Lorenzo Gray Tried to Steal The Show
He did manage to snag a spot in the annual Parade of Rookies
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1984 Topps Lorenzo Gray (#163) - Card of the Day
When it came to the hobby, Lorenzo Gray had his timing down just right.
See…
After the White Sox selected Gray in the eighth round of the 1976 draft, he spent six full seasons in the minor leagues without making much noise with his bat. He did have major league speed, though, stealing 40 bases in 1979 and 29 on two other occasions.
Then, in his seventh pro season and set to spend all summer at Triple A for the first time, Gray broke out the lumber.
By the end of that 1982 campaign, Gray had clocked 16 home runs and 79 RBI to go along with his 20 swipes and a gaudy .358 batting average.
In the midst of all that, the Sox called him up to the south side, and he made his MLB debut in July at age 24. Gray went right back down to the farm after just three games, but he was back in the bigs from mid-September to the end of the season.
The next year, of course, the White Sox ran away with the old American League West division, and Gray got a chance to be part of all that.
From April through July, Gray made it into the Chicago lineup 41 times, split between third base, designated hitter, and pinch running.
But a .179 batting average, along with a third base rotation of Vance Law and Aurelio Rodriguez made Gray expendable, and the Sox sent him back to the minors. Little did he know it at the time, but he had made his last big league appearance on July 26.
And little did Topps know — or believe — either, it seems, as they took the opportunity to unleash an explosion of blazing white and 1980s baseball flare on Gray’s rookie card the next year.
Now, this card was never a world-beater, but it was a rookie card in 1984, just as all RCs were starting to glow with the promise of…well, promise. So, yeah, Gray found himself in a lot of “rookie” and “check later” piles for a couple of years as we waited for him to make a triumphant return to the majors and transform this card into the next Tony Gwynn.
None of that ever came to pass, as the White Sox released Gray in February of 1984 — before most of us ever even saw his baseball card — then spent a couple seasons in the minors with the Indians and Tigers before hanging up his spikes in 1985.
Today, Lorenzo Gray turns 66 years old — and he still has a pretty nifty rookie card.
1983 True Value Chicago White Sox
Those 1983 White Sox were a sight to behold, and rookie masher Ron Kittle turned 1983 Fleer into the first set I can remember with a “chase card” — the Kittle rookie card!
But that wasn’t the only baseball card that featured the Naked Biker that summer, as Kittle also made the cut for the 1983 True Value White Sox set.
There are 23 cards total in this issue, with each one standing taller than normal cards (2 5/8" x 4 1/8"). Here is the full checklist (no actual card numbers, though player uniform numbers are listed on card fronts and backs):
Ron Kittle
Vance Law
You can often find the full set for $15-25 on eBay (raw), while singles will set you back a few dollars each.
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That’s all for this first Monday in March, which reminds me…can you believe Opening Day will happen later this month?!?
Holy hope springing eternal, Batman! The great soap opera of another baseball season is nearly upon us.
Some team, somewhere, is going to need pitching help soon. And I may be old as Topps gum dust, but my rotator cuffs and UCLs are still in pretty good shape.
Just sayin’.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam