#333 Tom Henke

Card thoughts: This picture was obviously taken on the same day as #312 Tom Filer’s earlier in the set. This is his first Topps card.

The player: Henke was nicknamed “The Terminator” for his ability to close games. Throwing a splitter, slider, forkball and fastball, he was drafted by the Rangers in 1980. Although impressive in the minors, the team felt his lack of control made him suspect in the bullpen.  Henke was chosen from the Rangers as a free agent compensation pick in 1985.  After spending the beginning of the season dominating the International League (0.88 ERA and 17 saves in 39 games), he was up for good with the Blue Jays, where he shared closing duties with veteran Bill Caudill and Jim Acker. Due to his youth, Henke was generally put in non-save situations in the ALCS, but he won 2 games in relief after the Blue Jays came back to beat the Royals in the late innings in Games 2 and 4.

Acker and Caudill were mediocre in 1986, so Henke became the primary closer, a position he would hold until retired. He was so remarkably consistent over the years, that it is hard to pinpoint a standout season. However, 1987 would be a good candidate. That season, Henke led the league in games finished (62) and saves (34) while making his first All Star game. He pitched 2 2/3 innings in the game and gave up 2 hits. However, Henke collapsed at the end of the season, blowing 4 saves, and his agent accused manager Jimy Williams of purposely allowing him to get roughed up against the Brewers.

To illustrate Henke’s skill, here’s his Mariano Rivera-like ERAs over his 7 year peak (1987-1993): 2.49, 2.91, 1.92, 2.17, 2.32, 2.26, 2.91. He also saved over 30 games four different times, and 40 and over for one year (1993). Henke was a big part of the Blue Jays 1992 World Series win. Sharing closing duties with Duane Ward, he saved 3 ALCS games, and 2 World Series games.

Despite being at the time the greatest reliever in Blue Jays history, the team felt that cheaper option Ward could ably fill Henke’s shoes. Signing with the Rangers, he saved 40 his first year with the team, but pitched poorly for the first time in a decade, as he battled back problems and blew nearly 30% of his save opportunities in 1994.  Allowed to leave as a free agent, he signed with the Cardinals. In what was his best year since 1987, Henke saved 40, and had a 1.82 ERA. He was honored by being named to his second all star team, where he struck out Mo Vaughn, and induced Paul O’Neill to fly out to center.  That season, Henke also became the 7th^th player to reach the 300 save mark, a number that should be a standard hall of fame threshold for relievers.

Henke had already decided that 1995 would be last season (in fact, he signed with the Cardinals because his home was only a few hours away). So despite the impressive numbers, that would be it for Henke.

Rear guard: I really think there must have been a better stat to cite than "First Save for the Blue Jays" (although, in light of Henke's 200 or so future saves with the Blue Jays, maybe quite prophetic).

Doug Rader, I always got confused with Dave Rader (although they are no relation). Rader was playing his last season while with the Blue Jays, which is pretty surprising because he was just 32, and had an above average OPS. Rader smashed 245 doubles in his career, and 18 with the Blue Jays in 1977. Here's his card from that year.

#332 Darryl Motley

Card thoughts: This is the name of a Hanna-Barbera villain.

The player: Motley was drafted by the Royals in the 2^nd round in 1978, but didn’t hit for much power for a corner outfielder. After an solid but unspectacular climb through the Royals minor league system, he became the big club’s regular right fielder after the strike, since opening day starter Clint Hurdle had been injured in June, just before the work stoppage. But Motley wasn’t seasoned enough, and his pedestrian .588 OPS earned him another full season at Omaha in 1982.

When Amos Otis, the long-time outfielder for the Royals, left as a free agent, Motley earned the starting role in right in 1984. Playing a career high 146 games, he had an above average OPS on the strength of 25 doubles, 6 triples, and 14 home runs. Despite these numbers, Motley found himself in a platoon with Pat Sheridan in ’85, and his numbers suffered. Overall, he did slug 17 home runs, but his average plummeted to .222. Although as a right handed hitter he mainly played against lefties, he hit only .198 against them.

In a memorable post-season moment, Motley crushed a home run off John Tudor in Game 7 of the World Series, after breaking his bat by slamming it on the plate after hitting a long foul in the same area. In those days, bats broke less often, so he didn’t have another of his bats available, and instead picked a random black bat, with which he hit the homer.

Despite hitting .364 in the World Series, that success did not translate to the next season, where Motley’s .203 average led the revolving door in right with Mike Kingery, Rudy Law, and Bo Jackson all putting in significant time at the position.

Soon Motley was out to door, banished to the minors league system. He soon left the country, and played for several foreign teams in Mexico and Japan. Finally back in the states, he played for seven years in independent ball finally retiring at age 42.

Rear guard: Motley's first home run was a solo job off Tigers pitcher #270 Jack Morris. 

The two guys picked after Nelson (Don Mincher and Tommy Harper by the Seattle Pilots) were way better players than he was. Nelson was a bullpen guy who was fairly unremarkable. However, he found some spotty success with the Royals, going 7-13 with a fine 3.31 ERA in their inaugural season. After a few years battling injury, his 2.08 ERA in 1972 was good enough for eighth in the league in 1972. 

Here's Nelson's card for 1969, his first for the Royals (although he's actually in an Orioles uniform . . . the hat is blacked out.)

#331 Alan Ashby

Card thoughts: Alan Ashby is a perfect symbol of the commodification of punk into a simple rebellious pose, devoid of politics or authentic angst. With his band of tatted up models (I mean musicians) in Of Mice and Men, Ashby plays dull scream-o that 1,000 Warped Tour bands have polluted  today’s youth with over the past several years. Hey, angry youth: Why not some Youth of Today, Masshysteri, or perhaps original, authentically angry scream-o bands Shotmaker, New Day Rising, and Poison the Well . . .

What? It’s not that Alan Ashby? Oh, this Ashby sports non-ironic mustaches (he played in the 70s) and has no interest in going to see Paramore at the House of Blues? Well, okay then!

Although these kinds of cards are kind of dull, in some cases, they seem almost poetic. Ashby is relaxing on a sunny morning on an empty baseball field (although this field is the decidedly unpoetic Candlestick Park).

The player:  Ashby started his career with the Indians where, after two seasons where he only appeared in a handful of games, he shared starting duties with John Ellis in 1975 and Ray Fosse in 1976. Ashby didn’t hit much, however, and was traded to the Blue Jays after the latter season, in the first ever trade by that club.

No longer sharing catching duties, Ashby caught a career high 124 games for the expansion Blue Jays, but still only hit .210. His defense, while decent, was not extraordinary enough to carry that low average. Ashby once again platooned in 1978 (this time with Rick Cerone), and he finally started to hit, belting 9 home runs and hitting .261 in 264 at bats.

In a fortunate turn of events, Ashby was traded to Astros in the off season for Joe Cannon (regular backup outfielder for one Blue Jay season), Pedro Hernandez (no major league impact), and Mark Lemongello (1-9, 6.29 ERA in his only Blue Jay season). In contrast to the people he was traded for, Ashby became a decade long fixture behind the plate in Houston in the next decade.  The first three seasons with the Astros, he was a starter. 1982 was the best of these seasons, as Ashby hit 12 home runs, drove in 49, and had a .257/.311/.416 triple slash line.

But by 1983, Ashby’s hitting had declined once again, and he lost the starting job to Mark Bailey for the 1984 and 1985 seasons. But with Bailey struggling for much of 1986, Ashby regained his starting job where he hit .257. The following season was perhaps his best, as he posted career highs in every major offensive category. Despite this, the Astros had a young up and coming catcher named Craig Biggio they wanted to try behind the plate, so Ashby saw his playing time decline in the next two years until he was released in May of 1989 after only 22 games.

In retirement, Ashby has coached and managed in the Astros’ minor league system. For years, he was also to milquetoast color man on Astros radio with Milo Hamilton. After color TV analyst Jim Deshaies left for the Cubs job, Ashby joined the Astros TV  broadcasting team for the 2013 season. He almost immediately got in hot water by implying that Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish was some American-hating immigrant who didn’t want to learn the language.

To my surprise, there is no relation between Andy Ashby, former major league pitcher, and Alan.

Rear guard: Nowadays, once a catcher becomes a backup, he generally stays in that role. For most of baseball history, almost all non-star catchers moved between the two roles, often with the same team.