1977 vida blue

vida blue got an autograph placement variation in 1977.  here's his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

it's nice to see hank aaron appear in the 1977 set after he was denied a true 'final tribute' in the set.

as for blue, 1977 turned out to be his last year in oakland.  charlie o. finley had tried to sell blue's contract to the yankees during the 1976 season, but the deal was voided by the commissioner's office.  i am guessing blue knew it was a matter of time, and he was ultimately traded to the giants during spring training in 1978.

but, before that happened, blue was named to the all-star team in 1977 despite a less than .500 record at the break (he didn't pitch in the game) and he wound up losing a total of 19 games over the course of the season.

voici à vous, 1977 vida blue!

1987 vida blue

vida blue signed with the oakland a's as a free agent in january of 1987.  here is his 1987 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the lefty, who had sat out the 1984 season after being released by the royals, only to return to the majors with the giants in 1985, never actually pitched for the a's in 1987.  he had signed with them, along with former teammate reggie jackson (whose 1987 o-pee-chee variation is coming soon), after announcing that he wanted to pitch one more year following his release from the giants in november of 1986.  instead, blue decided to retire in march of '87, just a couple of months after signing his deal.

in all, blue won 124 of his 209 games with the a's, along with his cy young award, mvp award, and three world championships.

voici à vous, 1987 vida blue!