A 1981 Topps Card In My Hand

I recently purchased this card on ebay.  It is a 1981 Topps Home Run Leaders featuring such icons as Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, and Ben Oglivie!?!  Every baseball fan knows of Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt.  But, I have never heard of Oglivie.  In 1980, Oglivie tied Reggie Jackson for the AL lead in homers with 41.  Yet, on this card R.Jackson is the guy who has his name abbreviated.  It had to be a great day when Topps would slight a Yankee.

So, I had to do a little research to find out about this Oglivie character.  I went over to Baseball Reference.com to check on his stats.  1980 was definitely his best year.  He played in 156 games.  Which playing a lot of games seemed to be his problem.  He blasted 41 bombs and had an OPS of .925.  Oglive had a huge season.  He was also elected to an All-Star game that year.

Oglive had a pretty solid career spanning 1971-1986.  He was a 3 time All-Star.  His only other really good year from a power stand point some in 1982 when he belted 34 homers.  Most years he played in a lot of years he played in under 130 games.  That seems to have hurt his counting stats.

To be on a multi player league leaders card with two hall of famers, then you must have had a good year.  Luckily I was able to learn something from this gem that I snatched off of ebay.  I was able to learn about Ben Oglive.  Sometimes, I carry myself like a baseball snob that knows everything about the game.  Well, this card humbled me.  But, now that I know who Ben Glivie is, I can go back to being a baseball know it all.  Thanks 1981 Topps!