Semi-Stars in the mind of a Child

mygotta

Growing up and collecting cards, you see these players for the first time. You don't know difference from the Nolan Ryan's from the Al Bumbry's. You just know they are good enough to get pictured and printed onto a card. So that must mean something, right? I have been going through a number of cards throughout the early 80's and see all these players I remembered as a kid and every player seemed like a super star. Remember Bob Stanley? Davey Lopes? Steve Sax? Kent Hrbek? Lee Mazilli? Bucky Dent? Going to a live game only fortified their superstar status by seeing them in real life! You got to know the entire team as a unit and how each player contributed to the win. Each player unified the team and made each person a star in your own eyes. Back then, it was not so much that Nolan Ryan was worth x-amount (or whether the card was a PSA 10 for that matter). I must say for me, the entire 86 Mets were all superstars. Mookie Wilson. Len Dykstra. Kevin Mitchell. Wally Backman. Ray Knight. Jesse Orosco. Howard Johnson. These names were equal among the likes of Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Daryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden. I still see them as all some sort of star in their own way.

Were there any players that you remember that were much better in your eyes than they are to the rest of the card collecting world?

thenavarro

Jim Sundberg, Buddy Bell, Richie Zisk, Bump Wills, Jim Kern, Mickey Rivers,Charlie Hough

saucywombat

Chili Davis, Vince Coleman, Moises Alou, Terry Pendleton, Chris Chambliss

Aric

Razor Shines. I only had minor league baseball growing up in Indianapolis and Razor was a lifer with the team playing 10 season with them. He did appear on an 86 Topps cards which only fortified his stardom in my eyes. He played alongside Randy Johnson, Marquis Grissom and Delino DeShields but Razor was always the crowd favorite.

matthewbschultz83

<< <i>Jim Sundberg, Buddy Bell, Richie Zisk, Bump Wills, Jim Kern, Mickey Rivers,Charlie Hough >>



This...

For me its Rusty Greer, Steve Buechele, Oddibe McDowell, Dewayne Henry, Jerry Browne, Scott Fletcher, Mark McLemore

epatmythes

<< <i>Razor Shines. I only had minor league baseball growing up in Indianapolis and Razor was a lifer with the team playing 10 season with them. He did appear on an 86 Topps cards which only fortified his stardom in my eyes. He played alongside Randy Johnson, Marquis Grissom and Delino DeShields but Razor was always the crowd favorite.
>>



Great mention in there...

The very first name that came to my mind when I read the OP was Delino DeShields. I remember as a youngster seeing him play with the Rockford Expos... and declared him my favorite minor league player to watch and I guy I'd follow if he ever made it to the big leagues. He did. I remember collecting the heck out of his rookie cards. I recall using a good chuck of one of my Shopko paychecks in high school to order a 100 count lot of his Topps rookie card from one of those mail order listings. Then, in 1996, Uncle Sam was kind enough to station me outside of St. Louis and Delino came to play for the Cardinals in 97 & 98! He was the first major leaguer I ever got to sign a ball at a professional ballpark. Somewhere in my clutter at home, I believe I still have that ball.

Dodgerfanjohn

I have my set binders, and then alphabetized star and semi star binders.

Still have Mickey Rivers, Bill Buckner, Bill Madlock, Al Oliver, Bucky Dent, Sparky Lyle, Luis Tiant, Harold Baines, Juan Samuel, Bob Horner and a whole bunch of other semi stars or guys who had a few outstanding years and were fixtures in baseball for a lot of years in those binders. I shift them around every so often when it's time to add a modern player.

Sethro

Greg Luzinski, Von Hayes, Juan Samuel come to mind for the home team, but so many more:

Dave Kingman, Ron Cey, Graig Nettles, George Hendrick, Garry Templeton, Cecil Cooper, Ben Ogilve, Buddy Bell.

These guys were good players. Just couldn't take it to that next level I guess.

bobbydigital731

Otis Nixon...Being from the South we had Turner Broadcasting, and before every game they had highlights of Brave players and the one shot that stood out was Nixon making an amazing grab to rob a home run. I sent off a card to the Brave's stadium and he signed it and sent it back. I was in the second grade I think.

Ironmanfan

Gary Roenicke, Rick Dempsey, Ken Singleton, Rich Dauer, Mark Belanger

IMF

totallyradd

I don't have my binder of cards from when I was a kid in front of me, but I still have them all in my "best of the best" binder and don't plan on touching it in any manner. In that binder I know I have multiple cards (and for some PAGES of rookies for the following).

Tom Gordon, Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Mike Greenwell, Greg Jefferies, Mark Grace, Chris Sabo, Gorman Thomas, Ben McDonald, and my former babysitter Paul Wagner.

Mefer

Dwayne Murphy, Tony Armas, Robby Thompson, Bob Brenly, Scott Garrelts to name a few. Fun thread.

japhi

Grew up watching the Jays and Expos so names like Dave Steib, Ernie Whitt, Tim Wallach, Tom Henke, Kelly Gruber, Jesse Barfield, Jorge Bell, Cecile Fielder. Was a lot of fun busting some 80s OPC and seeing all those names again.

blee1

Danny White, Tony Hill, Everson Walls, Charlie Waters, Robert Newhouse to name a few....

mygotta

Lots of names that I remember collecting being listed. Cory Snyder I remember as part of the All-Star team. Hoping another McGwire card would break out of the 1985 Topps set. Odibe MCDowell and Adam Dunne were also players who had some decent years but never exceeded (sadly Will Clark and Barry Larkin were also part of that USA team but for reason of age they were unable to get a card - imagine the 85 Topps set with those two in there!). Cory Snyder I remember hit solid homers for a while then petered out quickly.

I grew up in the tri-state area so minor stars from the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox always came into view. "Oil Can" Boyd I remember being very competitive and hot tempered (which I think where his name came) was always exciting when on the mound.

Griffins

Mike Lum. Seemed like anytime I looked at the paper when I was 10 (about once a week, to read box scores and comics) he'd just hit a homerun the night before.

Also any player mentioned in Ball Four, or The Great American Flipping, Trading and Bubblegum book.

hammered

Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell

esquiresports

I had to think back on this one. Aside from any Padre, my childhood team, or Red, my older friends' team, I thought highly of anyone who had a record-breaker card, no matter what the record was. So Manny Mota, Rennie Stennet, Sammy Stewart and others were all stars in my eyes. And if you happened to make the all-star team one year and got the designation on your Topps card, you were a superstar to me. Aside from that, I loved Tito Fuentes because I thought the caps he wore were so cool. On the flip side, I looked at Cookie Rojas' cards and his name and wondered how he could be a major league baseball player.

stormtrooper80

Glenn Davis

Kid4hof03

I still collect Willie McGee, Ron Gant, Willie Randolph, Ron Guidry and Danny White.

saucywombat

<< <i>Otis Nixon...Being from the South we had Turner Broadcasting, and before every game they had highlights of Brave players and the one shot that stood out was Nixon making an amazing grab to rob a home run. I sent off a card to the Brave's stadium and he signed it and sent it back. I was in the second grade I think. >>



I was in the left field upper deck looking down at the outfield fence when that play was made. I've been to alot of sporting events and that is the loudest I have ever heard a stadium get.

hyperchipper09

Lance Parrish(maybe a bad example, but wasn't on the star level of Fisk/Carter/etc)
Claudell Washington
Steve Bartkowski
William Andrews

ThoseBackPages

John Sterns, Lee Mazzilli and Craig Swan

bobbydigital731

<< <i>

<< <i>Otis Nixon...Being from the South we had Turner Broadcasting, and before every game they had highlights of Brave players and the one shot that stood out was Nixon making an amazing grab to rob a home run. I sent off a card to the Brave's stadium and he signed it and sent it back. I was in the second grade I think. >>



I was in the left field upper deck looking down at the outfield fence when that play was made. I've been to alot of sporting events and that is the loudest I have ever heard a stadium get. >>



WHAT!?!!?! That's crazy! That's really cool to hear

ptper

I always thought Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and Boog Powell were above average.

zep33

Fred Lynn - We would play "Fred Lynn Catches" by throwing the ball just out of reach to each other so you had to make a diving catch

Luis Tiant - My last name is Lewis but got the nickname Louie as a kid cause I was a pitcher

Dwight Evans - My mom loved him

Bill Lee, Rico Petrocelli, George Scott,

All of them were larger than life

yankeeno7

Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Ellis Valentine, Warren Cromartie, Larry Parrish, Tim Raines, Steve Rogers, Bill Gullickson

Though I was mainly a Yankees fan, I grew up only about an hour and a half from Montreal and the Expos were on TV every night and it was easy to go to games. It made Expos my second favorite team. Ellis Valentine was such a big star with his cannon arm and he must have been one of the first players to wear a batting helmet with a face guard. It was a big ugly black face guard at that LOL

mknez

Andre Thornton, Mike Hargrove, Toby Harrah, Rick Manning, Len Barker, Mel Hall, Pat Tabler, Julio Franco, Brook Jacoby...

BPorter26

<< <i><< Otis Nixon...Being from the South we had Turner Broadcasting, and before every game they had highlights of Brave players and the one shot that stood out was Nixon making an amazing grab to rob a home run. I sent off a card to the Brave's stadium and he signed it and sent it back. I was in the second grade I think. >> I was in the left field upper deck looking down at the outfield fence when that play was made. I've been to alot of sporting events and that is the loudest I have ever heard a stadium get. >> >>



I was at that game as well 3 rows behind home plate. Nixon robbed Andy Van Slyke of a go ahead two run homer in the top of the 9th. Danny Jackson threw a one hitter for the Pirates that night and lost as he gave up a solo shot to Dave Justice. 1-0 ATL.

My players Johnny Ray, Bobby Bonilla, RJ Renyolds, Jose Lind, Tony Pena and Van Slyke.

Giantsdude24

I grew up with stars on my home team like Will Clark, Matt Williams, Kevin Mitchell, Robby Thompson, Brett Butler, Kurt Manawaring, Chili Davis, Jeff Leonard, Mike Krukow, Rick Reuschel and Dave Dravecky. I was also a big fan of the "Black and Decker" combo with Bud Black and Steve Decker!

mygotta

I grew up in Connecticut, so it was a treat to hear that Rob Dibble was from Bridgeport. Being a Cincinnati fan, it was doubly exciting! Too bad he had about 2-3 years, but he was a beast on the mound. An interesting factoid about him: was the 22nd pitcher in history (at the time) to pitch 9 straight pitches and get 3 strikeouts.

3 up 3 down

MrVintage

Being a cubs fan since I was a kid some of the guys I remember watching were Leon Durham, Shawon Dunston, Dave Martinez, Keith Moreland, Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith, and Jody Davis.

bobbybakeriv

Graig Nettles comes to mind for me.