A 1980s Card Part 20 - 1988 Donruss Jim Lindeman

Another 1980s Cardinals prospect. 

This week I am going with a position player, former first baseman and outfield prospect Jim Lindeman.  I also wanted to post a Donruss card this week.  So many places to go with the Donruss sets from the 1980s.  The 1988 set is an all or nothing design.  I know people who love these cards, I know people who hate them.  Not sure I have ever heard anyone say something neutral about this design. 

Strong opinions. 

I personally place it towards the bottom of the Donruss base set designs from the 1980s.  I have heard some people call the 1988 set the "Flannel" or "Plaid" set, but I do not think it's quite right.  Maybe it's just the blue color though, which seems very institutional. 

It reminds me a lot of the walls in the old Busch Stadium during the 1980s. 

Not their best effort, but then again, it's not like 1988 was a banner year for the vast majority of card companies.  It's still better than the Fleer design.  Yawn. 

Back of the card and a little bit about Lindeman. 

The Cardinals used their first round pick in 1983 to take Lindeman out of Bradley, which is not too far from St. Louis in central Illinois.  While he was in college he played wit Kirby Puckett.  Lindeman hit in the Minors, but never really did much in the Majors save for one month, which should get him a little more notoriety with Cardinals fans. 

Lindeman only played 11 postseason games in his career.  All for the Cardinals, all in 1987 replacing Jack Clark in their lineup. 

He hit over .300 in both the NLCS and World Series that fall.  In Game 3 of the NLCS, the Cardinals were trailing the Giants 4-0 early in the game.  Lindeman hit a 2 run home run off of Atlee Hammaker to cut the lead in half, and then later hit a sac fly which gave the Cardinals the lead.  While his career never panned out for the Cardinals, he was a big part of one World Series run. 

Lindeman hung around the Majors and upper Minors until the mid 1990s when his career ended.  A few years back a newspaper in Peoria did a "Where Are They Now?" article about the former Bradley baseball player.  Lindeman is currently working at a high school outside of Chicago where he teaches and coaches baseball. 

Mayaguez Indios Team Set

A little bit off the beaten path for this post.  In my never ending quest for Ray Lankford cards I ended up landing a cool team set of the Puerto Rican Winter League team Mayaquez.  I knew there would be a Lankford card in the team set, but there were a few other cards in here that I was excited to see beyond my latest card of the 1990s Cardinals outfielder.

Let's take a look.

Yes, I messed up the team card on the top right hand side of the scan.  No, I am not going to fix it.  Jim Riggleman and Juan Agosto have Cardinals connections in this group of cards.  Riggelman was the manager of the Indios during their 1989-1990 schedule.  He started his managing career in the Cardinals Minor League system after spending his playing career in the Cardinals system.  

Riggleman was out of Minor League managing in 1989 and spent the year working as the Cardinals first base coach.  Of course, he has gone on to have a pretty long run as a Major League manager, especially with the 1990s Cubs.  

Agosto was a terrible reliever for the Cardinals at one point in the early 1990s.  Most of the players in this set are younger guys, but Agosto is one of the few veterans in here.  He is Puerto Rican, so it makes some sense that he appears in Winter League games there.....

Roberto Hernandez is the big name here.  No Cardinals connection with him, but he played 17 years in the Majors and recorded more than 300 saves.  The other interesting card in this group is Charlie Montoyo.  I know that's not a name many will recognize, but it was a huge and pleasant surprise in this set.  

Who is Charlie Montoyo?  

He was the long running manager of the Durham Bulls and led the team to seven division championships in an eight year span.  That included a Triple National Championship and two Governors Cups.  He now coaches third base for the Rays....

Good times.  

Lankford is here, I talk about him enough I will let it go this time.  Jim Lindeman was also a Cardinals outfielder/1B in the late 1980s.  Never really worked out, but he hit a pretty big home run against the Giants in the 1987 NLCS. 

Last set, we've got Tom Pagnozzi.  Pags was a long time Cardinals catcher, three time Gold Glove winner, and was an NL All-Star in 1992.  

Overall, I really love having this set in my collection.  Really unique and I have not seen many cards like these over the years.  Happy to add a new Lankford to the collection and also pick up some other cool cards of players connected to the Cardinals and Durham Bulls.