1978 Topps - Lance Parrish

Here is another 1978 Topps Rookie card (the first was the Trammell/Molitor). In fact, here are two. (The Dave Bergman is below). This card is packed with good players. All four of these guys had respectable careers. If Dale Murphy didn't already have a rookie card in the 1977 set, this card would be a lot more interesting than it already is. I don't know why Topps put Dale on another rookie card, but I'm here to talk about the great Lance Parrish. Lance was truly great. He was an offensive and defensive force. He ranks 6th all-time for HRs by a catcher. He once threw out three base-runners in a single All-star game. Lance was also one of several Tigers superstars and '84 World Series heroes to have their rookie cards in the 1978 Topps set. The problem with Lance boils down to this - he probably needed at least two more seasons of peak performance (or four more of pretty good) to get into the Hall of Fame. He had a run of years that would measure up to many HOF catchers, the years just ran out. 50 more home runs, 300 more hits, he'd be in for sure. When he signed with Philadelphia for the '88 season he fell of a cliff. He struggled on for several more years but was never anywhere close to his Tigers production. It is too bad. He was really something.

I also included the Dave Bergman rookie from the same 1978 set (below). The Tigers traded for Bergman at the beginning of the '84 season, I think. And I couldn't stand him. One reason is related to Lance Parrish. I also didn't like Parrish that much. I wanted to like Parrish. He was great. But I didn't. And here is why - Parrish, like Bergman, often sported a mustache. And their mustaches were of a kind that I could not abide. Maybe it was because they were light brown. And Parrish had curly hair too, which I also could not abide (Gary Carter was never going to be a favorite). But for Bergman, it was more than the mustache. If Bergman was in the game then someone else wasn't. Usually, it was Darrell Evans who wasn't in the game (unless Evans was DH or 3B). But if Evans was at third, then Brookens wasn't in the game, And if Evans was DH, where was Grubb? Plus, Bergman just wasn't that good. Still, he was on the team and contributed, so I gotta have his '78 rookie. Long-time manager, Clint Hurdle makes an appearance too. And that Miguel Dilone, looking suave in his stove-pipe hat.