1988 Score Young Superstars Series 2 recap

Well, here we are, at the end of the second series. Once again, we're going to go through the series by division and see who had cards and who didn't.

In series 2 more teams were left out. In the American League, the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and Oakland A's were without cards. If you'll remember, the first series was pretty A's heavy, so it's not too surprising that there are none featured in Series 2.

In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are without cards. Again, Series 1 was Giants heavy (with five cards).

AL East:
Baltimore Orioles - 1
Boston Red Sox - 1
Cleveland Indians - 2
Detroit Tigers - 0
Milwaukee Brewers - 3
New York Yankees - 1
Toronto Blue Jays - 3

AL West:
California Angels - 1
Chicago White Sox - 1
Kansas City Royals - 3
Minnesota Twins - 0
Oakland Athletics - 0
Seattle Mariners - 2
Texas Rangers - 3

NL East:
Chicago Cubs - 1
Montreal Expos - 2
New York Mets - 5
Philadelphia Phillies - 0
Pittsburgh Pirates - 3
St. Louis Cardinals - 2

NL West:
Atlanta Braves - 1
Cincinnati Reds - 3
Houston Astros - 1
Los Angeles Dodgers - 0
San Diego Padres - 1
San Francisco Giants - 0

In 80 Young Superstars, there were no Dodgers or Twins. Looking back a few years though, both teams were very mature. The Twins won it all in '87, so they weren't lacking in talent, they just didn't have a lot of young players coming up. Kirby Puckett is just about the only player that could conceivably be included here, but he'd already been around for a while.

The Dodgers were in the same situation. And though they were a good team in '88, there really weren't any young guys tearing up the league.

Well. That was fun. Be sure to stay tuned here for more of my rambling, and keep visiting 1989 Bowman for my pack by pack break of '89 Bowman.

Young Superstars II #40 - Kevin Elster

Every one seemed to be really high on Kevin Elster in 1988. Both Topps and Score gave him a Future Star and Rookie Prospect card, and here he is as a Young Superstar.

This isn't a good way to end the series, the photograph isn't very good. I think Kevin's tracking a fly ball.

Read the scouting report. Right there is a good example of how much the game has changed over the past 20 years. These days shortstops are expected to produce offensively; but back in the late 80s a power hitting shortstop was a rare thing.

Elster's main problem was staying healthy and in the line up. He had a good year in 1996 with Texas, going .252/24/99 in 157 games.

He briefly attempted a comeback in 2000 with Los Angeles, hitting .227/14/32 in 80 games.

Kevin Elster's career statistics

Young Superstars II #39 - Greg Swindell

This is a pretty good picture of Swindell starting his delivery. You don't usually get to see the entire back of the player's uniform. Like Andy mentioned several times when going through the 88 Score traded set, Score could easily get away with shots like this because of the headshot on the back of the card.

Swindell spent the first half of his career as a started and then transitioned into a middle relief pitcher. He was an All Star in 1989 and put a World Series ring on his finger in 2001 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Greg Swindell's career statistics

Young Superstars II #38 - Eric Bell

That's future Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr in the background.

According to the scouting report, Eric had yet to find himself, and he never really did. Of his 152 strikeouts, Bill Schroeder was the victim five times (most of any hitter Bell struck out).

Eric Bell's career statistics

Young Superstars II #37 - Scott Bankhead

If it wasn't for the position of the Red Sox first base coach, this card is identical to the base release. Scott is throwing the same pitch, at the same point in his delivery.


For the first three seasons, Bankhead was just an average pitcher (24-26), but he had a good year in 1989. After only pitching in four games in 1990, he was used as a reliever for the rest of his career.

Scott Bankhead's career statistics

Young Superstars II #36 - Shane Mack

Another Wrigley shot. Look to the right of the knob of Shane's bat. It looks like a fan wearing a pith helmet. Maybe he's going on safari after the game.

Mack had a pretty good nine year career and won a World Series ring in 1991. He didn't perform particularly well at the plate in the World Series, but did well in the ALCS against the Blue Jays.

The base card was taken at the same time, but the guy in the pith helmet isn't as visible.

Shane Mack's career statistics

Young Superstars II #35 - Greg Mathews

I'm not sure what the smear on the card is. It's ink of some sort because it's not raised above the finish of the card and wouldn't come off with a bit of wiping.

An 11-11 record in 1987 was good enough to put him sixth in voting for the Rookie of the Year. Aside from posting an 11-8 record in '86 (he didn't pitch enough innings and was still considered a rookie in '87 because something wierd was going on) he never posted a winning record.

He pitched reasonably well in the 1987 postseason.

Greg Mathews' career statistics

EDIT

There's something interesting going on here. Mathews shouldn't have been considered a rookie in 1987 because the qualifications for rookie status are (from Baseball Reference's Bullpen Wiki):

Currently a player is considered to be a rookie, and thus eligible for the award, if the player has accumulated in prior major league seasons:
Fewer than 130 at bats or
Fewer than 50 innings pitched
Fewer than 45 days on the active roster, excluding time on the disabled list, in military service, or time when the rosters are expanded (currently after September 1)

BloggerDK from 1987 Topps provided these two links to stories about Mathews and the Rookie of the Year voting. Thanks to him for that.

So what's happening here? A mistake by, presumably, one voter? He only got .01% of the voting share and no first place votes, so if a voter wrote him in on the ballot that could explain all of this. But it doesn't explain why that vote was allowed to stand for a player whose rookie status had long expired.

Strange all the way around.

Young Superstars II #34 - Barry Larkin

Most likely, we're looking at a future Hall of Famer. And on top of that, our third MLB Network analyst in the last four cards.

Again we see the 50's sci-fi spacesuit Reds uniform. Since they're all wearing away jerseys, I'll say there's a pretty good chance that all the Reds cars we've seen were taken at the same game. This one shows us the third base dugout and a view of some cameramen.

Not sure where they were taken. Turf field with a blue wall. It's not Montreal because you can see the sun reflecting on his helmet.

Larkin has an impressive resume: 12 time All Star, 3 Gold Gloves, 9 Silver Sluggers, NL MVP in 1995 and a World Series ring from 1990. To top it all off, he spent his entire career in Cincinnati.

Hall of Fame? I think so.

Barry Larkin's career statistics

Young Superstars II #33 - Juan Nieves

Our second Brewer in a row.

Nieves only stuck around for two years and posted a 32-25 record.

The crowning achievement of his brief career came on April 15, 1987. The Brewers were off to an 8-0 start when Nieves took the ball on the 15th. That day, against the Orioles, Nieves threw to date the only no hitter in Brewers history. His line for the day reads: 0 hits, 7 strikeouts, 5 walks. Not too bad.

His career stat line isn't that bad.

Juan Nieves' career statistics

Young Superstars II #32 - Dan Plesac

Here's our second MLB Network analyst in a row.

I haven't said this lately, but I really like the old Brewers logo.

Not sure where this one was taken, but the photo from the base set was taken during the '87 All Star game.

Plesac was used as a closer for the first five seasons of his career with the Brewers, but was used as a spot starter in 1991 (ten starts) and recorded only eight saves. Doug Henry was the primary closer for the Brew Crew in '91 but he saved only 15 games. Plesac made four starts the following year.

After leaving Milwaukee, Dan was used as a setup man for the remainder of his career.

Dan Plesac's career statistics

Young Superstars II #31 - Mitch Williams

Here's Mitch finishing up his... wacky delivery. As wacky as this one is, have a look at his base card:


They were taken at the same time, in Oakland. A lot of the Rangers cards in both the base release and the Young Superstars seem to have been taken at the same time in Oakland.

Mitch was fun to watch as long as you weren't a fan of the team he pitched for. You could never guess where the next pitch was going to end up. But despite his strange delivery and well known wildness, he only threw 44 wild pitches in his career. He did hit a lot of batters though.

Wild Thing was involved in the trade that sent Rafael Palmeiro and Jamie Moyer to Texas.

These days he's an analyst on the new MLB Network. He does a fair job

Mitch Williams' career statistics

Young Superstars II #30 - Jeff Musselman

Back in the '80s I remember buying these little rubber people in a plastic cup. Most of them were pink, but I think there were some other colors. I think they were called mussle men, but I can't find a damn thing online about them. They came from Dollar General or some such place.

Not a lot going on in the photo, and not a lot happened in Jeff's career. In 1876 (woops) 1987 he led AL relievers with 12 wins, but that's about it in the highlight department. He only stuck around until 1990.

According to Wikipedia, he currently works for Scott Boras.

Jeff Musselman's career statistics

Young Superstars II #29 - Mark McLemore

Nice shot with the ball coming into the frame on the right side. McLemore has a goofy look on his face though.

The headshot is another good one for Dinged Corners, it seems like there's a lot more smiles in this series than the first.

I honestly didn't realize that McLemore played as long as he did. In Seattle's magic 2001 season, McLemore, at the age of 36, stole 39 bases. Good for fourth in the league.

Mark McLemore's career statistics

Young Superstars II #28 - Fred McGriff

That looks like either a spring training or pre game shot on McGriff based on the alternate jersey. The headshot on the reverse with the empty stands makes me think pre-game and the ammount and color of the seats makes me think SkyDome.

One of my best friends growing up was named Fred, but he looked exactly like another one-time Brave, Marquis Grissom.

McGriff put up some great numbers and hit over 30 home runs seven straight years. When I think of the Crime Dog, my first thought is of the fire at Fulton County Stadium the day of McGriff's arrival in Atlanta. My second thought were those silly Tom Emanski baseball training videos that you still see on ESPN from time to time very late at night.

Hall of Fame? The numbers are good, but I think he flew just a bit under the radar and wasn't a very outspoken player. In 19 seasons he hit .284/493/1550. As a first baseman, he sat right at league average.

He hit very well in his postseason appearances and has a World Series ring from 1995 with the Braves.

Fred McGriff's career statistics

Young Superstars II #27 - Oddibe McDowell

The highlights second on the back mentions his stolen base percentage. Interesting because due to their vertical orientation, Score had to sacrifice a few stat categories that horizontally set cards usually include. One of those categories sacrificed was stolen bases. So good for Score for at least telling us how many steal he had and how many times he was caught.

I'm not sure where this photo was taken, but the base release was taken in Oakland like so many other Rangers cards in the two Young Superstars series.

Oddibe was just an average player at the plate, but was above average with the glove.

He played for Texas, Cleveland and Atlanta over the course of six seasons. In 1994 he attempted a comeback with Texas and batted .262/1/15 in 183 at bats.

Oddibe McDowell's career statistics

Young Superstars II #26 - Jeff Treadway

Here's another shot of the old sci-fi looking Reds uniforms.

Treadway's career isn't very remarkable, but one Saturday at Veterans Stadium, Jeff had game to remember.

In the top of the third inning on May 26, 1990, with runners on first and second, Jeff hit a Pat Combs pitch over the right field wall. The Braves went on to score five runs that inning.

But Treadway wasn't finished yet. In the top of the fifth, this time facing Don Carman with the bases empty, Treadway sent another ball over the right field wall. Then again in the top of the seventh facing Darrel Akerfelds with a runner on first, he did it a third time.

Three of his 11 home runs in 1990 came in that one game. His six RBIs were half of the Braves' 12 runs as they defeated the Phillies for their 16th win of the season (but by that point, they were already 13.5 games out of first).

After his playing days were over, he coached at the Stratford Academy in Macon, Georgia.

Jeff Treadway's career statistics

Young Superstars II #25 - Gary Thurman

Well, well, well. Look who's here. I don't think there's a chance in the world I could compete with Andy in a post about Gary Thurman. If you haven't seen it, have a look and see what happened at the old 1988 Topps blog when Mr. Thurman came up.

Since I don't have a whole lot to add, let's look at the card. It's another card with good pictures on both front and back. The photo on the reverse is nearly identical to the base release, but the photo on the front of the base card shows Gary taking a lead off first.


Gary Thurman's career statistics

Young Superstars II #24 - Vince Coleman

The photo on the reverse looks like it was taken just seconds before or after the headshot from the base issue.


hmmmmm... I wonder. The photo on the front was probably taken during the same game as well. Actually, all three Coleman cards from 88 Score look to have been taken at the same time. See what you think:


Coleman had blazing speed his entire career. For three straight years, starting his rookie year in 1985, he stole 100+ bases. His stolen base output dropped considerably after 1990, though he did steal 50 in 1994.

Despite relatively low offensive output, Coleman's speed led to a lot of runs. If you want to put a lot of stock in sabermetrics, he is estimated to have created 688 runs, or 4.3 per game.

Vince Coleman's career statistics

Young Superstars II #23 - Roger Clemens

What do you think? Is this our first potential Hall of Famer? His reactions and attitudes after the steroid allegations are suspicious, at best. But he had a remarkable career.

Is that a Mariners away jersey standing on first base? The number looks like 38, but Jerry Narron wore 38 for four games with the Mariners in 1987, and that's not him on base. It could be the first base coach. Any ideas?

By the time this picture was taken, Clemens was already a highly decorated veteran. By 1988, he'd already won two Cy Young awards (on his way to winning six), an MVP award and made the first of his eleven trips to the All Star game in 1986 where he won the All Star MVP.

His two World Series rings came as a member of the Yankees and in 2004 while pitching for Houston, he picked up a National League Cy Young award.

The numbers are really astounding. 354 wins against 184 losses, 4672 strikeouts in 4916+ innings and a 3.12 career ERA. His numbers are comparable to Maddux, though Clemens walked over 500 more men than Maddux (but also picked up 1300 more Ks). Clemens' ERA was just a hair lower than Maddux's, though his WHIP was just a bit higher.

I think he's a Hall of Famer. I don't particularly like him, but I think he'll be in.

Roger Clemens' career statistics

Young Superstars II #22 - Ivan Calderon

Is that old Comiskey in the background?

He's another guy that had already spent time with more than one team before 1988, and the first in Series Two who is no longer with us. He was murdered in 2003, shot multiple times in the back and head in a bar in Puerto Rico.

For a big guy Calderon was fairly speedy. In 1990 and 1991 when he was healthy and played regularly, he stole 32 and 31 bases, being caught 16 times both seasons.

His best season came in 1991 where he went .300/19/75 and made the All Star team.

Injuries shortened his career and he was finished by 1993 at the age of 31.

Ivan Calderon's career statistics