Friday, November 30, 2018

1981 Topps Joe Pettini

The front: Pettini was traded from the Expos to the Giants in spring training; the photo is an airbrush of his Expos uniform. They also airbrushed out part of his muttonchop sideburns. Pettini told mlb.com in an article about this card: “What was my reaction? Yuck. . . . I was so excited to get my first card and to have that one come out was kind of a shock.”

The back: Pettini also takes issue with the back of this card. "That's the other thing: how in the hell did that ever get on there? I played the saxophone when I was like 6 or 7. I haven't picked it up since then, but I do play the guitar and a little bit of piano."
The player: Pettini played in parts of four seasons in the majors for the Giants, hitting .203 with 1 HR and 20 RBI in 188 games.

The man: Pettini was Tony LaRussa’s bench coach on the Cardinals’ 2006 and 2011 World Championship teams. He now appears to be retired.

My collection: I have six of his cards, from 1981 to 1984. I would be interested in trading for 1985 Riley’s Louisville Redbirds #12.


3 comments:

  1. That article is great! Interesting how Topps sent a photo along showing that Pettini didn't have a full beard, but that weirdly still there was airbrushing.

    Topps must've got its research mixed up on the cartoon.

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  2. I had the pleasure of interviewing him a few years back. Funny guy.

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  3. Wow! What was Topps issue with the sideburns? Great read.

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