Catastrophe on Cardboard: Jeff Reardon

Here's another edition of Catastrophe on Cardboard, Jeff Reardon style.

1. From looking at Reardon's uniform, you can tell he played for the Newtreal Mexpos in 1981. Donruss just painted his hat a flat blue to cover up the Mets logo.

2. Reardon later went with the full beard since the hair was obviously taking over his face. Awful photo. Jeff looks angry. I think he might be growling! The card scanned with a red tint because he smells blood. (It's Atlanta Braves blood.)

3. The 1982 design featured a Wiffle Ball Bat with a ball (sans classic wiffle ball holes). The team name font is extra nice. No team logo would appear on Donruss cards until 1985. Now that I think about it, team logos rarely show up on cards anymore. Donruss liked the design so much, they repeated it in 1983, exchanging the ball with a glove with a more awesome font.

4. Reardon pitched for the Mets in 1981, then was traded to the Expos, along with Dan Norman, for Ellis Valentine. Lets examine that trade, as it will make this an even worse card, me being a Mets fan. I will use Bill James' Win Shares to see who got the better end of the deal.

Mets give: Dan Norman - 1 Win Share in 1982 for the Expos. It would be his last year in the bigs. Jeff Reardon from half of 1981 to 1986 would earn 7, 18 , 10 , 12 , 13, and 11 Win Shares for a total of 71. That is 72 win shares wich means that Dan and Jeff contributed around 72/3 or 24 Wins to the Expos. They then dealt Reardon to Minnesota for Neal Heaton and others.

Mets get: Ellis Valentine - Earned 1 Win Share in half of 1981 and 7 in 1982. 8/3 equals about 3 Wins for the Mets. Valentine was then released by the Mets.

The Mets lost this trade by a at least 21 Wins. Read James' Win Shares book if you love statistics or look here for a quick explanation.

Bad card, Worse trade. GO METS!

Catastrophe Bonus: 1971 Topps John Cumberland.

He played for the Yankees and Giants in 1970. His hat is blank, just like Reardon's, but it is also mashed in on the side. He seems angry too!

Topps smacked a way-too-big Giants logo on his hat on the back. Cumberland batted .099 and slugged .099 for his career which means all 9 of his hits were singles. He did manage to touch home plate once.

Catastrophe on Cardboard: Hal McRae

I was searching through cards for my next Best and Worst post when I came across this beauty that could have not possibly have a corresponding Best card to be posted with it. I can not say enough bad things about it. Hal McRae was a good ballplayer for the Reds and Royals. He must have been having a bad day!

1. 1982 Fleer: This is a bad looking set, as was 1981 and to a lesser extent 1983. Fleer got it right from 1984 to 1987 before messing it all up again in 1988. I think that the team logo should always be on the front of the card although most cards have now trended away from this practice.

2. Photography: This is not a good photograph. It is of similar picture quality as others in the set but even for a head-shot, this is terrible.

3. Cropping: Was cropping photos not an option in 1982. I am not suggesting that zooming in is a good option but at least show us some action in that space to the right of his head.

4. Helmet: Is it too small? Is it about to come off because he just motored down the line to beat the throw at first? Or does Hal lack the will to push the helmet all the way onto his head?

5. Beard: The beard is a little bit impressive! He may have spent the last year in a cave or he could be participating in the NHL playoffs. His son, Brian, did later sport an updated version of this beard of beards in the 1990's.

6. LaVar Burton: This is not actually Hal McRae. It appears to be LaVar Burton, of Roots, Star Trek:TNG, and my personal favorite, Reading Rainbow.