Remembering Mike Warren's Bonus Rookie Card
And the vicissitudes of tossing a no-hitter
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1984 Topps No-Hitters (#5) - Card of the Day
If Christian Bale had been a thing — instead of merely a 10-year-old human — in 1984, I might have thought he threw a no-hitter in 1983.
That would have/could have been him, right there underneath Dave Righetti and Bob Forsch on 1984 Topps card #5, which celebrated the three men who tossed no-nos the summer before.
As things were, that quadrant IV guy didn’t look at all familiar to me back then, so I took him for who he was — Mike Warren, of the Oakland A’s.
It didn’t take me too long to realize (thanks in no small part to the card back) that Warren had been a rookie in ‘83 when he pitched his no-hitter on September 29. In fact, the Tigers 12th-round pick in 1979 didn’t hit the majors until June and spent more time at Triple-A than in Oakland in 1983.
Before any of that came to pass, Warren had been…
released by the Tigers (1981)
signed by the A’s (also April 1981)
drafted from the A’s by the Brewers (December 1981)
traded with Johnny Evans — back to the A’s — for Rob Picciolo (May 1982)
Along the way, Warren had developed into a consistent innings-eater as a starter who could put up ERAs in the 3s if everything went right. A propensity for walking guys made that less than certain, though.
The ironic thing about the card up at the top of this post, Warren’s “bonus” rookie card, is that the three men pictured combined for 23 big league starts in 1984.
Warren continued the swingman role he stepped into for the A’s in 1983.
Forsch was limited to 11 starts in just 16 appearances due to a nerve problem in his lower back that eventually required surgery.
And the Yankees sent Righetti to the bullpen, where he became an All-Star closer.
As for Warren, the right-hander split both 1984 and 1985 between Triple A and the majors, and his big league ERA climbed each season — 4.11 in 1983, 4.90 in 1984, 6.61 in 1985.
Warren’s last appearance for the big league A’s came on July 2, 1985. Within ten days, general manager Sandy Alderson sent him down for good to make room on the roster for the A’s newest acquisition — Tommy John.
Probably didn’t make the move any easier for Warren to swallow, but a pretty nifty bit of trivia for us nearly 40 years on.
After the A’s released him in December 1985, Warren signed a minor league deal with the Royals and spent part of the summer of 1986 taking one last shot.
Today, No-Hitter Mike turns 63 years old.
Sneaking Up on the Hobby
Know who else has a birthday today?
Judging by that card up above, you might have an inkling I’m going to say John Stefero or Kevin Seitzer…and you’d be right.
Seitzer turns 62 years old today, which puts his hobby introduction long, long ago, approximately in the cardboard dark ages before Score, Upper Deck, case breaks, and grading.
Back in 1987, Seitzer burst onto the scene as a surprise batting title contender at age 25. Of course, that was (one of) the Summer of the Long Ball, so it wasn’t all that easy for a low-homer third baseman to grab the limelight.
Stepping into the third base shoes of legend George Brett (who moved to first) helped a bit in that regard, though.
Surprising Seitzer and his shared rookie card got some more air time over on Wax Pack Gods a while back. You can read that piece right here.
—
We’re now just a couple of days from Opening Day, if you don’t count last week’s Ohtani Revelation Tour.
So I’m just wondering — have you ever attended an Opening Day game in person?
When I was a kid, I figured I’d move to Cincinnati and blow off work every year for the Reds parade that ushered in not only the Good Guys’ season, but the entire summer-long baseball soap opera.
That hasn’t happened yet, and now the Reds first game is just another game in MLB’s eyes. But us old-timers know better.
Baseball doesn’t start until the Reds come marching in.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam