The 1962 Topps set is a vintage, classic set of baseball cards. I don’t care for it very much but there’s no mistaking the wood-grain border of the set. Some people love the design, and some hate it. Perhaps enough collectors love them that 25 years later Topps was at least inspired by 1962 in the 1987 design. The 1987 design is identifiable and distinct when compared to other sets of the 80s. Let’s take a closer look at the Minnesota Twins cards in the 1987 Topps and Topps Traded baseball card sets.

The 1987 cards feature the aforementioned wood-grain borders. The design includes the team logo in the upper left corner, a player nameplate in a lower right box, and the Topps logo in the lower left. The Twins cards feature the player’s name in a navy-blue box. I don’t like the wood grain border but otherwise 1987 is a clean, crisp design in my judgment. The backs have the player’s name and position in capital letters at the top against a darker blue background, then the player’s career statistics against a yellow background, followed by a piece of trivia. The entire back is set against a gray card stock background. At the very bottom is the player’s biographical information again with a yellow background.

The 1987 Topps sets are the same size as 1986 – 792 cards in the base set and 132 cards in the Traded set. There are 28 Twins cards in the base set. Of the 132 cards in the Traded set, a disproportionate nine of those are Twins cards. Perhaps the significant number of offseason acquisitions for this the World Series year – Juan Berenguer, Dan Gladden, Al Newman, Jeff Reardon, Les Straker and others – contributed to the abundance of Twins cards for this set. The base set has rookie cards of Hall of Famer Barry Larkin as well the rookie cards of a  handful of suspected steroid users who some say are Hall of Fame worthy – Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire (or not), Rafael Palmeiro, and the uber-talented Bo Jackson who was cursed with injuries. Rookie cards for Twins players in the main Topps set are Allan Anderson and manager Tom Kelly. The Traded set has a Gene Larkin rookie card.

The set contains a large amount of straight-up head shots and, at least to me, a lesser number of action shots.

MOST OBSCURE PLAYER

After considering six players in the 1987 sets for the potential of being Mr. Most Obscure Twin, I selected Ray Fontenot (#124).

Some Twins fans might consider Ray Fontenot a hero, savior, or I don’t know what. Not because of what he did, but because of who he replaced. Fontenot was a left-handed reliever who was drafted in the 34^th round the Texas Rangers, He was later traded to the Yankees and the Cubs. What makes him a significant part of Twins history (although he probably remains obscure) is that he and George Frazier (and a minor leaguer) were traded to the Twins (with a minor leaguer) for failed closer, and fan whipping boy, Ron Davis. Fontenot was acquired on August 13, 1986, pitched 16.1 to the tune of a 9.92 ERA. The Twins released him that offseason and he never reappeared in Major League Baseball, but at least we were done with Ron Davis.

THE BEST

The most valuable Twins card in the 1987 Topps set is that of outfielder, former first round draft pick, and future General Manger of the Oakland A’s, Mr. Moneyball, Billy Beane (#114). It’s Beane’s first and only Topps card.

Beane came to the Twins in a January 1986 trade with the New York Mets for second baseman Tim Teufel (with minor leaguers going both ways). I would say the Twins lost that trade. Beane a former first round draft pick did have a five-hit game for the Twins making some briefly think, “Here we go!” But he just never produced anything similar again. Teufel had some good seasons with the Mets and helped win a World Series in 1986. Billy Beane famously went on to be a special General Manager, Executive Vice President, senior advisor, and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics. His against the grant thoughts and processes led the underfunded Athletics to many division championships no one would have thought possible. Most organizations followed his revolutionary thinking which changed the way every team scouts and prepares. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he probably will be selected to the Hall of Fame one day.

PERSONAL FAVORITE

For my personal favorite Twins 1987 Topps, I choose the Twins Hall of Famer Kent Hrbek (#430). Hrbek was my choice in 1986 as well. For me it was hard to select a favorite because there are just too many close-up head shots of players. I prefer actions shots. This Hrbek card looks awesome. I think he’s coming in on a foul ball which was all know he always caught, except maybe at the old timers game.

ODDITIES

Hey, let’s not make this too long, but I have two quick observations when looking at Twins cards and 1987 Topps. First, doesn’t Kirby Puckett’s All-Star card (#611) look like his picture was taken three years prior to his regular, base card (#450). He looks skinnier and younger, at least in my judgment.

Secondly, look at Frank Pastore’s 1986 and 1987 cards. They look almost like reverse negatives. Same look, same jacket, just from the opposite side. Hat looks the same, hair looks the same, background looks similar. Maybe they were taken the same day and just used in different years. That just struck me as odd and worthy of mention.

I don’t like the 1987 Topps set design and that is simply because of the wood-grain borders. However, I completely love everything else about the design. I love simplicity and this set has it. I just don’t like the borders. Even though the 1987 Topps baseball cards are not my favorite, I can’t say I don’t remember the design – it’s distinct and memorable.

Which is better, 1962 or 1987? I’d love to see your opinions, thoughts, or comments below.

Go Twins!