Andre David Started Like a Hall of Famer
And one card company believed in the moment
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1985 Topps Andre David (#43) - Card of the Day
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You think someone on the Twins draft team had their crystal ball warmed up and running on high-octane prospect fuel in 1979?
I mean, not only did they snag Randy Bush and Tim Laudner with their second two picks, they also tabbed Tom Nieto and the immortal Mike Kinnunen later in that draft.
All of those guys became major leaguers … someday.
And then there was Andre David, the Twins’ 14th-round pick out of Cal State Fullerton. He was a slender outfielder who had hit .376 as a junior, but with just one home run in 45 games. He did steal nine bases, though, so there was a little speed.
David passed on the lofty draft slot, though, and returned to school. That turned out to be a smart choice, as he hit .390 with 40 steals and 37 RBI in 58 games … though still with just a single home run.
His draft stock no doubt improved, David turned his eyes toward his diamond future that summer of 1980 and found a familiar “face” there to greet him. Yes, when he fell to the eighth round, Minnesota plucked him away from the rest of the baseball wolves.
Maybe they had their eyes on the future, too. Maybe on a very specific point in the future, no less.
But first, David had to run the minor league gauntlet, beginning right away with Single-A Visalia. In 63 games for the Oaks, he hit a robust .324 and got on base at a .422 clip. No homers, but he did steal three bases, drive in 32 runs, and score 33 times.
That showing earned the left-handed batter a promotion to Double-A Orlando for 1981. His batting average plummeted to .234, but he hit 10 home runs and collected 54 RBI to go along with 14 stolen bases, all in 133 games.
David spent most of 1982 at Double A before graduating to Triple-A Toledo in 1983 … and 1984. Splitting time between the outfield and first base for the Mud Hens, he hit .290 or better both summers. By the end of June, the Twins had seen enough and called up their 26-year-old prospect for a look-see.
In 57 plate appearances across 33 games for Minnesota, David hit .250 with a homer and five RBI. That was enough air time for Topps to bite and include his rookie card in their 1985 set.
Maybe it was the long ball that did the trick. Starting in right field against the Tigers on June 29 at Tiger Stadium, David took Jack Morris deep in the top of the second inning — it was David’s first plate appearance in the majors, and the three-run blast also scored Bush and Tim Teufel.
This must have been what the Twins were hoping for when they went to the well twice to draft David, huh?
None of the other card companies were quite as sold, though, and neither were the Twins. David spent 1985 and the first part of 1986 back in Toledo, but Minnesota called again in late May, and he hit .200 in five big league games through June 10.
He spent the rest of the 1986 season in the minors, then became a free agent in October. He signed a minor league deal with the Mets the following February, joining the reigning World Series champs just as his old team was about to embark on their own championship run.
David put together a career year for Triple-A Tidewater at age 29 in 1987, batting .300 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI, but the big league club was already jam-packed with talent.
While he was busy making his case for another trip to The Show, collectors were pulling David’s second-ever card from wax packs, #519 in the 1987 Donruss set:
That card turned out to be his only other big league card, and a career-capper, to boot. There would be no call to Shea for David, either that summer or the next, and he finished his pro career with a season in the Brewers’ system in 1989 — leaving that debut shot against Black Jack as his only major league home run.
In the decades since, David has held several coaching roles, across numerous levels of baseball, including a couple of stints on the hitting staff of the Kansas City Royals.
Today, Andre Anter David, twice the target of the Twins’ affection who immediately showed what all the fuss was about once he reached the majors, turns 68 years old.
This Card Proved Jim Sundberg Was a Star
Also born on this date, in 1951, was three-time All-Star catcher and six-time Gold Glover Jim Sundberg. He didn’t always get his due while he was playing, but Donruss welcomed him to the “big” time in 1983.
Read all about it right here.
Legacy Playbook
In recent years, Sundberg has taken up his pen to write several books, mostly in the Christian self-help/devotional realm, but usually with a healthy helping of baseball talk. Legacy Playbook is one of those tomes and includes several stories from Sundberg’s long career in the big leagues.
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