The Eternal Youth of 1983 TCMA Orel Hershiser
Along with some other young players and a bowl of sugary grains
1983 TCMA Orel Hershiser (#3) - Card of the Day
Back in the spring of 1983, I was just starting to eye the dusty stacks of 1981 and 1982 baseball cards I had stashed in a dark corner of my room, thinking they might be something worth thumbing through after all. By that fall, I’d be all-in, but not before a summer of discovery that led me to…
…find a spark of love for baseball where previously I’d harbored only disdain and maybe even disgust.
…become a Cincinnati Reds fan, for always and forever.
…fall in love with the 1983 Donruss Cesar Cedeño card.
…open as many wax packs as I could get my grubby, chubby hands on in the hopes of falling in love with even more cards.
…fall in love with dozens of other 1983 baseball cards.
But backing up to that spring for a bit…
At about the same time I was debating my cardboard future, a would-be Major Leaguer who I wouldn’t know anything about for another two-plus years was trying his darndest to crack the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers rotation. Even though L.A. had finished second in the old National League West to Dale Murphy and his Atlanta Braves in 1982, they were still the Dodgers, after all. And they still had Fernando Valenzuela, Jerry Reuss, Bob Welch, and Burt Hooton for the rotation, joined by 24-year-old Alejandro Pena.
So it wasn’t too surprising that another 24-year-old, Orel Hershiser, found the going tough that spring and eventually found himself back in Triple-A with the Albuquerque Dukes. It was his second go-round in the mountains after climbing the Dodgers farm system one rung a year from 1979 through 1982.
Within a couple of seasons, of course, everyone would know about the “late-blooming” Hershiser, who led the Dodgers into the National League Championship Series with an incredible 19-3 record and 2.03 ERA in 1985.
The folks who were really paying attention before that, though — and most Dodgers fans — already knew Orel was on his way, finally. After an eight-game stint in the L.A. bullpen at the end of 1983, he went 11-8, 2.66 in ’84 to land third in NL Rookie of the Year voting (behind Dwight Gooden and Juan Samuel).
And, though he didn’t garner an MLB card until his breakout summer of 1985, Hershiser did land a couple of minor league issues on his way up.
In 1982, he was card number 4 in the TCMA Albuquerque Dukes set. It’s a card any Hershiser collector would love to own, but the shot is far enough away, and grainy enough, that it’s hard to get a good look at the Bulldog.
In 1983, though, his return engagement in the same set gives us our first cardboard look at the choirboy who carved up Major League hitters for the better part of two decades — despite his late start.
There on card number 3, Hershiser kneels in the grass with a minor league outfield wall behind him. He has his mitted left hand on his knee, his right hand gripping a ball and hanging over his thigh. And young Orel peers out from under his red and yellow Dukes hat with the Richie Cunningham mug that he would carry into his forties and on to a 204-150 record.
Exactly how old does Hershiser look on his 1983 TCMA card?
You’ll have to make that determination for yourself, but younger than 24 in my eyes.
And much younger than I’ve felt in a long time.
But no matter how old he looks, he also looks … timeless.
You know, even if the calendar tells us that Orel turns 66 years old today.
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Hershiser may have been the MVP of the 1988 World Series, but the dominant memory for most fans is Kirk Gibson’s hobbled home run to win Game 1. There have been all sorts of artifacts put together over the years commemorating that moment, but Fanatics has a high-end doozy available right now (affiliate link):
That’s a numbered, strecthed-canvas print autographed by Gibson — who is getting ready for his infamous showdown with Dennis Eckersley in this scene. Pretty cool!
(affiliate link)
Triple-Decker Birthday Cake
As great as Hershiser was for the Dodgers (and other teams), he’s not the only big leaguer celebrating a birthday today.
He’s not even the best one.
To wit, Hall of Famer Robin Yount turns 69 (dude!) today. You might remember him as the guy whose 1975 Topps rookie card ran neck-in-neck with George Brett’s for hobby dollars through much of the 1980s:
Truth is, though, you have a few other options when it comes to Yount rookie cards — read all about them!
Sharing a cardboard cake with Yount and Hershiser is the youngster of the group — HOFer Tim Raines turns 65 today.
While Rock may officially be a senior citizen now, these 30 great Tim Raines baseball cards will remain forever in their prime.
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If none of these guys float your boat, or if birthday cake isn’t on your menu today, there is one more option.
For some “health food” on this mid-September day, with summer crumbling around us, you could always pour a big bowl of Froot Loops and help Mickey Tettleton celebrate his 64th birthday.
And, failing all that, hope you at least have a decent Monday.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam
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