A 1980s Card Part 36 - 1986 Donruss Tito Landrum

It has been really hard to find the motivation to write during the last week.  I do not have a job where I normally sit very much, nor do I spend much time looking at screens. After a long normal day of not sitting in front of a computer screen, ten to fifteen minutes to talk about baseball cards is the perfect way to unwind.  With my school going to distance learning, I am spending a lot of time on my computer, and often just want to walk away by the middle of the afternoon.

I hope everyone is healthy, and finding plenty to do while they are at home.  On with the baseball cards.  I really like this one. 

Tito Landrum was not really that good of a player, but he was still a favorite with Cardinals fans during the 1980s.  He was mainly a right handed bat off the bench, and the Cardinals started him against left handed pitchers during the early parts of Andy Van Slyke's career.  He did not have any power, only 13 career home runs over 9 years in the Majors, and did not have much speed either.  Tito only stole 17 bases in his entire career.  That's a really low number for a 1980s Cardinals player. 

Tito's claim to fame actually came after he was traded away to the Orioles in 1983.  He hit the series clinching home run in the American League Championship Series against the White Sox. 

He was later traded back to the Cardinals.  

Why do I love this card?  It's pretty cool to see a regular position power doing a little catching.  Always makes for a good card.  Fleer made a really good card of Brian Jordan wearing catcher gear for the Ultra set in 1998.  

I like the Jordan card better than the Landrum card for obvious reasons.  Still, it's kind of neat to see Tito out behind the plate catching warm-up pitches in between innings.  

Back of the card.  

Terry Lee Landrum.  I love how the old Donruss cards used to have the players full name on the back of the card.  You can also see his blah stat line on the back, and mention of the home run for the Orioles against the White Sox during the ALCS in 1983.  

A 1980s Card Part 28 - 1984 Fleer Floyd Rayford

Two days later than normal, but the beginning of the week was busy.  I am going with one of the real cult favorite Cardinal players of the 1980s this week in the person of Floyd Rayford.  He played for the majority of the 1980s, mostly with the Orioles, but he was briefly traded to the Cardinals in 1983 for outfielder Tito Landrum. 

The Orioles were in a pennant run.  Landrum ended up hitting the series clinching home run in the American League Championship Series to beat Tony LaRussa's White Sox. 

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The Orioles ended up beating the Phillies to win the World Series. 

Rayford ended up getting a few baseball cards in a Cardinals uniform for his 56 games with the team.  All of them, from what I know, are in 1984 sets.  He has one card int he Fleer set, one in the Topps set.  The Topps card is an action shot, the Fleer card....... 

This card accurately portrays Floyd best in my opinion.  You at least get the vibe that he is a short round guy with a lot of hair.  Love the 1980s satin jacket, and if you look closely he is wearing some really sweet batting glove.  

Floyd has a lot of Rochester on the back of his card.  I know he worked there as a coach for awhile too, a legendary player for the die hards of that Minor League team.  Not really an impressive stat line there outside of those seasons at (elevation) El Paso and Salt Lake City.  

So, what happened to Floyd and the Cardinals?  

Oddly enough, Rayford was traded back to the Orioles towards the end of the Spring Training in 1984, which is where he spent the rest of his career.  A few days later the teams made another trade where Landrum ended up back with the Cardinals.  It was not a duplication of the Rayford for Landrum trade, but it sure felt that way.  

This is how they are supposed to look right?  Rayford did not do much once he got back in Baltimore.  Tito Landrum was a platoon player with Andy Van Slyke in right field, ended up playing a significant amount of games for the 1985 National League Championship team.