1987 minnesota twins

this post covers the 1987 minnesota twins and cards numbered 272 to 274 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

this is the smallest team subset so far, but features two new players to the set - kent hrbek and kirby puckett.  that blyleven card is in the blog header - a nod to my adopted hometown(s).

what team is this: the 1987 world champion minnesota twins.

why this team?:  the twins went from worst to first under rookie manager tom kelly to win the world series over the saint louis cardinals 4 games to 3.  it was the first title for the twins and the first for the franchise since walter johnson led the senators to the crown in 1924.

which players are featured: bert blyleven, kent hrbek, and kirby puckett.

why these players?:  well, let's break it down

bert blyleven was three years into his second stint with the twins when he went 15-12 with 8 complete games and a shutout.  of course, he also led the league for the second straight year in home runs allowed.  the 36-year old hall of famer to be was also the only guy on the team who had been on the twins previous division winner, way back in 1971!  in between stints as a twin, blyleven had earned a world series ring with the pittsburgh pirates for whom he appeared games 2 and 5 of the fall classic.  in 1987, he was the winning pitcher in both game 2 and game 5 of the alcs against the tigers, and he also earned the victory in game 2 of the world series.  he took the loss in game 5 of the fall classic despite giving up only 2 earned runs in 6 innings.

kent hrbek was the hometown boy straight outta bloomington when he took over the first base duties in 1981.  by 1987, he was firmly entrenched in the lineup, and was one of three twinkies (tom brunansky and gary gaetti were the others) to hit over 30 home runs that year.  he hit only .150 in the alcs against detroit, and only .208 against the cardinals in the world series, but he did deliver a grand slam at the metrodome in game 6 to pad the twins' lead and force the decisive game 7.  that granny is the subject of the memorable moment portion of hrbek's card.

kirby puckett was in his prime in 1987.  he hit .332 during the regular season while leading the american league in hits with 207.  it was the second of four straight seasons in which he would surpass the 200 hit mark and hit .328 or higher.  he also fell just two home runs short of 30, which would have given the twins the first foursome to reach that mark since the 1977 dodgers did it with dusty baker, ron cey, steve garvey, and reggie smith.  in the postseason, puckett hit .208 with a home run and 3 rbi against the tigers, but then in the world series he hit .357.  he did most of his damage in the last two games with a 4 for 4 game 6 in which he scored 4 times and then with a game tying double in game 7 to turn the tide in favor of the twins.

the stadium on the back is...?: the hubert h humphrey metrodome, which was deflated (on purpose this time) a couple of weeks ago and is in the process of being demolished.  not sure when this photo was taken (maybe the 2002 alcs as the huge banners/seat covers are not being used so there were a lot of tickets sold for this game), but at least it's the right stadium for this team.

did upper deck get it right?: world series mvp frank viola, gary gaetti, and tom brunansky (and why not manager tom kelly?) would have been good choices for this team, in addition to bert, herbie, and puck.  kudos, by the way, to upper deck for not including steve carlton in this team subset (yes, he pitched for the twins in 1987) even though he was already included on the checklist with various phillie and cardinal teams.

the photos are all wrong, however, as the twins switched to their pinstriped uniforms in 1987, complete with a 'm' logo on their hats and helmets.  no more baby blues or 'tc' logo for a while.

is this team timeless?:  yes.  here in minny, they never forget their first.

1979 pittsburgh pirates

this post covers the 1979 pittsburgh pirates and cards numbered 171 to 174 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

the pirates make their first and only appearance in the set.  it would have been nice to have seen them featured back in the early 1970's subsets, but with roberto clemente and willie stargell having passed away, i guess upper deck chose not to feature them.  they could have still made a go at it with the likes of al oliver, dock ellis, dave cash, manny sanguillen, richie hebner, and dave giusti, but oh well.

what team is this?: the 1979 world champion pittsburgh pirates.

why this team?:  the pirates were family in 1979, defeating the baltimore orioles in the world series 4 games to 3.  they won 98 games during the regular season, and then swept the cincinnati reds in the nlcs before facing the orioles in the fall classic.  they became the only team to recover from a 3-1 deficit in the world series and win the championship.

which players are featured?:  bert blyleven, bill madlock, dave parker, and phil garner.

why these players?:  let's break it down and find out.

bert blyleven was 12-5 for the 1979 pirates.  he made 37 starts, which means he had 20 no-decisions (a record for one season).  i believe blyleven blamed chuck tanner for removing him from starts quickly for his lack of wins in pittsburgh, and even quit the team for a short time in 1980 as a result.  anyway, blyleven was allowed to pitch a complete game in the third game of the nlcs against the reds.  he held cincy to 8 hits and struck out 9 en route to a series clinching 7-1 victory.  in his first world series, blyleven started game 2, but left after 6 innings with the score tied at 2.  the pirates wound up winning 3-2 on a manny sanguillen single.  blyleven returned to the mound in game 5, pitching 4 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win as the pirates began their comeback.

bill madlock, who had won two batting titles with the cubs earlier in the decade, was acquired by the pirates in june of 1979.  he took over at the hot corner in pittsburgh and hit .328 over the rest of the season.  in his first taste of the postseason, madlock hit .250 against the reds, but then hit .375 in the world series against the orioles.  i am guessing that upper deck is referring to one of madlock's four hits in game 5 on the back of his card, as he was held hitless in games 6 and 7 when the pirates were facing elimination.

dave parker had a few memorable moments in 1979, and he gets a card telling us as much.  for me, his most memorable moments came in the 1979 all-star game when he threw jim rice out at third and brian downing out at home.  in the games that counted, he hit .310 with 25 home runs and 94 rbi.  in the postseason, he hit .333 in the nlcs and .345 in the world series.

phil garner split his time between third and second in 1979, and he even played a little bit of shortstop.  he hit .293 in 150 regular season games, and then had a postseason for the ages.  as the back of his card says, garner hit .500 in the world series (12 for 24).  he had 4 doubles and 5 rbi, and an on base percentage of .571.  this was after he hit .417 (5 for 12) in the nlcs with a triple and a home run.

the stadium on the back is...?:  three rivers stadium, with a photo taken from either the allegheny, monongahela, or the ohio river.  it was home to the pirates from july of 1970 through the 2000 season, and so is appropriate for this team.

did upper deck get it right?: they certainly got the stadium and the team right, but i wonder why they didn't include the 1979 orioles in the set.  the o's were the only 1979 playoff team not featured, and i will assume that it is because they will show up in 1983.  still, it would have been appropriate for another round of jim palmer and al bumbry cards, plus maybe a don stanhouse or even an eddie murray card.

willie stargell passed away in 2001, so his absence is understood.  and as for the players upper deck chose for the pirates, i can't complain.  some other sensible choices would have been bill robinson (third on the team with 24 homers), lee lacy and rick rhoden (not really, but it would have been cool to see these former dodgers in the set), and kent tekulve who sported some fantastic glasses and saved 31 games for the champs.

as for the photos, the three color images all feature the full yellow unis (or in blyleven's case, at least the yellow jersey) which the team did wear in 1979 and a few seasons prior.  they continued to wear the yellow jerseys but not the pants after 1980, and then brought back the full yellow ensemble in 1981 and wore it for a few more seasons.  so, blyleven's photo could be from 1978, 79, or 80, and garner's could be shown as he was in any year from 1977 through 1979, or 1981.  on the other hand, madlock's is certainly from the 1979 season because, even though the pirates wore that color combination during his later years with the team, the 'stargell stars' on his hat were only given out in late 1978 (when madlock was still a giant) and 1979.  i'm sure one of those stars was for his walk-off home run he hit against the dodgers in late september. as for dave parker, his photo is from 1980 at the earliest, thanks to the v-neck, solid white jersey that the team debuted in 1980 and continued to wear throughout the remainder of parker's time in pittsburgh.

is this team timeless?:  this team is family, it is the last pirates team to win a title, and it helped the city of pittsburgh attain its 'city of champions' moniker.  yes, i believe that it is timeless.