a recent trade (i believe it was with the real dfg) brought this card into my collection - a 1991 jumbo california sunflower seeds autograph series 2 kal daniels!
i ate a lot of sunflower seeds while playing baseball growing up (and used a lot more as projectiles on the bench) but somehow missed the distribution of logo-less cards in packages of seeds. that's ok, because over the past couple of years, i have accumulated a few kal daniels cards of a different autograph series. that would, of course, be through the mail autos. what else am i supposed to do with the ridiculous number of 1990 cards that i have?
daniels is known to be a good signer - he does only one at a time - and i have troubled him four times over the past 2 years. first up is his strangely faded 1990 topps card.
daniels was acquired by the dodgers in july of 1989 (with lenny harris) for tim leary and mariano duncan. i was pleased as i was certain he would replicate his 1987 season (.334 ba, 1.046 ops) many times for the dodgers over the next decade. sadly, due to knee problems, he did not.
here's his 1990 upper deck card
daniels played in only 11 games for the dodgers in 1989 (although he hit .342/.987 in those games), but bounced back to put together a solid 1990 season. that year, he hit .296 and set career highs in homers (27) and rbi (94). he also garnered some mvp votes, finishing 27th in the league while playing in 130 games.
here's his fantastic 1991 topps card:
in 1991, kal was able to play in 137 games, but his numbers dropped. his batting average fell almost 50 points, and his power numbers were down as well.
finally, his 1992 topps card:
with his injuries and brett butler/daryl strawberry/eric davis in the dodger outfield, daniels was made expendable and was dealt to the cubs in june of 1992. he left the dodgers with exactly 100 career home runs, and added just 4 more during his time in chicago. he retired after cubs released him following the 1992 season.
here's to you kal daniels - thanks for your time.
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