80s week: super Slugger cards

Back in the 80s Fleer used to sell little self-contained sets of 44 cards. I have blogged about a couple of them before. They aren't hugely expensive but they can be lovely cards, printed on glossier stock than regular cards of the time and featuring some nice photos. 

One of the annual sets was called Best Sluggers Versus Pitchers and featured 22 players who were renowned for their batting and 22 cards of top pitchers. The word 'slugger' to me conjures up images of players hitting the long-ball and powering home runs out of the ground, which wasn't Tony's game. Fleer included him in their sets anyway. And looking at Tony's ability to hit the ball means he was most definitely a 'slugger'. 

Card Number 493: Fleer Baseball's Best Sluggers vs. Pitchers, 1986; #15

This photo is so washed out with light, you can almost feel the San Diego sun on your skin.

The average on the front (.325) was his career average rather than from the previous season. 

The back isn't particularly exciting. No factoids or cartoons.

In 1986, the year this card was released, Tony led the National League in hits (211), runs (107 - the only time he led the league in runs) and had a batting average of .329. That wasn't high enough to win him a batting title that year. Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos was the National League leader that year with .334, while Wade Boggs was overall champion with .357 in the middle of his streak of five American League titles in six years.

This was before 'slugging percentage' became a thing, but that has since been calculated at .467 for 1986. That's lower than would be expected for his number of hits, but Tony always hit a lot of singles, which brings the slugging percentage down.

Card Number 494: Fleer Baseball's Best Sluggers vs. Pitchers, 1987; #17

The border design is more colourful giving this card more pop than the 1986 version.

Tony's successful 1986 season helped him move his career average up a percentage point. Keen observers will note that Tony's final career batting average was another 12 points higher at .338. He is one of very few players who actually batted at a higher average in the second half of his career.

The back is a bit jazzier too, if minimalist.

1987 was a superlative season for Tony. His batting average of .370 was a new post-war record at the time and brought him his second batting title. He also led the leagues in hits (218) and scored more runs than the previous year (119). He must have spent a good amount of the season on base.

It was also one of the few seasons where he broke .500 in slugging percentage, with .511. He wouldn't top .500 again until his famous .394 season in 1994.

In conclusion, I think Fleer were right. Tony was one of Baseball's Best Sluggers!

Total: 494 cards (100 cards over my original target!)