1988 Starting Lineup - Willie Hernandez

In 1988 Kenner had the brilliant idea of taking one thing kids loved - action figures, and combining it with another thing kid loved - sports. They made action-posed figures of the leading players on every team. In that first year, the Tigers had 5 players with figurines. I had/have the Willie Hernandez, Alan Trammell, and Lou Whitaker.

By '88, Willie Hernandez was going by his given name, Guillermo, and he also wasn't very good anymore (although the '88 season wasn't that bad). But when Guillermo was good, he was great. In 1984, his first year with the Tigers, he was and All-Star, won the Cy Young Award (beating out Dan Quisenberry), the AL MVP, and the World Series.

The Starting Lineup action figures each came with a corresponding trading card. The '88s were these red numbers, nothing to write home about. The backs were dull, but I include Guillermo's so you can marvel at his stats (also, he still signed his name "Willie" then, so maybe it was as late as the '88 season he changed it).

Also included, The Trammell and Whitaker cards. And at the bottom, Guillermo's Rookie card, a 1978 Topps (a treasure trove set for '84 WS champion Detroit Tigers players' rookie cards). He kind of looks like Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite.