1989 Topps Major League Debut #142: Kevin Wickander

Kevin Wickander

PHOTO: Wow this is an almost identical photo to that on Russ Swan's card, absence of baseball and all.

STAT: Wickander didn't give up many home runs (even rate-based he was good.) However, his last 2 were doozies--both grand slams when his team was already down by 4 runs.

ANAGRAM: Kevin Wickander, Indians = Advanced in kinkier wins

CAREER: 3/10

Wickander was an above-average lefty who put together several nice seasons although, like a lot of lefty relievers, didn't pitch many innings. He also walked too many batters.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #115: Joe Skalski

Joe Skalski

PHOTO: Well, holy crap, this card looks almost identical to the previous one of Rudy Seanez. Two Indians hurlers in similar poses. In fact, the photos were taken just about right next to each other. The trees and parking barriers in the background match up. Here's a Photoshopped version:



Makes you almost feel like you're right there on the practice field, eh?

STAT: The only guy not playing for the Red Sox to get a hit off Skalski was HOFer Robin Yount.

CAREER: 1/10

He faced only 33 batters in the major leagues.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #114: Rudy Seanez

Rudy Seanez

PHOTO: One thing sucks about this card: the shadow across Seanez's face. Everything else about it, however, kicks ass. We've got a line of Indians trailing off into the distance, majestic light towers standing tall over the trees, an intriguing shadow coming in from the left, and miles and miles of green grass. Quite nearly a prefect photo.

STAT: Since 1901, 44 pitchers have pitched at least 500 innings without ever starting a game or amassing more than 200 saves. Among these guys, Seanez is in the top 5 for strikeout rate.

ANAGRAM: Rudy Seanez = Reused zany

CAREER: 5/10

Seanez has had a great career. He pitched really well in 2008 and I'm surprised nobody has picked him up in 2009. He's only 40. He has pitched well in 11 post-season games although he never made it to the World Series (and wasn't even on the Phillies' post-season roster last year, oddly.)

1989 Topps Major League Debut #90: Steve Olin

Steve Olin

PHOTO: It's tough to judge this photo fairly because of Olin's untimely death in 1993. He looks so melancholy in this picture, which I'm sure seems that way only because he died more than 15 years ago.

STAT: Over 1991-1992, among relievers with at least 100 IP, Olin had one of the top ERA+ values. He was well on his way to becoming one of the best closers in the game. His death was a major blow for the Indians franchise.

ANAGRAM: I'm not trying to be funny or make light of Olin's death, but it's interesting to note, given that the boating accident happening at night, that Steve Olin = Lost in eve

CAREER: ?/10

Based on what he actually achieved in the big leagues, I'd give Olin a 3/10 since he played only 3 full seasons although they were excellent. Who knows what Olin might have achieved had he not died during spring training in 1993. It is worth noting, though, that Olin had a fairly low strikeout rate in 1991-1992 (the 27th lowest out of 105 relievers with 100 IP) and therefore might not have maintained the same level of success in the following years.

Tim Crews also died in the accident.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #75: Tom Magrann

Tom Magrann

PHOTO: Heck yes, awesome catcher photo. I just hope this wasn't during live game action. If so, somebody should tell Magrann that he's using that mask incorrectly.

STAT: Excluding pitchers, Magrann has the 3rd most PAs since 1989 without ever getting one base.

ANAGRAM: Tom Magrann = Ram man tong (sorry...)

CAREER: 1/10

He got into 9 games but had just 10 ABs and struck out 4 times.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #58: Mark Higgins

Mark Higgins

PHOTO: That number 66 tells you right away that this guy was probably not a major-league star. Well that plus the fact that you've never heard of him...

STAT: Higgins' only major-league hit came in this game. He hit for decent power in the minors.

CAREER: 1/10

Just 11 major-league plate appearances.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #27: Pete Dalena

Pete Dalena

PHOTO: Just an awful photo of another guy who looks too happy to be in the big leagues.

But what's going on with the grass? Are we seeing two different colors of grass, or a strange shadow? Anybody know?

STAT: Well the guy got only 1 hit in the majors, a double off Jeff Reardon.

CAREER: 1/10

Another 1/10 here...I think we're going to have a lot of those.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #14: Joey Belle

Albert Belle

This is one of the most interesting cards in the set, as it shows Belle called "Joey," the name he went by before he supposedly grew up and went back to his real first name of Albert. Turns out, he didn't grow up so much as he had more than his share of problematic situations arise in the years to come.

PHOTO: This is just a fantastic photo that captures exactly what Belle looked like on the field. He was always glaring like that, and he was a tough son of a gun.

STAT: Belle is the only guy ever to hit 50 homers and 50 doubles in the same season. He's also one of just 16 guys in history with at least 2 seasons with 375 total bases.

CAREER: 7/10

Belle was totally robbed of the 1995 AL MVP. He's a tough guy to rank given that he lost the last third of his career to a degenerative hip. Before the injury surfaced in 2000, he never posted an OPS+ below 116 in any full season while averaging 38 HR. His career OPS+ of 143 is absolutely astonishing. And although he batted only .230 in the post-season, he had 6 HR and 14 RBI in 18 career games and was a big part of the Indians' post-season success.

It's interesting to note how his injury hurt the Orioles' franchise. I remember that there was a claim from Lloyd's of London that the nature of Belle's injury wasn't covered by the insurance policy that the Orioles had purchased on Belle's contract. I don't know how that turned out. But even if the Orioles got reimbursed for Belle's salary, losing one of their biggest free agent catches of all time definitely hurt their team for years to follow. I don't think they've yet recovered from that misfortune.

1989 Topps Major League Debut #2: Beau Allred

Well just two cards into the set, we get the first guy I've never heard of before.

PHOTO: The photo is a ho-hum posed shot. I do note how Topps put Allred's cap overlapping the box with his debut date, but not his bat. That's kind of odd. I like the overlapping as it gives the cards a nice 3D sense. Topps did this with the regular 1989 and 1988 issues as well, allowing the top of a player's photo to overlap some of the text at the top of the card.

STAT: Allred had just 4 career homers, but HOLY SMOKES look who they came off of. Bob Milacki is the worst guy he homered off of, and that broke a 6th-inning tie. Before that, he put the Indians ahead against Roger Clemens, tied the game off Dennis Eckerlsey as the Eck blew a save, and hit a fairly meaningless homer off another good pitcher, Bill Swift. Pretty impressive stuff.

CAREER: 2/10

For those great homers, I give Allred a 2 instead a 1, despite appearing in just 65 major league games.