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.

1971 Topps Cardinals Leading Firemen

Cardinals lost game 5 by a score of 4-2. A couple of the interesting side stories is the emergence of Mike Napoli as an unlikely hero. He has had 4 multi-RBI games in the series which ties him with Mickey Mantle for the record. The other interesting story is the breakdown in communications to the bullpen which ended up with the wrong pitcher being sent to the mound for the Cardinals.

Jason Isringhausen actually surprised me. The Cardinals have 2 Hall of Fame closers who are conspicuously missing from this card, Bruce Sutter and Dennis Eckersley. Another potential Hall of Famer, Lee Smith only shares a frame with Isringhausen. Although he has 300 saves and 2 All-Star appearances over 15 years and 4 teams, he's hardly a household name.

Lee Smith was a 7 time All-Star and led the league in saves 4 times, totaling 478 saves in his 18 year career.

Fernando Salas led the Cardinals with 24 saves this season but it is Jason Motte who has assumed the closer position in the post season with 9 saves.

1980 Topps Lee Smith

 

Lee Smith was a September call-up for the Cubs in 1980. He made 18 relief appearances before the end of the season. Not only did he not have a card in 1980 but he didn't have a card in 1981 either. Smith is #3 on the all-time saves list with 478 career saves.