Today is Steve Garvey‘s 65th birthday, and in a shameless attempt to see his cards posted on baseball card blogs everywhere, the Garvey Cey Russell Lopes blog is giving away a 1952 Topps card to someone at random. So of course I’m going to post a card, because I don’t have any 1952 Topps cards yet.
The Garvey card pictured above is from the 1986 Donruss All-Stars set. These big cards (3.5 x 5) first appeared in 1983, and lasted in this oversize variety through 1987. In 1988 the company decided to shrink them to “normal” baseball card size (2.5 x 3.5). 1986 Donruss doesn’t get much love these days, but I loved them as a kid. It was difficult to keep your cards looking mint with those non-white borders. but I loved them anyway. The main difference between the regular set and the All-Stars (other than the ginormosity of them) was the stripes. Instead of horizontal, the blue and black went from top to bottom.
Flipping to the back, we see that Garvey had a fairly impressive All-Star career. 1985 was his tenth and final All-Star game and he managed to belt out a .393 average in those contests. His 1974 campaign was especially impressive, being elected as a write-in and winning the MVP. In 1970, Rico Carty became the first player ever elected as a write-in; Garvey followed him in 1974. Has there been another since?
Of his ten All-Star appearances, Garvey started in nine games. In 1981, Pete Rose of the Phillies received more votes. Rose also won the fan vote in 1982, while Al Oliver won in 1983; Garvey was not selected as a reserve either of those years. In 1984, however, the former Dodgers first baseman rose back to the top and was selected to start over Keith Hernandez. In 1985, Rose and Jack Clark sat on the bench while Garvey took the field for the first four and a half innings.
I always thought Steve Garvey would be inducted into the Hall of Fame when his playing days are over, and while I would still like to see him get a plaque in Cooperstown, the truth is the numbers just don’t add up. He wouldn’t be the worst player in the Hall, but his selection would probably be seen by rabid baseball fans and historians as a mistake. Regardless, he was a great baseball player.
Happy birthday Steve Garvey.
Now go visit Garvey Cey Russell Lopes.
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