1992 Topps #867 Nikco Riesgo

Nikco Riesgo played 1 season in the Majors, getting called up to the Expos in 1991. He also was a replacement player in 1995 Spring Training, I believe with the Expos, but don't quote me on it. The records for replacement players are few and far between, but I have a list on my laptop of players I've found and who they played for, so once I get home, I'll check it and update this post.

Nikco only appeared on 2 major brand cards, a 1991 Bowman card and a 1992 Topps Debut card. He missed out on a regular 1992 Topps card, and I will also be making a 1994 Topps Traded Update card for his 1995 spring training time as a replacement.  This card posed me with a difficult question.  It turns out Nikco was sent to the Phillies in May 1991 (he was drafted by the Expos from the Phillies in December 1990). This happened after he appeared in his 4 games with the Expos. I chose not to put a 'now with Phillies' caption or update his acquisition by them since he only made it to the Majors with Montreal. It is just an interesting note that you would never know.

Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy

1992 Topps #866 Mike Stanley

I don't know how Mike Stanley didn't get into the '92 Topps set. Rangers catchers Ivan Rodriguez and Geno Petralli got into it, and Stanley was a solid #2 catcher at that point, who would start to post some 20+ Home Run seasons in the coming years. 

Mike began his Major League career in 1986 with the Rangers. He went to the Yankees in 1992 and stayed with them through 1995. He spent 1996 and the first part of 1997 with the Red Sox before going back to the Yankees. The first part of 1998 was spent with the Blue Jays, and then it was back to the Red Sox. Stanley played with them again in 1999, before finishing his career with the Oakland A's in 2001. He spent the 2002 season with the Red Sox as their bench coach before resigning to spend more time with his family. 

Mike appeared on many Topps cards during his career, only missing cards in the '92 set (got it!), the 1998 set, and the 1999 set. Unlike many players, he actually got a sunset card (2001). It should be noted that he got All-Star subset cards in the '94 and '95 sets.  He is also missing a coach card in the 2003 set. I think I'm going to go back on previous posts (and ones from my other blog), and add them to my growing list of cards that Topps missed out on making. From there, I will start slowly making them on my other blog. 

I'll have a little free time tomorrow morning to work on customs. Maybe I'll even do the '92 Scott Brosius to finally finish the set for real. Thanks for checking out the latest card in the '92 Topps set.

-Jeremy

1992 Topps Luis Alicea

Luis Alicea played in the Majors from 1988-2002. He came up in '88 with the Cardinals, spent '89 and '90 in the minors, and then made it back to St. Louis from 1991-1994. He played with the Red Sox in 1995, came back to the Cardinals in 1996, and played for the Angels in 1997. He suited up for the Rangers from 1998-2000 and finished his career with 2 seasons in Kansas City. After he retired, he made it back to the Majors and a 1st base coach with the Red Sox from 2007-2008, winning a World Series ring in 2007, and then with the Mets in 2009.

Luis appeared on number of Topps sets during his career, the first being the '88 Traded set. He got into the next years' set, was in the minors for 2 years, and was left out of the '92 set. He got into the '93, '94, '95, and '96 sets, before being left off of the 1997 set. He was back in the '98 set, missed the '99 and '00 sets, and got his final Topps appearance in the 2001 set with the Rangers. He only needs 4 cards to complete his career Topps run with the '92 that I made, and there are pictures of him, so I may finish them in the future.

This was a pretty standard card to make. Don't remember where I got the photo, but I believe it was from another card.

Thanks for checking out my latest card.
-Jeremy

1992 Topps Paul Zuvella

Paul Zuvella was a utility Infielder in the Bigs from 1982-1991. He only appeared in the 1986 and 1987 Topps sets. Another case of Topps not putting utility guys in their sets.

This card was a little tricky to make. I couldn't find any pictures of him in a Royals uniform, but there is a '90 Pro Cards card of him with an Omaha Royals uniform on him, so I used that photo and then just pasted a KC logo on the cap. While searching for a photo of him in a Royals uni, I came across a site that lists all the Royals players of all-time, and it said that it couldn't even find a photo of him with the Royals. Like my Terry Puhl card earlier in the set, I think it turned out pretty nice and gives a Royals photo to a player that I can't find any for the life of me.

Thanks for checking out the latest card in my set.

1992 Topps Jeff Plympton

Jeff Plympton played 1 season in the Majors, making it up to the Boston Red Sox in 1991. I was only 8 in 1991, so I didn't follow baseball as closely as I do now, but I would assume that it was a big deal when he got called up, seeing as he was a hometown guy from Massachusetts.

Jeff didn't appear in the 1992 Topps set, but was in the 1992 Topps Debut and 1992 Stadium Club set. As far as non-Topps brands in 1992, he got in the Score and Upper Deck sets in 1992.

From the stats on the back of the card, it seems like Jeff could've been a serviceable reliever, if not closer, for the Red Sox, but after 1991 his ERA jumped, and he played his last season in the minors in 1993. I really wish the internet had become popular in the '80's. There are many players who I would love to know more info about but I just can't find much because they played in the early '90's or before. Nowadays, you can find out if a player called it quits because of an injury, but before the internet was popular, you couldn't. We will never know with Plympton, although I believe he is a good ttm signer, so he may respond to questions if asked.

Thanks for checking out my latest post.
-Jeremy