Baseball Backgrounds : 1981's Weird Year and 1982 Reggie's Reflection Redux

Last time, I looked deep into Reggie Jackson's glasses on 1982 Topps #300, searching for that man within.

That other guy wore a light uniform and chatted at the batting cage, where Reggie himself sported a Yankees warmup pullover.

Ferreting out that figure felt a lot like identifying background photos in 1956 Topps, where you use on-field context and historical box scores to work out who made a specific play at a particular time and proved worthy of a photo. (In this case, I think Puddin' Head's sliding safe into home on August 17, 1949.)

1956 Topps Puddin' Head Jones (detail)

Two comments on my 1982 Topps Reggie post called out new-to-me info that merits more investigation, just like my second look at 1956 Topps #171 Jim Wilson, whose card shows not Jim Wilson or even #91 Gail Harris, two cards that share the same background action.

and the runner's Richie Ashburn...or is it a recolored Pee Wee?

New context to consider for Reggie

• Look at 1981 All-Star Game in Cleveland instead of Yankee Stadium, per POISON75
• Yankee Stadium lacked bunting for their mid-Sept 1981 series hosting Boston, by Bo

Let us remember 1981, a weird year

Baseball endured a work stoppage that canceled the middle of 1981's season. I own this complete Seattle Mariners ticket because games ended the day before. MLB kicked off 1981's "second half" with a rescheduled All-Star Game on August 9 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

First and second half division leaders reached the playoffs, including the Yankees, yet neither of the NL's best overall divisional records (CIN and STL) "won" a playoff berth. The 1981 Cincinnati Reds won more games than any other MLB team and did not qualify for the playoffs, leading to this memorable photo and custom card.

That short season also influenced player award voting. Brewers reliever Rollie Fingers turned high-leverage, late-inning success into an AL MVP, cementing his impact on the closer's role in our modern game. Topps featured Milwaukee's voluminous pitching jackets on his 1982 card.

Reggie at Cleveland's All-Star Game

1981 All-Star team photos do indeed show Reggie in a black pullover, seated adjacent to Yankee teammates Bucky Dent and Goose Gossage. So far, so good.

The National League photo contains a shocking amount of powder blue, courtesy of the Phillies, Expos, Cubs, and Braves.

1981 All-Star game highlights show Reggie changed to full sleeves that also feature the black armband worn that year for Elston Howard.

from YouTube game highlights (18:50)

That's Bob Hope sitting first row above Cleveland's stadium bunting and their pairing reminds me of George Bush's cameo on a future Derek Jeter card.

If Topps did indeed take Reggie's 1982 card photos at this game, they limited those to his #300 (base) and #551 (All-Star) cards, as their red-bordered sticker shows a shortsleeve undershirt.

Back to our man in the mirror

Now that we see Cleveland pregame warmups for Reggie, consider All-Star Game participants that resemble that reflected image.

My eyes see a white jersey with horizontal team, no number on front, a lighter complexion, and bare arms. Would you believe just one gent from 1981's team photos checks all four boxes? Don Zimmer.

Rangers coach Zimmer oversaw third base that day and first appeared on the broadcast applauding Ken Singleton's second inning homer off Tom Seaver.

As a baseball lifer, I assume Zim knew enough to talk with anyone about anything, anytime. A veteran like Reggie could keep things going for a good while and they intersected more often in future years at Yankee legend events.

Looks like Zim's our real man in the mirror on Reggie's 1982 Topps card. Sorry, Joe Rudi!

For fans of glasses reflections, the Getty archive also provides this easier-to-identify version of these longtime legends.

"Remember that 1981 All-Star Game? Bob Hope had this joke..."

Thanks to attentive readers for helping nail this down!

Baseball Backgrounds : Reggie Jackson's Glasses on 1982 Topps #300

Last week, I got into a Bluesky chat over the reflection in Reggie's glasses on 1982 Topps card #300. New York often wore these pregame warmup tops, so it's common enough to see them in photos of that era. Few guys wore glasses like Reggie, so interesting reflections prove harder to come by.

Zoom closer to spot a guy in a lighter uniform talking to Reggie at the batting cage.

Topps also gave Reggie an All-Star card (#511) taken from the same photo series, which shows scalloped second deck bunting around Yankee Stadium above his helmet.

Most years, bunting alone says little. It's used for patriotic holidays and special events as well as postseason games. That year's work stoppage, however, split the 1981 season into two halves, narrowing things down. No games took place in Yankee Stadium during Memorial Day week or near Independence Day, but New York did reach the playoffs as its "first half champs." (More on that year's Jeckyll & Hyde results.) 

Given context, I speculate this red/white/blue bunting anticipates New York's upcoming playoff series, making it best suited for display during late-season home games. Boton came to town for a September 11-13 series and wore these light-colored uniforms.

1981 Boston Red Sox uniforms

Boston's 1981 roster included one Joe Rudi, who got card #388. The team relegated him to pinch-hitting duties by late season, so it made sense to find Joe at the batting cage before games.

Joe Rudi and Reggie Jackson shared the glory of Oakland's 1972-74 World Series titles side-by-side in the A's outfield and continue to appear together today when those champs get recognition.

Joe Rudi, Sal Bando, Reggie Jackson, Mike Epstein at Oakland Coliseum, 1972

There's a decent chance Topps caught Joe and Reggie chewing the fat during warmups before a mid-September NYY/BOS game at Yankee Stadium, giving Joe a reflected cameo in Reggie's glasses.

What do you think, do the details match up? Have someone you like as Reggie's reflection even better

Update: Readers pointed me to Cleveland's All-Star Game for Reggie's card photos and I found an even better pick than Joe Rudi for part II of this investigation. Thanks!

Baseball's Best Fifth Round Draft Picks 1970 - 74

Thanks to Immaculate Grid game #212's new category (first round draft pick) for inspiring me to bone up on MLB's Rule 4 amateur draft, which kicked off in 1965. Baseball Reference's statistical history includes Rule 4's complete record, broken down by draft phase and pick. I already covered 1965-69 in my prior post and will keep looking at five-year blocks until we run out of steam.

Two of these names from the top of 1970's fifth round found similar overall success, right around WAR's break-even point.

Pat Scanlon, who shares his name with an uncle of mine, played parts of four seasons for Montreal and San Diego. He appeared on a pair of standard cards, one SSPC...

...the other, 1978 Topps, airbrushed his Montreal cap and uniform with a foreshortened SD.

Thanks to dedicated blogger and image updater WthBalls, we can enjoy one more Scanlon, based on a real Padres photo.

As good as those three cards turned out, Pat's -0.3 career WAR sits well below our best choice for 1970.

1970: Rick Waits (14.2 WAR)

Rick turned into a Cleveland innings-eater for five years before slowing in 1982 and closing his career as a Milwaukee reliever. His first appearance (September 17, 1973, for Texas) gave him a save that might not be granted today. He pitched the ninth, gave up one run, and finished ahead by seven runs.

Easy to pick my favorite Waits card, a "waiter" card, as marked up by BaseballCardVandals.com.

1971: Charlie Moore (10.3 WAR)

Charlie's name feels more familiar than most, as a Wisconsin native and 1980s card collector. Milwaukee's "tools of ignorance" looked great in blue and gold, with Moore wearing them on cards at least twice.

Moore also spent a lot of time in right field and batted well during a 1982 postseason that brought his Brewers to the World Series against St. Louis.

1972: Randy Jones (17.8 WAR, 1976 NL Cy Young, 2x All-Star)

Randy fell a few votes short of back-to-back Cy Young awards, finishing second to Seaver in 1975 before winning the following year. His flip side Jim Palmer managed that feat, joining the cadre who won at least two in a row.

These two cards show the significance of a great mid-1970s hairdo, whether you're feeling Randy or feeling Jim.

1973: LaMarr Hoyt (12.1 WAR, 1983 AL Cy Young, 1985 All-Star)

Hoyt also led the AL in wins twice (1982-83) and picked up a Cy Young of his own. He followed Randy's example with lofty curls and classic, vintage uniforms.

As inscribed by his own hand, LaMarr started that 1985 All-Star Game (for San Diego) and took the win-plus-MVP in a 6-1 NL victory.

1974: (tie) Steve Henderson (11.5 WAR), Jim Morrison (12 WAR)

For my first time so far, two players vie for the trophy. While Henderson remains closer to my heart as a former Mariner, I prefer his Buntin' Cub 1983 card's more interesting composition.

Jim Morrison started his teen years about when the famous Jim Morrison peaked and I bet he rode a rollercoaster of seeing that name in the papers, for reasons good, bad, and ugly. In an echo of Mr. Mojo Risin's animal magnetism, Topps used portraits of Jim's handsome mug on several cards.

I give the "best pick" edge to Jim over Steve for his three scoreless pitching appearances as a 1988 Brave. Remember his name the next time IG asks for an Atlanta Brave with season ERA under 3!

Cross-post: What if Robert Laughlin made 300/400/500 today?

SABR's baseball card blog posted my second article for their site not long ago. Check it out!

300/400/500 update : Crime Dog McGriff

"What if Robert Laughlin made his 300/400/500 set today?"

And there's a non-zero chance I will indeed print an update to Laughlin's 300/400/500 in my lifetime. Just need the free time and digital art skills. ;-)

(And if you're interested in writing for them as well, I believe any interested SABR member can contribute articles -- visit SABR.org to learn more about membership.)

One for Five : The History of Topps According to 2016 Anthology

Today post follows the spirit of a pair of posts from spring 2016 and give you a head-start on the evolving business of 1950s Topps baseball sets. Feel free to check those out first.

• How and Why Topps Created the All-Star Set
• Comparing the Rookie Stars of 1959 and 1960 Topps All-Star Rookies subsets

Modern card collectors will know Topps often revisits their past glory with Heritage sets, vintage reprints, throwback inserts, and so forth. Back in 2016, Topps beefed up this tradition by releasing a Topps Anthology series that reprinted many significant baseball cards from their past on pricy, postcard-sized (5"x7") paper in boxed albums.

2016 Topps Anthology, 1951 - 2016

The marketing blurb accompanying Anthology gave me pause, as it mixed facts and errors in pursuit of a kitchen-to-castle story of Topps baseball and the collecting market in general.

2016 Topps Anthology Series One marketing poster

How well did Topps compact their decades of hobby history into two paragraphs? Not great.

Error #1: "...started producing baseball trading cards in 1951..." is three years off.

1948 Topps Magic Photo, George Sisler

Topps first printed baseball cards in 1948 with the sepia-toned Magic Photo set. Today, you'll find type cards on eBay for low money, $10 or less. Magic Photo's gimmicky and ugly as sin, so I don't blame Topps for pretending they never happened.

Fact: "...Sy Berger designed the standard-setting cards at his kitchen table..." 

Sy Berger, 1952 style

Sy Berger garnered a great deal of credit for creating the 1952 set and it sold well, forcing other card makers to play catch-up in both design and set size. Did Sy design this seminal set at his kitchen table? Sure, why not! I'm writing this post at my kitchen table. It's comfortable and it's where the food is.

Error: "By '74...rookie cards are more valued than ever."

That's somewhat true...and yet misleading. First-year rookies didn't drop in value before 1974, so their value was indeed "more than ever." Circa 1974, premium pricing in the hobby went to stars and rarity far more than prospects and rookies. That held true until cards like this came along.

1981 Donruss #538, Tim Raines RC

Unless my memory's faulty, the mania for rookies didn't blow up until Topps' competitors Fleer and Donruss arrived in 1981 and all three looked for ways to outsell and out-promote each other. Tim Raines and Fernando Valenzuela drove high demand in 1981 itself, where Donruss was the only set to put Tim on his own card and Fleer was the only set for Fernando's own card.

1985 Topps #401, Mark McGwire RC

Remember Mark McGwire's 1985 Topps rookie card? People went nuts for it in 1986, when he broke the rookie HR record. This hobby-changer happened because Topps licensed cards for the 1984 Olympics team (made up of college players) as a way to undercut Fleer and Donruss. Anthology misses the "mark" a bit when it pushes rookies-as-savvy-investments back to the 1970s, to when local, informal pricing defined the hobby over annual price guides. (Lest this sound like a critique, I think centralized pricing helped the hobby mature and we'd still be wandering the desert without it.)

Error: "...first Traded series in late '74..." 

Topps introduced Traded in their last series of 1972 baseball by airbrushing players into post-trade uniforms, like #751 Steve Carlton going from St. Louis to Philly. Why introduce this subset in 1972 and not sooner? I credit the early stages of MLB free agency, which promoted freer movement of players. Topps hoped these up-to-date cards sold during pennant races would give fans a reason to keep buying packs in the late season months.

Error: "...stacking [1974 Traded] with rookies called up from the minors..."

1974 Topps Traded, a 44 card late-season insert set

Traded cards in 1974 feature airbrushed players who'd been traded, same as 1972. They did much the same with another Traded set in 1976. No rookies to be seen!

If what you want is vets in new uniforms and rookie phenoms, Topps first offered that in 1981 as Topps "Traded," a tidy boxed set that added 132 cards to the existing regular set, #727-858. As mentioned earlier, this kind of release followed new competition from Fleer and Donruss.

Before 1981, Topps took just three, low-quality shots at "traded" players in 1972, 1974, and 1976. Starting in 1981, they made the Traded series an appealing, annual look at fresh faces and new jerseys. To tie back to my early note about Tim Raines and Fernando Valenzuela, one could argue they created 1981's Traded set as a hedge against innovations Fleer and Donruss would release and hot players they'd miss out on.

.200, The Mendoza Line

How'd they measure up? Topps went 1-for-5 on their own history, batting just .200! I'm a little disappointed, given how easy it is to check these details via Google.

Why do I care in the 21st century about how Topps characterized their first quarter century? Because there's a business history that runs parallel to their baseball history. The financial decisions that Topps made in those years enabled them to create all those great 1950s and 1960s cards that became part of Anthology and I want that business history to be just as visible to hobbyists, even if it risks making the baseball side feel less magical.

And I'm not done with you yet, Anthology ad copy!

For my next post, I'll dive deeper into the phrase, "Selected by the youth of America." Anthology didn't give us more to chew on and, as it turns out, there's plenty of meat on that bone. What should modern collectors know about who the "Youth of America" were? How does it relate to collecting today? More to come soon.