1981 Topps Shane Rawley

The ranks of baseball card bloggers have been starting to grow again. I just came across a really fun new blog called Sir Nailhead's Frankensets. The Angels in Order is back as Batting Out of Order. And after an even longer hiatus, Red Cardboard is back, and celebrating by giving away a vintage Mickey Mantle card. Not on I need myself, but maybe you do? (And what other new blogs am I missing?)

The front: Shane Rawley delivers a pitch at Yankee Stadium. He pitched in one day game at Yankee Stadium that year. He relieved Floyd Bannister in the sixth inning of a scoreless game. (His photo is also from that day.) Rawley combined with Bannister on the shutout in a game Seattle won, 1-0.

The back: Rawley pitched in the Expos and Reds organizations without making the majors; he was traded to Seattle after the '77 season and was in the majors for good.

The player: Rawley was primarily a reliever for the Mariners, who traded him to the Yankees after the '81 season. The Yankees converted him to a starter, where he had success for the Yankees, Phillies and Twins. Overall in 469 games (230 starts) he went 111-118 with 40 saves and a 4.02 ERA.

The man: After his playing career ended, Rawley opened Shaner's Pizzeria in Sarasota, FL in 1991.  He has recently written three novels about a baseball player who fought in Vietnam. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2009.

My collection: I have 53 of his cards, from 1979 to 1990. I would be interested in trading for 1982 Topps Traded #95.