Irish Eyes Weren't Smilin' on 1981 Royals Rookies
And a missed opportunity that Fleer hit out of the park
Note: When you click on links to various merchants in this newsletter and make a purchase, this can result in this newsletter earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
1981 Topps Royals Future Stars (#66) - Card of the Day
The 1980 Kansas City Royals were an amazing team, one who vanquished some of their personal demons (the Yankees) on the way to a showdown with the Phillies in the World Series.
K.C. dropped that one in six, and if Royals collectors were hoping for a glimpse of the men who would push them over the hump in their wax packs the next year…well, they weren’t exactly wowed by the offerings.
Take the 1981 Topps Royals Future Stars card (above), for example.
Manny Castillo appeared in seven games for the 1980 Royals, then never showed up in Royal blue again (though he did spend two seasons with the Mariners later on).
And Mike Jones showed up three times for the 1980s Royals, then posted a 3.21 ERA in eleven starts and one relief appearance during the strike-shortened 1981 season.
Good stuff as far as it goes, but then Jones spent 1982 and 1983 in the minors before coming back to K.C. for some swingman/long relief duty in 1984 and 1985.
He saw action in the 1984 ALCS but nothing October of 1985 as the Royals danced with destiny, waltzing toward a title. Nothing thereafter, either, as it was all farm time for Jones through the end of his pro career in 1990.
That left card-anchor man Tim Ireland to carry the weight for this three-man crew.
If that seemed a lot to ask of a former 25th-round pick, by the Expos in 1973, well…
What Topps didn’t let on right up front was that Ireland would already be 28 years old on Opening Day of 1981. That’s Methuselah territory in diamond years.
Topps also didn’t tell us all the franchise stops Ireland made along the way. Between Montreal and K.C., he was signed and released by the Reds, Orioles, Brewers, and Cubs.
Even so, Ireland plugged away at his fourth straight summer with the Triple-A Omaha Royals, hitting a so-so .260 with seven home runs and not much speed.
But in September, the Royals called up their prize rookie, and manager Dick Howser found three pinch-running opportunities just crying out for Ireland’s legs.
He also landed one more gig as a defensive replacement at first base.
All told, Ireland came to the plate zero times that month, though he did manage to score a run!
The next spring, Ireland was once again dispatched to Omaha, but he got another call from K.C. in May of 1982. This time, Howser squeezed Ireland into seven games, including starts in right field on both May 3 and 4.
Ireland headed back to the minors at the end of May, but not before collecting a single and a walk, and scoring two more times, in eight plate appearances.
He never did make it back to the majors that season, but Ireland played for Japan’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1983 and 1984. After that, he came back across the pond for one more shot but then hung up his spikes after two games at Triple-A for the Brewers in 1985.
Or, rather, he hung up his playing spikes, because Ireland embarked on a managing, coaching, and scouting career in the late 1980s that would last several decades.
Today, Tim Ireland turns 71 years old and probably has more baseball memories than could squeeze into an Irish pub.
1982 Fleer Ken Phelps (#420)
In retrospect, if Topps really wanted to highlight an “old” 1981 Royals rookie who would go on to have an impact in the majors, they would have done well to hitch their wagon to Ken Phelps.
A 26-year-old with the 1981 Royals, Phelps wouldn’t exhaust his rookie status until 1983. By that time, he was with the Mariners and building out a beer league resume that would eventually include a .239 batting average, 123 home runs, and 449 strikeouts in just 1854 big league at-bats.
Topps and Donruss likewise whiffed on the slugger until 1985, but Fleer graced us with a true rookie card in 1982.
—
If Phelps had stuck around a bit longer or played a bit more regularly, he would have fit right into The John Mayberry Club.
As things stand, he was more of a shapelier Steve Balboni with a better eye for the strike zone.
And another guy who would probably be raking in the cash if he played today (though likely not at his current age of 69).
Thanks for reading.
—Adam