#256 Kurt Kepshire

Card thoughts: Anyone remember this guy? I sure don’t but when this card was issued, Kepshire was the fifth starter on a World Series bound team. This was Kepshire’s second, and last, Topps card. The photo was obviously taken in spring training, but I'm not sure what building is in the background. Some guy is doing pull ups over there, though.

The player: Kepshire is the unusual player (at the time) who was a reliever in the minors who only became a full-time starter in AAA, right before he was called up.

Drafted by the Reds in 1979, Kepshire spent 4 years as a middle reliever before he was left off the 40-man roster in 1983. This allowed the Cardinals to draft him in the Rule 5 draft. It is unclear if he was offered back to the Reds and they declined, because Kepshire spent the entire 1983 season in the minors instead of the majors, as the rules stated. At any rate, Kepshire’s rookie season was in 1984, and it was a good one. Although he made only 16 starts, he pitched back-to-back shutouts against the Expos and Cubs and had a fine 3.38 ERA.

Kepshire went 10-9 for the pennant winning Cardinals in 1985 but with 77 walks to 67 strikeouts and a high 4.75 ERA. He was left off the post-season roster, as the Cardinals only needed 3 starters. Kepshire only pitched in 2 games in 1986, and went back the minors, out of the majors for good (he pitched until 1989 at AAA).

Moving back to his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut and Kepshire got a job as a prison guard. He’s set to retire this year.

Rear guard: His first win was against the Giants when he went 8 1/3 innings and gave up only 1 run, despite pitching out of trouble all day.

#255 Tony Armas

Card thoughts: I don’t believe there are any Red Sox players in pinstripes in this set. And this card looks a lot like #164 SteveBalboni’s in this set.

The player: Tony Armas—awesome arm in right field, probably the best in the American League (remember when that was a prerequisite for starting in right field?), prodigious power, really poor at making contact.

Back when Latino players were much less common, Armas was signed out of Venezuela by the Pirates in 1971 at age 17. His power numbers increased every year in the minors, as did his strikeouts. Armas hit 21 home runs in the International League in 1976 in just over 400 at bats, which earned him a call up to the majors where he only got 6 at bats.

The Pirates didn’t get to enjoy Armas for long, as he was included in a massive trade with the A’s in the off season (#83 Phil Garner, profiled earlier in this blog, was one of the players sent from the A’s to the Pirates). Armas was installed in right for the A’s and he hit 13 home runs in 118 games a sported a nice afro. The next two seasons were marred by injury, in what would be a recurring issue with Armas. Finally healthy in 1980, he exploded for 35 homers and 109 RBIs. On the downside, he walked only 29 times in 666 plate appearances, and struck out 128 times (2^nd in the league in that more contact-oriented time).

Armas was even better in the following strike-shortened season. He made the all-star team and led the league with home runs (22) and was 2^nd in RBIs (78). 28 home runs in established Armas as a slugger to be feared, but his .233 average and 128 strikeouts in were warning signs to the A’s. The 1982 season also saw Armas set a record in right field when he had 11 putouts and 12 total chances in right field against the Blue Jays.

Needing a third baseman, the A’s traded him to Boston for #134 Carney Lansford in a deal that worked out for both teams. Liberated from the hitter unfriendly Oakland Colliseum, Armas had a good power hitting season in 1983, despite a low .218 average, and then put up career numbers in 1984, leading the league in home runs (43), runs batted in (123) . . . and strikeouts (156). By this time, Armas had moved to center field (#60 Dwight Evans was patrolling right).

The season that ended before this card was issued found Armas struggling to replicate his awesome ’84 numbers, as he battled leg injuries most of the year and hit only 23 home runs. Now in his early 30s, Armas started to fall apart, and he was reduced to a backup role in 1986 after the Red Sox acquired #221 Dave Henderson to play center. Armas started in the ALCS, but a .125 average and Henderson’s post season heroics benched him for the World Series, where he struck out in his only plate appearance.

By 1987, Armas was with the Angels where he struggled to remain on the field, only getting into 28 games in his first season with the club. He managed to land his last starting gig in left field in 1988, and he hit 13 home runs and drove in 49, respectable stats, but not at the level of his production a few years before. Armas retired after the 1989 season, when he produced a lot of power for a pinch hitter and fourth outfielder.

Armas played in the Venezuelan pro league for a few years afterwards, where he held the record for most career home runs (97) for several years. He’s still involved with the league as the batting coach for the Leones del Caracas club. Armas’ namesake son pitched for several years with the Expos and various other clubs.

Rear guard: This is pretty interesting. The Pirates defeated the Cardinals by identical 1-0 scores in a doubleheader on the last day of the 1976 season. Armas' only two hits that year were in the second game. His first hit was a single to center; but his second was a clutch 2 out-single in the bottom of the ninth scored pinch runner Miguel Dilone with the winning (and only) run.

#254 Ozzie Guillen

Card thoughts: This is Guillen’s rookie card. And that is a 100-watt smile. When Guillen smiles nowadays, it looks like he's sucking on a lemon.

The player: Before Guillen was the manager who can’t keep his mouth shut (you can read his various rants on his twitter account), he was a fine defensive shortstop for the White Sox, in the tradition of Luke Appling, Chico Carrasquel, and Luis Aparicio. Guillen was known for his volatile, hard-nosed play, traits he has carried with him as a manager.

Guillen came up in the Padres system, and was traded just before the season shown on this card in a big trade with the White Sox which also involved Tim Lollar, Lamarr Hoyt, and Luis Salazar. The White Sox had been weak at shortstop for years, and Guillen immediately stepped in and solidified the position. In 150 games, he hit .273 and scored 71 runs. It was a weak rookie class that year, and Guillen won the Rookie of the Year award over the more deserving Mark Salas and Teddy Higuera.

The next 13 years, Guillen was the starting shortstop for the White Sox. A typical season for him in his prime years (1987-1991) saw him steal about 20 bases, and drive in and score about 50 runs. Defensively, he generally placed in the top ten in range factor, putouts, and assists by shortstops. One thing that limited Guillen’s effectiveness as a hitter was his aversion to taking walks. He never walked more than 26 times in a season, and often only 15. With today’s metrics, Guillen was a pretty useless hitter, with an OPS at its peak barely over .650. On the other hand, he almost never struck out, and his obsession with hitting his way on and lack of power led to a lot of weak ground balls.

In his prime years, Guillen went to the All Star Game 3 times, and earned his only gold glove in 1990. He severely injured his knee in 1992, and only appeared in 12 games that season. After coming back full time the following year, Guillen found his range severely limited, and his speed almost gone, further eroding his already limited offensive skill set. 

He managed to remain the Sox starting shortstop until 1997, after which he was signed a free agent by the Orioles. In a move that will surprise nobody, Guillen proceeded to rip the White Sox after leaving, saying that the reserve infield of his new team, the Orioles, was better than the White Sox starting infield. But in a bit of schadenfreude, Guillen flamed out quite quickly with the Birds, as he was released a month into the season after getting only 1 hit in 16 at bats (an .063 average). This was a signal that his starting shortstop days were over. 

He was quickly snapped up by the Braves where he spent the remainder of that season and the next as a utility infielder. As usual, Guillen’s years with the Braves were not without incident. He was instrumental in rescue efforts in his native Venezuela during the mudslides in the winter of 1998. Unlike many stars that just gave money, Guillen actually directly helped the efforts in some of the most devastated areas. He also was mentioned in John Rocker’s infamous Sports Illustrated rant, when (among other things) Rocker complained that Guillen (filling in for the injured Walt Weiss) missed a seeing-eye single up the middle by John Olerud in Game 4 of the NLCS because "we had a 38-year-old guy [actually 35] playing shortstop, and he can't make that kind of play." 

The Braves actually must have seen some truth in Rocker’s words, as Guillen was cut in spring training the following year in favor of a slick-fielding 19-year old who had never played above Class A named Rafael Furcal. He latched on with the Devil Rays to back up Kevin Stocker, and ended his career there in 2000.

Guillen immediately began coaching after he stopped playing with the Expos and Marlins. Hired on by the White Sox as a manager in 2004, Guillen won the World Series the next year. He won about 5 more games than the pythagorean method predicted, thus cementing his reputation as a canny, maverick manager, much in the mold of Casey Stengel or Billy Martin. Like the latter, Guillen courted controversy, whether it be publicly shaming players, baiting opposing team's fans, or casting homophobic or misanthropic insults at beat reporters. 

Despite Ozzie's success in Chicago, his mouth finally ran him out of town. Casting all good sense to the wind, the Marlins spirited away Guillen (still under contract to the White Sox after being fired) for a couple of minor leaguers. With the Marlins this season, an expensive roster tanked, and Guillen publicly feuded with the local fanbase, the owner, and some of the players. Too bad he's got a bunch more years on that contract.

Rear guard: It's appropriate that Dick (also known as Richie) Allen would appear on this card, as he had a similarly fraught relationship with the fans/press/management as Guillen. Allen won the MVP in 1972, one of his best seasons, leading the league in home runs, RBIs, walks, on-base percentage, and OPS. Although not a base stealing threat, he did have random occasions when he stole more that 10 bases, including this one, which attests to his baserunning smarts. 

Allen's 2 inside the park home runs that night tied a modern American League record. Both were drives to center that the Twins outfielder, Bobby Darwin, fell down on. Here's Allen's card from that season.

And here is Guillen's first Topps card (non-base).