The 1980 Donruss Set That Never Was - The Requests

Sorry for the delay.  I'd like to be a better and more consistent blogger.  But as I've said before, life gets in the way. Truly not that many requests this time around, anyway.  So I'd like to begin with a request of my own:

Ed Farmer was the radio voice of the White Sox from 1991-2019.  He also pitched for the South-siders from 1979-1981. He made his only All Star appearance in 1980, so he fit this theme perfectly. Farmer passed away April 1st.  The White Sox organization made a nice video tribute to "Farmio".

You are missed, Farmio. pic.twitter.com/QonIokv1UN

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 24, 2020

Additionally, the Sox will be sporting a "Farmio" patch on their sleeve this season. This one is modeled by Palehose newcomer Edwin Encarnacion. 

 After Yoan Moncada's three run homer in the opener, Andy Masur (Farmer's successor in the booth) also paid tribute echoing Farmer's signature call:

"Hey Ed, this one's for you! Turn on the fireworks! It's a tie ballgame! Light it up!"

*****************************

Okay, now for the actual requests. "Night Owl" suggested a 1980 rookie and a couple pre-rookies. Rickey Henderson, who made his Topps debut in 1980, got a "Rated Rookie" card.

For the pre-rookies, Tim Raines and Fernando Valenzuela, I made a "Rated Prospects" card featuring them in Minor League uniforms.  I went with black and white photos similar to the 1979 Topps Prospects cards. (To be honest, if I could have found color photos, I would have used them.)

I liked the concept, but the final product seemed lacking, so I also made "Rated Rookie" cards for Rock and Fernando.They would both debut on Topps and Donruss in 1981.  Valenzuela also appeared in the 1981 Fleer set while Raines had a card in the Donruss set.

A couple more requests were Ron Cey and Mark Fidrych. Fidrych was in the final MLB season of his meteoric career.  After his brilliant rookie season in 1976, he injured his knee then tore his rotator cuff. He never regained his early dominance. In 1980 Ron Cey was coming off of his 6th straight All Star season. I had to include at least one night-game card for Night Owl.

The usual call for more post season cards came up as well. So I made Champion Series recap-cards and a Game 4 card. The Orioles were up three games to one, forcing the Pirates to win three straight.

Finally, Bryan wanted more Pirates and Indians. So here is a Dave Parker All-Star card and a Len Barker card. Barker led the AL in strikeouts in 1980 and 1981. He made his only All Star appearance in 1981 after throwing a perfect game that May.

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.

1975 Hostess Gary Carter

Montreal Expos CTNW Favorites #1

Although Gary Carter would have a Hall of Fame career behind the plate, most of his rookie season was spent in the outfield. The Expos primary backstop was Barry Foote. Foote was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team in 1974 and Expos manager Gene Mauch called him "the next Johnny Bench". Meanwhile "The Kid" was selected to the All Star team as an outfielder and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. During his career he was selected to 10 more All Star teams (twice winning the All Star MVP) and won 3 Gold Gloves. All of them as a catcher.

On a side note, the 5 players I picked for my favorite Expos all had great nicknames. This wasn't deliberate, just a lucky coincidence.

"The Rock"

"The Big Unit"

"Rusty" and "Le Grand Orange"

"The Hawk"

"The Kid"

1981 Fleer Tim Raines

Montreal Expos CTNW Favorites #5

Rock Raines was an outstanding leadoff hitter, clutch hitter and a terror on the basepath. Unfortunately he spent his entire career overshadowed by the ultimate leadoff hitter and all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson. Several arguments could be made for Raines' entrance into the Hall of Fame.

In 1981 he finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting. He received MVP votes in 7 seasons. He was selected to 7 All Star Teams. Despite battling injuries, drug addiction and Lupus disease, his maintained a .294 batting average. He had 2605 career hits. He is #5 on the all time stolen base list. Numbers 1-4 are already in the Hall. He has more stolen bases than any other switch hitter. He has 1571 runs scored. Of the 70 players with over 1500 runs scored only 19 are NOT in the Hall. That 19 includes 6 active players, 5 retired players that are not yet eligible and 4 dead-ball-era players. That leaves 4 modern players: Pete Rose, Rafael Palmiero, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines.