13 September 2013

the 1978 topps dodgers in 1985, part two - the non-dodger position players

i covered the dodgers and pitchers from the 1978 topps dodger squad as they were featured in the 1985 topps set.  now it's time for the everyday guys who didn't wear dodger blue that year.  first up, who else?

steve garvey

here's what i wrote about the garv's 1985 season in my 'history of the infield' post:

he played in all 162 games, hit .281 with 17 home runs and had 184 hits.  garvey didn't hit two home runs in a game in 1985, but his last home run of the season was also the 250th of his career.  he was also selected to start at first base for the national league in the all star game, and even participated in the inagural home run derby at the metrodome as part of the all star festivities.  in the midsummer classic, garvey went 1 for 3 with an rbi single off of jack morris in the 3rd inning that broke a 1-1 tie.  that turned out to be the game winning rbi as the nl beat the al 6-1.  garvey was replaced at first base by jack clark (note to topps - keith hernandez wasn't even on the nl's squad).  it would be the final all star appearance by any member of the infield.

topps did give garvey a second card in the set - a record breaker recognizing his perfect fielding in 1984

despite his 1.000 fielding percentage, garvey didn't win the gold glove in 1984.  that honor had gone to keith hernandez who had only 45 or so more chances than the garv, but made 8 errors for a .994 fielding percentage.  he did have a fair number more assists than garvey, but i will claim east coast bias over garvey's aversion to throwing the ball or a recognition in 1984 of range factor.

ron cey
here's what i had to say about cey in that same post:

ron cey surpassed 20 home runs for the 10th and final time in his career in 1985 for the cubs.  his numbers (145 games played, 22 home runs, 64 runs, .232 batting average) were all down just slightly from 1984, but his rbi plummeted to 63 - down from almost 100 the previous year.  his 22 home runs included hitting two in a game twice, his final home run at dodger stadium (against orel hershiser), and his last home run of the season was the 299th home run of his career.

dave lopes (who was 'now with cubs')

and, here's what i wrote about lopes and his odd card from topps:

lopes did, in fact, play for the cubs in 1985.  if you recall, he was acquired by the cubbies late in the 1984 season, but apparently topps didn't bother to get a picture of him in his new uniform.  at any rate, lopes rediscovered his legs at age 40, stealing 47 bases (and getting caught just 4 times) for his highest total since 1977.  he also set a career high with a .284 batting average, while hitting 11 home runs and scoring 52 runs in 99 games.  like the penguin, lopes hit the last dodger stadium home run of his career in 1985, a two-run shot off of dennis powell.



dusty baker
the giants traded baker across the bay towards the end of spring training, where he would reunite with don sutton and later, tommy john.  here's his 1985 topps traded card
baker appeared in 111 games for the a's in 1985, playing about half of the time at first base.  it was the first time in his career that he had seen time there, but he managed pretty well, only committing three errors.  topps did well by adding the 1b position to his traded card, by the way.  at the plate, dusty hit .268 with 14 homers and 52 rbi.

lee lacy
lacy, the last of the players to be featured here, signed a free agent deal with the baltimore orioles prior to the start of the 1985 season.  here's his 1985 topps traded card
lacy took over as the orioles' primary right fielder, hitting .293 in 121 games with 9 home runs and 69 runs scored.  he passed the 1000 hit mark for his career in 1985, and also hit his lone career walk-off home run.  he added a lead-off home run for good measure, and twice had two homers in a single game.

so, there you go - the position players who weren't dodgers in 1985, but were dodgers in the 1978 topps set, as they were in 1985.  and now, since we've seen them and the dodgers and non-dodger pitchers, i'll go ahead and update the evolutionary stats.

there were 14/27 members of the 1978 topps dodgers featured by topps in 1985. here's the tally to date:

baker 15 (1971-1985)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 14 (1972-1985)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 14 (1972-1985)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 15 (1971-1985)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 14 (1972-1985)
hough 14 (1972-1985)
john 22 (1964-1985)
lacy 13 (1973-1985)
lasorda 11 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1985)
lopes 13 (1973-1985)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 10 (1972-1981)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 11 (1975-1985)
russell 16 (1970-1985)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 20 (1966-1985)
yeager 13 (1973-1985)

teams represented so far: 22 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers)

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