Joey Meyer Was the Next Paul Bunyan

Monster home runs and historic walkoffs set big expectations

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1988 Topps Joey Meyer (#312) - Card of the Day

During the hobby boom of the 1980s, pretty much every young player was a “prospect” whose rookie cards might eventually turn to gold.

That went double for guys with a power stroke, making them prime candidates to become the next Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Darryl Strawberry, or at least the next Rob Deer or Steve Balboni.

Joey Meyer stepped right into that arena as soon as he hit the pro circuit after signing with the Brewers as their 1983 fifth-round draft pick out of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Landing in Single-A Beloit the next spring, Meyer crushed opposing pitchers to the tune of .320 with 30 home runs and 102 RBI in just 128 games.

Double-A El Paso didn’t slow down the big right-handed slugger in 1985, as he continued to mash — .304/37/123.

A first go-round with the Triple-A Denver Zephyrs followed in 1986, and the higher-level pitching revealed the first real chinks in Meyer’s armor as a hitter.

Though always prone to the strikeout, Meyer took his breeze game to the next level at high altitude, striking out 116 times in 519 plate appearances while batting just .255. He did draw some walks, though, as evidenced by his .347 on-base percentage, and he continued to show pop: 24 home runs, 98 RBI.

All told, the combo got Meyer another look at Triple-A pitching 1987 for his age-25 season.

It was an up-and-down season, one that included maybe the longest recorded home run in pro history — a 582-foot blast at Mile High Stadium on June 2.

Meyer also seemed to solve many of the problems that had plagued him in 1986, posting a .311 batting average to go along with 29 home runs and 92 RBI…in just 79 games!

Alas, a hamstring injury sapped his playing time as the summer wore on, and the team eventually shut him down in August.

But by then, the hype train had left the station, and everyone figured Meyer was on his way to the majors, and on his way to the record books.

It was all enough for Topps to include the future-gazing Future Stars Meyer card in their 1988 checklist, and that pasteboard was one of collectors’ favorite rookie cards from the set for years.

On the field, Meyer did get his shot right away, breaking Spring Training with the Brewers in 1988 and debuting on Opening Day as an eighth-inning defensive (!) replacement for first baseman Greg Brock.

Six days later, Meyer got the start at first and went 0-for-3. He finally got his first big league hits in his fourth game of the season, unloading for a single, double, and home run against the Yankees on April 17.

All told, Meyer made 103 appearances in his rookie season, batting a respectable .263, with 11 home runs and 45 RBI. It was enough to keep the lights on for his prospect status, but at 26, time was ticking.

The next summer, 1989, was not quite as kind, with Meyer essentially splitting the season between Milwaukee and Triple-A Denver. While in the bigs, the slugger managed just a .224 batting average in 53 games, though he did crank seven long balls in that small sampling.

He also managed to hit the only walk-off home run ever allowed by Roger Clemens. So there’s that.

But it wasn’t happening fast enough for the Brewers, and they released him in October of 1989. Two years later, Meyer would show up in Triple A for the Pirates, giving the game one more shot before riding off into the sunset.

In between, though, he had a last hurrah, heading to Japan to crank 26 home runs for the 1990 Yokohama Taiyo Whales.

Well into the 1990s, collectors (well, at least this collector) held Meyer’s rookie card in high esteem, as well as in our “check later” boxes. You know, just in case he had enough left to become at least the Next Ken Phelps or Ron Kittle.

He didn’t.

But Joey Meyer did leave us with some great baseball memories, and today, he turns 62 years old.

Inspirational Foe

The first pitcher that Meyer faced in the majors was none other than Tommy John, who was in his 25th season in the majors when he coaxed the slugger into a groundout.

John was with the Yankees then, but more than a decade earlier, he had changed the way pitchers deal with elbow injuries as he recovered from the surgery that bears his name.

In the process, he also coaxed Topps to feature him on a couple of baseball cards that very well might never have existed.

You can read all about those pasteboards right here.

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Hey, it’s Friday — we knocked another week out of the park, just like Joey Meyer!

Assuming you didn’t strike out, that is. Even if you did, you have the weekend to recover, and there’s no better mood booster than a slug of old cardboard, right?

Happy collecting, and see you Monday.

Thanks for reading.

—Adam