Set Appreciation Post #1 - 1986 Topps Mini Leaders

I have taken all the extra time at home to do a lot of sorting.

Part of the sorting has involved finishing off several sets.  I thought it would be fun to write about some of those sets, along with other sets that I have never had a chance to write about.  I have to start somewhere.  Why not here?

I posted a mid 1980s Topps Mini Leader card a few weeks back on my weekly Monday Cardinals post.  The product line started in 1986, running through 1990.  I really liked these sets, so I went on a bit of a hunt through my boxes to see what I had, and what holes I needed to fill in order to complete the sets.

My 1986 Mini Leaders set is finished.  Here's a look. 

Basic Design 

The 1986 Topps Mini Leaders set has an independent design from the Topps base set.  Some years the two sets were similar, but the first year the two were completely separate.  Really simple design, but I like the cloudy edges and simple print along the bottom of the card.  

The card backs for the Mini Leaders sets are all generally the same.  They have a short list of stat categories with the players rankings on the back.  Generally, the players featured in the set have finished in the top 5 of some important category. 

Well, most of the stats are important.  There is one stat in the 1986 Mini Leaders set that is somewhat ridiculous, but that is for later in the post.  

A quick note before I move on in the post.  I used a new scanning app for these cards.  They all fade on one edge of the back of the card.  Not sure why, but I am guessing I did something wrong with the lighting.  

Favorite former Durham Bulls player: Brett Butler 

I only had one choice in this set, so I have to go with Brett Butler.  He was with the Bulls during the 1980 season.  He had a spectacular season in Durham batting .366/.513/.513 with 36 stolen bases in just 66 games.  

The back of the card....

I wish that Topps had listed the categories printed on the bottom of the card in a similar fashion as the two at top.  I think it would have made for a cleaner look.  Perhaps if they had made the white box that reads "Major League Leaders" on the left side a tad smaller, they could have fit the other stat categories onto the card back easier.

Favorite Cardinals Card 

This would be a Vince Coleman rookie card.  Obviously not the one that I really wanted back in 1986, but this card had grown on my over the years.  I like seeing an action shot of Coleman.  Looks like a practice swing before stepping in the batter's box.  Is he yawning?   Still not as nice as the portrait photo on his card in the base set, but again a very nice card.  

Runs, steals, and triples.  This card back is Whitey Herzog approved.  I also love seeing the actual total number of steals that Coleman had in 1985.  That is the sort of number that we may never see again in our lives.  Coleman is in all four versions of this set, and I think each of the cards lists him as a League Leader in steals, runs, and triples.

Favorite Non-Cardinals Card 

This is a cool action picture.  Wonder what happened to his batting helmet?  

Who Would Lead The League In That Now? 

Let's look at the card of a pitcher from the set.  I randomly picked out Bert Blyleven.

When I first started flipping back through these cards the other week, there was on pitching stat that really stood out.  If Topps brought this set back, they would most definitely have a problem finding many players to include.  

Take a look.  Which of these stats never happen anymore?  

Look at that Complete Games and Shutouts stat line.  Who even led the Majors in that stat last year?  How many complete games and shutouts?  Bonus if you know the answer before you read any further down the post.  The answer is below.  

Those 24 complete games and 5 shutouts would never happen anymore.  Just scrolling around and looking at a few modern players, Justin Verlander has pitched in a total of 26 complete games in his career after pitching 2 last year.  In other words, it took him 14 years to pass Bert Blyleven's total from just 1985.     

Last season, Lucas Giolito and Shane Bieber led the Majors in complete games with 3.  Giolio, Bieber, and Sandy Alcantara were the leaders in shutouts with 2.  Not very impressive totals.  

The Dumbest Baseball Card Stat Ever 

Sorry to single you out here Lance Parrish.  You were a good catcher.  

Here is the dumbest stat that ever appeared on a baseball card.  The game-winning RBI stat.  

I am not anti-RBI.  I know there are people who put the stat in the same category as wins, but I am not willing to go that far.  There are is skill in getting runners across the plate.  I leave it at that. 

Why do I think it's a dumb stat?  I went and found an example that involves Lance Parrish.  He only finished third in the stat, so it took me a whole five box scores from the 1985 Tigers to find a good example.  

The game took place on April 14th against the Royals.  The Tigers scored two early runs, tacked on three more in the seventh, before the Royals scratch across a run in the 9th.  

In the third inning, the Tigers first three batters got hits, including an Alan Trammell single that put Detroit ahead 1-0.

After a Kirk Gibson flyout, Parrish grounds out to Royals shortstop Onix Concepcion, and Lou Whitaker, who was on third base, scored the second Tigers run of the inning.  That became a game-winning RBI for Parrish after the Royals scored a run off of reigning American League Cy Young Award Winner Willie Hernandez in the ninth.  

A ground out in the third inning of this game was one of Lance Parrish's 16 game inning RBIs.  The Tigers were already winning.  They never trailed the entire game.  There are plenty of other examples out there too.  

Yes, game-winning RBIs appear in other Mini Leaders set.  No, I won't complain in any other set appreciation posts about this stat being showcased in this product again.  

A Venerable Old Card Part 3 (Take 2)

I have been working on a few Durham Bulls players during my down time recently, doing a little bit of reading, and picking up a few of there cards.  The older minor league cards can be a little bit tricky to track down at times, but I have found a lot of the Braves affiliates in the early 1980s are not too tricky.  

Well, for the most part.  One player, who I am convinced never had a Bulls baseball cards, was long-time Major League outfielder Brett Butler.  The speedy outfielder appeared for the Bulls during the second half of the 1980 season after being promoted from the Braves team in Anderson, South Carolina.  The Herald-Sun, Durham's local newspaper, sponsored many of the card sets for the Bulls back then, but as far as I can tell there is no card of Butler.  

These days there would have been a league all-star set, or an additional few cards printed up if a big prospect came through a team and did not have a card in the team set.  At worst, the team would probably print one up the following season. 

With no Durham Bulls card of Brett Butler I have turned to track down some of his other Minor League cards from a few other Braves affiliates.  I currently have found two, but I am going to just post my favorite of the pair this afternoon:

This is Butler's card from the Braves Anderson affiliate.  I like the red border around the edge of the card.  I have actually found a bunch of the minor league sets from this era often featured this sort of border.  It had made some of the imperfections on some of these cards stand out a little bit, but it's not like mint copies of these cards break the bank.  I haven't found a set of these cards together, but there are some other good players included from this team such as Brook Jacoby and Brad Komminsk (I am going to count him as an awesome Minor Leaguer - just ignore his Major League stats).