Cleveland Indians

Date of birth: February 4, 1956 Cleveland, OH

High School: Solon High School Solon, OH

College: Arizona State

First Impression; Don’t really recall giving this more than a look at the back for the number.

Career stats: The Future star aspect here is the focus, he had not yet played in the majors when this card came out.  He would debut in 1981 but only get in 21 games.  He was behind Ron Hassey at the time who was Cleveland’s catcher.  Then as they were phasing Hassey out in 1984 they gave more at bats to Jerry Willard, same in 1985.  In 1986 the new catcher was Andy Allanson. Then came 1987 his big chance.  He was now 31 and caught more games than other Indian catchers, Andy Allanson and Rick Dempsey.  In that year he hit .218 with 5 homers.  So though Topps tried to provide the mojo with two Future Star cards, that never worked out.

All time stat: For his career he had a 33.5 percentage against steals.  For comparison, Gary Carter’s career caught stealing percentage was 35.1.  Though Carter faced about 10% of the runners that Carter faced in his long career.

Fun fact: His first Major League homer came on July 9, 1982 when he hit a two-run shot off Seattle’s Floyd Bannister.

Ever a Future Star?  This card and he and Brennan would return in the 1982 set with a different bandmate, Von Hayes.

Rookie or final card? True rookie.

Hall of Fame? Number retired? N/A

Links to stories including Chris Bando.