Card of the Week: 1980 Topps #671 – A’s Future Stars
Posted by Andy on October 20, 2010
This week's Card of the Week is again written by Night Owl of Night Owl Cards.
The 1978 major league baseball amateur draft is known for a few things. The first four players drafted, led by No. 1 pick Bob Horner, went on to All-Star careers. Meanwhile, Cal Ripken Jr. wasn't selected until the second round. Ryne Sandberg wasn't picked until the 20th.
But today the focus is on the fourth overall pick of that draft, pitcher Mike Morgan.
There was no doubt that Morgan was going to play in the major leagues. As if to underline that statement, the team that drafted Morgan, the Oakland A's, started him in three games the very year he was drafted. The following year Morgan pitched in 13 games and had a 5.94 ERA.
But instead of that being the ruin of his career, Morgan went on to pitch in the major leagues for 22 seasons. He finally hung up his spikes in 2002.
My fascination with Morgan concerns his baseball cards. I often wonder whether Morgan was featured on a baseball card with more teams than any other player. I'm not sure how you prove that. There are other rivals to Morgan's potential title who spring to mind. Bob Miller, the much-traveled 1960s pitcher, threw for 10 different teams. Kenny Lofton, Terry Mulholland and Royce Clayton each donned the uniform of 11 different teams.
But Morgan pitched for 12 teams. He started out with the A's -- appearing on this 1980 Topps Future Stars card with future 20-game loser Brian Kingman and 39-game major leaguer Derek Bryant -- and ended with the Diamondbacks in 2002. In between, he pitched for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners, Orioles, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Twins and Rangers.
I found cards of Morgan featured with 11 of those teams. The only one I couldn't find was Morgan in a Reds uniform. There has to be a card of him as a Red. He pitched for them in 1996 and 1997 and there were countless card sets issued in the late '90s.
If there is a Morgan card of a Red, then that could make Morgan the player to appear on a baseball card with the most different major league teams. He would have Lofton, Mulholland, Clayton and Miller all beat.
There is only one other player that I can think of that might match him. Matt Stairs has played for 12 different teams with his 2010 season with the Padres. His time with some of those teams was quite limited, so I have my doubts that he appeared on a card with each team. But it's possible.
October 20th, 2010 at 8:22 am
Given the card ordering of 1998 Pacific Invincible Gems of the Diamond, I think it's a pretty good bet that set features him with the Reds.
October 20th, 2010 at 8:24 am
What I like about "Future Stars" type of cards is the age of some of the "Future Stars". Now, Mike Morgan was only 20 years old so that seems reasonable. Brian Kingman was 25 so I suppose he had a shot at future stardom (he would become "famous" with those 20 losses). But Derek Bryant was 28 following the 1979 season. He was coming off of a 120 PA season with the A's in which he hit .179 (although a .246 OBP) without much power or speed. Now he did have a .308/.390/.410 line in 2064 AAA plate appearances (one of those years was 1980, after the card came out), but still ... he was 28 when the card was produced.
October 20th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Interesting to think about who Topps might have chosen instead for the 1980 A's future stars card. Morgan was a fine selection. Rickey Henderson already had his own solo card in the set. Dwayne Murphy had a cup of coffee in 1978 and a solid 1979 and would have been a good choice. The next best probably would have been Mike Heath, who was no star but stuck around the majors for a long time after.
Also does anybody know offhand in which years Topps put "Athletics" on the cards and which years they put "A's"?
October 20th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Finding a card on the Reds (1996-97) might be tough. Those late 90's sets (although there were MANY of them each year, they tended to be smaller (less cards than other years focusing mostly on stars and rookies/minor leaguers). Also they would have 3 - 4 different cards of some of the stars. They rarely focused on the 4th/5th starter or bullpen players.
I really hate that about those late 90's sets - I am all for more cards featuring the most players from the previous year's rosters as possible. And then include a multi-player Future Stars type card - like the one in this post.
Back to Morgan. The best bet for Morgan would be a Traded set in 1996 or maybe a local Reds set that featured most all of the Reds players in 1997.
October 20th, 2010 at 8:32 am
Wow, MFlournoy.
Nice find. I didn't think of 1998.
October 20th, 2010 at 8:41 am
On the Sports Card site from #1's post above:
If you click on Mike Morgan it brings up an list of his cards (shows mostly cards from the 1990's and later). There is a 1997 Kahn's Cincinatti Reds set. That is the type of "Local set" that I meant from my post above @ #4.
Also, the 1998 Upper Deck set might have him as a Red that year, although it is card #694 so it the set was produced in series', then perhaps he is already freatured on his next team.
October 20th, 2010 at 9:13 am
The '98 Upper Deck card features Morgan as a Twin, not a Red.
October 20th, 2010 at 10:03 am
@3...I know that Topps used just "A's" in 1968, probably because of the small colored circle that had to fit both the team name and the position of the player. They then used "A's" again in 1970, and then continuously from 1972-1982. It was never again because of the space constraint, though, except probably in 1981. I guess "A's" was just more popularly known than Athletics. (Thanks to 'checkoutmycards.com' for my quick trek down memory lane).
Also of possible interest, the 1968 and 1969 Topps sets listed "Houston" instead of "Astros" on all their player cards. I've never known why.
October 20th, 2010 at 10:07 am
I hope I can use this space to say thanks for the recommendation a few weeks ago of the book "Mint Condition" by Dave Jamieson. I just finished it and absolutely loved it. It not only brought back a lot, but also taught me much that I hadn't known.
October 20th, 2010 at 10:10 am
http://beta.beckett.com/item/4254686/
This him?
October 20th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Nice, Splint. And where have you been? I haven't seen you comment on this blog in forever.
October 20th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Well, I just don't know that much, lol.
October 20th, 2010 at 10:38 am
"Also of possible interest, the 1968 and 1969 Topps sets listed "Houston" instead of "Astros" on all their player cards. I've never known why."
I'm interested, too. Using the city name instead of the team nickname seems to be common for recently relocated sports franchises--I have seen this plenty of times on hockey cards--but the Astros have always been based out of Houston.
October 20th, 2010 at 11:02 am
@13 But they haven't always been the Astros. Which would explain it, except that 1968 and 1969 were already years after the switch away from Colt .45s, which happened in 1965. So the mystery lives on...
October 20th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Re: the "Houston" listing instead of "Astros":
According to what I read awhile ago (sorry, don't know where), Topps was following a court injunction when it did this with the 1968 and 1969 sets.
When Houston built the Astrodome, which featured something newly known as "Astroturf," the Houston team scrapped the Colt .45s nickname and named themselves "Astros." That prompted a lawsuit from the Astroturf makers who claimed a copyright on the "Astro" name.
I'm assuming Topps went back to Astros after 1969 because the suit was resolved.
October 20th, 2010 at 11:37 am
@15...thanks for the insight. I had noticed that they were the 'Colts' on the '64 Cards, 'Houston' on the '65 cards (for the reason mentioned by 'RoundRock15), 'Astros' in both '66 & '67, then 'Houston' in '68 & '69 (as discussed), then back to 'Astros' from '70 forward (as you indicated).
Back to the 'Athletics' / 'A's' post, Topps also listed St. Louis as the 'Cards' from '65 - '69, before going back to the 'Cardinals'. I still hear some people (generally in their 50s) refer to St. Louis as the 'Cards'.
October 20th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Back to Mike Morgan...his one year with Baltimore was their disastrous 54-107 season after an 0-21 start. He was supposed to be a solid middle-rotation guy after Boddicker and Ballard on a rebuilding team with a lot of young talent (reminiscent of Millwood this year). The next Spring, the O's sent Morgan to the Dodgers for Mike Devereaux, a key piece to their huge turn-around in '89. But after going south again in '90-'91, they got impatient and made their worst trade in history, sending Pete Harnisch, Curt Schilling, and Steve Finley to the Astros for 1B Glenn Davis, who unfortunately had just finished his best years before back ailments took over. Hopefully, that is not a cycle they'll repeat.
October 20th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Regarding "Athletics" vs. "A's".
I believe the concept of the "A's" was Charlie Finley's choice. I believe he informally changed the team name soon after he gained sole ownership Late 1960's. I guess Topps decided to make the same change full-time in 1972. He sold the team in 1981. New ownership must have decided to go back to "Athletics" and Topps followed suit in 1983.
October 20th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Awesome stuff. I love these articles.
October 20th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Adding to #18 above:
Charlie Finley was responsible for many of the "A's" characteristics like the Kelly Green & Gold uniforms, the white shoes, and the facial hair (I have heard that he paid players to grow mustaches - unsubstantiated).
Finley also did a lot to help along free agency as he tried to trade all of the A's high-priced stars in ridiculos trades (many of which were voided by the league). The players eventually left during free-agency and that is why the 1976 team is vastly different from the 1977 team.
Finally, Charlie was responsible for the Kansas City A's stopping the practice of trading with the Yankees (old guys for young stars - i.e. Hank Bauer for Roger Maris), that had gone on for a long time. Coincidentally, that change happened in the mid-60's just as the Yanks started their first real World Series slump since 1920.
October 20th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Clark,
I put all my money in Baseball Cards.
🙂
October 20th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
As a Twins fan, I remember "MoMan" pitching for the Twins in the bleak season of 1998. He seemed like quite a character, as I recall he always referred to himself in the 3rd person as "MoMan," which just cracks me up.
October 20th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
#20 Tmckelv: Finley, to me, was also responsible for forcing the 1969 expansion when he got league permission to move the A's to Oakland for 1968. How would things have differed if he hadn't been allowed to move? Possibly a subject for "what if"??
October 21st, 2010 at 1:20 am
I loved those Finley inspired A's colors as a kid. Still do.
October 21st, 2010 at 10:14 am
@20 Tmckelv ("Finley also did a lot to help along free agency as he tried to trade all of the A's high-priced stars in ridiculos trades (many of which were voided by the league). The players eventually left during free-agency and that is why the 1976 team is vastly different from the 1977 team.")
The truth is a bit more complex.
-- Reggie Jackson was traded after '75, along with Ken Holtzman, for Don Baylor and Mike Torrez. This was actually a pretty good trade for Oakland. Baylor was 3 years younger than Reggie and coming off an outstanding year; both hitters were going to be free agents after one season. Baylor might have been expected to be a *small* downgrade vs. Reggie, and when he had an off year in '76 it turned out to be a moderate downgrade -- but that was still offset by the pitcher swap. Holtzman won just 23 games after leaving Oakland, while Torrez had a fine '76 with the A's and totaled 104 wins after the trade.
-- Only 2 deals were voided by commissioner Bowie Kuhn, both sales: Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi to Boston for $1 million each, and Vida Blue to the Yankees for $1.5 million. Had those deals not been voided, Finley might have used the cash to retain some of his other stars. Instead, Fingers and Rudi left as free agents after '76, as did Gene Tenace, Sal Bando and Bert Campaneris. Blue stayed with the A's through 1977, then was traded to SF for 7 players and $100,000.
-- Although Kuhn's decision was upheld in court, its wisdom is dubious. At the least, it seems to reflect little foresight about just how much the business of baseball was changing with the advent of free agency.
P.S. Finley had many flaws, both as a businessman and as a human being. But there's no doubt that he had a legitimate financial struggle in the mid-'70s. Despite winning 5 straight division titles and 3 straight WS championships, the team's attendance was mediocre at best, averaging less than 1 million; their 3rd straight crown in '74 saw attendance of just 846,000. Now, this is partly his own fault for choosing to move the club to Oakland from KC; on the other hand, his first choice for the move was Dallas, which would have been a more lucrative market, but the AL owners denied him.
October 23rd, 2010 at 12:15 am
I think Bowie Kuhn was scared because Finley, the Red Sox, and Yankees had set an arbitrary value on Fingers, Rudi, and Blue. Had he taken a player or two in the transactions, it might have been tougher to veto the sales.
#25 John Autin: You're right about Finley's struggles in the mid-70s. I've lived in or near Oakland my whole life, and can tell you about how tough a nut the East Bay is to crack, though they had a very strong period in the late 80s- early 90s- the fan base just isn't strong enough to sustain the low periods.
October 25th, 2010 at 8:47 am
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