The player: Jack Perconte played seven seasons in the major leagues for the Dodgers, Indians, Mariners and White Sox. In 1984 and 1985 he was the regular second baseman for the Mariners. Overall, in 433 major league games, he hit .270 with 2 HR, 76 RBI and 78 SB.
The man: Perconte has been a youth coach for the past 33 years and is also a successful author, publishing four books on baseball and general athletic success. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2010.
My collection: I have nine of his cards, from 1981 to 1986. I would be interested in trading for 1985 Mothers Cookies #11.
Mike Scioscia
The player: Mike Scioscia had a thirteen year major league playing career, all with the Dodgers. A defense-first catcher with an outstanding reputation for blocking home plate, Scioscia was an average hitter at best (.259, 68 HR, 446 RBI in 1,441 games). His most notable moment was a ninth-inning home run off of Dwight Gooden in Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS that helped spur the Dodgers to their upset victory in that series.
The man: After his playing career, Scioscia coached for the Dodgers for a few years, then had another one-team career, nineteen seasons as manager of the Angels (2000-2018). He had a 1650-1428 record and managed the team to their only World Championship in 2002. In 2021, he managed Team USA in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, steering the team to a silver medal.
My collection: I have 79 of his cards, from 1981 to 1993. I would be interested in trading for 1986 Dodgers Police #21.
Fernando Valenzuela
The player: In the 1970s and 1980s there were many pitchers who set the baseball world on fire as young phenoms but were unable to sustain that high level of success for their whole careers - Vida Blue, Mark Fidrych, Ron Guidry, Dwight Gooden, etc. One of the most prominent of those was Fernando Valenzuela, who like the others enjoyed significant celebrity status at the beginning of his career. The Mexican rookie with the unusual delivery started the 1981 season 8-0 with five shutouts and a 0.50 ERA, leading to a nationwide Fernandomania craze. After that incredible start, Valenzuela started pitching like a mere mortal, going 5-7 with a 3.66 ERA the rest of the way. For the next few years Valenzuela was a steady, if no longer quite so spectacular, presence in the Dodgers' rotation, winning at least 12 years every year through 1987. It was at that point that constant overwork from manager Tommy Lasorda began to take a toll on Valenzuela, and due to injuries was no longer an elite major league pitcher. Released by the Dodgers, after the 1990 season, Fernando pitched for five more teams through the 1997 season, finishing his career with a 173-153 record and 3.54 ERA. Ever the tough competitor, Valenzuela pitched professionally in Mexico through the age of 46, in 2006.
The man: A longtime ambassador for baseball and the Dodgers, Valenzuela has been a Spanish-language announcer for LA since 2003, and has coached Team Mexico in four World Baseball Classics.
My collection: I have 107 of his cards, from 1981 to 1998. I would be interested in trading for 1985 Fleer Star Stickers #114.
Tommy Lasorda, AKA Death To Pitchers.
ReplyDeletedusty baker had to learn it from someone
DeleteI sometimes wonder just how much impact Fernandomania had on me as a collector. That guy was amazing. Very cool to see that Scioscia managed Team USA at the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteI'm always learning new tidbits from your posts.