1990 Topps TV Cubs: The Position Players

The Cubs carried 14 outfielders and infielders on their opening day roster in 1990. Add that to the two catchers and the eleven pitchers and you get 27 active players. And then you figure there was some sort of mistake since teams can only carry 25 players. That's what I did.

But there was no mistake. There was a players lockout during spring training in 1990. When an agreement was finally reached in late March, the start of the season was pushed back by a week. And because of the abbreviated spring training, teams were allowed to carry 27 players until April 30.

This stoppage was one of many that occurred each time a collective bargaining agreement expired. The most disastrous would come four years later, when the season was canceled in August. That was also, thankfully, the last stoppage. Its hard to believe that we have a new generation of baseball fans that have know idea what it's like to lose spring training or regular season games because of a labor dispute.

The infielders are #22-27 and the outfielders are #29-35 in the 1990 Topps TV set. All but one of the 14 had some playing time with the 1989 team, which means the Cubs made only one move to bolster their line-up (and adding Dave Clark wasn't much of a move). I guess that's the way you feel when you win the division with a relatively young team. Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson were the only starters over the age of 30. So GM Jim Frey sat pat.....and wished he hadn't. The 1990 Cubs finished the season 77-85 and in 4th place.