1989 Topps Bottom Box Cards

[Extra Innings]

I've noticed that Topps placed Don Sutton as a bottom box card on the 1989 wax boxes. The catch is that Sutton did not appear in the set of 792. I wonder if they have done this with a player before?


In 1987 they did something else in that Steve Carlton appeared in the base with the White Sox, traded with the Indians, and also appeared as a bottom box card as a Giant. Three different teams in one year.

[ALR-bishop]

Welcome. Great first post. Very interesting observations

[jp1216]

Nice observations.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Welcome. Great first post. Very interesting observations

+1 Welcome to the site.

[ALR-bishop]

And thanks to Jon for the scans

[Extra Innings]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Welcome. Great first post. Very interesting observations

Thanks guys, I appreciate it and thanks for posting pics of the cards.

On a side note it wasn't Topps, but 'Classic' produced 3 different Phil Niekro cards for its 1988 set. From what I know this is only card made of Niekro as a member of the Blue Jays. He was only apart of that team for 3 weeks in '87. Later, he made 1 final start in Atlanta before retirement.

[swarmee]

Interesting. Reminds me of the 1988 Donruss bound team sets that had a bunch of players (or team changes) not in the original set with the card number NEW.
Here's an example.


1988 Donruss - Team Sheet #OAAT.2 - Oakland Athletics
Courtesy of COMC.com

[Mike D.]

Good stuff!

Really interesting how bad Carlton was after turning 40 (Dec 22, 1985) and how long he pitched after 40 despite of it...especially with how dominant he was prior to that.

He was 314-215 (.594 WP) with an 3.04 ERA from ages 20-40. He played for 2 teams during that time.

From 1986-1988, he went 15-29 (.341 WP) with a 5.72. He pitched in 68 games, including 54 starts. He played with 5 teams over those 3 seasons.

It's not like he was hanging on looking for his 300th win or something.

Niekro at least fell apart (from league-average-ish ERA+ to lousy) in one season, 1987. At age 48!

[ALR-bishop]

As a long time Cardinals fan my excitement about getting Brock for Broglio was greatly diminished by the subsequent Carlton for Rick Wise trade 😠

[G1911]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Interesting. Reminds me of the 1988 Donruss bound team sets that had a bunch of players (or team changes) not in the original set with the card number NEW.
Here's an example.


1988 Donruss - Team Sheet #OAAT.2 - Oakland Athletics
Courtesy of COMC.com

As a lover of 1988 Donruss for some reason (probably need a therapist for this one), I didn't know about these. 1 more thing to chase!

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by G1911

As a lover of 1988 Donruss for some reason (probably need a therapist for this one), I didn't know about these. 1 more thing to chase!

They're actually really cheap. You can usually get a full set of 5 team booklets (with all cards included) for like $20 shipped on eBay. Don't buy them separately, FWIW. That would be for player collectors.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by G1911

As a lover of 1988 Donruss for some reason (probably need a therapist for this one), I didn't know about these. 1 more thing to chase!

Have you seen the Puckett (I think, it's been a while) from the … Not sure of the real name, but the super giant blister pack/rack.