#329 Randy Niemann - Pittsburgh Pirates

Randy Niemann is a poser.  Well, he is.  He is pictured on his third Topps card in the dreaded empty fist in overhead glove.  By the look of the inset picture Niemann feels pretty bad about the sham.
At least we get a good look at Willie Stargell's stars on Niemann's pillbox hat.

 

Player: Randy Niemann's pro career started when he was drafted by the Yankees in the June secondary draft in 1975.  After two and a half years in the Yankees system he was sent to the Astros as part of the Cliff Johnson trade.  After a few more years in the minors, Niemann debuted with Houston in May of 1979.  He had an impressive start to his career with two shutouts and another complete game win in his first seven games.  Nonetheless he shuttled back and forth between the pen and rotation. After his second shutout he made only two more starts but neither lasted past the fourth inning.  Niemann appeared in 26 games with a 3.76 ERA and 1.343 WHIP in 67 innings.  

Niemann spent the beginning and end of the season in Houston with a sojourn to AAA Tucson in the middle.  With the Astros he was  used in middle relief with one start.  In 33 frames he posted a lackluster 5.45  ERA.  He spent all of '81 back in Tucson before he was dealt to Pittsburgh in the Johnny Ray / Phil Garner trade. 

After starting the '82 season at AAA Portland, Niemann was called up to Pittsburgh where he served as the teams mop up man with a 5.09 ERA in 35 innings.  He spent all but eight games back in Portland and failed to impress the big league Pirates with an ugly 9.22 ERA. The Bucs traded Niemann to the White Sox in September but he pitched in just five games for Chicago in '84.

Niemann was traded to the Mets at the end of spring training in '85.  He pitched very well as a swingman for Tidewater with a 2.76 ERA in 159 innings.  He pitched 4.2 scoreless frames for the Mets in September call-up.  The AAA success along with the scoreless fall set up Niemann for a role on the '86 team.  He spent all but a few weeks in the Mets bullpen and although he was often used in low leverage situations he was able to hang around for the championship season.  He pitched in 31 games with a 3.76 ERA and the highlight was a spot start win over the Cardinals on 8/17.  Although on the roster, he did not play at all in the postseason.

The big lefty signed with Minnesota but pitched in just six games for the Twins as a situational reliever.  The Twins won the World Series but Niemann was nowhere near the action this time. He returned to the Mets organization in '88 but struggled through 10 rough innings back at Tidewater and retired.

Flipside:  A "scoreless relief stint" is the best Topps could come up with?!?!  Sure he wasn't exactly Kent Tukulve out of the pen c'mon!  How about "Tossed a 1-2-3 11th inning for the save on 9-23-82.

Oddball: When the Mets traded for Niemann they gave up minor leaguers Ken Reed and Gene Autry!  As far as I can tell this Gene Autry was not related to the singing cowboy who can claim to be the only person with five Hollywood stars.

History: Niemann was on some great teams but as a spare reliever he never pitched in the postseason.  His pitched exactly 200 innings in the big leagues with a 4.64 ERA and allowed just over a runner and a half per inning.  

#328 Craig Reynolds - Houston Astros

This is Craig Reynolds' 6th Topps card and he looks happy in the inset and upset in the action photo.  Perhaps he just pulled a grounder to 2nd or 1st base in a spring training game.

Player: Craig Reynolds was a first round pick of the Pittsburgh in 1971 but never really got much of a chance with the Pirates.  After parts of five seasons in the minors they gave him 76 at bats in '75 and he batted just .224.  In 1976 he hit .290 as he repeated AAA, but received just seven games of action with Pittsburgh.

Reynolds got his break when the Mariners traded their 11th round selection in the expansion draft, Grant Jackson, to the Pirates for the left-handed infielder.  The Mariners starting shortstop in their inaugural game, Reynolds was a mainstay at shortstop playing 135 games in in '77.  He rarely struck out or walked and showed little power.  He hit .248 that year but improved to .292 the next season and made the AL All-Star team in '78.

The M's traded Reynolds to the Astros in December of '78 for Floyd Bannister.  Reynolds assumed the starting job at short for Houston.  Although Reynolds' numbers weren't eye popping, when the Cardinals Garry Templeton infamously turned down his All-Star invite with his "If I ain't starting, I ain't departing" line, it opened the door for Reynolds and he was named to the NL All Star squad.  He led the NL in sacrifice bunts with 34 while batting an empty .265.

Reynolds slumped to .226 in 1980 but rebounded with a better season in '81.  He batted .260 and strangely led the NL in triples with 12, including three in one game.  He pulled off the rare feat of hitting more three-baggers than doubles (12/10).  It was about this time that Reynolds began to battle problems with vertigo.  That along with the emergence of Dickie Thon led to Reynolds playing a reduced role.  Batting less than 150 times in both '82 and '83 hit .254 and .214 while also playing second and third base.

In '84 Reynolds stepped back into the fray when Thon was recovering from the beaning that marred his career.  Reynolds responded by hitting .260, with a career high 6 HR, and showed good range at shortstop.  Reynolds and Thon would share playing time the next two years with Reynolds batting .272 and .249 in the '85 and '86 seasons. 

Reynolds got most of the playing time in '87 but as usual, his production was neither impressive nor embarrassing as he hit .254 and played solid defense.  Now in his mid-30's, Reynolds took on a utility role the next two years and wound down his career batting .255 and .201.  He retired following the '89 season after 15 seasons in the majors.

Flipside: When Topps spells out Philadelphia and San Fransisco in the highlights they are saying "We really don't have any reason to abbreviate.  This is all we got".

Oddball:  Reynolds made two appearances as a pitcher in blow out situations but he threw gasoline on the fire both times.  He allowed three runs as he finished up a lopsided loss to the Mets on 7/17/86.  Three years later he allowed four runs in another laugher against the Pirates.

History:  Reynolds was a defensive minded shortstop whose OPS+ topped 100 just once, and barely with a 101 mark in '78.  In his prime he was an above average defender and he led the NL in range factor in '85.  Reynolds is known as the only shortstop to named in consecutive seasons to both the AL and NL All star teams.  He and the Astros made it as far as the NLCS in 1980 and 1986 with Reynolds getting 7 hits in 29 career postseason at bats.  When he retired, only Roger Metzger had played more games at SS for the Astros. 

#327 Bobby Castillo - Minnesota Twins

Where is Bobby Castillo pitching?  Hard to tell from this fuzzy ambiguous background.  I will say, Castillo's mustache probably deserves its own card.  Castillo's 4th Topps card shows him in the powder blue uniform / navy blue hat in the action shot and the white uni / red hat combo in the inset.

Player: Bobby Castillo was a 5th round pick of the Royals in 1974 and spent his rookie ball season as a thirdbaseman hitting .253.  He worked the next several years in the Mexican Leagues learning to pitch, and while he was south of the border he was sold to the Dodgers.  During the '77 season he came back to the states and made his major league debut in September.  He pitched 11 innings and allowed 5 runs winning his only decision.

The 5'10" righty split the '78 season between LA and Albuquerque.  While in the majors Castillo logged 34 innings, all in relief, and was 0-4 with one save and a 3.97 ERA.  He spent most of '79 in the minors and had to wait until August for a promotion.  Once back in his hometown of LA he was effective with a 1.13 ERA in 24 innings.  Castillo was trusted with some late inning work and saved 7 games in 7 opportunities.

Castillo would have his best season in 1980 tossing 98 innings in 61 games with a 1.169 WHIP and 2.75 ERA.  His biggest contribution to the Dodgers may have been over the winter when he showed 19 year-old rookie Fernando Valenzuela how to throw the screwball.  The next season was a let down as his ERA ballooned over five in 50 innings of work.  He pitched one inning in each the NLCS and World Series as the Dodgers won it all. 

During the offseason the Dodgers sent Castillo packing to the Twins in a four player deal.  He began the year in middle relief but after some injuries to Twins starters he was pushed into the rotation at the end of May.  Despite not having made a start since 1977, he thrived in his new role and logged 218 innings with a 3.66 ERA.  He finished strong with six complete games in the last two months including a four-hit shutout over the Royals on September 10.

Injuries and ineffectiveness led to a poor showing in '83 as he posted a 4.77 ERA in 158 frames.  A shoulder injury forced his '84 debut until July.  Pitching mainly out of the pen he was productive (1.78 ERA) in 25 innings but walked 19 batters.

After the '84 season he was signed by the Dodgers where he spent the '85 season in middle relief.  His control continued to trouble him as he issued 41 freebies in 68 innings which helps explain his 5.43 ERA.  Castillo was cut from the Dodgers the next spring training and returned to pitch in Mexico.  Comeback attempts with the A's and Mariners failed and he spent the '87 season plying his trade in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons.

Flipside:  I'm not sure I've mentioned this before but it's somewhat perplexing that Topps lists inning fractions in the most recent season and career totals but not the other seasons.  Beginning in '77 Castillo threw 11.1, 34, 24.1, 98.1, 50.2, and then 218.2.  You can see that Topps rounds one-third of an inning down and two-thirds up which makes sense.  The career total isn't correct in that he actually tossed 437.1 innings at this point in his career.  The 436.2 total merely reflects Topps rounding efforts in his first five years plus his precise '82 total.

Oddball: Castillo's last game in the majors was in mop up duty in Game 4 of the '85 NLCS.  The Dodgers were up two games to one but the Cardinals jumped all over starter Jerry Reuss in the second inning.  The Redbirds plated nine off of Reuss and reliever Rick Honeycutt who faced four batters but failed to record an out.  Castillo came in with two outs in the second and pitched the next five and a third innings allowing two runs.  The totality of the onslaught was too much for the Dodgers to overcome as they lost 12-2 and the series in six games.

History:  Castillo had one really good season as a reliever and one as a starter in his career.  His career line indicates a 38-40 win-loss record, 18 saves, a 3.94 ERA (100 ERA+), 689 innings pitched in nine seasons of play.  Since retiring as a player, Castillo has been active in promoting Mexican-American baseball history and supporting inner-city youth participation in baseball.

#326 Garth Iorg - Toronto Blue Jays

Thanks for checking back in.  I've been busy managing four and half foot tall ballplayers rather than writing about the older guys on cardboard but I plan on posting more regularly when I can.  

Garth Iorg looks like he's playing 2nd base in this photo and checking out some action on the left side of the infield. I don't remember him with a mustache but he wears it well here in classic early 80's fashion.  The light blue and purple borders are an excellent fit for the Blue Jay cards in this set. 

The pronunciation of his last name was a mystery to me as an eight year old.  I think I incorrectly called him eye-org for at least a year.  "ORJ" is the correct way to say his name.

 

 

Player: Garth Iorg was an 8th round pick of the Yankees in 1973 but never played in the majors for New York.  Although he hadn't yet reached AAA he was on the Blue Jays radar and was selected in the '76 expansion draft as Toronto prepared for their first season.  He spent all of '77 at AAA and made the team in '78.  He hit very little with the big team and after a month of hitting under .200 he was sent back to the minors where he would remain for nearly two years. 

A hot start at AAA Syracuse got him back to the majors in May of 1980 and he would remain with Toronto the rest of his career.  He filled a utility role for the Jays the next two years playing everywhere but rightfield, catcher, and pitcher.  Statistically his first two years were both similar and unimpressive.  He came to the plate about 230 times in both '80 and '81 and hit .248 and .242 with little power and few walks.

In '82 Iorg found a role as a platoon partner at thirdbase with fellow infielder Rance Mulliniks.  Iorg also saw time at secondbase, DH, and was a frequent pinch hitter batting .285 in 442 plate appearances.  A righthanded hitter, Iorg complimented Mulliniks' lefty stick and the  Jays used the

arrangement for the next five years.  Iorg hit .275 in '83 and fell off to .227 in '84.

1985 would be Iorg's finest season in many respects.  He set career highs in all three slash stats (.313/.358/.469) and home runs with seven.  His OPS+ of 121 would be the only time he topped 100 in his career.  He had just two hits in the ALCS against Kansas City but was able to play against his brother Dane an OF/1B for the Royals.

Garth hit .260 in '85 and saw his average plummet to .210 the following year. After the '87 season Iorg retired at age 32 with a .258/.292/.347 career line and a franchise record 178 pinch hits.

 

Flipside: Twelve base on balls is a ridiculously low total for how many times Iorg batted in '82. He only walked 114 times in his career. 
According to his Wikipedia page Iorg's hometown of Blue Lake named it's  only baseball field in Iorg's honor. 

Oddball:  In the 1980s Iorg and Mulliniks were often referred to as a successful platoon duo but Iorg didn't really live up to his end of the deal.  While Mulliniks posted seven seasons with an OPS+ over 100, Iorg had just one.  Looking solely at how Iorg hit lefties, his .268/.304/.373 still leaves a lot to be desired.

History:  Iorg found his niche in majors as a platoon player, which is a vanishing role these days. With 12 and 13 man pitching staffs, teams just don't have the depth the platoon much anymore.  Iorg's last at bat in the majors came in game 162 of the '87 season.  He grounded out to pitcher Frank Tanana as the Blue Jays lost to the Tigers, capping Toronto's last month collapse.   Iorg has three sons in minor league baseball.  Iorg currently is the Brewers first base coach.

#325 Von Hayes - Cleveland Indians

This is Von Hayes second Topps card and first of his own.  Hayes was known as a low key guy but man he looks like he just got shot with a tranquilizer dart in the action shot.

Player:  Von Hayes was a 7th round pick of the Indians out of St. Mary's College in California but spent less than two years in the minors before joining Cleveland big league roster.A third baseman in the minors the Indians were unsure where to play him so he mainly DH'd the last two months of the '81 season.  He hit .257/.346/.394 with a home run and showed off his good speed with 8 steals.

Hayes was the Indians starting rightfielder in '82 but also saw action in center, left, thirdbase and firstbase.  He didn't set the world on fire but he showed flashes of his ability with 14 HR and 32 stolen bases.  At 6'5" he could glide around the bases as well as the outfield.  The Phillies fell in love with him and traded Manny Trillo, Julio Franco, Jay Baller, George Vukovich, and Jerry Willard to Cleveland for Hayes.  As the young outfielder failed to live up to expectations, the Philly the fans taunted him with a "five for one" chant in reference to the trade.  Hayes was platooned and hit just six home runs in 392 plate appearances. He did steal 20 bases for the pennant winning Phillies but was a bench player in the postseason.  He went hitless in his only five at bats.

Better days were ahead for Hayes and as he moved to centerfield his production increased in 1984.  He batted .292/.359/.447 with 16 HR and 48 SB.  The Phillies tried Hayes as various times in the leadoff spot and he had a memorable game on June 11, 1985 when he led off the bottom of the first with a homer and later in the inning pounded a grand slam.  The Phils smashed the Mets 26-7 that day as Hayes later added an RBI single.  His numbers were down from the year before as he hit .263 with 13 home runs.

Hayes moved to first base in '86 and had a great year posting a .305/.379/.480 line with 98 RBI and an NL best 106 runs and 46 doubles.  Through the years Hayes had been improving his batting eye, drawing more walks every year since '83 and it culminated with him getting 121 freebies in '87.  He also topped 20 HR for the first time with 21 while going back and forth between first and centerfield.

Hayes played the first half of '88 with bone chips in his right elbow which eventually led to surgery in July.  Overall the year was a disappointment as he slugged just .409 in 423 plate appearances.  He came back with a strong year in '89 with a career best 26 dingers and 101 walks.  The power /  pateince combo led to an OPS+ of 140 and his only All-Star appearance. 

Coming off perhaps his best year, Hayes was slowed by various injuries and played 129 games while hitting 17 home runs in 1990.  Hayes fell into a deep slump in '91 and was batting a meager .226 with no home runs when he was struck on the wrist by a Tom Browning pitch on June 14.  The pitch broke his arm and he missed 10 weeks.  He came back in September but ended the year with zero HR in 323 plate appearances.

After the '91 season the Philles traded Hayes to the Angels for Kyle Abbott and Ruben Amaro but Hayes was essentially done.  With the Halos he hit just .225 with 4 HR in 350 plate appearances.  At just 34 years old his once promising career was over. 

 

Flipside:  With Hayes reaching the majors just two years after he was drafted in the 7th round, it shows how much scouting has improved in the last 30 years.

Oddball:  Hayes blames his broken wrist on the demise of his career and I'm sure that it helped hasten his decline, but something else was already causing his rapid descent.  His lack of power in '91 was baffling and I can think of no other batter with his power to go so many plate appearances (250 before the injury, 73 after) without a HR.

History:   Hayes had all the tools and had a decent run with 22.8 WAR from '84 - '89.  His final stats: .267/.354/.416 with 143 HR and 253 steals.  

#324 Mike Marshall - Los Angeles Dodgers

Mike Marshall looks like he's loading up for a high lobbing slow-pitch softball toss rather than a major league pitch.  This is Marshall's second Topps card and the first of his own.  It appears to be a sunny day as the Expos look on from the third base dugout.

 

Player:  Mike Marshall was a minor league superstar who in turn became a super prospect in the early 80's.  A 6th round pick in 1978 he put up gaudy minor league stats including a monstrous season at AAA Albuquerque in 1981 batting .373 with 34 HR and driving in 137 runs in just 128 games.  The big 21-year old slugger was promoted to the majors that September but went just 5 for 25.  He struck out in his only postseason at bat in the NLDS.  The Dodgers, eventual world champs, didn't need to push Marshall and in fact he didn't even make the team in '82.  He returned to bashing AAA pitchers until he came up in late June. He was given a few starts at first base and rightfield but was used mainly as a pinch-hitter.  He hit five homers in 110 plate appearances and hit .242.

 

With Ron Cey and Steve Garvey gone the Dodgers moved Pedro Guerrero to 3B and gave youngsters Greg Brock (1B) and Mike Marshall (RF) a chance in '83.  The 6'5" Marshall played in 140 games but he struck out nearly three times as much as he walked with a .285/.347/.434 line.  He struggled in the NLCS with just two hits in 15 at bats.  It wasn't a bad year but it fell short of most fans expectations. He got off to a great start in '84 clubbing 14 HR in the first half and making the NL All-Star team.   His production dropped considerably the second half and he finished with 21 HR and a .257/.315/.438 stat line.

 

Marshall had his best year in 1985 with 28 HR, 95 RBI and a nifty slash stats of .293/.342/.515.  He had three extra base hits against the Cardinals but the Dodgers fell short in the NLCS.  A bad back hampered his '86 campaign as he missed quite a bit of time in July and August.  He hit just .233 with 19 HR in what was a down year for the Dodgers.  His playing time was diminished again in '87 but he was productive when he was in the lineup hitting .294 with 16 dingers. 

 

Marshall played in a career best 144 games in '88 and was a big part of the limited offensive attack of the Dodgers.  Marshall with 20 HR and 82 RBI and eventual NL MVP Kirk Gibson (25, 76) were the only Dodgers with more than 10 homers or 64 RBI.  The lack of pop in the Dodger bats became even more apparent after Gibson was shelved after his epic Game 1 of the World Series.  Facing the power-laden A's, Marshall was now the lone serious long ball threat in the lineup and his three-run bomb in Game 2 got things rolling as the Dodgers won the game 6-0 and later the Series in five. 

Injuries cost Marshall the entire month of June in '89 and he was never really got on track.  At one point he went 193 plate appearances without a homer.  He finished with 11 in 370 at bats with a .260 average.  After the season the Dodgers traded him to the Mets with Alejandro Pena for Juan Samuel.  Although just 30 years-old, Marshall's best days were behind him.  He split 83 games between the Mets and Red Sox in 1990 and hit 10 HR with a .258 average.  He played 62 games for Boston in '91 but was released and played two games for the Angels before the year was over. 

Marshall played in Japan for the Nippon Ham-Fighters in 1992 which would be the end of his playing career for the time being.  He got into coaching in the independent Northern League and played some in 1999.  At age 39 hit .307 in 33 games before resuming his full time coaching role.

 

Flipside:  Those minor league numbers are impressive as he never hit below .321 or slugged less than .494 while in the Dodgers chain. 

 

Oddball:  Before LA media had Matt Kemp and Rihanna's romance to write about they had Mike Marshall and Belinda Carlisle.  I guess being a star outfielder for the Dodgers has it's perks.

 

History:  Marshall's career was definitely diminished by injuries but he was able to win World Series rings with the Dodgers as an on-looker in '81 and as a major cog in '88.  In 11 seasons he hit 148 HR with a .270/.321/.446 line and 10.0 WAR. He never lived up to the hype his minor league stats caused but I'm not feeling sorry for a guy who dated Belinda Carlisle.  As we said in the 80's she was rad.

 

Anyway back to Marshall....after his playing career he coached and managed in the independent minor leagues.  His coaching career is best known for an incident in which he brawled with former major leaguer Tony Phillips in 2011.  You can see Phillips (warming up at 3B) Marshall (moving in from the 3B coaches box) go at it at the 6:00 mark of this video.  It's hard to see but it looks like Phillips, a year older and seven inches shorter than Marshall, got the best of him.  The visiting and appropriately named Chico Outlaws were managed by Jose Canseco who forfeited the game as he thought another brawl would break out if they continued.

#323 Luis DeLeon - San Diego Padres



This is Luis DeLeon's second Topps card and first as a Padre.  I believe this is in San Francisco where we see this orange wall in the background in so many of the cards in this set.  He pitched two day games in San Fran in '82 so it was either June 26 or September 19.  Weather records show a day time high of 78° in the June game and just 72° in the September game.  DeLeon could have worn long sleeves in either game but if I had to pick one I'd lean toward the latter game.

Player: Luis DeLeon was signed out of Puerto Rico by the Cardinals in 1977.  He spent four years in their system including a decent 10 game major league debut at the tail end of the '81 season.  He was included in the Ozzie Smith / Garry Templeton deal which landed him in San Diego. 

 

DeLeon was a reliever all but his first year in pro ball and he immediately went to work in the late innings for the Padres.  He shared the closer role with lefty Gary Lucas and saved 15 games with an impressive 2.03 ERA and 0.912 WHIP in 102 innings.  He displayed remarkable control especially for a young pitcher walking just eight batters unintentionally.  He and Lucas teamed up again in '83 with DeLeon saving a baker's dozen with just a slight uptick in his rate stats in 111 frames. In two years, DeLeon had earned a reputation for taking the ball often and being unfazed in the late innings. 

 

The Padres traded Lucas away in the offseason and made a big splash by signing closer Goose Gossage who wouldn't be sharing saves with anyone.  DeLeon struggled with elbow tendonitis and was ineffective when healthy.  Surprisingly the young hurler was back in the minors by mid-year.  He was limited him to 32 games with a 5.48 ERA and was left off the postseason roster. 

 

DeLeon split the '85 season between Las Vegas and San Diego and improved somewhat with a 4.19 mark in 38 innings.  The Padres did not renew his contract and DeLeon signed with the Orioles in '86.  He spent all of the '86 season and most of the '87 campaign at AAA Rochester. He recorded a 4.79 ERA 20.2 innings of work in Baltimore in '87 and was not re-signed.

 

DeLeon spent the next year in the Astros system and moved on to the Mariners in 1989.  He made a single appearance for the big league M's and spent the rest of his career in the minors.  He retired with a 3.12 ERA (116 ERA+) and 32 saves in 309 innings of work.

Flipside:  6'1" and 153 lbs.... yeah DeLeon was a skinny dude.

Oddball:  DeLeon had four brothers also named Luis.  Our subject was Luis Antonio but was known better as "Mambo".

DeLeon pitched in 207 games in his career. The first 206 were in relief before he made a four inning start for Seattle in '89. 

History:  DeLeon had two great years for the Padres but pitched poorly during their pennant winning season in '84.  He was still pitching for his native Puerto Rico as recently as 2003, pitching in his 14th Caribbean Series at age 46.  DeLeon was inducted into the Caribbean Series Hall of Fame in 2011.