HOF Class of 1999: Ryan Brett Yount Cepeda

If ever a player was a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Fame candidate, Nolan Ryan was that player. There have been many others, obviously, but he was probably the most famous pitcher of my youth who yielded the torch, after several seasons of overlap, to Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens. 

Like Tom Seaver in 1992, Nolan Ryan received 98.8% of the vote in 1999, his first year of eligibility. They were to that date the only players to earn that many votes, percentage-wise. George Bell (1.2%) was responsible for Ryan not being unanimous. 

Ryan went in with two other players that retired in 1993: George Brett and Robin Yount. Orlando Cepeda also went in this year. Carlton Fisk retired in 1993, too, but would (spoiler alert) have to wait a year for induction. Fisk wasn't issued a 1994 Topps card, unlike most of the players featured in this blog post. 

So here is Nolan Ryan's final Topps card. The pitching-action shot frankly isn't that flattering. He looks old, bow-legged.

Now the card back. Holy smokes. The text behind his tipping the cap photograph is perfect. The card back showing his stats for his 27 year career is mind boggling.

Is Ryan the best power pitcher of all time?

George Brett earned 98.2% of the vote which by 1999 standards, like Nolan Ryan, was practically unanimous because there were a few jerks in the voting pool. When I was growing up Brett was The Man. Most famous for the pine tar incident, he had a solid reputation what with an MVP, a 13-time All-Star, a World Series in 1985, Silver Sluggers, Gold Glove, etc. But the thing I remember him for most are those batting titles. That .390 in 1980 was slightly before I was fully ensconced of baseball  but it was a number we knew by heart once fandom took hold. He was admirably with the Royals his whole career.

Robin Yount was another player who was a single-team player. For 20 years he was a Brewers and was beloved by his fan base and like many others involved in the game of baseball.  He was MVP of the AL twice, was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger winner three times, and won a Gold Glove. It's a shame he only played in one World Series, and lost.

In 1999 Orlando Cepeda was elected by the Veterans Committee in 1999. An MVP and Rookie of the Year winner, he was part of the 1967 World Series winning Cardinals and was an 11-time All-Star. Like many veterans he played for a number of teams in his final years (four teams in last three years). This is is final Topps card, from the very attractive 1974 set. It looks like he missed a lot of time in 1964 and 1965 which definitely drove down his otherwise decent stats. Cepeda played 33 games in 1974 for the Kansas City Royals but was not issued a 1975 Topps card.

Cepeda's first Hall of Fame ballot was in 1980 and he garnered only 12.5% of the vote. In his fifteen and final year of eligibility, 1994, he was up to 73.5%. So close.

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HOF Jackson, Seaver, Carlton, Niekro

Four Hall of Fame players had their final Topps cards in 1987 and it's a solid group of players.

Tom Seaver (inducted 1992), Reggie Jackson (inducted 1993), Steve Carlton (inducted 1994), and Phil Niekro (inducted 1997). Look at the backs of their cards. It was the end of a righteous era of players with one thing in common: longevity. Niekro started in 1964. Carlton started in 1965. And Jackson and Seaver started in 1967.

Seaver retired after the 1986 season after completing 20 years in the Majors but was given a 1987 Topps card. He was a first ballot winner and received 98.8% of the voted. Nearly unanimous.

Reggie Jackson played 21 years and retired after the 1987 season but was not given a 1988 card despite playing 115 games. Another first ballot guy who got 93.6% of the vote.

Steve Carlton hung it up after 24 seasons during the 1988 season. Like Jackson he wasn't given a 1988 Topps card. He did, however, get a 1987 Topps Traded card because he played for several teams. His last two years he racked up the frequent flyer miles playing for the Phillies, Giants, and White Sox in 1986 and the Indians and Twins in 1987. Another first ballot guy who got 95.6% of the vote. 

Phil Niekro got into the Hall of Fame on his fifth ballot, getting 80.3% of the vote, leading the pool that year. He played 24 years in the big leagues and in 1987, he, too, got around going from the Indians to the Blue Jays to the Braves. Unlike Carlton, Niekro did not get a Topps Traded card. Topps' inconsistency is the model of consistency. He did get a 1988 Record Breakers card but that's outside of the scope of my Hall of Fame project.

All totaled up, that 89 years of baseball between the four players. Wow! Will we ever see the likes of that again??

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Darryl Strawberry: 1994 Fleer

1994 Fleer is attractive. Nice white border, wonderful, big photograph. Stats are readable on the back. 1996 is a great card too. Let's not talk about what came in-between, k?

In this image on the back Strawberry has a patch on his left shoulder for 52, which was the number for Tim Crews, who died on March 28, 1993 in the famous boating accident that also saw Steve Olin died. Bobby Ojeda survived. At the time, they were in the Indians organization, but Crews had been a member of the Dodgers from 1987 when he broke into the MLB until the end of 1992. 

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Two Johns

Tell me if you've heard this one before... Two Johns walk into a bar....

That's as far as I got with the attempt at an original joke. If I knew anything much about John Olerud it might have perhaps blossomed into something potentially remotely funny.

In lieu of that, I present a card featured two Johns. John Kruk (recto) and John Olerud (verso). This is the 1993 Leaf - Update Gold All-Stars #3. A small, ten card set, packed with great 1990s names like David Justice, Marquis Grissom, and a young Ivan Rodriguez. I guess it's a ten card set, but it's also a twenty card set since all cards feature different players on the front and the back.

This card was a gift from AJ aka The Lost Collector (Blog | Twitter).

Thanks AJ!

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Two Darryl Strawberry Baseball Cards

The afterlife of Darryl Strawberry's time with the Mets is long and storied. Perhaps even more storied than his years with those Mets. Which should tell you a little something about what to expect below, if you're even bothering to read this text. If you are, comment what 2+2 equals.

1994 Topps I find to be unmemorable. Kind of like Strawberry's last few years with the Dodgers. The back of the card is too scrunched but it looks like he's having fun.

But this card is different. This card is Gold. Topps Gold.

Speaking of gold...1997 Donruss Preferred comes next. It kind of reminds me of Topps Gallery, also issued in 1997.

But I don't think I really care for this design? I think perhaps it might look better in the original rather than in the scan. Topps Gallery has something I really like about it. Particularly the frame. It reminds me of the kind of frame you might see something in in a museum. I also really find that I dislike cards with just one line of stats. Show me more. What about you? How do you feel?

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HOF Paul Molitor

Paul Molitor achieved a lot during his playing days and had some success, even, as a manager. Though he was dismissed as Twins manager a year after rightly winning the Manager of the Year in 2017. That team far exceeded expectations, and what's more is that the 2019 iteration under the helm of Rocco Baldelli did even better, earning Rocco the same award.

But the focus here is on Paul Molitor's playing days. This is his 1998 Topps card showing most of the stats from his Hall of Fame career. He played 126 games in 1998 but was not issued with a Topps base card in 1999. I honestly don't feel the 1998 Topps set is memorable. I might class it as uninspired and boring.

A seven time All-Star, four time Silver Slugger, World Series winner and MVP (1993). His time in baseball started well, finished second in the Rookie of the Year category in 1978 (to Lou Whitaker who is rightly NOT in the Hall of Fame).

Molitor played for three teams: The Brewers, the Blue Jays, and the Twins. How do you most remember him? I'm going with as a Brewers. 

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John Kruk: Mascot & Idol

Today's John Kruk cards are "Fun".

First up is the 1994 "Fun Pack" card brought to you, to us by Upper Deck. The flowing hair is dynamic. I don't much care for the cartoon on the back, but I guess it's kind of what they were doing back then. And I've been accused many times of having a weird idea of fun.

And then we get this 2017 National Baseball Card Day card. Nice simple designs on the front and back. The five P logos on the face of the card are a nifty history lesson. The Toyota logo, meh.

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