1980 Topps Joe Charboneau

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Joe Charboneau was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1980. He had a batted .350 in single A ball in 1978, .352 in AA ball in 1979. In 1980 he skipped right over AAA to opening day starter in left field. He homered in his first ballgame. He continued to have success, hitting .289 with 23 homers, and received a 73 percent share of the R.O.Y. votes. His next 2 seasons would be plagued by back injuries. In the strike shortened 1981 season Joe hit a meager .210 and had back surgery following the season. 1982 was no better. He hit .214 in only 22 MLB games and underwent a second surgery. He never played another game in the Bigs. He holds the record for the fewest Major League games by a Rookie of the Year with only 201 games over 3 seasons.

1980 Topps White Sox Future Stars: Harold Baines, Britt Burns, Richard Dotson

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Like the Phillies, the White Sox also had 2 Rookie of the Year contenders on their roster in 1980. Also like the Phillies, neither were included in the 1980 set. Britt Burns and Richard Dotson were the only pitchers on the White Sox staff with double digit victories.  Burns' 15 wins and Dotson's 12 were good enough to earn 5th and 7th place in American League Rookie of the Year voting. I added Harold Baines to this version of the White Sox Future Stars card. The #1 pick of the 1977 draft and 1980 opening day starter for the White Sox somehow didn't find himself on a Topps card until 1981. The three players on my version would continue to play for the Sox well into the 1980's and were all key parts of the "Winning Ugly" 1983 team. 

But this is what Topps thought the "Future" held for the White Sox. Colbern was the Sox' 3rd string catcher in 1979. He spent all of 1980 in the minors never making the big leagues again. Guy Hoffman and Dewey Robinson were both local boys, Hoffman was from Ottawa, IL and played ball for Bradley University in Peoria. Robinson was from Evanston and played ball for the Salukis at Southern Illinois University. Both bounced back and forth from minors to majors the next few years. Dewey Robinson moved on to coaching and Hoffman was in the Sox, Cubs, Reds and Rangers systems before moving to Japan to play the 1989-91 seasons.

1980 Topps Phillies Future Stars: Bob Dernier, Lonnie Smith, Bob Walk

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

There were 2 Phillies players who received Rookie of the Year consideration in 1980. Of course neither of them were included in the 1980 Topps set so I decided to make a second Phillies Future Stars card.

The original card featured Ramon Aviles, Dickie Noles and Kevin Saucier. Aviles saw limited action as a middle infielder but Noles and Saucier each had over 40 games in relief.

Lonnie Smith had appeared in the 1979 Topps set on a Phillies Prospects and he had a regional Burger King issue of him on a 1980 card but he was excluded from the regular issue set. He hit .339 and had 33 stolen bases for the Phillies and came in 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting.

Bob Walk was one of 3 players who tied for 7th in the N.L. with one vote. He was 11-7 in his rookie season.

Bob Dernier made his Major League debut in September of 1980. I just added him to balance out the card. He would make his Topps debut in 1982 on a Phillies Future Stars card.

1980 Topps Future Stars: Tim Raines, Dave Stapleton, Lee Smith

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Dave Stapleton: I'm really not sure how Topps missed this one.  Dave Stapleton was the 1979 International League MVP for the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. He had a .321 batting average in 1980 and was 2nd in ROY voting in the American League. Stapleton spent most of his years in Boston as a utility infielder. In 1986 he was regularly used as a late inning defensive replacement for Bill Buckner who was nursing an ankle injury. Boston fans are still lamenting John McNamara's decision to leave Buckner in with a 2 run lead in the 10th inning of game 6.

I included Tim Raines and Lee Smith on this card but really only Dave Stapleton received ROY votes in 1980. Raines was a September call up for the Expos in 1979 and saw limited playing time in 1980. He would get his first Topps card in the 1981 set.  Lee Smith was 2-0 in 1980 but wouldn't appear on a Topps card until 1982.

1980 Topps N.L. Future Stars: Ron Oester, Jeff Reardon, Al Holland

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Ron Oester: Although Ron Oester was not included in the 1980 Topps Set he did have a "Prospects" card in the 1979 set. With Dave Concepcion at shortstop, I can understand why Topps didn't want to take another chance on Oester. But the Reds found a place for him at 2nd base and Oester made the most of it. He played his entire 13 season career in a Reds uniform.


Jeff Reardon:  Reardon currently occupies 7th place on the All Time saves list with 367. But he wasn't the regular closer until he was traded to Montreal in 1981. Still his 101 strikeouts in 110.1 innings plus a record of 8 wins and 6 saves earned him a couple ROY votes.

Al Holland: Holland also put together a solid year coming out of the bullpen. He was 5-3 with 7 saves. He was part of a 5 player trade that sent Joe Morgan to the Phillies in 1983. With the Phillies, Holland assumed the closer roll and made his only All Star appearance in 1984.