1977 bud harrelson

i can't tell any difference between the photos (other than the color), so i'll list bud harrelson's 1977 o-pee-chee card as just an autograph placement variation.  here is harrelson's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

1977 would turn out to be harrelson's final season with the mets.  he hit a lowly .178 in 107 games, and they traded him to the phillies during the 1978 pre-season.  he did hit one of his 7 career home runs that year, a solo shot of off fellow veteran jim kaat.

voici à vous, 1977 bud harrelson!

1977 tom seaver

after a couple of days of some obvious photo variations, we are back to the ever so slight type.  this time, it's tom seaver who gets the slight difference in cropping treatment, along with a relocated facsimile autograph.  here is seaver's 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

what might have been.  seaver, a usc product, was drafted by the dodgers in 1965, but did not sign with the team.  a year later, the mets signed him and the rest is history.  fast forward to 1977, where seaver split his time between the mets and the reds, compiling 21 wins (7 in new york, 14 in cincy) and finishing 3rd in the league cy young award voting.

he led the league in shutouts with 7, including one that came in his first start as a red.  seaver had a one-hitter, a two-hitter, and three three-hitters on the year as well.  during the season, seaver won his 200th career game and struck out the 2500th batter of his career.  his 196 strikeouts on the season marked the first time since his rookie season that he failed to strike out at least 200 men.

voici à vous, 1977 tom seaver!

1977 felix millan

felix millan's facsimile autograph is slightly adjusted on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

compare the autograph placement at the black armbands (worn in honor of the team's original owner jean payson and their first manager, casey stengel, both of whom passed away near the end of the 1975 season).

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

1977 was millan's final year in the major leagues.  he appeared in 91 games, the lowest total by far since his second season in 1967.  he hit .248 with a couple of home runs and 21 rbi. his final appearance came in the second game of a double header against the pirates in august of 1977.  in the first game, millan had played all 9 innings, going 2 for 4 with a run scored against jim rooker.  in the second game, however, he entered the contest in the 6th inning as a defensive replacement, but was himself replaced as part of a double switch two outs later.  his replacement in the game was bobby valentine.

voici à vous, 1977 felix millan!

1977 ed kranepool

o-pee-chee decided to move and stack ed kranepool's facsimile auto on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

ed kranepool was the last of the original mets, and 1977 was the last time he played in over 100 games.  he appeared in 108 contests that year, hitting 10 homers and posting a batting average of .281.  his first two homers of the season came in the same game off of rick reuschel of the cubs.

voici à vous, 1977 ed kranepool!

1977 jerry koosman

for reasons known only to a select few canadians i am guessing, jerry koosman's facsimile autograph made a move on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

 here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

 and the topps back:

koosman had finished second in the league cy young voting after his 21-10 1976 season.  in 1977, however, his record did a flip-flop and he lost 20 games. his era 'jumped' to 3.49, but the punchless metropolitans didn't offer much support.  in his last 10 starts, in which koosman took the loss 9 times and had a no-decision in the other, the mets scored a more than three runs just once, and they waited until koosman was out of the game to do so!  still, the lefty led the league in strikeouts per 9 innings.  he would go on to win 20 games again - although it would be as a minnesota twin in 1979.

voici à vous, 1977 jerry koosman!

1977 jon matlack

jon matlack got the autograph placement (along with an ever so slight photo cropping) variation on his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

take a look at his cleat.  now, here's the topps front:

topps gives us a tad more of the left foot.  looks like o-pee-chee just moved the photo slightly north-south.  now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

a carl furillo reference!  and a firearm!  those were the days.

matlack enjoyed (maybe enjoyed is not the right word) his final season as a met in 1977.  he had been an all-star in 1976 and even finished 6th in the cy young award voting, but his 1977 season was bad.  he finished with a record of 7-15 and a 4.21 era.  3 of his 7 wins came by shutout, but i'm too lazy to see how many wins the mets' bullpen might have cost him.

after the season, matlack was dealt to the rangers in the bert blyleven/al oliver deal that netted the mets willie montanez, tom grieve, and ken henderson; and as a bonus, we got a fantastic team and text variation for matlack in 1978.

voici à vous, 1977 jon matlack!

1992 eddie murray

eddie murray signed with the mets as a free agent after the 1991 season.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

steady eddie put up numbers for the mets in '92 that were pretty close to his 1991 stats.  he hit 16 homers, drove in 93 runs, and hit .261.  he outperformed fellow first-year met bobby bonilla at any rate, and at 2/3 the cost!  murray's first home run as a met was a walk-off job against the cardinals, and his second home run for new york was the 400th of his career.

voici à vous, 1992 eddie murray!

1992 keith miller

keith miller was part of the december 1991 trade between the royals and mets that also involved bret saberhagen, gregg jefferies, kevin mcreynolds, and bill pecota.  here's miller's 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

miller played mostly second base for the royals in 1992, although he also saw time in left field and at dh.  he appeared in 106 games and hit .284.  of his 4 home runs on the season, one was a lead-off job against kevin tapani and the twins.

voici à vous, 1992 keith miller!

1992 bobby bonilla

bobby bonilla signed with the mets as a free agent after the 1991 season.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

bonilla had finished in the top 3 of the nl mvp vote the previous two seasons, so his 19/70/.249 line in 1992 was a disappointment to mets fans, especially since he was the highest paid player in the league.  he hit two home runs in a game once (the second game of the season) and also had a walk-off homer against rob dibble and the reds late in the season.  bobby bo bounced back in 1993 to hit 34 homers, but didn't reach the postseason with the mets until 1999, in his second tour of duty with them in which he was a part-time player.

voici à vous, 1992 bobby bonilla!

1992 bret saberhagen

bret saberhagen was traded from the royals to the mets in december of 1991.  here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

1992 was an even year, so you know that saberhagen struggled.  he was 3-5 with a 3.50 era in only 15 starts.  he did throw a 3-hit shutout against the astros for his first win as a met, and was pitching very well when he was injured in mid may.  sabes missed all of june and most of july and august due to injury.  saberhagen pitched fairly well in 1993, and then bucked his historical trend by going 14-4 in the strike-shortened 1994 season, earning a third place finish in the cy young voting.

voici à vous, 1992 bret saberhagen!

1991 darryl strawberry

in november of 1990, darryl strawberry signed a free agent deal with the dodgers. here's his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

strawberry enjoyed his last good season as a big leaguer with the dodgers in 1991. he hit 28 homers and drove in 99 runs while making the all-star team for the final time. injuries and personal issues derailed his career to various degrees over the following seasons, although he was able to be a part of two of the yankee world championship teams of the late 1990's.

voici à vous, 1991 darryl strawberry!

1990 juan samuel

juan samuel was acquired by the dodgers in december of 1989 in a trade with the mets. here is his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the dodgers moved samuel back to second base (although he still made around 30 appearances in the outfield) to replace the departed willie randolph. i am guessing the dodgers got what they expected from samuel in 1990, as he scored 62 runs, and hit .242 with 13 homers, 126 strikeouts and 38 steals. of course, he was also caught stealing 20 times! samuel picked things up and improved his average and stolen base percentage in 1991 for the blue, and was named to the all-star team as a result.

voici à vous, 1990 juan samuel!

1991 bob ojeda

bob ojeda became a dodger as a result of the december, 1990 deal that sent hubie brooks back to the mets.  here's his 1991 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

ojeda was 12-9 in his first year in los angeles. his 5th win of the season, a june game in which he threw 7.1 shutout innings against the cardinals to win 1-0, was also the 100th of his career. his best pitched game, however, was a 5-hit shutout against the expos in july.

voici à vous, 1991 bob ojeda!