Orioles Victory Card Number Twenty-Four (1987 Season Edition): Eddie Murray hitches a ride around the stadium

Baltimore Orioles Victory #24: 4-3 over the Oakland A's

2019 Topps Update Eddie Murray Short Print Variation

With the sporting world on hold due to the novel coronavirus shutting down the world for a few months we here at The Hopeful Chase are going to our rain delay programming. For the last two seasons we've posted a baseball card following every Baltimore Orioles victory (I know, talk about the minimum commitment required). It's fun and keeps us writing about baseball and collecting. Rather than sit back and stare forlornly at the outside world we've decided to continue the series with a season from the past.  The season of choice - 1987. Please enjoy.

Ahh, short print variations. Love them or hate them, they are probably going to be cropping up for the foreseeable future in Topps flagship product and update series. Like a of things in this industry I can take or leave them. Usually, if I pull one they're on eBay before the pack wrapper is in the trash. Mr. Murray has a few scattered among the recent sets and I picked this one up off of eBay for a really good price the other day.

It features a rare smile of Murray smiling in Baltimore. It's based on a Getty Images photo that was taken on June 7th, 1998 prior to a game against the Atlanta Braves.  A year after he played his final game in the MLB and two seasons after he last suited up to play for the Orioles (he was in uniform in 1998, serving as a bench coach for Ray Miller) Murray finally had his number retired by the ballclub.

Why do I say finally? Well, because the ball club announced in 1989 that they would retire the number 33. That's right, with nine seasons left in his career the Orioles had already signaled that he would be remembered among the greats of the organization. If that wasn't awkward enough, the announcement came roughly three months after the Birds had traded his contract to the Dodgers for the slightly underwhelming return of Brian Holton, Juan Bell, and Ken Howell. 

The initial announcement wasn't handled well. John Steadman, longtime columnist for The Baltimore Sun, lambasted the decision calling it a "sham and an insult to players, past and present, who hold a deep affection for the city". He then made a case for the club retiring the number of Willie Miranda before Murray's 33. Murray, for his part, seemed indifferent at the announcement, offering up a "what do you want me to say?" when informed about it. The parting, as you can see, was a bit contentious.

Time heals almost all wounds, so by the time this photo was taken, past insults were forgotten. A 1996 trade had brought him back to Charm City for the stretch run and in time to hit his 500th home run in an Orioles home run. So it was all smiles and "Ed-die, Ed-die" chants that day as he toured the permiter of the field in a 1998 silver Corvette.

I would love to say that the 1998 Orioles showed Eddie Murray a tremendous outpouring of respect and prevailed against the Braves that day. They did not. Fellow Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux put on one of his clinics as he twirled a 4-hit shutout, facing just 30 hitters (with 20 of them hitting groundballs). It was the first time in 129 games the Os had been shut out and Maddux made it look easy. Doug Drabek, starting for the Orioles, made it look difficult as he gave up five runs in three innings. The Orioles would drop the game 9-0 in a somewhat quick-paced 2:25.

There was just a bit of star power in Camden Yards that day.. Five Hall-of-Famers (Maddux, Chipper Jones, Cal Ripken, Jr., Harold Baines, and Roberto Alomar) played in the game. Three more hallowed members (Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Bobby Cox) sat on the bench for the Braves while the Orioles had Mike Mussina and his future Hall-of-Fame self on the bench. Both GMs - John Schuerholz for Atlanta and Pat Gillick for the O's - have their names in the Pioneer/Builders wing in Cooperstown as well.

Eleven total future members had some hand in the game while already enshrined members Jim Palmer, Earl Weaver, and Frank Robinson took part in the pre-game ceremony (Brooks Robinson sent a video tribute). Including Murray, that makes fifteen (!) Hall-of-Famers at the Yard that day. Not too shabby for a random day in June.

For those wondering what's going on in the 1987 Orioles season - we'll get back to that with the next post. I realize that we are way off when it comes to dates (the Orioles 24th victory took place on May 25th) but trust me it'll all work out. There is a bit of a swoon coming up so I figured it would be better to spread things out a bit. Since it doesn't look like there will be 2020 baseball any time soon we'll be sticking to the 1987 season for a little while longer.

A Card Trade Leads to Some Random Pondering

Amidst my move at the beginning of the month I was able to pull off yet another card trade. Unlike 99% of the trades I’ve made in the last three years or so, this one came from somewhere other than my want-list. Heck, it didn’t even come from someone else’s want-list (let me send a friendly reminder to all those out there - update your want-lists!) No this trade came via Zistle.

I’m not sure how many of you out there use Zistle.com as place for your card inventory, but let me give it props for making trades nice and easy. I’ve got a couple of things posted up there that I’m trying to trade away (namely my Chicle base cards and the remnants of my former Carl Crawford collection) and finally someone saw something they needed.

Josh, a Royals fan and I had a match (cards on my trade list matched cards on his want list and vice versa). So in exchange for four or five Royals cards I received back the following:



Eight Eddie Murrays for my personal collection and an always appreciated sticker of the greatest logo in the history of the Baltimore franchise. Everyone always mentions how the sticks of gum from Topps packs don’t age well. Well, neither do the stickers from the mid-80s Fleer products. I’ve tried to stick two of these to a binder (because after all I’m still 12 years-old) and neither one made it.

I’m stuck between the 1987 highlights (which has a bit of a nice gloss to it) and the 1996 Topps as my favorites from this bunch. The Topps is from the days when I abandoned card collecting for college, well college and bestowing whatever funds I had on alcohol. So despite being 15 years old it’s new to me!

I’ll call it a tie, but what strikes me most about this package is Murray’s use of batting gloves. I’ve always remembered him as not wearing them when he hits, which is born out by the fact that half of the cards pictured show him bare-handing it (1987 Donruss Highlights, 1990 Donruss NL Best, 1987 Sports Flics, and 1996 Upper Deck).

Two of the cards (1990 Fleer and 1988 Topps) show him double-bagging it with gloves on each hand. There is nothing unusual about that, most hitters, especially switch hitters, would have a glove on each hand when hitting to help with their grip. Even during my modest career as a switch-hitting catcher/first-baseman I used gloves on each hand.

What I find odd are the last two cards (1987 Fleer Limited Edition and 1996 Topps) show him using one glove. Again, not unusual for a player to hit with just one glove on his hand. What is unusual is that in both photos, Murray is wearing the glove on his top hand. That you don’t see too often as hitters are most concerned with keeping a solid grip on the bat with their bottom hand, also known as the “power hand” since it is that lead arm that pulls the bat through the hitting zone.

At first, I thought it might be a co-incidence and the other team had brought in a relief pitcher to switch Murray around and force him to hit from a different side of the plate. Being a nice guy Murray wouldn’t want to slow the game down by going back to the dugout and switching hitting gloves. However, if you notice he rocks the single ear flap helmet in both shots, which means he went to the plate knowing what side of the plate he was going to be hitting from. If he could get the right helmet on, he should have the right batting gloves as well.

With my curiosity piqued I flipped through my growing collection of Murray cards and noticed that in all of the pictures that show him with one batting glove on, it is always on the top hand. Well, all of the cards except for one. His 1988 Score card shows him hitting left-handed and with the glove on his bottom hand.




One theory that I have (developed in the 8 minutes it’s taken me to type this much) is that the Hall of Fame slugger, unlike most hitters, rarely released his top hand during his follow through. Perhaps the glove helped him keep his top hand on the bat and allowed him to drive through the point of impact.

Since I’m writing without access to the internet, I can’t find out if he ever talked about it, but it has given me something else to look for when picking up new Murrays. I also can’t remember if any other major leaguers have ever hit like that. Can you, my loyal readers, think of anyone?

Back to the Loot

It’s a rainy day here in the Windy City. After a day out in Oak Park I figure it’s time to get back to the haul from The National while I wait for dinner to arrive. The cards are sitting on my desk and need to be packed up in time for the move. So lets go ahead and take down the two big hits from my weekend excursion.




2002 Fleer Classic Cuts Eddie Murray Bat Relic. We know it’s real because Lloyd J Pawlak, Senior VP from Fleer/Skybox says so on the back. I like everything about the layout of the card except for the tiny picture of Murray’s face. Also, it would have been nice if they used the cartoon bird logo for the O’s.

That card was just the appetizer for the main course though.




2011 Topps Tribute Dual Relic # 03/75. It’s shiny, had two bat slivers and is the lowest serial numbered card in my collection (my $10 bid on the Lineage Canary 1/1 fell well short). There really isn’t anything I dislike about this card. From the shiny green background to the gold facsimile auto on the front everything ties together pretty nicely.

While no one is giving me there personal guarantee on the back of the card, Topps does “pledge to bring [me] closer to the game from the Past, Present, and Future.” I’m not sure how they’re going to bring me closer to the future, but hey it’s a nice thought.

There’s been a lot of internet talk lately about relics and their values. I think most of the world would agree that the single swatch jersey card can barely be considered a hit these days. The National was filled with dollar boxes full of these cards that people were skipping over like they were commons.

We can’t be that far away from Topps or Upper Deck releasing a 200 card set in which every base card has a piece of jersey on it. Heck, they could probably pull it off with a $4.99 per pack price.

Should the manufactures take a few years off from these single, white jersey cards that collectors are turning their noses up at? Perhaps by killing the supply completely the infatuation will return within a few years. That’s not to say they should do away with the jersey card altogether, just spice it up a bit. Multiple swatches, multiple colors, patches with dirt or grass on them, etc.

In the vein of a silk card, could they make an entire card out of a piece of the jersey? Imagine a swatch the size of a card with an action photo on the front and stats on the back. Frame it like the Ginter cards and that would make for a pretty sweet hit.

Sorry for the digression. For what it’s worth the Tribute joins my Murray rookie as the highest valued cards in the collection. So I’ve got that going for me.

Merry Christmas! It's Card Of The Year TIme!

Guest blogging from my sister's house in Baltimore. It's quarter after nine on Christmas Eve and my shopping is done. Alas, hours of wrapping lay ahead, but that's what beer and A Christmas Story are for. In the meantime, I thought I would slip in one more post. It's that time of year. Once again, the world sits and waits for the announcement.

THE 2010 HOPEFUL CHASE CARD OF THE YEAR


The award was originally established in 2008 when I pulled a beautiful Masterpiece oncard auto of Melvin Emmanuel Upton. 2009 featured a card that I picked up due to my tough negotiating at the local flea market . Now it's back and out of control.

Let us not waste anymore cyberink. Here it is in all of its glory:



The 2010 Topps Eddie Murray Shortprint Variation.

Revel in its glory. First of all it's a night card, which increases the coolness of any card by a factor of 10. It's horizontal (factor of 3). Murray is sporting old school stirrups (factor of 2), the mustache-to-sideburns facial hair (factor of 8) and is settling into his stance with the subtle bad-assness that made him my favorite player as a kid (factor of 15). All in all this card's coolness has been increased by a factor of 38, making it 38 times cooler than any other card I saw this year.

And I say saw, because as of right now I don't own this card. Yup I didn't take that picture, stole it from eBay (that's what he gets for having a $19.95 BIN price). I want this card, I've bid on this card and so far it's eluded me at all turns. As of right now it is established as my white whale, that card which renders my collection incomplete until I own it. It will be mine, oh yes it will be mine.

So how was 2010 as a collector for me? Not too bad, but not too great either. I stopped buying any random box of cards I stumbled across and focused on player collecting only to drop one of my players by the end of the year. I busted some products I liked (Chicle and Score Hockey), some that left me blah (Allen and Ginter Leaf Certified), but nothing that I hated. So that's good.

I subsidized a portion of my purchasing with some ebay sales, which was nice, but it also led me to buy some cards I probably wouldn't have in the past. Then again, in the past I've bought boxes of cards that I didn't need, so I guess even that was better.

Trading was down, which I blame on being 1000 miles away from 90% of my collection. Hopefully, that will pick up next year as I bring some of the cards up to Chicago.

If I had to grade the year I would give it a solid C+. Other events conspired to push cards to a back burner, but I still enjoyed 99% of my association with cards and haven't lost the joy I get out of busting a new pack or getting a padded envelope in the mail.

2011 will bring more fun and collecting as well as a new player to collect. I'm officially on board as an Eddie Murray collector. Shocking seeing as how the last two card related posts were about him. I even have my membership card... not really....no really I made one up....actually no I didn't...well I thought about it.

Due to my prodigious collecting during the late 80's and 90's I should have the bulk of his base cards. Now it's a matter of getting some of the fun cards that have come out in the last few years. I think I might start picking a particular set and tackling it one at a time. For instance of his cards in 2010 Chicle, then all of his cards in 2010 Topps base, etc.

Here's hoping that Santa brings you all of the cards that you wish for this year. Good luck in collecting next year!

The First Cards of December!

If I had any type of blogging motivation at all I would probably start a 12 Cards of Christmas gimmick on this website that culminated with me revealing the 2010 Hopeless Chase Card of the Year. However, those that know me (hi Mom and Dad!), know that out of all of my wonderful traits motivation is not one of them. So instead you get just a quick post about a card I got in the mail.

Could this card signal the birth of a new player collection? With the departure of Carl Crawford imminent, perhaps I should focus my attention on a player who can't break some little kid's heart by jumping town.

On a side note, is it even remotely possible that some kid in the TBA wrote a letter to Santa Claus in which all he wants for Christmas is for CC to sign a 7 year deal with the Rays? Do kids even write to Santa anymore? Because I'm sure a 5 year old Justin G. would have done that, if he could write, that is. What age do kids start writing? I don't know these things, good thing I'm not a parent I guess.

Where was I? Oh yeah, a card in the mail. Here it is:




It's a 1978 Topps Eddie Murray Rookie Card.

I wouldn't call it my White Whale, more like a White Tuna, maybe. I've bid on Murray rookies about 10 times this year and lost out on every occasion as furious bidding in the final moments drove it out of my price range. Just for fun I put a bid on one last week and actually managed to grab it for a reasonable price.

As I grow older as a collector and a fan I tend to remember only the good parts of my childhood as a fan. 0-21? Don't remember the 21 losses, but I do remember the Chicago White Sox fans cheering for the O's win in the 22nd game. Eddie Murray traded for a bundle of spare parts? Nope, Memorial Stadium rocking with "ED-DIE, ED-DIE" chants.

So I picked up the card and have toyed with the idea of starting a Murray collection to replace CC. We'll see what happens with that as the days roll on. In the meantime, I'll look at classic O's cards and remember the childhood days.

Speaking of childhood, if there are any young readers out there reading. Let me fill you in on one of the great things about being an adult. As I typed this up, guess what I had for dinner. A bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Not a small bowl either, a heaping bowl of sugary goodness.

The best part (other than the sugar rush jitters) no one is here to look disapprovingly at me. It's glorious! So when an if you're wondering if it's awesome to be an adult - sometimes it is.