fame ballot for most of his eligibility. It took him six ballots to crack the 50% barrier, and, even in 2015, he languished well below 60%.

But with the backlog of huge all-time names clearing out in recent years and an increased overall appreciation of analytics, Raines took a big leap forward in 2016, being chosen by 69.8%  of voters.

And then finally, in 2017, The Rock got The Call.

After a career that saw him slug .425, get on base at a .385 clip, and score 1571 runs, Tim Raines goes into the Hall of Fame as the eighth greatest left fielder of all time (according to the JAWS metric at Baseball Reference).

What better way to celebrate Rock’s election than with a little vintage cardboard? In that spirit, here are 30 of the best Tim Raines baseball cards ever issued.

Why 30?

Take a look at that uniform number flying around the bases in your diamond memories.

(This is part of a series of posts about the 2017 Hall of Fame inductions. Read them all here.)

1979 TCMA Memphis Chicks (#20)

There’s not much to this card other than the fact that it features a minor leaguer named Tim Raines two year before he’d appear on a “real” baseball card and almost 40 before he’d be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Seems worthy of your consideration, no?

1981 Donruss (#538)

Sure, Fleer may have been the company that ended Topps’ monopoly by winning a famous $1 antitrust lawsuit in 1980, but it was Donruss who really surprised collectors in 1981. After nearly three decades of pumping out non-sports cards, Donruss reached across the collecting aisle with a rush-job baseball set to go head-to-head with the other two giants.

While the cardstock was as flimsy as toilet paper and the photos were generally dark and blurry, Donruss scored a coup as the only manufacturer to issue a single-player Tim Raines rookie card in its base set.

1981 Topps (#479)

Of course, Topps was still king to most collectors in 1981, and their version of Raines’ rookie card has been the standard-bearer since it was issued. Never mind the fact that he has to share his debut with a pair of immortals: Roberto Ramos and Bobby Pate.

1981 Topps Traded (#816)

Topps used their first full, dedicated Traded set, at least in part, to ameliorate their whiff on featuring Raines on a solo pasteboard in their base set. His #816 is arguably one of his best-looking early issues and sees healthy continued activity on eBay.

1982 Kellogg’s (#53)

You can’t really run down the cards of any even moderately popular player from the late 1970s or early 1980s without breaking out that novelty of novelties — the 3-D card. In Raines’ 1982 Kellogg’s issue, he appears to be searching for lost keys, but it’s still a fun card.

1982 Topps Stolen Base Leaders (’81) — and Rickey Henderson (#164)

Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines appeared together on a slew of these League Leader cards in the 1980s, but this is the only one where Raines actually bested his AL counterpart, 71 to 56 swipes in the strike-shortened 1981 season. Perhaps that failing spurred Rickey on to his record 180 thefts in 1982.

1982 Zellers (#3)

One of my favorite parts about collecting in the 1980s were all of the oddball and regional issues that would wink at me from the pages of Sports Collectors Digest and occasionally make an appearance at a local card show. In the US, the 1982 Zellers Montreal Expos set was a real delicacy since it was issued in Canada. It didn’t hurt any that the Expos were loaded with young talent, and Raines was right there alongside Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, and all the rest.

1982 Perma-Graphics Super Star

The oddball parade continues with Raines’ 1982 Perma-Graphics Super Star issue. Each of these cards was rendered on hard plastic stock which, coupled with its smaller-than-normal size, earned the set the sobriquet of “credit cards.” These were another card-show favorite and a great impulse buy that was nearly impossible to resist.

1983 Topps All-Star (#403)

With its blue star, this card immediately brings to mind that hot summer night in 1987 when Raines bested all of the sluggers to take home the All-Star MVP award. He doesn’t look too happy here, but things would get better.

1983 Topps (#595)

Raines looks like he’s standing in the middle of a meadow, but you just know he’s getting ready to turn on the burners and make some poor pitcher pay for being too slow to the plate. Great design, and a nice full-body shot of the Expos home whites.

1984 Donruss (#299)

The 1984 Donruss set was a landmark in the hobby, combining vastly improved card quality with perceived scarcity. This shot of a peaking Raines is a perfect fit.

1984 Topps (#370)

The design is not quite as strong as the 1983 Topps or 1984 Donruss set, but the visuals for this underrated Tim Raines card are better than its counterpart in those other more ballyhooed sets. Great card that you can find for next to nothing most days.

1984 Topps Nestlè Dream Team (#17)

Topps made two Nestlè sets in 1984 — one 792-card parallel that the chocolate maker released in sheet-only form, and a special “Dream Team” set that was issued in small, cellophane-wrapped groups in the company’s chocolate candy bars. The former is fairly scarce, but this Raines card is a sweet example of the latter and a wonderful period piece for nostalgia lovers.

1987 Fleer (#328)

This was the year that all three major companies unleashed innovative designs, and the 1987 Topps set remains a classic that evokes the essence of the era. It was the other two sets, though, and especially the 1987 Fleer set, that set the hobby abuzz. Early-season scarcity sent collectors scrambling to soak up any product they could locate, and prices spiraled out of control. It may have been the first true new-product frenzy, and if you dared to open a pack, you could have pulled this cherry Raines card.

 1987 Fleer Juan Samuel and — Doubles & Triples (#642)

During the 1980s, Fleer revived a concept that Topps had used to great effect two and three decades earlier — the multi-player “candid” card. By 1987, Juan Samuel had joined Raines and Henderson among the list of legitimate burners, and he added a healthy dose of power to the mix. No wonder he took top billing on this card, but he seems out of place next to a HOFer all these years later.

1988 Donruss Diamond Kings (#2)

This is Raines’ only Diamond Kings card, and it came the year after Andre Dawson left Montreal for the Chicago Cubs. It also came as part of the first set that was perceived as massively overproduced almost the second the first cases came off the truck. No matter though, because it’s still a beautiful combination of colors and baseball.

1989 Topps Rock Raines (#560)

“Rock” looks every bit as powerful as his nickname would suggest as he prepares for his time at-bat on the front of this 1989 Topps card. There are those who would suggest that Topps was taking a dig at Raines for his “extracurricular” activities by using his sobriquet here, but we’ll leave that for the card truthers.

 1990 Baseball Cards Magazine 1969 Topps Replica (#24)

Back when it was still thrilling to go the actual mailbox every day and every envelope might contain an adventure of one sort or another, the best day of each month was the day my copy of Baseball Cards Magazine arrived. The writing was like nothing else going, and the articles were innovative and fun. I felt like I’d found my brethren. Maybe best of all was that the rag came with actual cards, inserted in the middle and featuring then-current players on classic Topps designs. It was heaven, just like this Raines insert.

 1991 Topps Desert Shield (#360)

In early 1991, the US plunged into the first Gulf War. Before we unleashed Desert Storm, though, we tried the more diplomatic Desert Shield. Though that sentiment soon escalated to full-on military offensives, it did give Topps the chance to issue a special run of their 40th-anniversary cards to be sent to our military men and women in the Middle East. Of course, where there was something new in the hobby, there was a way for someone to make money, so the cards quickly found their way to the stateside market. Here, Rock Raines is in full-swing glory beneath the Desert Shield shield.

1991 Upper Deck (#773)

After the 1990 season, Raines bid adieu to Montreal and landed with the Chicago White Sox. While base sets that year still pictured him in Expos togs, the updates caught him in his ChiSox uniform. As a first card with his new team, it’s hard to beat this 1991 Upper Deck high number offering, featuring a clean design and a crisp action shot.

 1992 Topps (#426)

After years of almost outright begging by collectors, Topps finally capitulated and ditched their long-standing love of soft, drab brown card stock in 1992. The new white stock complemented the crisp new design, and this Raines action shot is a perfect example of a card done right.

 1993 Stadium Club White Sox (#5)

Topps Stadium Club was one of a handful of super premium sets that lit the hobby on fire during the early 1990s. It was the darling of 1991 that had lost a bit of luster by ’93. In an attempt to regain some of that sheen, Topps issued 16 team-specific, factory-sealed sets, each containing 30 cards. This Raines offering is typical of the artsy photography and glitzy design elements of the era.

 1994 Donruss Triple Play (#268)

Full-bleed images, garish product logos, and a set name that makes it impossible to distinguish from 20 other issues of the same time period? Yeah, 1994 Donruss Triple Play checks all those boxes for being a poster boy of the overproduction era, but this Tim Raines card looks pretty darn good anyway.

1995 Topps (#77)

This must have been what opposing pitchers saw in their nightmares as they prepared to face Raines — Rock waving goodbye on his way to second base. Topps designs and quality came a long way between 1990 and 1995, huh?

1996 Pacific (#284)

There were just so many sets from so many manufacturers in the 1990s — does anyone even remember Pacific? We do, right here, right now, with this solid action shot of Raines coming out of the batter’s box.

1997 Topps (#334)

Any pinstripes card from the mid-1990s just looks regal, and especially if it’s coupled with a solid Topps design. Add in Tim Raines, and you have a triple-whammy that stands out in any commons bin.

1999 Plumbers Union (#30)

Thanks to the Plumbers Steamfitters Refrigeration Local Union 342, we get this team-color-coded card of a tough-looking Raines, ready to hack a baseball or maybe cut down a tree (yes, I know that’s not in the typical job description for steamfitters).

Cool oddball all the way around

2001 Fleer Platinum (#308)

Fleer may have missed out on issuing a Raines rookie card in their first set in 1981, but they got their chance to make up for that with their 2001 Platinum edition. Great to see an old design upgraded with better print quality and image crispness.

2002 Fleer Tradition (#87)

Tim Raines on a modern-day Goudey card? No way this one could have missed the list, even if Raines in Orioles gear looks almost as strange as Eric Davis would have.

Oh.

Right.

2003 Donruss (#285)

If you had told me that Tim Raines finished his career with the Florida Marlins, I wouldn’t have believed it. But this Donruss pasteboard proves me wrong and serves as a capper card that shows his entire MLB record. Still looks strange, but it is, indeed, a wrap.

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Since it’s your absolute favorite set, you probably know a lot about it, and you should be able to answer some basic questions, like … what’s the last card in that set?

Unless your favorite set is 1952 Topps (Eddie Mathews) or 1954 Topps (Ted Williams) or 1975 Topps (Hank Aaron) or some other set with similar star-power love in its upper reaches, there’s a good chance you’re coming up short here.

And you’re not alone.

First cards are pretty high-profile, appearing as they do on the top of so many rubber-band dented stacks. And cards in the middle are fair game for fame and fortune, too, provided they picture a hotshot rookie or a beloved Hall of Famer.

But the last card in a set?

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Well, those guys suffer from the same sort of dented edges and center creases that first cards do, but they suffer their slings and arrows at the bottom of everything. Not much exposure unless, again, the player is something special.

In Spring Training, though, every player is something special, right? I mean, these guys are in Big League camp and they all think — or at least hope and pray — they’ll make the Big League team. And some of them actually do make the Big League team.

And when that happens, there’s a better than even chance they’ll show up on a real live Major League Baseball card of their very own, even if that leaves them on the bottom of the pile, at the back of the set.

To celebrate these cappers who so often find their way to the commons bin but without whom no set could be complete, this here Day 23 of my 2019 Spring Training Baseball Card Challenge is dedicated to a last card … in particular, the last card in a set.

In particular particular, I want to talk for a minute about a last card that really ended something. You know, like Ron Blomberg effectively ended the hitting career of Mel Stottlemyre and players like him (AL pitchers, that is).

And it’s funny you should mention Blomberg, because about the time he became the first-ever DH in MLB history (April 6, 1973), collectors were digging into the first series of 1973 Topps baseball cards. It was a pretty standard Topps issue, as these things go, with 660 cards of all the good players and mediocre players and rookie players and players who led their league in stuff and team cards, even.

Oh, and the 1973 Topps set was issued in series (as alluded to by that “first series” bit above) — five series, with 132 cards in each series. That’s significant because it was the LAST time Topps issued their cards in series, adopting the practice of dumping everything all at once beginning in 1974. (“But, they started issuing cards in series again in 1993 …”  No.)

Put all those facts together and you’re left with the inescapable conclusion that the last card in the last series of 1973 Topps baseball cards represents the end of an era. So who landed on card #660?

Well, that would be none other than Fred Scherman, who spent 1969-73 doing some pretty nice bullpen work for some pretty good Detroit Tigers teams, including the American League East champions in 1972. His time in Detroit ended almost exactly the same time that Topps-by-series ended, as the Bengals traded Scherman and cash to the Houston Astros in exchange for Jim Ray and Gary Sutherland after that 1973 season.

After a couple of so-so campaigns with the Astros, it was on to the Montreal Expos, where Scherman finished up in 1976. Overall, he posted a 33-26 record with a 3.66 ERA and 39 saves.

And, of course, he scored the last-ever (real) Topps card issued in (real) series format. It’s a good-looking card featuring a head-and-shoulders shot of Scherman against the Yankee Stadium grandstand.

As the man said, you can’t always be first … but you can be last.

Check out the entire series of 2019 Spring Training Challenge posts here.

Ah, yes … who doesn’t love Valentine’s Day?

And, as it so happens, February 14 is also about the same time that pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, marking the beginning of another Major League Baseball season. In the old days, it was also when new baseball cards made their way to most corners of the earth for the first time.

Yep, baseball and Valentine’s Day go together in a coincidental sort of way like school lunch and diarrhea. Or something.

To celebrate that pairing (baseball and Valentine’s Day, that is), I thought it would be fun to put together an All-Time All-Valentine’s Baseball Card Team. So I did.

All of the guys here have names that have something to do with our big sweetheart day, and they all have a baseball card or two to rub together.

And speaking of “together,” together these players form a complete lineup, and then some.

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Rick Sweet, C

Rick Sweet made a total of 272 appearances for the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners scattered over three Big League seasons from 1978 through 1983. He hit just .234 with six homers and 57 RBI over 815 plate appearances, but he did manage to pick up a handful of baseball cards along the way. Chief among them was this, ahem, sweet 1983 Topps issue showing Sweet (the man) in the tools of ignorance — the mitt, at least —  with the Mariners.

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Pete Rose, 1B

Right. Pete Rose had all sorts of troubles after he came back to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s and became their manager, then their Bettor-in-Chief. He’s terrible and awful and broke baseball’s cardinal rule. Fine. All true.

But he was also one of the great players of the 1960s and 1970s, and it’s impossible to leave him off this team. Though Rose played all over the diamond, we’ll slot him at first base because that’s where he played most and because that fits the rest of our lineup best. And the card?

Rose cards don’t get much better than his second-year issue, 1964 Topps, which also happens to be his first solo card.

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Bobby Rose, 2B

The California Angels drafted Bobby Rose out of San Dimas High School in the fifth round in 1985, and he made his Major League debut four years later. He was young at just 22 and touted in some circles as the Halos’ second baseman of the future, but Rose managed just 73 games over the course of the next four seasons. Still, he makes the cut at the keystone for our team, and he looks awfully good — in a Junk Wax sort of way — on his 1992 Topps card.

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Coco Laboy, 3B

OK, this one may be a stretch, but …

“Coco” is not far from “cocoa,” and you can’t have all those tasty Valentine chocolates without cocoa. Besides, Coco was the third baseman for the original rendition of the Montreal Expos, and he has some cool early 1970s baseball cards. It’s hard to argue against the 1971 and 1972 issues, but I’ll take 1970 for all the dugout-in-the-background-golden-Topps-All-Star-Rookie-red-white-and-blue-first-year-Expos-uniform goodness it imparts.

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Bobby Valentine, SS

Before Bobby Valentine was playing cards and dress-up between innings in the New York Mets dugout, he was forging a 10-year career as an actual Big League player. Like (Pete) Rose, Bobby V. played a lot of positions, though nowhere near as well as Pete did, at least if you consider the bat side of things. Among all those slots, Valentine spent the most time at shortstop, so he gets that hole for us, too.

Valentine had some solid 1970s cardboard, but we’re going with his 1972 Topps issue here because it’s so psychedelic and because Bobby looks like a shortstop in the shot.

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Ellis Valentine, RF

In ten Big League seasons with the Expos  (6+), Mets (1+), Texas Rangers(1), and Angels(1), Ellis Valentine collected an All-Star appearance, some MVP votes, and a Gold Glove, along with 123 home runs and some other statistical goodies.

He also gave collectors a variety of baseball card looks, from scowls to smiles to poses to blank stares.

But if you know anything about baseball cards from the 1980s, you know the only choice for this list is his 1981 Topps issue. You know, the one where he has welded a dinosaur bone onto the front of his batting helmet to protect his grill? Yeah, that one.

That card, plus Valentine’s actual baseball skills, make him our right fielder.

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Fred Valentine, CF

According to Baseball Reference, Fred Valentine’s nickname is, “Squeaky.” I’ll leave it to you to find out why.

For us, Valentine’s nickname is “center fielder,” by virtue of appearing in that slot more than just about anyone else on this list, even though he spent more time in right field. Sometimes, you just have to take one for the team.

You might be interested to know that Valentine picked up some MVP votes with the 1966 Washington Senators, who were a pretty awful team under a just-warming-up Gil Hodges. That nugget is all the more relevant when you realize that his beautiful 1967 Topps card, celebrating that ’66 campaign, is our pasteboard of choice here.

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Candy Maldonado,  LF

Candy Maldonado was one of those guys who hit a decent amount of home runs (18 for the Giants in 1986) fairly early in his career (age 25), flashing promise that made us come back to his cards over and over, waiting for the BIG breakout.

That never came, but Candy did turn in a 15-year career that included three 20-homer seasons and 146 overall. His fielding was nothing to write home about, but he logged enough time in both right and left to make him a solid choice as our left fielder.

He’s also showcasing that powerful swing, while flashing some Los Angeles Dodgers blue, on his 1984 Topps card.

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Jim Ray Hart, DH

Jim Ray Hart was a bona fide star beginning at age 22 for the San Francisco Giants in 1964. You may not know that, though, because he was generally overshadowed by a couple of ho-hum teammates name Willie McCovey and Willie Mays. Nevertheless, Hart finished second (to Dick Allen, tied with Rico Carty) in the ’64 National League Rookie of the Year award voting.

Hart also had five straight seasons with 20+ home runs, including two with more than 30, from 1964-68 before tailing off sharply thereafter.

And, while Hart’s primary position was at third base, his defense was generally considered … um … atrocious. So, left field, here he came!

And then DH, once he made the transition to the New York Yankees, as all aging sluggers must eventually do.

Still, he had some great cardboard, including a rather brutal 1974 Topps rendition where he’s actually listed as a designated hitter. Good enough to make him our DH.

But that’s not our card here … nope, we’re going with his sparkling 1965 Topps card, which reminds one (me) of the awesome ’65 Topps Tony Oliva issue.

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Corky Valentine, Starting Pitcher (RHP)

Corky Valentine was a big (for the time), mean right-hander for the Cincinnati Reds who signed at age 19 and then spent six years working his way through the minor leagues and a stint in the Army before finally landing on the Big League roster in 1954. Sorta like the anti-Joe Nuxhall. Valentine pitched like a mini-workhorse (194 1/3 innings) as a rookie at age 25, but then fell off to less than 30 innings in 1955 … and never appeared in the Big Leagues again.

Corky did, however, garner one more or less perfect baseball card in that short time frame — this 1955 Topps beauty.

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John Candelaria, Starting Pitcher (LHP)

If you don’t know why The Candy Man is on this list, it’s possible you’re on the wrong website. But, just in case you’re not and just haven’t spent much time pouring through this particular corner of baseball history, John Candelaria was a monstrous (6’7″) starting pitcher who toiled in the Majors from 1975 though 1993. In 1977, at age 23, he went 20-5 for an NL-leading .800 winning percentage and with an NL-leading 2.34 ERA for the always competitive Pittsburgh Pirates.

He cooled down considerably after that, but the big lefty still managed 177 career wins against 122 losses on the strength of a solid 3.33 ERA.

Oh, and his nickname was The Candy Man, but you already knew that if you were paying attention above.

Candelaria’s career spanned well into the hobby’s boom years, so there are plenty of cards to pick from, but I’m going with 1976 Topps, where Candy channels Christopher Cross and models his “Ride Like the Wind” hairdo.

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Don Rose, Relief Pitcher (RHP)

Don Rose might have been the most celebrated flower-named dude in the game in the early 1970s were it not for that hustling booger down on the Riverfront. As it was, Rose made his debut for the Mets in 1971 … then pitched for the Angels in 1972 … then spent 1973 in the minors … then pitched in two games for the San Francisco Giants in 1974.

All told, Rose made 19 Big League appearances, including four starts, and saved zero games in his 15 relief appearances.

Even with just 45 2/3 innings of total work, Rose still appeared in the 1973 Topps set on a pasteboard that may hold the record for the most total white space of all time

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Vance Lovelace, Relief Pitcher (LHP)

Sure, phonetically Vance Lovelace is the opposite of what you’d want for a Valentine’s day pitcher, but his last name is quite, um, lovely if you break it down — Love + Lace.  How delightful.

Which is not to say that Lovelace himself was so delightful on Big League diamonds, because his 0-0 record with 0 saves and a 5.79 ERA in 4 2/3 innings pitched for the Angels and Mariners is not the stuff of dreams. Except it is the stuff of dreams, because he played in the Major Leagues.

Did you?

The dream was only enhanced by the fact that Lovelace made his way onto a 1989 Fleer Major League Prospects card, right alongside Terry Taylor.

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Candy Harris, Pinch Runner

The Baltimore Orioles selected Candy Harris in the third round of the 1966 January draft, and then lost him to the Houston Astros in the Rule 5 draft that November.

As per the rules of Rule 5, the ‘Stros put Candy right onto their roster and kept him there through 1967. During that summer, he made one plate appearance over six games.

Huh? That math doesn’t work, does it?

Well, it does if you’re a pinch runner, Skippy!

And so, seven years before Charlie O. Finley made waves by signing Herb Washington to be a PR for the Oakland A’s (for PR), Candy Harris filled the role for Houston. Never mind that he struck out in his only at-bat, attempted zero stolen bases, and scored zero runs.

Dude was a pinch runner in the Major Leagues.

And, appeared on a 1968 Topps Rookie Stars card as “Alonzo” Harris, right alongside Tom Dukes.

And then was done in the Majors. Which is beside the point entirely.

(Check out our other player card posts here.)

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In 1969, the Montreal Expos became the first Major League Baseball team ever to be based outside the United States.

As one of four expansion teams that summer — the San Diego Padres, Seattle Pilots, and Kansas City Royals were the others — the Expos gave fans everywhere a front-row seat for what it took to build a championship team.

Uh … er … well …

That is, they gave fans a look at what it was like to claw your way above .500 and then watch as two player strikes in 14 years wipe out your best seasons …

… and then lose momentum and eventually move out of town.

But during the 35 years that the Expos graced Montreal and MLB, they built a lifetime of memories for fans north of the border and imparted an undeniable flair that was distinctly Exposian.

Will the Montreal Expos ever return to the MLB scene?

For sure, there are plenty of folks who would like to see that happen.

But until then, here are 35 facts to warm your Expos cockles, especially if you’re a baseball card collector.

Montreal Expos Cardboard Exposé

• On October 14, 1968, the Expos made outfielder Manny Mota (Pittsburgh Pirates) their first selection in the expansion draft.
• The first major-issue Expos baseball card was the 1969 Topps Jesus Alou (#22).
• The first Topps card to show the Expos logo was the 1969 Ty Cline pasteboard (#442).
• The first multi-player rookie card to show Expos players was the 1969 Topps Expos Rookie Stars card (#284) featuring Jerry Robertson and Mike Wegener.
• From 1969 through 1976, the Expos played home games at Jarry Park Stadium, seen to good effect in the background of the 1969 Fud’s Photography Expos postcard set.
• The first Expos team card was in the 1970 Topps set (#509).
• Carl Morton went 18-11 with a 3.60 ERA to win the 1970 National League Rookie of the Year award. The only other Expo ever named ROY was Andre Dawson in 1977.
• Pitcher Steve Rogers spent his entire 13-year career with the Expos, from 1973 through 1985. During that time, he made five All-Star teams and finished in the top 10 of the NL Cy Young vote three times.
• Though he ended his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, third baseman Tim Wallach matched Rogers for the longest Expos tenure, playing in Montreal from 1980 through 1992. During that span, he made five All-Star teams, won three gold gloves, and nabbed two top-10 MVP finishes.
• The first Hall of Fame player pictured on a baseball card as a member of the Montreal Expos was Gary Carter on his 1975 Topps rookie card (#620).
• Dick Williams was the only Expos skipper inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager. He guided Montreal for five years (1977-81), including their first winning campaign in 1979. William’s 1978 Topps card shows him in his red, white, and blue Expos togs.
• Ross Grimsley went 20-11 for the Expos in 1978 to become the only 20-game winner in team history (pre-Nationals).
• In both 1979 and 1980, the Expos entered the final weekend of the season with a chance to win the NL East crown but came up just short each time. Both division winners — Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies — would go on to win the World Series.
• The earliest baseball card of any member of the Montreal Expos is the 1951 Bowman Gene Mauch (#312).
• The earliest baseball card of Montreal Expos player is the 1953 Topps (#246) Roy Face rookie card when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• On April 13, 1984, Pete Rose collected career hit number 4000 while playing for the Expos against his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies, in Olympic Stadium. Rose would appear as an Expo on several baseball cards that fall and in 1985 despite being traded to the Cincinnati Reds in August of ’84.
• The Expos landed two entries in the first run of Rated Rookies in 1984. Mike Stenhouse was #29 and Angel Salazar was #33.
• Gary Carter was the first Expo to be named the MVP of the All-Star Game, in 1981. He also won the award in 1984, and Tim Raines copped the honor in 1987.
• Although Tim Raines has key rookie cards in the 1981 Topps base and Traded sets and the debut Donruss set from the same year, Fleer did not issue a card of the Expos great until 1982.
• The first “leaders” card to feature a member of the Expos was 1972 Topps card #95, which showed Bill Stoneman after he finished third in the National League with 251 strikeouts in 1971.
• The first Fleer Expo card was the 1981 Gary Carter issue (#142).
• Larry Parrish (#89) appeared on the first Expos card in the 1981 Donruss set.
• Thanks to the 1981 baseball strike, the Expos played in one of the first-ever National League Division Series. They dropped the Philadelphia Phillies in five games before losing the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers thanks to a series-winning home run by Rick Monday in the top of the 9th inning of Game 5.
• The first Topps All-Star card to feature a member of the Montreal Expos was the 1982 Andre Dawson AS, #341. Gary Carter appeared on card #344.
• Coincidentally, the 1982 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held at Olympic Stadium, the only time Montreal hosted the mid-summer classic.
• In 1982, Canadian discount store Zellers issued a set of 20 three-card panels using 12 different Expos players to illustrate “Pro Tips” on various aspects of playing baseball.
• Jeff Reardon won the 1985 Rolaids Fireman Award as (presumably) the NL’s best relief pitcher. He was the only Expos hurler ever so honored.
• Olympic Stadium was featured on the back of the 1988 Fleer Montreal Expos sticker inserted into wax packs.
• On May 22, 1992, the Expos hired Felipe Alou as their new manager, making him the first Dominican-born skipper in MLB history. Alou’s first manager card can be found in the 1992 Topps Traded set (#3T).
• Alou won the NL Manager of the Year Award in 1994, joining Buck Rodgers (1987) as the only Expos field bosses to garner that honor.
• Pedro Martinez won the 1997 National League Cy Young Award while pitching for Montreal. It was the only MVP or Cy Young ever won by an Expos player.
• The Expos retired three uniform numbers — Gary Carter (8), Andre Dawson (10) & Rusty Staub (10), Tim Raines (30)
• The last Montreal Expos player to appear on a regular-issue Topps card was Tony Batista (#201) in 2005.
• Manager Frank Robinson was the last uniformed member of the Montreal Expos to appear on a regular-issue Topps card — #284 in the 2005 set.
• Card #655 in the 2005 Topps set is the last Montreal Expos team card.

And a couple of bonus morsels because the Expos always strove for more …

• Washington was bound and determined to grab one of the 1969 expansion teams as their own once the Senators left town. In 1974, the San Diego Padres almost made the move, as evidenced by Topps’ infamous “Washington Nat’l Lea.” cards. The Expos, of course, actually became the Washington Nationals after the 2004  season.
• Joel Youngblood appeared on one of those cool multi-player Fleer Superstar Specials in 1983 — and he was both players! The card commemorated Youngblood’s feat of playing for both the New York Mets and the Expos on August 4, 1982.

(Check out our other posts related to the Montreal Expos here and check back here for more of our ultimate team guides.)

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Life must have been pretty exciting for Steve Dunning in the spring and summer of 1970.

He had just wrapped up his college baseball career with a stunning (sDunning?) season in which he went 13-2 with a 1.83 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 108 innings.

That was enough to convince the Cleveland Indians to select Dunning with their first pick — 2nd overall — in that year’s draft.

And then, the Tribe decided they liked Dunning so much that they stuck him right onto the Major League roster without his having to spend a day in the minor leagues. He was just the second player, after Mike Adamson of the Kansas City Athletics in 1967, to go directly from draft day to his MLB club.

Not only that, but Dunning went straight into the rotation, making his Big League debut on June 14 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He allowed five hits, two walks, a homer, and two runs over five innings, but it was enough to pick up the win in Cleveland’s 9-2 victory.

Dunning stayed on the Indians’ roster the entire 1970 season and finished with a 4-9 record and 4.96 ERA in 19 games, 17 of them starts. Not spectacular, but a decent beginning for a 21-year-old hurler with no minor league seasoning.

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You Know You’ve Made It When …

It was also good enough to keep Dunning in the rotation for 1971 and to land him his very own 1971 Topps baseball card (#294). It’s a decent looking hunk of cardboard, with Dunning in his set position and Municipal Stadium in the background. He’s wearing the nifty pinstripes the Tribe rolled out in 1970, and the angle of the shot shows most of Chief Wahoo on Dunning’s left sleeve.

As collectors were pulling that card from packs, Dunning headed back to the mound and put together a sophomore campaign that featured an 8-14 record with a 4.50 ERA in 29 starts over 31 total appearances.

Dunning was rewarded for that effort by hanging onto his roster slot and with a 1972 Topps baseball card (#658). This time, he’s completing his follow-through in his Indians road grays with Yankee Stadium as his backdrop.

The 1972 season saw Dunning’s workload drop to 16 starts, but it also brought his first winning record, at 6-4. His 3.26 ERA would be the lowest of his career.

So Dunning entered his age-24 season on the upswing and with a chance to build something better with the only team he’d ever known. Oh, he also had his third baseball card in the offing — #53 in the 1973 Topps set.

And that’s where things get strange …

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We Have This New Model We’re Just Dying to Try Out

We know that Topps had pictures of Dunning in his Indians uniform because they issued cards of him in 1971 and 1972.

And we know that, in those days, Topps was not averse to using the same picture of a player in consecutive years. See Ernie Banks in 1968 and 1969.

So why, oh why, did Topps airbrush that hideous red Indians cap over whatever Dunning had going on up there on his 1973 Topps card?

At first, I thought maybe it was because Dunning finally had been sent to the minors in 1972, but I can’t make script on his chest into either “Portland” or “Beavers” … and why would Topps bother taking a minor league photo of a guy when they already had Major League pics?

Maybe a quick trade-and-trade — out of Cleveland and back — with Topps snapping his picture in the interim? Baseball Reference says no on that front — Dunning was with the Indians organization throughout 1972.

And, if you look more closely at that 1973 Topps Dunning card, you can see that he’s wearing the Indians pinstripes, like he was on his 1971 Topps card.

Well, not quite like on his 1971 Topps card … those 1973 letters are plain and blocky, while the 1971 card shows rounder characters with fancy red shadow piping. You can see this most clearly on the “S” in “Indians.”

That difference might make you think Dunning is, indeed, wearing something other than an Indians uniform. But if you dig around a bit, you can find these togs other places.

Notably, on the 1972 Topps card of Cleveland manager Ken Aspromonte (#784). That’s the same lettering that Dunning sports on his ’73 card.

So we’re back to the question of what Topps was up to with that dastardly airbrush of theirs. Why would they mar an otherwise OK card with an unsightly red blob?

We Did It All for You

The answer lies in the cards of Dunning’s teammates.

Take a look at the 1973 Topps Indians checklist card:

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Yeah, that’s ugly and not all that helpful, but it’s still pretty cool, don’t you think? But I meant take a look at the back of that card:

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There you have a listing of all the Indians cards issued by TGC in 1973. Now, start working down the list, and what do you find?

Well, a bunch of names. But if you look up the actual cards, what do you find?

You can do this exercise for yourself if you want, but I’ve taken the liberty of checking out a few of the cards, like …

Ken Aspromonte (#499)

The Tribe manager appears with his college of coaches, as you would expect. Aspromonte was at the helm all season for the 1972 Indians, so Topps had plenty of time to snap his picture, yet … he, too, had the red-blob Cleveland cap! Hmmm …

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Buddy Bell (#31)

The future All-Star third baseman was just 20 years old for most of the 1972 season, but he steps up big here on this card to help us solve our mystery. There stands Bell with the Yankee Stadium on-deck circle and third-base line in the background, donned in Cleveland road grays and a red cap — no airbrush in sight.

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Charlie Spikes (#614) red hat AND sleeves, airbrushed

Finally, and maybe most telling of all, we have this Spikes “beauty.” Sure, Spikes was actually a member of the New York Yankees organization through 1972, and you can see those famed Yankees pinstripes peeking through on his third of this rookie outfielders card.

But it would have been easy for Topps to just blot out the NY logo or paint over it with the red, football-shaped Cleveland “C.” Instead, they went full hovering, glowing, bloody red cap … and they dipped Spikes’ arms in ketchup.

Oh well, at least we can enjoy the other two gents on this card — Dwight Evans and Al Bumbry might amount to something someday, and how often is there an “Alonza” sighting?

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What’s Really Going On Here?

Taking these three cards into consideration, along with that stunning Dunning, it’s easy to see that Topps was dead set on … ahem … painting the Indians in red in 1973.

But why?

Well, a quick search for the history of Indians uniforms and caps leads you to this page at SportsLogos.net, where you’ll find what’s labeled as “Cap Logo (1972)”:

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Look familiar?

Yeah, that’s the same logo that Buddy Bell flashes on his 1973 Topps card, and the same one Topps tried to install on the foreheads of Dunning, Aspromonte, and Spikes.

Do a quick Google image search for “1972 Cleveland Indians” and you’ll find this same logo over and over and over …

Gaylord Perry had it.

Ray Fosse had it.

So did John Lowenstein … Tom McCraw … Graig Nettles … Eddie Leon.

Now do the same search for 1971 and for 1973.

In ’71, it was all black caps with a red “C.”

In ’73, it was the cockeyed red “C” on a navy cap that you see here in Perry’s 1974 Topps card:

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And all that leaves us with one conclusion …

Topps didn’t manage to secure actual 1972 photos of many Cleveland Indians, but they still wanted to give collectors the authentic look and feel of that season by the Lake. So they did what Topps always did to fix a problem in the 1970s — they fired up the airbrush.

Their intentions may have been noble, but, man the results were u-g-l-y, and Steve Dunning took the brunt of that indignity.

And Topps wasn’t done “flattering” Dunning, either.

The Long and Painted Road

A month into the 1973 season, Cleveland finally got tired of waiting for Dunning to develop and sent him to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Dick Bosman and Ted Ford. Dunning made 23 appearances (12 starts) for the Rangers, but it wasn’t enough to keep his streak of Topps cards alive.

In February of 1975, Texas traded Dunning to the Chicago White Sox for Stan Perzanowski, and then sent  him down to the Triple-A Denver Bears. That December, the ChiSox shipped Dunning and Bill Melton to the California Angels in a trade that brought Morris Nettles and Jim Spencer to Arlington.

Dunning made four ineffective appearances (7.50 ERA) for the Angles in 1976 before they sold him to the Montreal Expos in May. He spent the rest of the Bicentennial season between Montreal and Triple-A Denver, and then Expos sent him, along with Pat Scanlon and Tony Scott, to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Bill Greif, Sam Mejias, and Angel Torres in November.

In 1977, Mr. Stunning made 24 starts for the Triple-A New Orleans Pelicans through early August, when the Cards traded him to the Oakland A’s for Randy Scarbery.

All through that long stretch, from 1973 through 1977, Dunning went 0-for-Topps, and it looked like he might never get another baseball card. But the A’s were still staggering through their post-dynasty years, and they gave Dunning another shot at the Majors. In six appearances, he went 1-0 with a 3.93 ERA, but his more modern peripherals weren’t great — 1.473 WHIP, 2 K/9, 104 ERA+.

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Modest as that showing may seem now, it evidently was enough to convince Topps that Dunning was back, because they included him in their 1978 set (#647). It’s another masterpiece, in which Dunning dons his best Jeff Daniels face and also in which Topps slathers Dunning in A’s green and gold. Now, I’ll admit that the airbrush job is markedly better than the one on Dunning’s 1973 turd, but there is an odd, blurry shadow effect around Dunning himself.

Almost like he’s not really there … or like there are two people in the one sleepy-eyed image, attempting to separate from each other even as we look on.

Heck, the photo and background are bad enough that there’s some small chance there’s no airbrushing going on at all.

Whatever.

At least Dunning got this one last card. He spent 1978 in the San Diego Padres minor league system and then was done.

And at least we can be pretty sure Topps was trying to do us all a solid with his 1973 Topps card.

But that doesn’t change the fact that this former first-round burner recorded maybe the highest percentage of lousy baseball cards (career) this side of Bryan Clark.

(Check out our other player card posts here.)

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Picking out the best Vladimir Guerrero rookie card — or even identifying all available Vladdy rookies — is a challenging task.

See, Guerrero came along just as the hobby was climbing out of the Junk Wax Era and trying to recover from the baseball strike of 1994 (and 1995).

That meant lower production runs in general but also a proliferation of shiny, (super) premium, expensive cards that sort of ended the long-standing collector dreams of owning one of everything.

And Guerrero himself was an unusual sort — a free-swinging bad-ball hitter who raked for both average and power, didn’t draw all that many walks, and had good speed.

He also had a cannon of an arm in right field.

In an era (now) that emphasizes plate discipline, launch angle, exit velocity, and all the rest of the modern metrics, Guerrero looks like an anachronism.

Really, he and his cards were just caught in between epochs, forced to create their own timeless footprints on the game and hobby.

Here is a quick rundown of those Vladdy rookie cards, all of them issued just as the strike-induced fog was starting to lift.

1995 Best Top 100 Albany Polecats (#80)

Vladimir Guerrero running right at you as a member of the Albany Polecats. What could be more old-school and hard-nosed than that?

And all for $10 or less most of the time!

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1995 Bowman (#90)

This is arguably Guerrero’s “real” rookie card, as it’s the first widely available base set to show Vlad in a Major League uniform.

Over the years, this image of a young Guerrero in his batting pose has become a classic. You can find these for $10 or less in raw form, up to around $100 for PSA 10 copies.

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1995 Bowman’s Best (#2)

Here’s where we start to get into some of the glitz and glamour of the post-strike hobby.

Bowman’s Best is all shiny and foily, and you can find fancy parallels like refractors and “blue” versions, with prices ranging from less than $20 to well into three figures.

Check the Amazon and eBay links below to explore the various versions currently available on the market.

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1995 Classic 5 Sport (#115)

Having moved on from their days as a board game manufacturer, with baseball cards thrown into the deal, Classic was casting a wide net by 1995.

Part of that net included this 5-sport offering of athletes from MLB, the NFL, NBA, NHL, and auto racing.

Guerrero shows up in a nondescript uniform and on parallels including a printer’s proof, red version, silver version, die-cut version, autographed version, and probably combinations thereof.

It’s all pretty confusing, but gives you lots of opportunities to snag another Vladdy rookie, generally for less than 20 bucks.

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1995 SP Top 10 Prospects (#7)

This card features Guerrero in a cameo shot surrounded by a picture frame sorta deal. It’s hokey and irregular — and comes in a couple varieties — but, again, how can you pass up a smiling Polecats Vladdy?

Prices range from under $10 to $100 or so depending on version and grade.

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1995 SP Top Prospects (#90)

Not to be confused with SP Top 10 Prospects, this SP Top Prospects card shows Guerrero sitting and smiling in his Polecats uniform, and without the burgundy picture frame.

Huge difference.

Trust me.

This one also exists in autographed and promo form.

Sticker prices run up towards $300 for PSA 10 copies.

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1995 SP Top Prospects Destination The Show

Another Albany Polecats card, this one takes the prize for Vladimir Guerrero Rookie Card with the Longest Name.

It also seems to be relatively scarce, at least judging by the copies available for sale on eBay and at other online outlets.

The lack of available specimens is reflected in the price tag — folks are asking $200 or so for PSA 9 and around $100 for raw copies.

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1995 Upper Deck Minor League (#127)

The first Upper Deck card of Guerrero is a “Minor League” issue but shows him sliding in his Expos uniform.

Good looking card that you can generally find with and without the “Future Stock” designation for under $5 raw and less than $10 in PSA 9.

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(Check out the rest of our posts on the 2018 Hall of Fame class here.)

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In the summer of 1985, Oil Can Boyd was something of a baseball phenomenon.

He wasn’t a rookie since he had pitched too many innings in both 1983 and 1984 to still meet those first-year qualifications.

And he wasn’t the best pitcher in the American League — that was Bret Saberhagen or Ron Guidry or Dave Stieb or maybe even Charlie Leibrandt.

Heck, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd hadn’t even been the best pitcher on his own team in 1984 thanks to the presence of Bruce Hurst, Bob Ojeda, and (yes) Al Nipper in the Boston Red Sox rotation

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But even with all that going against him, and even though the Sox weren’t the mighty SAWX they are today, Oil Can stood out.

It was the big, dark prescription glasses on his baseball cards.

It was the little eyes behind those specs and the high cheekbones and gaunt cheeks that all made him look 30 years older than he was.

It was the high leg kick and launchpad angle of his delivery … how did he ever keep the ball from sailing into space?

It was the bristling energy and fist-pumping excitement he brought the mound every time he took the bump.

And, of course, it was his presence in those 1985 baseball card sets, the ones that flooded the market with rookie cards and frothed collectors with visions of the greatness that might lie around the corner. For Boyd, sure, but also for Buddy Biancalana and Eric Davis and Cory Snyder and all the rest of the guys who made their national cardboard debuts that summer.

For a while there, Boyd was great.

He went 15-13, 3.70 with 6.1 WAR in 1985, which should have put him in the running for the American League Cy Young Award but left him with no votes.

In 1986, when Roger Clemens set the world on fire to help the Red Sox get to the World Series, Oil Can improved to 16-10, though his ERA edged up to 3.78. Still, that was good for 3.5 WAR.

We knew even then that our limelight time with this character was limited, though. By the time the New York Mets crushed Beantown hearts that October, Boyd had turned 27. Even though he was still considered to have “potential,” he was a late bloomer in baseball terms.

So, alas …

Injuries (blood clots) and maybe other factors conspired to limit Oil Can to just 30 starts combined in 1987 and 1988, and collectors had largely forgotten his cards by the spring of 1989.

We certainly had no reason to chase his new cardboard as the season dawned in that last year of the decade.

After all, we had Ken Griffey, Jr., and Gary Sheffield rookie cards to look forward to,

And it didn’t take long for the Billy Ripken bat-knob vulgarity to steal every hobby headline and catapult 1989 Fleer to the top of the “phenomenon” list.

But it turns out that old Oil Can Boyd wasn’t quite done with us, the fans and the hobby. Because, just when we’d put him out of our minds, he winked at us from inside a Fleer wax pack.

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There, on card #82 of the 1989 Fleer set, Oil Can bursts from the staid gray and white striped borders to remind us just how exciting baseball can be.

How exciting baseball cards can be.

How exciting Oil Can Boyd once was.

He may never have regained his early form, and it certainly didn’t seem right to see him wind down his career with the Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers, but Boyd did manage to go 13-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 1989 and 1990 combined.

In case you didn’t notice, he kicked off that mini-revival by scoring the best baseball card in the 1989 Fleer set.

You can look it up.

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(This is the 27th in our series of posts about the best baseball cards from the 1980s. Check out the rest of those posts here.)

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Sometimes, a baseball card is just so perfect that it falls outside the jurisdiction of all man-imposed rules.

Consider the 1985 Fleer Pete Rose, for example.

When I set out to choose the best card from every base set of the 1980s, I planned to adhere to these basic principles:

• Limit the number of Cincinnati Reds featured (non-homer rule)
• Don’t write about cards I’ve covered before (duplicate content rule)
• Don’t repeat players (keep-it-fresh rule)
• Guard against selection patterns (catchers-rule-but-don’t-let-them-dominate rule)

So far, I’ve done a pretty good job.

But a few Reds have sneaked into the fold, and catchers always pull at my heartstrings and sense of aesthetics.

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As I flip through the 1985 Fleer set, though, I’m left with cold truth that my homerism must be served — I have to pick the Pete Rose card.

Here is why …

Aside from, maybe, the unbelievable ending to the 1985 World Series, the biggest story of that eventful season was Rose’s pursuit of Ty Cobb‘s all-time hit record.

When Rose laced number 4192 against Eric Show in Riverfront Stadium on September 11, he was the hottest player in the hobby — if not over the whole summer, then at least in that one moment.

And I’d wager (ouch!) that tens of thousands of boys watched that occasion play out surrounded by their Rose cards, including the 1985 Fleer that they might have just pulled from a fresh wax pack.

Though Rose has appeared on hundreds, thousands of cards in the last 55 years, maybe no other swatch of cardboard captures his essence like that ’85 Fleer issue.

Here is Rose, well into his 40s but still a thickly-muscled fireplug, hustling out of the batter’s box while watching the flight of yet another ball he has put in play.

The sun shines on him at Jack Murphy Stadium while the host San Diego Padres look on from the dugout in the background.

Is it a moment of prescience on Fleer’s part, knowing Rose will set the record against the Pads? Or just a happy coincidence?

In the end, it doesn’t really matter, because it just is — a golden moment captured in time, a moment that helped us celebrate the big Charlie Hustle moment that fall.

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And all of this Hit King goodness is wrapped in a red border that perfectly complements Rose’s uniform accents and makes the card as visually appealing as it is historically significant.

Sometimes, you just have to say to hell with the rules and do what you know is right.

That’s why, despite his warts and the other contenders, no one can hold a candle to Pete Rose when it comes to picking the best 1985 Fleer baseball card.

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(This is the 15th in our series of posts about the best baseball cards from the 1980s. Check out the rest of those posts here.)

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Forgive this indulgence, but baseball is no mere game.

No …

Baseball is the story of fathers and sons.

It’s the story about how we follow Daddy around from the time we can take our first step.

About how we want to know what he’s doing — all the time — and why he’s doing it.

Baseball is the story about how Daddy one day, finally, lets us try to cut a board on our own and then stitches our jagged-cut fingers back together with spit, sawdust, and electrical tape.

It’s about those hours spent hitting Wiffle Balls in the side yard and shooting baskets in the driveway until you finally hit one, and until you finally hit one.

Baseball is the story about how you first come to realize that Daddy goes away everyday so that you can play and go to school — and eat.

It’s about those nights when Daddy comes home with just a little light left in the sky, or none at all, and he still plays ball with you in the side yard or the driveway even though he’s dog-tired.

Baseball is the story of how Daddy becomes a Little League coach even though he doesn’t really know that much about the game, but he knows he loves you and wants to spend time with you.

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inks at Mommy in the stands every time you come to bat or take a ball off the shin while trying to field it.

The story about how, one day, you beat Daddy at H-O-R-S-E.

And the day you finally hit his fastball.

And the day Dad loses to you at one-on-one for the first time.

Baseball is the story of Dad teaching you to drive and then holding out when you ask to use the car.

It’s about the two of you arguing over politics.

And over girls.

And about your decision to quit baseball.

Baseball is your Dad’s beaming pride and swallowed sorrow when you leave home for college, and then decide not to come home for summer break.

It’s the beer you share on your 21st birthday and the cigars you smoke when your son is born.

It’s the wisdom Dad passes along as your boy grows and starts to follow you around — and calls you Daddy.

Baseball is that time you finally let your son use a saw for the first time. And how you stitch him up when things go sideways.

Baseball is the story about your Dad going gray and getting old … and frail. It’s about how he’s sitting the bench more and more these days.

It’s about being Daddy and following after your Daddy, again, and knowing you’ll do what he does, by and by.

He taught you everything you know, after all, and he’s your role model. No matter how great or lousy he may seem to the rest of the world.

And so, yes, there can be only one choice as the best card from the 1982 Fleer baseball card set.

And no, it’s not the Cal Ripken, Jr., rookie card or the Brad Mills bubble gum card or the Fernando Valenzuela eyes-to-heaven card or even that frightening Lee Smith rookie card.

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Because … whether you’re a father or a son or a mother or a daughter or an uncle or cousin, brother, or sister … baseball is a thread that runs among you and pulls families and generations together like locks of hair in an old scrapbook. At least if you’re doing it right.

Rarely has it been done so blatantly right as on card #640 in the 1982 Fleer baseball set — Pete & Re-Pete.

Pete Rose is no legend on this card, no future disgrace. He’s a Daddy — soon to be a Dad — taking his son to work and pulling him to the side to offer a few words of advice.

They’re part of our collective fabric of fathers and sons and, in that moment, they’re damn near perfect.

Just like you and your daddy.

(This is the sixth in our series of posts about the best baseball cards from the 1980s. Check out the rest of those posts here.)

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You may not know it to look at his 1979 Topps rookie card, but former Major League pitcher Scott Sanderson is a world-beater.

And a world-traveler. Or at least a country traveler.

Expanding His Horizons

Sanderson started his flirtation with the Big Leagues way back in 1974 when the Kansas City Royals selected him in the 11th round of the June draft. He spurned their advances, though, and headed to Vanderbilt University.

Sanderson must have been destined to latch on with a 1969 expansion club because the Montreal Expos drafted him in the third round three years later.

From there, it was a quick ride up the Montreal farm system and a Major League debut just a couple weeks after his 22nd birthday in August of 1978. In 10 appearances late that summer, Sanderson made nine starts and finished 4-2 with a 2.51 ERA.

A solid beginning that inspired Topps almost beyond words. Here, look at the masterpiece that is Sanderson’s 1979 Topps rookie card:

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It’s a pretty Pirtle pasteboard, but Sanderson clearly stands out for a couple of reasons …

He’s the only guy on the card not named “Jerry.”

He’s also closest to the camera. So there’s that.

But beyond an auspicious start to his career and his glamorous Topps debut, there really wasn’t much to indicate just how high Sanderson would rise in the game.

Take a look at his stats, and you’ll see that Sanderson was above league-average in his six seasons with the Expos.

He was a notch below his younger self in six subsequent seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

You Can Do Magic

After a one-year stop with the Oakland A’s, Sanderson landed with the 1991 New York Yankees.

And that’s when the magic happened.

Sanderson went 16-10 with a 3.81 ERA with the Bombers in ’91 and made his first (and only) All-Star team … but that wasn’t the magic.

No, that would have to wait until 1992.

On May 30 that season, Sanderson took the mound for the Yankees against the Milwaukee Brewers in County Stadium and pitched seven innings, giving up a single run.

The Yanks won that game, 8-1, and Sanderson ran his record on the season to 4-2.

But the big news was … *drumroll* … it was the first time Sanderson beat the Brewers.

And, entering that game, the Brewers were the only team whom Sanderson had not vanquished.

That’s the story of how Sanderson became one of just a handful of pitchers to ever defeat every Major League team.

You Say that Now …

Of course, that distinction has a time element to it, right?

I mean, Sanderson didn’t beat the St. Louis Browns because they were defunct by the time he was born.

And … well, he didn’t beat the Colorado Rockies, either.

Or the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (or Tampa Rays *puke*).

Or the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But he did beat the Florida Marlins, in 1993.

In case you don’t remember (though I’m sure you do), none of those teams existed in 1992. Which means that, yes, Scott Sanderson had indeed defeated every Major League team by the end of the night on May 30, 1993.

Now, there have been several dudes since then who have slaughtered all 30 teams, but none of them had black-and-white rookie cards (though Jamie Moyer‘s rookie was a T-206).

And none had the impeccable timing of Scott Sanderson.

(Check out our other player card posts here.)