Alright folks, today we are going to talk about the 1982 Topps and Topps Traded baseball card sets. Some of you who have been following my blog series may wonder, why did he skip 1981. The reason is that I set a rule for myself and said if I do not have all Twins cards in a particular set, I would not write about it until I complete that set. So, 1981 will have to wait for a future blog post. On another note, this week you’re getting the bonus of the 1982 Topps Traded set. I simply thought this small set completes the 1982 Topps package and that they should stand together.

I am fan of the 1982 Topps design. The design is the same for the standard set as well as the Traded set. The team’s name is listed near the bottom of the card with the player’s name under the team name. There are two colored stripes down the left side of the card which round the lower left corner and go partially across the bottom until they run into the team and player names. The outside line color coincides with the player’s name and the inside line is the same color as the team name. Additionally, the outside line includes the player’s position on the bottom after it rounds the corner. While I like that design, I do not like that the color seems random and unconnected to the team’s color scheme. In the case of the Twins cards, the colors are orange and brown. I would have chosen blue and red, but many other teams also have questionable color choices. Despite that critique, I still like the design.  

There are 792 cards in the 1982 Topps baseball card set including 26 Twins cards. The set has the rookie card of Cal Ripken, Jr., as well as future Twin Tom Brunansky. Ripken’s rookie is with two others and labeled as Orioles Futures Stars. The set contains a similar Twins card which we will highlight below. The Traded set has 132 cards featuring six Twins players. The pictures are almost all portrait shots of the players, but the quality of the pictures is getting a little better as years go by and in judgment these portrait shots have improved since the sets of the prior decade.

This week I was indecisive and have some ties for most obscure player and best card.

MOST OBSCURE PLAYER

My selections for the most obscure Twins players in the 1982 Topps baseball sets are Chuck Baker (#253) and Randy Johnson (#51T)

This is Chuck Baker’s lone Topps card as a Twin. He was a backup infielder who played only one of his three MLB seasons with the Twins. For the Twins, he had only 66 at bats and 12 hits. Noteworthy is that three of those 12 hits were triples. Baker only played an entire game nine times that season. Most of his action looks like a late game defensive replacement. Baker was drafted four times by four organizations, the first by the Twins in the 36th round of the 1971 draft but did not sign. He signed in 1975 after being drafted in the second round by the Padres. Baker came to the Twins in December of 1980 in a trade for outfield Dave Edwards.

Randy Johnson, who played only one season with the Twins (and one with the White Sox), is an obscure player who many probably don’t remember. But he has always stuck in my brain. The first year the Twins played at the Metrodome, 1982, I was young and impressionable and Johnson, a designated hitter, started scorching hot in that his age 23 season. Johnson’s great April must have been a time I was paying attention and for some reason that month was etched into my memory. Baseball Reference games logs show he hit 10 home runs in his career, all with the Twins in 1982. But more to the point, five of those home runs came in April. At the end of April, he had an exceptional slash line of .393/.449/.738. His OPS was 1.187. For many years after 1982 and before the internet, I would occasionally remember Johnson and wonder what ever happened to him. Turns out he just wasn’t very good, the Twins let him go, and he never reappeared in MLB.  He was out of minor league baseball after the 1985 season when he was only 26 years of age.

THE BEST

Alright, the best card of 1982 is an easy one for me, well easy two. It’s Kent Hrbek’s official rookie card (#766) and other rookie year card (#44T). Like probably most everyone, my favorite would be his first stand-alone card (#44T). However, that one is in the Traded set, so it’s not considered his true rookie card. The true rookie card is the #766 Future Stars card which also features long-time catcher Tim Laudner and short-time shortstop Lenny Faedo. I hope to get Hrbek’s autograph someday on the Future Stars card along with Laudner’s.

PERSONAL FAVORITE

I love the picture and stance of Butch Wynegar (#222). It’s of the style of the 1971 Roberto Clemente (which is a favorite of many collectors) and the 1972 card of Twins superstar Harmon Killebrew. Wynegar is kind of mid swing with the bat aimed at the camera. I guess I just think it’s a cool pose which is the single reason it’s my favorite Twins card in the 1982 set.

I think the 1982 Topps cards are a pretty good design. As a group I can say I definitely like the early 80s designs better than the late 70s. We’ll see if this trend continues.

Does anybody out there have a player to them like Randy Johnson was to me, someone who made a distinct impression upon you that made you think he was better than he actually was? Do you like the Clemente/Killebrew/Wynegar bat pose? I would appreciate any comments or opinions below. Thanks for reading.

Go Twins!