Sunday, August 10, 2014

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 12,644 Cubs cards from 92 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.


 1900s - 1970s: 1968 Topps #279 Bill Hands (Autographed)  I added this card a few years ago when I was on an autograph spree.  Hands was kinda the forgotten starter.....Jenkins and Holtzman were the ones getting most of the attention.  But in 1969 he won 20 games and followed up in 1970 with 18 more wins.



1980s: 1983 Donruss #561 Jay Johnstone  The bat head is up, nicely done Jay.  The veteran outfielder played in 86 games for the 1983 Cubs and hit .257.  He was much better at Wrigley, hitting .310 at home compared to .220 on the road.



1990s: 1994 Upper Deck #122 Jose Vizcaino  Despite being a full-time player in 1993 and hitting a very respectable .287, Vizcaino was traded to the Mets just before opening day in 1994.  In return, the Cubs got pitcher Anthony Young, who the previous season set an MLB record by losing 27 games in a row.  His 1993 record was 1-16.  And the Cubs went out and made a trade for him.  Young went 4-6 and then had Tommy John surgery in August.



2000s: 2002 Upper Deck #21 Mike Amrhein  I have absolutely no recollection of this guy.  Never heard of him, at all.  I must have at least seen the card when I put it into my binder, and again when I scanned the card, but when I saw this after the RNG picked it, I had nothing.  He never made it to the majors.  He spent part of 2002 in AAA, but that was as high as he got and his final season in organized ball.



2010s: 2011 Opening Day #117 Tyler Colvin  Big things were expected from Tyler Colvin in 2011 after he did well in 2010, his first full year in the majors.  He hit 20 homers and had 56 RBIs as the Cubs starting left fielder.  But he got off to a horrendous start in 2011 and never recovered.  In 80 games he batted just  .150.  After the season he was traded to the Rockies.  A week ago the Giants DFA'ed him, and he has yet to hook up with another team.

3 comments:

  1. Anthony Young was a better pitcher than his win-loss record shows. Not a Cy Young candidate, for sure, but good enough for a team to keep running him out there despite the mounting losses. You also have to remember that the Mets lost 103 games in 1993, and nobody's going have a good record on a team like that.

    I sometimes wonder if guys like Mike Amrhein go around buying up as many of their cards as possible. I know I would.

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  2. I have a Hands auto as well. I assume it's good. Who's forging Bill Hands autographs? Speaking of '69 Cubs Topps needs to do a Glenn Beckert certified one day.

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  3. If you email me your address I will be able to send you Tigers cards galore.
    beckstein69@hotmail.com

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