#6 John Wathan Record Breaker

The last record breaker in the series documents John Wathan's breaking the single season stolen base mark for a catcher. 

Wathan appears to be sitting in the dugout.  Once again I think Topps should have found a shot of Wathan on the base paths. 
The look on his face always concerned me.  He looks like he's trying to remember if he turned the stove off when he left the house.

Wathan ended up with 36 stolen bases for the year which remains the all-time mark for catchers.  Amazingly Wathan set this record despite going on the disabled list with a fractured ankle on July 5.  He had been burning up the base paths prior to the injury with 25 steals through the Royals 77th game. He returned August 10 and promptly stole a base in his first two games back.  He slowed down in September stealing only one base in his last 17 games. For his career Wathan finished with 105 stolen bases.

That's it for the Record Breakers.

#5 Manny Trillo Record Breaker

This card honors Manny Trillo's errorless streak at second base.  The Phillies veteran had his streak end at 479 chances.

Topps gets it right with an action shot of Trillo fielding his position in Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Gotta love the flip down shades, his well oiled glove and the high stirrups too.

Tracing the progression of this record is somewhat difficult as the record keeping sometimes indicates consecutive games sometimes chances.  Here is what I found:

1948 Bobby Doerr  - 414 consecutive chances
1962 Ken Hubbs - 418
1965 Jerry Adair - 458
1982 Manny Trillo - 479
1990 Ryne Sandberg - 582
2007 Luis Castillo - 647
2008 Placido Polanco - 911

Before Doerr I could not find an indication of who held the record.  If anyone knows please drop a note in the comments.

Trillo wasn't always sure handed. His error totals as a Cub from '75 to '78: 29, 17, 25, and 19. 
The next four years with the Phillies - 10, 11, 7 and 5.

One more record breaker card to go.

#4 Lance Parrish Record Breaker

Another obscure record set on Canadian soil (see card #1) Lance Parrish is recognized for throwing out three National League All-Stars in the 1982 Classic in Montreal.

Parrish is shown here in a spring training shot in Lakeland, Florida at Mickey Cochrane Field.  It is a nice backdrop for a picture but it would be nice to see an action shot of Parrish throwing the ball or wearing catcher's gear.

Parrish joins some pretty good company.  Although the 40's and 50's weren't known as era for stolen bases, they must have been more aggressive in All Star games to have two runners caught stealing in '44, '51, and '53.

Parrish didn't even start this game. Carlton Fisk caught the first four innings with The Big Wheel catching the last four in a losing effort with the NL winning 4-1.  Parrish gunned down Steve Sax, Al Oliver, and Ozzie Smith.  Tony Pena was successful on his attempt on Parrish.  Tim Raines stole a bag on Fisk earlier in the game. Parrish went one-for-two in the game with a double.

Ten future Hall of Famers played for the AL while the NL suited up six.  I should note that HOF'ers Rod Carew and Goose Gossage were on the AL squad but did not play as was the case with Phil Niekro for the Senior Circuit.







#3 Greg Minton Record Breaker

After back to back record breakers by Oakland A's outfielders, Giants relief pitcher Greg Minton joins the party with his card commemorating his consecutive homerless innings streak.

The front shows sinker baller Minton on the mound at Candlestick Park. Any picture is better than what Topps tried pulling off with this infamously grotesque 1978 card.

Unlike the Henderson card, the back goes on to say where the record ended rather than just mentioning when the mark was surpassed.

The streak began on August 30, 1978 following a game five days earlier in which he gave up two home runs in one inning.  Even stranger the home runs came in back to back at bats by Expos Andre Dawson and Ellis Valentine.  Minton kept the ball in the yard until John Stearns took him deep four seasons later.

Minton also held the record for most games in a season without allowing a long ball with 68 games in 1980.  This was later broken by George Sherill in 2006 (72).

I'm beginning to sense a San Fransisco Bay area bias with two Oakland A's and a S.F. Giant in the first three cards.  Three more record breakers to go and we will be into the base cards.

#2 Rickey Henderson Record Breaker

Alright, now we're talking about a legitimate highlight!  Rickey Henderson stole an incredible 130 bases in 1982 shattering the previous record of 118 held by Lou Brock.

This is a nice shot of Henderson prowling off second base, dirt on his uniform, gold chain dangling from his neck, wristbands and headband in place. Having another HOF'er in Cal Ripken lurking in the background is a nice bonus.

The back doesn't mention his season ending total of 130.  I guess Topps only wants to recognize that a new record has been set, paying no attention to season ending total.

The progression of the single season stolen base record starting in 1901:

Frank Isbell,1901- 52
Frank Chance,1903- 67
Jimmy Sheckard, 1903- 67 
Ty Cobb, 1909- 76
Eddie Collins, 1910- 81
Ty Cobb, 1911- 83
Clyde Milan, 1912- 88
Ty Cobb, 1915- 96
Maury Wills, 1962- 104
Lou Brock, 1974- 118
Henderson, 1982- 130
The record gradually increases during the dead ball era.  Then Babe Ruth came along and runners stopped stealing so many bases. That was until the expansion era started in '62.  As a kid I always thought maybe Vince Coleman would threaten the record.  While Coleman had straight seasons of 110, 107, and 109 he couldn't get on base as much as Rickey.  Nor could Coleman stay healthy.  Henderson of course would go on to play until he was 44 and set numerous MLB records along the way.


Interestingly there were some outrageous steal totals in the 19th century.  A good many of those can be attributed to the scoring of the day, which awarded a stolen base to a runner taking an extra base- for instance going from first to third on a single. For those curious about the pre-1901 record, Hugh Nicol swiped 138 bases in 1887.  Nicol a 5' 4" outfielder born in England played for Cincinnati of the American Association.  Somehow I don't think Rickey is impressed.

#1 Tony Armas Record Breaker

During the late 70's and early 80's Topps started their sets with either a league leader, highlight or record breaker.  Long gone were the days of featuring a star or the previous year's world champion.  Topps decided to start the '83 set by noting six record breaking events. Card number one displays a rather obscure record.  On June 12, 1982 Tony Armas made 11 putouts in rightfield at Toronto in Exhibition Stadium. 

The front shows Armas in action, although not in Toronto, tracking a fly ball.  Couldn't they find a picture from the game?

The back fails to mention that Armas also tied a MLB record with 12 chances in the field as Armas also recorded an assist. He still holds the putout record as no other RF has matched him.  Four leftfielders have also had 11 put outs in a nine-inning game while centerfielders Lymon Bostock and Jacoby Ellsbury have both notched 12 in a game. 

The game was a lopsided affair with the A's winning 8-1 behind the fielding dependent pitching of Rick Langford.  With only one strikeout and no double plays, 26 balls in play were converted to outs by A's defenders as Langford tossed a complete game against a predominately lefthanded lineup.  In addition to his busy day in the field, Armas had a walk, single, triple and an RBI at the plate.

My childhood memory doesn't particularly remember Armas for his defense. I remember him as an injury prone slugger.  However Armas does score high in the Fangraphs metrics for fielding runs above replacement.  I don't always put a lot of credence into newer fielding metrics but I can't ignore that it has Armas at +21, +15, +16 from 1980-82. 

So take from it what you will.  Perhaps another agile RF would have been able to track down all those fly balls. With a contact pitcher throwing to a lineup with seven lefties, all the stars were lined up just right for Armas' feat immortalized here on card #1.