1992 Topps Chris Beasley

I guess I've sort of been on a California Angels pitchers kick the last few cards. Card 808 was a combo card of Angel lefties Mark Langston, Jim Abbott, and Chuck Finley. Card 812 was of Angels reliever Floyd Bannister, and today's card is of Angels reliever Chris Beasley. Chris appeared in the 1992 Topps Debut set (card # 12), but not in the 1992 regular set. His only year in the Majors was 1991, so this would've been his first and last Topps card. Now the set will be Angel-free until card # 824.

1992 Topps Gene Larkin World Series Highlights

I decided to add this card a little early, since it is next card in my "Topps Cards that never Were" blog. If you haven't checked it out, I would love for you to. Basically, I am making cards that I feel Topps should've put in some of their sets. Many of the cards are final cards of Hall of Fame and superstar players that Topps never made, some are rookie cards that Topps could've put in their Traded sets, others are highlights or oddball cards that would've added some spark to classic Topps sets. And, like my 1992 Topps set, all of the cards have backs. I am doing the cards in series of 25, and thinking if I get enough interest, maybe selling the cards individually or in sets.
This Gene Larkin 1992 World Series Highlights card will be card #18 in Series 1. I can't believe that none of the major baseball card makers gave Gene a World Series highlight card in 1992. He got the World Series winning hit in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series! That at least deserves a highlight subset card, if not, an insert. Jack Morris didn't get a card either, and I haven't done the research, but I don't think any major card makers had World Series cards, save for the Stadium Club Dome set (which was released in 1993). In my additions to the 1992 Topps set, I have this card, World Series cards of Jack Morris, Kirby Puckett, Mark Lemke, Jerry Willard, cards of the ALCS and NLCS MVPs, card for every No-Hitter, Otis Nixon's 6 Stolen Base game, cards of every coach, and a few extra Draft Picks. Basically, the kinds of cards I wish Topps would put in their sets every year, along with everyone who played a game. I can always hope for them to listen next year......

1992 Topps Jim Vatcher

Jim Vatcher played 3 seasons in the Major Leagues. Topps gave him a card in their 1991 set (card #196), and the 1991 Topps Debut set (card #159). He didn't get a card in the 1992 or 1993 sets. Jim was involved in the trade that sent Dale Murphy from the Atlanta Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1990. The Braves got Jim, Jeff Parrett, and Victor Rosario , and the Phillies got Tommy Greene, Murphy. I don't know what the Braves were thinking with that trade. Parrett was near the end of his career, Greene was a promising pitcher, and then they put Vatcher, probably the best player they got in the trade, on waivers, and he got picked up by the San Diego Padres. This is another reason why the National League needs a Designated Hitter. Dale Murphy could've played DH, a spot would've opened up in the outfield for David Justice, and maybe, just maybe, the Braves would've won the 1991 World Series, and Murphy would've got a ring. Anyways, here is Jim Vatcher's 1992 Topps card.

A preview of coach cards

Here is a sampling of what the coaches cards will look like in my set. Most teams have 5 coaches, a few have 4, some have 6. For the ones with 4, I will leave out the Draft Picks, for ones with 6, I will include a list of all the teams' Hall of Famers. I really wish Topps would've included coaches in their sets. Coaches rarely ever get cards, and they are some of the most reliable autograph signers through the mail and at the ballpark.

1992 Topps Floyd Bannister

Floyd Bannister got his last Topps card in the 1990 set, even though his last season wouldn't be until 1992 with the Texas Rangers. He missed out on Topps cards for the 1991, 1992, and 1993 sets. Here is the missing 1992 card of the former #1 overall pick.

The checklists are finally (maybe) done!

After spending the last 5 hours or so on google to try to find lists of coaches for the 1991 MLB season, and then trying to find pictures for all of them, I have successfully found pictures and names of coaches for all 26 MLB teams in 1991. That has allowed me to finalize the checklists for my set. As long as I don't find that I missed anyone or added someone twice, the checklists pictured should be the final version of what you will see in my set. I will probably put team checklists on the back of 2 coach cards, batting leaders on one, and pitching leaders on another, for every team. If a team has more than 4 coaches, I might do something on the back highlighting 1991 Draft picks or something. There is always the possibility of doing team photo cards, but since I can't seem to find any, I will probably not add them. Since Topps had the team stadiums on the back of most cards, I found it not neccessary to make them either. If you are counting, that will be 513 cards I add to the 1992 Topps set, and if you include the 1992 Topps Traded set, the entire number of cards in the 1992 Topps set is 1437.

1992 Topps Kevin Romine

If Topps had made a Kevin Romine card in 1992, it would've been his last card. Kevin appears on Topps cards during a few seasons in his career (1987, 1990 Traded, and 1991), and missed out on getting cards in the 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1992 sets. I couldn't find any good photos to use for this card, so I actually borrowed this one from his 1990 Topps Traded card.

1992 Topps Angel Lefties

I decided after I made my preliminary checklist to take out any players who appeared in the 1992 Topps Traded set. That left me with a few spots to fill, and I decided to make some "team nucleus" kind of cards for each team to fill the empty spots in the old checklist. Not sure, but I might also make cards of all the coaches of the teams, and perhaps put pitching/hitting leaders and complete team checklists on the back of them. I've done research for the first 5 teams in the American League as of now, and so far, I've been able to find not only the names of the coaches from 1991, but also pictures that I think I may be able to work with. However, if I am unable to find the names of coaches and/or pictures for other teams, I will probably scrap the whole project. I might finish the research up on my next few days off. For now, the project is still a go, and here is the first of my "team nucleus" cards, featuring California Angels left-handed starters Mark Langston, Jim Abbott, and Chuck Finley.

1992 Topps Mike Munoz

Mike Munoz made it to the Big Leagues for the first time with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1989. He appeared in the 1989 Topps Debut set (card # 85). He pitched for the Dodgers in 1990, but didn't appear in the 1991 set, and pitched with the Detroit Tigers in 1991, but didn't appear in the 1992 set. Here is his missing 1992 Topps card.

1992 Topps Doug Sisk

Doug Sisk appeared on many Topps cards throughout his career. His last one was in 1989, even though his last season was 1991. I did some research to try to find out why he didn't pitch in 1989, but couldn't find any. I did, however, find out that many New York Mets fans dreaded seeing him pitch after he got injured because he walked so many hitters. This would've been Doug's last Topps card.

1992 Topps Bob McClure

Bob McClure was a lefty specialist who appeared on many Topps cards throughout the years. He missed out on getting a Topps card after his final 2 seasons (the 1992 and 1993 Topps sets).

1992 Topps Ron Jones

Ron Jones appeared on a few Topps card throughout his career. His final season was in 1991, and Topps didn't give him a card in the 1992 set.

1992 Topps Jeff Richardson

This Jeff Richardson card gave me a little trouble. Jeff got traded to the Red Sox in 1993, and is featured in the 1993 Topps Traded set (card # T81). I mistakingly thought he was with the Red Sox in 1991, and I made a front of Jeff in a Red Sox uniform. When I started on the back, I realized that he played with the Pirates in 1991. When I tried to find images of Jeff in a Pirates uniform, I couldn't find any real good ones, so I had to try to create a throwback uni which you see here. Jeff appeared in the 1990 Topps Debut set (card #100), and the previously mentioned 1993 Topps Traded set, but not in the 1992 set.