Random 1987 Topps Card: #131 Pirates Leaders

Here is the next card in my Random 1987 Topps Card series, my first Team Leaders card and my second one of the day!

The Card: 1987 Topps #131 - Pirates Leaders card featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates 1986 Team Leaders. The two players featured on the front of the card are Sid Bream (left) and Tony Pena (right). The Pirates had a record of 64-98, finishing 6th in the National League East in the 1986 season. 

The 1987 Season: The Pirates had a better season in 1987 than they did in 1986. They had a record of 80-82, finishing 4th in the National League East. 

Batting Leaders (1986)

Runs ... Sid Bream ... 73
Hits ... Johnny Ray ... 174
Doubles ... Sid Bream ... 37
Triples ... Joe Orsulak ... 6
Home Runs ... Jim Morrison ... 23
Runs Batted In ... Jim Morrison ... 88
Stolen Bases ... Barry Bonds ... 36
Batting Average ... Johnny Ray ... .301

Pitching Leaders (1986)

Games ... Pat Clements ... 65
Innings ... Rick Rhoden ... 253 2/3
Wins ... Rick Rhoden ... 15
Strikeouts ... Rick Rhoden ... 159
Complete Games ... Rick Rhoden ... 12
Earned Run Average ... Rick Rhoden ... 2.84
Shutouts ... Rick Reuschel ... 2
Saves ... Don Robinson ... 15

#131 Pirates Leaders Back

Source(s): Trading Card Database

The Random 1987 Topps Card will be a regular feature here, hoping 2-3 times per week will be doable along with the other things I have planned. I will use a random number generator to select the random card. My goal is to do this for the complete 792 card set plus the Topps Traded set along with the various insert sets, etc. 

Random 1987 Topps Card: #295 Len Dykstra

The Random 1987 Topps Card will be a regular feature here, hoping 2-3 times per week will be doable along with the other things I have planned. I will use a random number generator to select the random card. My goal is to do this for the complete 792 card set plus the Topps Traded set along with the various insert sets, etc. 

Len Dykstra (Lenny Dykstra)
Team: New York Mets
Position: Outfield
Bats: Left     Throws: Left
Height: 5’10”     Weight: 160
Born: February 10, 1963 in Santa Ana, California 
Major League Debut: May 3, 1985 versus Cincinnati Reds (Boxscore) 
Final Major League Game: May 18, 1996 versus Los Angeles Dodgers (Boxscore)

Major League Teams: New York Mets (1985-1989), Philadelphia Phillies (1989-1996)

Nickname: Nails and Dude

The Card: 1987 Topps #295 - It appears Dykstra is taking a lead off third base and the pitcher has delivered the ball as he is looking down the third base line towards home plate.

The 1987 Season: The 1987 season was Dykstra’s third playing for the New York Mets. He played in 132 games for them that season with 479 plate appearances. He batted .285 (123 hits in 431 at-bats) with 37 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs, 43 runs batted in, 27 stolen bases, 40 bases on balls, 67 strikeouts with a .352 on base percentage and .455 slugging percentage. 

Trivia (card back): Len’s grandfather and uncle played NHL hockey. ON THIS DATE: September 27, 1982: Alan Ashby belted HR from both sides of plate in game for Astros. Alan’s 1982 Topps card was #433.

Len Dykstra Fun Fact: In 1993, he set the Major League record for most plate appearances in a season by a left-hander with 773. 

Notable MLB Career Achievements: World Series Champion (1986), 3-Time National League All-Star (1990, 1994-1995), Silver Slugger Award (1993), National League Player of the Month (May 1994), National League Player of the Week (July 13, 1986; June 30, 1990; May 15, 1994).

#295 Len Dykstra Back

Source(s): Baseball Almanac, Baseball Reference, Trading Card Database

Custom Cards: 2024 World Series Subset

Along with posting about real cards, I like to dabble in creating my own electronic (I don’t print them) trading cards. I thought the World Series themed cards from the past were cool so here is my tribute to the 2024 World Series using the 1975 Topps World Series subset and the 2024 Topps Heritage World Series subset as inspiration. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers on their 2024 World Series victory over the New York Yankees. The Yankees had a great shot to win game five and force a game six but a disastrous 5th inning doomed the Yankees, losing 7-6 to the Dodgers. 

Freddie Freeman wins with a walk-off home run to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-0 series lead.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches 6 1/3, giving up 1 earned run and striking out 4 to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-0 series lead.

Walker Buehler pitches 5 innings, giving up no runs and striking out 5 to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-0 series lead.

Anthony Volpe drives in 4 with a grand slam, helping the New York Yankees stave off elimination in Game 4, forcing a Game 5.

Mookie Betts breaks a 6-6 tie with a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2024 World Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers win their 8th World Series in team history. 

Freddie Freeman wins the 2024 World Series Most Valuable Player award. 

On This Date - July 13, 1973: Hal Breeden

The backs of trading cards are often times just as interesting or even more interesting than the fronts of trading cards. Along with the usual biographical / personal info and stats there is sometimes trivia and fun facts as well. In 1987, Topps included on some cards trivia about the player and a this day in history type section called “On This Date”. In this special feature I’m going to highlight those “On This Date” facts. My first “On This Date” feature comes from the back of Craig Lefferts (#501) 1987 Topps card. 

July 13, 1973

Hal Breeden delivered pinch-HR in both games of a doubleheader for Expos. Hal’s 1973 Topps card was #173. 

In the first game of the doubleheader, Hal pinch hit for center fielder Boots Day in the seventh inning. With nobody on and one out, he hit his 6th home run of the season off Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom House. The Expos won 11-7. 

In the second game of the doubleheader, Hal pinch hit for pitcher Tom Walker in the eighth inning. With two runners on and no outs, he hit his 7th home run of the season off Atlanta Braves pitcher Danny Frisella. The Braves won 15-6. 

Source(s): Baseball Reference, Trading Card Database

Has It Been That Long, Well I’m Back!

As it happens many too times, life got in the way of my card collecting and blogging about it. I haven’t posted since July of this year! Well, I’ve made my way back to My 1987 Topps Project … and maybe Donruss, Fleer and Sportflics blog. A few months ago I bought a lot of 24 cello packs on eBay that I still need to open and and try and finish up my hand collated 1987 Topps set, so look for that. I will also be posting random stuff about the cards and players that make up the 1987 Topps set as well as the various subsets, insert sets, mail-in sets, parallel sets, etc. associated with it from 1987. There will also be some Donruss, Fleer and Sportflics stuff thrown in as well as tidbits from different years of trading cards collecting. This will all be integrated in with facts and tidbits from the 1987 Major League Baseball season. Thanks for stopping by and check back soon and often!