21 October 2009

rick monday final tribute - the card that should have been

rick monday played in just 31 games for the dodgers in 1984, prior to his mid-june release. as a result, he was not featured in any of the 1985 baseball card issues. i figured that the hero of the 1981 nlds deserved a final tribute, so here it is - the 1985 topps card that should have been:the first ever pick in the amatuer draft hit just .191 in those 31 games, appearing primarily as a pinch hitter. his final home run came on may 5 against cecilio guante of the pirates. it was a 3-run, pinch hit homer which temporarily gave the dodgers the lead in a game they would eventually lose in extra innings. sadly, his last 6 at bats ended in strikeouts.

monday finished his career with 1619 hits, 241 home runs, and an ops of .804. i will always remember jumping around the elementary school playground after hearing the call of his aforementioned playoff home run against the expos.

here's to you, mo!

1 comment:

Matt Runyon said...

I will always remember being bummed out in my sophomore English class when Monday hit that home run. We were pretending to study our vocabulary words as the game was on the TV. Most of the students were rooting for the Dodgers. I think only one other person was rooting for the Expos.