1981 new york yankees

this post covers the 1981 new york yankees and cards numbered 214 to 219 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

oh look.  it's the yankees.  again.  this is the fourth time they've been featured in the set, and the second time we've seen them in back-to-back years.

what team is this?:  this is the 1981 new york yankees, winners of the american league east in the 'first half' of the season, and american league champions for the fourth time in six years.

why this team?:  isn't it enough that they are the yankees?  at least this team made the world series, as opposed to the 1980 club that was featured previously.  the 1981 yankees were 34-22 when the strike came, but only 25-26 after play resumed.  they finished with the fourth best overall record in the american league east, but qualified for the playoffs thanks to the split-season determination.  they beat the brewers in five games to claim the american league pennant, but lost to the dodgers in a six-game fall classic.  the yankees then missed the postseason for 13 straight seasons.  some yankee fans might say 12 since there was no postseason in 1994, but i'll stick with 13.

which players are featured?: rudy may, bucky dent, dave winfield, lou piniella, rich 'goose' gossage, and tommy john.  of the six, only dave winfield is new to the set.

why these players?:  i'm not altogether sure that this is a good representation of the 1981 yankee squad, as you can tell by the noncommittal text on the backs.  let's break it down.

rudy may had led the league in era in 1980, but posted a 4.14 era in 1981. he had a 6-11 record during the regular season, and was moved to the bullpen for a stretch in august and again at the end of the season.  in the postseason, may was used exclusively in relief as he appeared in one game in each of the playoff series.  in the world series, may pitched in three games, compiling a 2.84 era without any decisions.

bucky dent appeared in 73 of the team's 107 games in 1981.  he hit .238 with 7 home runs as their primary shortstop.  he injured his forearm after being hit by a pitch in late august and missed the remainder of the season, including the yankees' postseason run.  he was replaced in the lineup by larry milbourne.

hall of famer dave winfield joined the yankees in 1981 and quickly got his first taste of new york yankee-dom as the team made the postseason and he suffered the wrath of george steinbrenner.   winfield's .294 average and 68 rbi during the regular season led the team, and his 13 home runs were second behind the 15 that reggie jackson and graig nettles hit.  winfield made the all-star team, won a silver slugger award, and finished 7th in the league mvp voting, but he was just 1 for 22 in the world series, causing the boss to refer to him as 'mr. may'.

lou piniella appeared in only 60 games for the yankees during the 1981 regular season.  he hit .277 as a right fielder/left fielder/designated hitter with 5 home runs and 18 rbi.  he made only one start in the alcs, although he was 2 for 2 as a pinch hitter in the other two games of the series.  in the world series, he started three games and pinch hit in the other three.  overall against the dodgers, piniella led his team with a .438 average.

rich 'goose' gossage dominated in 1981.  he had a 0.77 era with 20 saves in 32 appearances.  he was an all-star and finished fifth in the cy young voting.  he made amends for his one disastrous appearance in the 1980 playoffs with 8 scoreless appearances over the three series.  he had six saves in those games, including saves in each of the first two games of the world series - the only games of the series that new york would win.

tommy john was just 9-8 during the 1981 regular season, but had a tidy 2.63 era over his 20 starts.  john lost his lone start in the division series against the brewers, but bounced back in the alcs to shut down the a's in game 1 on one run in six innings of work.  he made two starts and one relief appearance in the world series, winning game 2 and pitching well as the starter in the decisive game 6 before being lifted for a pinch hitter after just 4 innings.

the stadium on the back is...?:  yankee stadium - the house that ruth built that was renovated around 1973.  although it is shown without the 'brut' advertisement.

did upper deck get it right?: well, i could be cynical and say that this is just a checklist grab - an easy way to fill the checklist with players that are already in the set.  but, the yankees did get to the world series in 1981, so maybe the team belongs.  there definitely could have been better player representation, though.  bob watson, alcs mvp graig nettles, even guys like jerry mumphrey or larry milbourne (not to mention reggie jackson and ron guidry - both for the umpteenth time in this set), would have been better choices than some of the players upper deck featured here.

as for the photos, they all look about right for the period, but we know that the yankees wore a black armband in honor of elston howard in 1981.  that means that dent, piniella, and gossage are definitely not shown as they were in 1981.  the rudy may photo is inconclusive (it is pretty similar to the one that upper deck used for the 1980 subset).  both winfield and john have the armbands (and john's photo is probably from the same game as the one in the 1980 subset), and i would guess that it is highly likely that at least the winfield photo is from his first year with the yankees.

is this team timeless?:  i would say no.  it is the last team of the reggie jackson years, and the last pennant winner for the yankees until 1996, but it is overshadowed by the bronx zoo years of 1977 and 1978.

1981 milwaukee brewers

this post covers the 1981 milwaukee brewers and cards numbered 208 to 213 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

it's been a while since a new franchise was introduced to the set, even though two of the players have been featured before (cecil cooper and rollie fingers).  three of the six players here are hall of famers, which makes for a good checklist.  and can we agree that the 'mb' glove is one the greatest logo of its time?

what team is this?:  this is the 1981 milwaukee brewers, who won the american league east in the 'second half' of the season.

why this team?:  this is the first milwaukee brewer team to reach the postseason.  they wound up with the second best overall record in the american league in 1981 (62-47) behind the oakland a's, but lost to the yankees in the divisional playoff round in 5 games.  i will still categorize them as division champions, just so i don't have to go and create some special label.

which players are featured?: cecil cooper, gorman thomas, paul molitor, robin yount, rollie fingers, and don money.

why these players?:  this is a pretty good representation of the 1981 brewers squad, for the most part.  let's break it down.

cecil cooper led the brew crew with a .320 batting average in 1981, good for 4th in the league.  the first baseman also led the league in doubles (35), won the silver slugger award, and finished 8th in the league mvp voting.  in the playoffs against the yankees, cooper hit .222 with 3 rbi.

gorman thomas, usually the brewers' center fielder, split the 1981 season between center and right field.  he hit 21 home runs (5th in the league) and drove in 65 (8th) in 103 games.  he made the all-star team for the first (and only) time, but was 0-1 in the game with a pinch hit pop out.  in the postseason, thomas hit a home run in the brewers' decisive game 5 loss, but managed just one other hit during the series.

hall of famer paul molitor moved from the infield to the outfield in 1981, spending most of his time in center field for the brewers that year.  unfortunately, he appeared in only 64 games during the regular season and hit only .267.  molly hit just .250 in the alds, but had a big solo home run in the 8th inning of game 4 to break a 3-3 tie and force the series to a fifth game.

robin yount was the only brewer regular to hit over .300 in the postseason.  he hit .316 over the five games, but had only one extra base hit and one rbi in doing so.  he had hit .273 during the regular season with 30 extra base hits and 49 rbi - a down year for sure.  he bounced back in a big way in 1982, however, as we will see in a few posts down the line.

rollie fingers had been traded from the padres to the cardinals after the 1980 season, and four days after that trade was completed, he was shipped to the brewers.  the hall of famer did well during his first season in milwaukee, winning the cy young award thanks to a 1.04 era, 6-3 record, and 28 saves in 47 appearances.  not only that, but fingers also won the mvp award, becoming the first american league reliever to have done so.  the future hall of famer appeared in three of the five alds games, earning the win in game 3 and a save in game 4.

don money is the one player who probably doesn't fit here.  he had played in only 60 games during the regular season, and hit just .216 as the brewers' primary third baseman.  in the postseason, the former all-star saw action in two of the games, going 0 for 3 at the plate.

the stadium on the back is...?:  milwaukee county stadium, home to the brewers from 1970 through 2000.  it had hosted the milwaukee braves prior to that, from 1953 through 1965 after which the braves left for atlanta.  county stadium even hosted a handful of white sox games in 1968 and 1969.

did upper deck get it right?: there are no issues with featuring this team since it was the first brewer team to reach the postseason, and it featured a lot of good players.  and, upper deck did well with the player selection outside of don money.  ted simmons, jim gantner, ben oglivie, or pete vuckovich would have been better choices based on their 1981 seasons.  sal bando (who was already on the set checklist) would have even made more sense, as he was the team's third baseman in the playoffs, and his .294 average in the series was second to only yount's .316.

as for the photos, they all look about right for the period (based on the uniforms, hats, and thomas' batting helmet), but i would say that money's photo is from the mid 1970's.  overall, not a bad effort by the folks in carlsbad.

is this team timeless?:  i would say no.  it is overshadowed by the 1982 brewer team that made it to the world series and included basically the same players.

1981 los angeles dodgers

this post covers the 1981 los angeles dodgers and cards numbered 198 to 207 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

no memorable moment card (rick monday or fernando valenzuela would have made a good one), but we have exactly 10 players for the first time in the set, which is the most since there were 11 players featured for the 1969 and 1970 baltimore orioles.

what team is this?:  this is the 1981 los angeles dodger team that won the world series, beating the yankees in six games after the strike-shortened season and two rounds of playoffs.

why this team?:  the 1981 dodgers exacted their revenge on the yankees who had beaten them in two straight world series - 1977 and 1978.  they were 63-47 in the regular season, and their 'first half' record of 36-21 (one game better than the cincinnati reds) assured them a place in the postseason thanks to the strike-altered playoff configuration, despite finishing fourth in the nl west during the second half of the season.  it should be noted that the reds actually won the most games of any national league team in 1981, but they missed the playoffs altogether.

which players are featured?:  steve yeager, burt hooton, dusty baker, jerry reuss, mike scioscia, pedro guerrero, ron cey, steve garvey, alejandro pena, and steve sax.

why these players?:  there was a changing of the guard with the 1981 dodgers, and this is a good mix of the old and the new - especially with regards to the catcher and third base positions where we see both the veteran and the rookie represented.  if only it were the same for the second baseman...  anyway, we have the world series mvp trio as well as the all-star first baseman, nlcs mvp, and other key player represented.  let's break it down.

steve yeager was used in a platoon role with rookie catcher mike scioscia during the 1981 season, playing primarily against left-handed starters.  as a result, yeager appeared in 40 games and started behind the plate just 23 times, and he hit just .209 with 3 homers and 7 rbi in that limited playing time.  then came the postseason.  yeager made one start in two nlds appearances, and was used as a pinch hitter in just one game of the nlcs, but with the yankees featuring southpaws tommy john, ron guidry, rudy may, and dave righetti, yeager saw plenty of action in the world series.  good thing, too, as he hit two home runs, including the game 5 game-winner, and claimed one-third of the series mvp trophy.

burt hooton was named the nlcs mvp in 1981.  before that, however, hooton earned a spot on the all-star team for the first time.  for the season, he was 11-6 with a 2.28 era in the abbreviated season, logging 142.1 innings in 23 starts.  he threw 5 complete games and 4 shutouts to boot, including back to back 4-hit shutouts against the cubs and pirates in august.  hooton made one start in the nlds against the astros, and held them to 3 hits and one earned run in 7 innings as the dodgers took game 3.  he then made two starts against montreal in the nlcs.  in both game 1 and game 4, hooton earned the win by going 7.1 innings and allowing no earned runs. he also made two starts in the world series, going 6 innings in game 2 and allowing no earned runs in the dodgers' loss, and then pitching into the sixth inning and getting the win in their game 6 clincher.  overall, hooton had a 0.82 era in 5 postseason starts in 1981

dusty baker finished third in the national league in batting in 1981 with a .320 average.  he hit the second most singles (99) in the league behind pete rose, and was fourth overall in hits. he was named to the all-star team for the first time, and he also won his first gold glove and second silver slugger award in 1981.  one of his 9 home runs during the regular season was a pinch hit, walk-off home run in the 11th inning of a game against the cardinals.  in the postseason, dusty did most of his damage in the nlcs against the expos, and in fact, in the dodgers' game 3 7-1 victory  in which he was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 3 runs driven in.  in the nlds and world series, he hit .167 with just one extra base hit.

jerry reuss was 10-4 with a 2.30 era during the regular season.  he was slated to be the dodgers' opening day starter before an injury caused him to give way to fernando valenzuela, sparking fernandomania.  in the postseason, reuss was terrific in three of his five starts.  he made two starts in the nlds against houston, pitching 18 shutout innings against the astros.  unfortunately, his nine scoreless innings in game 2 was rewarded only with a no-decision, as houston won the game 1-0 in 11 innings.  reuss did record the shutout victory in game 5 however, clinching the series win with a 5-hitter at home.  he made one start in the nlcs against the expos (game 3) but was the losing pitcher in that game.  he started game 1 of the world series against the yankees and took the loss after giving up four runs in 2.2 innings of work.  he rebounded to pitch a gem in the pivotal game 5 of the series, holding the yankees to one run in his complete game victory.

mike scioscia started 87 games as the dodgers' catcher in 1981, taking over the primary catching duties from steve yeager in the process.  he hit .276 with a couple of home runs and 29 rbi.  in the postseason, he struggled at the plate, hitting just .154, .133, and .250 in the nlds, nlcs, and world series, respectively.  his lone home run of the postseason came in game 1 of the nlcs, and was the second of the back-to-back home runs hit off of jeff reardon in the 8th inning.

pedro guerrero was the player who homered before scioscia in game 1 of the nlcs, in case you were wondering.  guerrero spent a good part of 1981 in right field covering for the injured reggie smith before moving to third base towards the end of the season (and in the nlds) when cey was injured.  he hit an even .300 with 12 homers and 48 rbi during the regular season, but had less than stellar statistics in the nlds and nlcs.  he did hit a home run in each of those series, but it wasn't until game 3 of the world series that his bat came alive.  with the dodgers down to the yankees two games to none, guerrero broke out of an 0 for 8 skid with a game-tying double in the 5th inning of game 3 that also moved ron cey to third base. cey scored the go-ahead run on mike scioscia's double play grounder, and fernando held the yankees scoreless the rest of the way to give the dodgers their first win of the series.  over the next three games, guerrero was 6 for 11 with a triple, two home runs, and 6 rbi, including 5 in the decisive game 6.  as a result, he was rewarded with a third of the series mvp award.  it's worth noting that even as the series was going on, there were rumors that the dodgers were planning to trade guerrero to the padres for ozzie smith.  i am guessing that his series performance went a long way to putting those rumors to bed.

ron cey hit .288 over 85 of the dodgers' 110 games that year, with 13 homers and 50 rbi.  5 of those homers came against the expos (one was a walk-off), and he also homered off of former teammate rick rhoden.  the highlight home run of the year for the penguin, however, must have been the one he hit at riverfront stadium off of mario soto on may 23rd. that was the 200th homer of his career.  cey missed most of the final month of the season after being beaned by the giants' tom griffin in early september, and he did not play in the nlds against the astros.  however, the penguin returned for the nlcs, where he had an .714 ops and 3 rbi. then, in the world series against the yankees, cey hit .350 and made a memorable fielding play in game 3 to catch a bunt and start a double play late in the game.  later in the series, he suffered a horrific beaning in the head by goose gossage, but his 6 rbi in the series and .958 ops earned him his third of the series mvp award.

steve garvey hit just 10 home runs in 1981, but he led the team in rbi with 64 and runs scored with 63. while he kept his consecutive games streak alive, another streak ended as, for the first time since 1973, garvey did not start in the all star game. he was still named to the all-star team as a reserve, and he went 1 for 2 with a double in the game.  in the postseason, garvey likely would have been named the mvp of the division series had such an award been given. he hit .386 with 2 home runs and an ops of 1.158 in the dodgers five game series against the astros. against the expos in the nlcs, he hit .286 with one home run and an ops of .714. garvey bounced back in the world series against the yankees, hitting .417, and leading both teams with 10 hits. 9 of those hits were singles, however, and he failed to drive in a run. he did get to be the second player to reach the mound during the celebration, and so he is in the iconic 1981 world champion photo with steve yeager and steve howe. speaking of yeager, he shared the series mvp award with pedro guerrero and ron cey, although during the locker room celebration, garvey was mistakenly told that he had won the award, not yeager.

alejandro pena made his big league debut in august of 1981 against the braves.  contrary to my memory, he did not walk the first batter he faced (it seemed like he always walked the first batter he faced when he entered a game) and instead recorded a 1-2-3 inning with his first career strikeout to boot.  pena wound up appearing in 14 regular season games, and was 1-1 with 2 saves and a 2.84 era.  he made the postseason roster, but appeared only in two games of the nlcs, allowing no runs and just one hit in 2.1 innings of work.

steve sax also made his big league debut in august of 1981.  his first appearance came as a starter against the cubs in chicago, and he singled in his first major league at bat.  in all, sax played in 31 games, taking over as the team's second baseman in davey lopes' absence due to injury.  he hit .277 with 2 homers and 15 runs scored.  he also had 5 stolen bases, but was caught an un-lopes like 7 times. lopes was back in time for the postseason, so sax was limited to just one late-inning defensive replacement appearance in each the nlds and the nlcs.  he got a pinch-hit at bat in game 1 of the world series (he flew out against ron guidry) and his final appearance in the series came in game 2 when he pinch ran for reggie smith in the 8th inning.

the stadium on the back is...?:  dodger stadium - home to the dodgers since 1962

did upper deck get it right?:  certainly this team belongs in the set as the world champions in 1981, but there are quite a few dodgers that i would have liked to have seen featured as part of this particular subset that also would have been sensible choices.  in fact, i think that upper deck had some other ideas as well.  typically, the featured players are included in the set in alphabetical order by first name.  the fact that steve yeager is first leads me to believe that someone else was considered - someone whose first name starts with an 'a' or a 'b', and falls ahead of 'burt' in that regard.  bill russell?  bob welch?  bobby castillo?  or was alejandro pena on the checklist all along, and he just got placed out of the regular order?

and who might have been between steve garvey and steve sax before pena was put there? the only person on the roster who fits there is steve howe, who was still around in 2004.  howe would have made a lot of sense because he was also on the 1995 yankees who are featured later in the set.  i personally would have loved a steve howe certified auto.  other players who would have made sense include russell and dave lopes (both featured in other dodger subsets), rick monday (the hero of the 1981 nlcs) and terry forster (who shows up with the angels later in the set, but for some reason was left out of the checklist as a dodger in 1978 and 1981).  of course, the biggest omission is probably rookie of the year and cy young award winner fernando valenzuela.  any of the players i mentioned are probably better representations of the team than pena or sax.

as for the photos, the yeager and guerrero images are definitely from 1981.  in fact, those photos were taken on october 28, 1981 in the visitor's locker room at yankee stadium.  yeager has guerrero's left arm draped over his neck, and you can see ron cey's right eyebrow in the frame as well.  as for guerrero, he is hoisting the series mvp award that was given to him, along with yeager and cey.  hooton's photo is inconclusive, although i would guess it is from later in his career.  the photo used for his 1980 subset card was from 1981 (thanks to the patch on his left sleeve) and he was wearing his stirrups differently than he is in the photo in this subset.  dusty baker's left sleeve doesn't have the los angeles bicentennial patch, so it's not from 1981 either.  reuss, scioscia, and pena have photos in which i can't tell what year they are from, but the cey image is definitely from 1982.  not only is the patch missing from his sleeve, he is wearing a helmet with an earflap which he did not do until after he was beaned by gossage in the world series.  garvey's photo is from 1981 as it has the proper patch, while saxy's photo comes from 1984, i believe, as i think that his left sleeve has the olympic patch on it.

is this team timeless?:  yes - the team of my youth finally won a world series, and they beat the yankees in doing so!  plus, it was the last time that the infield of my youth played together.  good times.

1980 philadelphia phillies

this post covers the 1980 philadelphia phillies and cards numbered 191 to 197 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

it' a new franchise to the set! with the return of the memorable moments subset (with a dickie noles appearance) and four players being featured for the first time.

what team is this?:  the 1980 world champion philadelphia phillies

why this team?:  this was the first philadelphia baseball team to win a world series championship.  ever.  and the last of the 'original' sixteen franchises that were in existence when the world series began in 1903.  they were 91-71 in the regular season (winning the national league east by one game over the montreal expos). they beat the houston astros in the nl championship series 3 games to 2, and won the world series by beating the kansas city royals in six games.

which players are featured?: bake mcbride, bob boone, dickie noles, manny trillo, mike schmidt, sparky lyle, and steve carlton.

why these players?:  we've got the league mvp, the league cy young award winner, and five other guys.  let's break it down.

bake mcbride was the phillies' regualar right fielder in 1980, the final season in which he would be a regular in the big leagues.  mcbride hit .309 with a career high 87 rbi in the regular season, and then hit .304 with a home run and 5 rbi in the world series, doing most of his damage in the first two games of the fall classic.

bob boone's 1980 season is probably best remembered as the year that he dropped frank white's pop up, only to have it caught by pete rose near the first base dugout.  that play occurred in the 8th inning of the decisive sixth game of the world series.  during the regular season, boone (who had won two straight gold gloves coming in to the 1980 season) pretty much matched his offensive totals from 1979, although his batting average dropped by almost 60 points.  he caught all 11 postseason games for the phillies, including four extra inning games, missing only one inning in the nlcs. boone hit .412 in the world series with 2 doubles and 4 rbi.

dickie noles was in his second big league season in 1980, in which he appeared in 48 games, 45 of them in relief.  he had a record of 1-4 with 6 saves during the regular season, and made two scoreless relief appearances in the nlcs against the astros.  in the world series, he made just one appearance, as he was called into relief in game 4 after starter larry christenson got knocked around by the royals.  he gave up just one run (a solo home run by willie mays aikens) and struck out six in his 4.2 innings of work, but his appearance is best remembered for one pitch that he made to george brett.  as the back of his 'memorable moments' card attests, noles threw a brushback pitch to brett in the fourth inning with the phillies down 5-1.  although the phillies lost the game and the series was tied at two games apiece, some feel that noles' pitch was a turning point in the series.  me, i'm not so sure, but the phillies wound up winning so i guess they can see it however they want.

manny trillo won a silver slugger award as the phillies' second baseman in 1980. he hit .292  and scored a career high 68 runs in 141 games that year.  trillo hit .381 in the nlcs against the astros, but the royals held him to a .217 batting average in the world series.

mike schmidt set career highs in home runs (48) and rbi (121), and led the league in both of those triple crown categories - the first of four times that he would do so in his career.  as a result, he earned the national league mvp award, as well as the gold glove and silver slugger awards, and he was voted to start the all-star game (although he missed the game with an injury).  his 48 home runs were the most ever by a third baseman, and he hit his last two of the season when it mattered most - in a division-deciding series with the second place expos.  schmidt hit 2 more home runs with 7 rbi in the world series, and was named the mvp of the fall classic.

sparky lyle was acquired by the phillies in september of 1980.  luckily for kevin saucier, the deal was for a player to be named later, so he was able to pitch in the world series and get a ring before he became a texas ranger in november.  as for lyle, he made 10 appearances for the phillies down the stretch, posting an era of 1.93 with two saves, but was ineligible for the postseason due to his late arrival in philly.

steve carlton was 24-9 in 38 starts during the regular season, with a 2.34 era.  he led the league in wins and strikeouts (286), and was second to don sutton in era.  still, his cy young award was not unanimous, as one voter put jerry reuss at the top of the ballot.  carlton was named to the all-star team, but did not pitch in the game.  i always found it odd that carlton's 1981 topps card featured the all-star banner, when it was jr richard who started the game for the national league.  anyway, carlton made 2 starts in each the nlcs and the world series.  the phillies won each of those games, and carlton earned the victory in three of them, including games 2 and 6 of the fall classic.

the stadium on the back is...?:  veterans stadium.  home to the phillies from 1971 through 2003.

did upper deck get it right?: with pete rose being ineligible, the only regulars not included in the set are larry bowa, greg luzinski, and garry maddox.  and, i would suggest that bob boone is as deserving as any of those three to be included, so i think upper deck did ok with their player selection.  besides, boone will show up later with the 1986 california angels.  as far as pitchers go, dick ruthven would have been a good choice, but i don't have much of a problem with dickie noles.  tug mcgraw would have been an obvious choice, but he passed away in january of 2004 - i assume prior to the finalization of the set checklist.  kudos to upper deck for not giving us a tim mccarver card just because he was already part of the set.  mccarver played in only a handful of games for the phillies after being signed to a contract in september of 1980, and did not appear in the postseason.

regarding the photos, the uniforms are all correct (as is steve carlton's perm) as far as what the phillies were sporting in 1980, although i would guess that the boone photo is from sometime earlier in the 1970's.

is this team timeless?:  yes.

1980 new york yankees

this post covers the 1980 new york yankees and cards numbered 184 to 190 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

no memorable moments, just one player new to the set (rudy may), and a bunch of crafty veterans.

what team is this?:  the 1980 new york yankees, winners of 103 games and free of billy martin for a full season for the first time since 1974.

why this team?:  the yankees won the american league east in 1980 after a one-year hiatus.  they returned to the american league championship series for the fourth time in five years, but lost to the kansas city royals (the team they had beat in their three previous alcs appearances) in three games.

which players are featured?:  rudy may, brian doyle, bucky dent, jim kaat, lou piniella, luis tiant, and tommy john.

why these players?:  aside from the fact that they work with the set checklist, these guys accounted for 45 of the team's wins and 8 of their 189 home runs.  so, yeah - why these players?  let's break it down.

rudy may returned to the yankees in 1980 after three-plus seasons away.  he split his time between the bullpen and the starting rotation (41 appearances, 17 starts) and wound up leading the american league in earned run average (2.46).  he was 15-5 on the regular season and got the start in game 2 of the alcs. he pitched a complete game (of the 8 inning variety) but was done in by a 3-run 3rd inning for the royals.

brian doyle was unable to parlay his 1978 world series success into success during the regular season.  he appeared in only 34 games for the yankees in 1980, and did not play in the alcs at all.  he did hit his lone career home run in 1980, however; a solo shot off of the indians' len barker.  while including doyle with the 1978 team made sense, he is only included here as easy checklist fodder.

bucky dent was the starting shortstop for the american league in the 1980 all-star game at dodger stadium (he was 1 for 2 in the game).  he hit .262 during the regular season with 5 home runs and 57 runs scored.  he was just 2 for 11 with no runs scored or extra base hits in the 1980 postseason, however.

jim kaat makes even less sense here than doyle.  he appeared in 4 games for the yankees in 1980, going 0-1 in five innings of work.  his contract was purchased by the cardinals at the end of april, and his brief yankee career which began less than a year earlier was finished.

lou piniella hit .287 in 116 games for the yankees in 1980.  he hit only 2 home runs with just 27 rbi, however.  in the alcs, he started in left field in games 1 and 3 against southpaws larry gura and paul spilttorff, but did not play in game 2 against dennis leonard.  he hit a home run in his first at bat in game 1 (the second in a back-to-back sequence with rick cerone) but was held hitless for the remainder of the series.

luis tiant joined the yankees for the 1979 season, and went 13-8 with a 3.91 era.  in 1980, his era rose by almost a full run (4.89) and his win-loss record was 8-9.  with the yankees being swept in the playoffs, tiant did not get a start in the series.

tommy john did get a start in the alcs - game 3 to be exact (ron guidry started the first game of the series).  he left with two outs in the 7th inning with the  yankees leading 2-1 and the tying run on base.  a couple batters later, goose gossage gave up a 3-run homer to george brett, and the yankees' season was all but over.  during the regular season, john won a career high 22 games to lead the team.  he finished 4th in the cy young voting, and was named to the all-star team for the third straight year and the fourth time in his career.  that was the year he gave up the home run to ken griffey at dodger stadium for which tommy lasorda takes all the credit.

the stadium on the back is...?:  yankee stadium, but that's not a photo from 1980.

did upper deck get it right?: this might be the worst roster representation in the set.  upper deck completely missed the boat with brian doyle and jim kaat, especially.  i am a kaat fan, but it is pretty obvious that he was included because he previously appeared in the set with the 1965 minnesota twins.  reggie jackson (41 homers and a .300 average in 1980!) is probably the most obvious miss (again, wasn't he an upper deck employee? how hard would it have been to get him in this set?) along with ron guidry and goose gossage.  rick cerone, willie randolph, and bob watson would have made sense, too.  heck, even eric soderholm would have made more sense than kitty kaat.  

let's take a look at the photos.  the yankees wore a black armband for the entire 1980 season in honor of thurman munson who died in 1979.  that means that the doyle, dent, and piniella photos are definitely not from 1980.  tommy john is the only one with a visible armband, so his photo may be from 1980, or it could be from 1979 or 1981 (for elston howard) or even 1986 (roger maris).  rudy may's photo looks like it could be from his first stint with the yankees, and the photos for tiant and kaat would both be from either 1979 or 1980 - the only seasons they were with the yankees.

as for the team itself, it would have been nice to have the royals in the set, especially since this was the year that they finally beat the yankees in the playoffs.  but again, the checklist dictates that the yankees and these players make the set.

is this team timeless?:  no.  it's way overshadowed by the 1977 and 1978 teams, and probably even the 1981 yankee team.

1980 los angeles dodgers

this post covers the 1980 los angeles dodgers and cards numbered 175 to 183 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

after a sub-.500 season in 1979, the big blue wrecking crew is back to kick off the 1980's with a few new faces. upper deck gives us nine players, three of which are making their set debut, but no memorable moments card.

what team is this?:  the 92-71 1980 los angeles dodgers

why this team?:  good question.  the dodgers did force a 163rd game in 1980 thanks to their dramatic 3-game sweep of the division leading astros in the final weekend of the season (they won each game by one run), but lost in the tiebreaker game 7-1 and missed the postseason.

which players are featured?:  bill russell, steve yeager, don sutton, dusty baker, jerry reuss, mickey hatcher, pedro guerrero, ron cey, and steve garvey

why these players?:  these guys, with the exception of hatcher and guerrero, were all regulars on the team - 3/4 of the infield, the catcher, left fielder, and the two aces of the staff.  let's break it down.

bill russell played in 130 games for the dodgers in 1980, and like many of his teammates, he was voted onto the all-star team despite having had perhaps his worst full season since 1971 (he hit just .264 with 34 runs scored and 38 driven in).  russell was 0 for 2 in the midsummer classic, and found himself injured towards the end of the season and was unable to play in the series agains the astros.  he was replaced in the lineup by derrel thomas and pepe frias.

steve yeager appeared in 96 games for the dodgers in 1980, but started only 66 games behind the plate. the dodgers also had joe ferguson and a young mike scioscia to handle the catcher's position that year, although yeager still started the most games of the three.  at the plate, he hit .211 with a couple of home runs and 20 rbi.  he made just one appearance against the astros in that final weekend series, getting a single in his lone at bat in the 8th inning of game 162.

in what would be his final season as a dodger (at least the first time around), don sutton was 13-5 with a league leading 2.20 era in 31 starts.  he also had a save, which came in game 162.  in that game, steve howe had pitched the 8th inning, and was allowed to bat and stay in the game after the dodgers took the lead in the bottom of the frame.  he allowed a couple of singles, and with two outs and two runners on, sutton came in and coaxed denny walling to ground out to end the game.  it was the fifth and final save of sutton's career.

dusty baker had a huge year in 1980. he hit 29 home runs with 97 rbi and a .294 batting average. he finished 4th in the league mvp voting, and won a silver slugger award.  he welcomed nolan ryan back to the national league by hitting a home run off of the hall of famer in ryan's first start as an astro in april, and then took him deep again later in the season.  i point this out because it was baker who ryan retired to seal his fifth career no-hitter in 1981.  ryan held baker hitless in four at bats in game 161 - in fact, baker was just 1 for 12 in the three game series against houston, and then went 1 for 4 while scoring the dodgers' only run in game 163.

jerry reuss outdueled ryan in game 161, scattering 7 hits and a walk to get the complete game win.  the win was reuss' 18th of the season, matching his career high.  he led the league in shutouts with 6, pitched a no-hitter against the giants (he was a 1st inning bill russell error away from perfection), and was the winning pitcher in the all-star game.  it all added up to a 2nd place finish in the cy young voting behind steve carlton.

mickey hatcher was in his second big league season in 1980, playing mostly right field and third base.  he hit 1 home run with 5 rbi on the season, and saw most of his playing time come towards the end of the season.  he was used in both games 161 and 162 against the astros, and then got the start at third base for the injured ron cey in game 163, going 1 for 3.  the dodgers traded hatcher to the twins the following spring for ken landreaux.

pedro guerrero hit .322 for the dodgers in 1980 as the back of his card mentions.  he played in just 75 games, but saw action everywhere but shortstop, on the mound, and behind the plate.  he hit 7 home runs on the year, the last of which was a big extra-inning bomb that beat the giants during the series that  preceded the season ending three game set against houston.  in those three games, guerrero was 3 for 11 as the dodgers' center fielder.  he did not play in game 163 as rick monday got the start instead.

ron cey saw his average drop to .254 in 1980, but his power numbers didn't suffer.  he matched his home run total from 1979 (28) and hit more doubles than he had the previous year.  cey finished behind mike schmidt in the all-star voting for third basemen, and was left off the roster even though schmidt was unable to play - probably due to the already large number of dodgers on the team.  against the astros at the end of the season, it was the penguin's two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning of game 162 that forced the one game playoff.  unfortunately, cey had fouled a pitch off his foot in that at bat and was unable to play in game 163, giving hatcher the start.

steve garvey had his standard season in 1980.  he hit over .300 (.304), had 200 hits (exactly), hit 26 home runs, drove in over 100 runs (106) and played in all 163 games.  he finished 6th in the mvp voting and was selected to start at 1st base at the all-star game, although he went 0 for 2 in front of the home crowd.  after going 5 for 12 in the final weekend series against the astros (with a big home run off of nolan ryan in the second game), garvey was 0 for 4 in the decisive game 163.

the stadium on the back is...?:  dodger stadium.  home of the dodgers since 1962, but it's that same photo from the 1990's (at the earliest) that is used on the card backs.

did upper deck get it right?: i realize that this team was included in the set because of the player checklist, but it doesn't really belong from a performance or 'timeless' standpoint.  featuring the division winning 1980 houston astros (with nolan ryan and joe morgan, both of whom have already been featured in the set) would have made more sense, but as a dodger collector, i'm not complaining.  the inclusion of hatcher over someone like davey lopes is interesting, and certainly reggie smith or bob welch would have made sense with this team.

as for the photos, the easiest way to tell if the image is from 1980 is to look at the left sleeve of the jersey.  the dodgers wore round patches to commemorate the 1980 all-star game which was played at dodger stadium.  mickey hatcher's card is the best, and perhaps only, example.  jerry reuss has some sort of patch on his sleeve, as do baker and guerrero, but i would guess that these are from 1981 (the city of los angeles celebrated its bicentennial that year) or some other season.  the other guys look to be without patches, so their photos come from years other than 1980, with sutton's early to mid 1970's photo being the most obvious.

is this team timeless?:  as much as i loved watching those games over the final weekend of the season, this team is rendered somewhat meaningless due to the fact that they didn't make the playoffs and then won it all in 1981.

1979 pittsburgh pirates

this post covers the 1979 pittsburgh pirates and cards numbered 171 to 174 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

the pirates make their first and only appearance in the set.  it would have been nice to have seen them featured back in the early 1970's subsets, but with roberto clemente and willie stargell having passed away, i guess upper deck chose not to feature them.  they could have still made a go at it with the likes of al oliver, dock ellis, dave cash, manny sanguillen, richie hebner, and dave giusti, but oh well.

what team is this?: the 1979 world champion pittsburgh pirates.

why this team?:  the pirates were family in 1979, defeating the baltimore orioles in the world series 4 games to 3.  they won 98 games during the regular season, and then swept the cincinnati reds in the nlcs before facing the orioles in the fall classic.  they became the only team to recover from a 3-1 deficit in the world series and win the championship.

which players are featured?:  bert blyleven, bill madlock, dave parker, and phil garner.

why these players?:  let's break it down and find out.

bert blyleven was 12-5 for the 1979 pirates.  he made 37 starts, which means he had 20 no-decisions (a record for one season).  i believe blyleven blamed chuck tanner for removing him from starts quickly for his lack of wins in pittsburgh, and even quit the team for a short time in 1980 as a result.  anyway, blyleven was allowed to pitch a complete game in the third game of the nlcs against the reds.  he held cincy to 8 hits and struck out 9 en route to a series clinching 7-1 victory.  in his first world series, blyleven started game 2, but left after 6 innings with the score tied at 2.  the pirates wound up winning 3-2 on a manny sanguillen single.  blyleven returned to the mound in game 5, pitching 4 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win as the pirates began their comeback.

bill madlock, who had won two batting titles with the cubs earlier in the decade, was acquired by the pirates in june of 1979.  he took over at the hot corner in pittsburgh and hit .328 over the rest of the season.  in his first taste of the postseason, madlock hit .250 against the reds, but then hit .375 in the world series against the orioles.  i am guessing that upper deck is referring to one of madlock's four hits in game 5 on the back of his card, as he was held hitless in games 6 and 7 when the pirates were facing elimination.

dave parker had a few memorable moments in 1979, and he gets a card telling us as much.  for me, his most memorable moments came in the 1979 all-star game when he threw jim rice out at third and brian downing out at home.  in the games that counted, he hit .310 with 25 home runs and 94 rbi.  in the postseason, he hit .333 in the nlcs and .345 in the world series.

phil garner split his time between third and second in 1979, and he even played a little bit of shortstop.  he hit .293 in 150 regular season games, and then had a postseason for the ages.  as the back of his card says, garner hit .500 in the world series (12 for 24).  he had 4 doubles and 5 rbi, and an on base percentage of .571.  this was after he hit .417 (5 for 12) in the nlcs with a triple and a home run.

the stadium on the back is...?:  three rivers stadium, with a photo taken from either the allegheny, monongahela, or the ohio river.  it was home to the pirates from july of 1970 through the 2000 season, and so is appropriate for this team.

did upper deck get it right?: they certainly got the stadium and the team right, but i wonder why they didn't include the 1979 orioles in the set.  the o's were the only 1979 playoff team not featured, and i will assume that it is because they will show up in 1983.  still, it would have been appropriate for another round of jim palmer and al bumbry cards, plus maybe a don stanhouse or even an eddie murray card.

willie stargell passed away in 2001, so his absence is understood.  and as for the players upper deck chose for the pirates, i can't complain.  some other sensible choices would have been bill robinson (third on the team with 24 homers), lee lacy and rick rhoden (not really, but it would have been cool to see these former dodgers in the set), and kent tekulve who sported some fantastic glasses and saved 31 games for the champs.

as for the photos, the three color images all feature the full yellow unis (or in blyleven's case, at least the yellow jersey) which the team did wear in 1979 and a few seasons prior.  they continued to wear the yellow jerseys but not the pants after 1980, and then brought back the full yellow ensemble in 1981 and wore it for a few more seasons.  so, blyleven's photo could be from 1978, 79, or 80, and garner's could be shown as he was in any year from 1977 through 1979, or 1981.  on the other hand, madlock's is certainly from the 1979 season because, even though the pirates wore that color combination during his later years with the team, the 'stargell stars' on his hat were only given out in late 1978 (when madlock was still a giant) and 1979.  i'm sure one of those stars was for his walk-off home run he hit against the dodgers in late september. as for dave parker, his photo is from 1980 at the earliest, thanks to the v-neck, solid white jersey that the team debuted in 1980 and continued to wear throughout the remainder of parker's time in pittsburgh.

is this team timeless?:  this team is family, it is the last pirates team to win a title, and it helped the city of pittsburgh attain its 'city of champions' moniker.  yes, i believe that it is timeless.