the 2011, 2012, and 2013 topps cards that should have been for a 1978 topps dodger

with the last of the manager cards featured in topps flagship sets coming in 2010 (even those were just on the backs of the team cards), i am forced to make cards that should have been to represent the member of the 1978 topps dodgers that was still managing a team in 2011 and beyond.  here are the dusty baker cards that should have been from 2011 topps

2012 topps

and 2013 topps

the 2011 reds fell from 1st to 3rd in the nl central with a 79-83 record, but baker's team returned to the top of the division in 2012, going 97-65 in the process.  they faced the eventual world champion giants in the nlds and blew a 2 games to none lead in the five game series.  still, baker returned to manage the team in 2013, and the reds won 90 games.  even though that put them in 3rd place in the central division, it was enough to win the newly created second wild card spot.  in their one game playoff, the reds faced the second place pirates and lost, 6-2.

baker was fired by the team a few days later.  he's said that he would be interested in managing again, but did not get the call for the 2014 season.  maybe he'll be back in 2015 or even sometime after that.  if a team does take a chance on him, i hope topps is making manager cards for their flagship sets.  i would like to see more cards of members of the 1978 topps dodgers.  if not, then this is the end of the evolutionary trail...

the 1978 topps dodgers in 2008 through 2010 - once again, there is only one

try as i might, i couldn't think of any reason that a member of the 1978 topps dodgers should have been included in the 2007 topps flagship set.  there were no 'turn back the clock' cards that year, and dusty baker wasn't managing, so there are no cards that should have been to showcase.  however, dusty was hired by the reds following the 2007 season to be their manager, so he returned to the flagship in 2008 and beyond.

2008 topps dusty baker

baker took over for interim manager pete mackanin, and led the reds to a 74-88 finish in 2008.  that was a 2 game improvement over 2007, but the team remained in fifth place in the nl central.

2009 topps dusty baker

the reds climbed to fourth place in the nl central in 2009 with a 78-84 record.  the club was one game over .500 and two games out of first place on july 4, but the bottom dropped out of their season soon after.

2010 topps cincinnati reds team card

with dusty baker on the back

i guess this qualifies as the manager's card from 2010 topps, although topps used to put the manager on the front of the team card.  anyway, walt jocketty's faith in dusty was rewarded in 2010 as the reds were 91-71 and claimed the central division title.  they finished five games ahead of the cardinals, but were swept by the phillies in the nlds.

sadly, this is where the trail ends for members of the 1978 topps dodgers.  i'll have some cards that should have been of dusty chronicling his final few seasons as the reds' manager, but we may well have seen the last of the 1978 topps dodgers in the topps flaghsip sets.  if so, here's the final tally of appearances:

baker 27 (1971-1987, 1993, 2001-2006, 2008-2010)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 16 (1972-1987)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 16 (1972-1987)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 18 (1971-1987, 2002)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 15 (1972-1986)
hough 23 (1972-1994)
john 26 (1964-1989)
lacy 16 (1973-1988)
lasorda 19 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1993)
lopes 18 (1973-1988, 2001-2002)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 14 (1972-1981, 1991-1993, 2001)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 16 (1975-1990)
russell 18 (1970-1987)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 23 (1966-1988)
yeager 15 (1973-1987)

there were more dusty baker cards than tommy john cards, thanks to his managerial years.

teams represented: 25 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers, mariners, marlins, reds)

the blue jays, devil rays/rays (although bill russell did coach for tampa bay after he was fired by the dodgers), royals, twins, rockies, and diamondbacks are the only six franchises not represented, although the nationals could be added to the list since i counted the colt .45's and astros separately.  davey lopes was a coach for the nats, but obviously didn't get a card during that time.  so, until dusty gets another managerial gig and topps starts making managerial cards again, it's been fun documenting the evolution of the 1978 topps dodgers!

the 1978 topps dodgers in 2003 through 2006 - there was only one

one would have thought that with dusty baker's contract to manage the giants expiring in early november of 2002, and his subsequent hiring by the cubs on the 16th of that month, topps could have shown baker as a cub in their 2003 flagship set.  no dice - he showed up still as the manager of the giants.

the giants had hired felipe alou to replace baker a couple of days earlier, so it's not like there would have been a void in the set that baker needed to fill.  of course, the real reason is that back then, series one was released in november and so we have a bonus card of baker in a giant uniform.

thankfully, topps was sure to include baker in a cubs uniform in their 2003 traded set.

the cubs won 88 games under baker in 2003, good enough (by one game) to win the nl central title and advance to the postseason.  it was the first division title for the cubs since 1989, and baker had them sitting with a 3 games to 1 lead in the nlcs, but the marlins came back to win the final three games of the series and deny the cubs their first pennant since 1945.

baker returned to the cubs in 2004 (here's his 2004 topps card with a familiar photo)

and the team acutally improved, winning 89 games that year.  unfortunately, that was only good enough for third place in the nl central, 16 games behind division champ saint louis, and 3 games behind wild card champ houston.

in 2005, topps thankfully changed the photo they used for baker's card

and the cubs slipped to below .500.  they had a record of 79-83 and finished fourth in the division, 21 games behind the cardinals.

dusty was in the fourth year of his four year deal in 2006 (here's his topps card from that year)

and the cubs fell even further in the standings.  they finished dead last in the division at 66-96, although they were 'only' 17.5 games behind saint louis that year.  as a result of the poor showing, baker was not re-hired by the cubs.  he wasn't hired by anyone else, either, and spent 2007 as an analyst for espn.  that meant that, for the first time since the early 1960's, there were no members of the 1978 topps dodgers playing or managing in the major leagues.  thankfully, that would change in 2008.

here is the yearly tally of appearances to date:

baker 24 (1971-1987, 1993, 2001-2006)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 16 (1972-1987)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 16 (1972-1987)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 18 (1971-1987, 2002)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 15 (1972-1986)
hough 23 (1972-1994)
john 26 (1964-1989)
lacy 16 (1973-1988)
lasorda 19 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1993)
lopes 18 (1973-1988, 2001-2002)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 14 (1972-1981, 1991-1993, 2001)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 16 (1975-1990)
russell 18 (1970-1987)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 23 (1966-1988)
yeager 15 (1973-1987)

teams represented so far: 24 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers, mariners, marlins)

the 1978 topps dodgers in 2002 - who would have thought steve garvey would return?

these posts detailing the cardboard evolution of the 1978 topps dodgers have included only the topps flagship and traded sets.  i once considered adding donruss, fleer, and upper deck flagships, but they weren't around in 1978 so i chose not to.  of course, the topps traded sets weren't around in 1978 either, but i made a decision to consider the traded cards as part of the evolution.  as a result, steve garvey returns to the posts, thanks to this who would have thought? insert from 2002 topps traded

i was really excited to have another topps card of the garv, even if it celebrates his signing with the padres following the 1982 season.  i think i have mentioned it before, but i was in a card shop in early november, 1982 when the news came out that the deadline for re-signing garvey prior to the free agent draft had passed and that he would most likely be signing elsewhere.

there were two other members of the 1978 topps dodgers that were featured on cardboard in 2002, both in the flagship set, and both managers - davey lopes and dusty baker.

davey lopes

in 2002, lopes began his third year as the brewers manager.  it didn't last long - he was fired after 15 games, with the brew crew sitting on a 3-12 record.  it's a good thing the managerial cards weren't in series 2!  lopes returned to coaching with the padres, and also coached for the nationals and phillies (he was featured on a coach's card in 2009 topps heritage) before returning to the dodgers as their first base coach.  i'm holding out hope that topps brings managers back to the flagship set and goes with a 1973 or 1974 type setup that shows the coaches so that lopes can make it back into these posts.

dusty baker

2002 was a big year for dusty.  his giants finished the season with a record of 95-66, although they were, for the second year in a row, in second place in the nl west behind the diamondbacks.  unlike 2001, however, the giants' record was good enough to win the wild card and secure a postseason entry.  in the nlds, the giants beat the braves (owners of the league's best record) in five games, and in the nlcs, the giants eliminated the cardinals in five.  the pennant was the first of dusty's managerial career, and only the third for the giants since they moved to san francisco in 1958.

in the world series, the giants faced mike scioscia's angels, and had a 3 games to 2 lead with a 5-run lead in the 7th inning of game 6, but the angels rallied (scott spiezio!) to force game 7.  baker had given the game ball to starter russ ortiz when he removed the pitcher from the game; a move that was somewhat ridiculed as it suggested that baker thought the giants had the series wrapped up.  i didn't have a problem with it because they should have been able to hold the lead - the 7th inning ended with the giants still leading 5-3 after spiezio's 3-run homer.  anyway, the angels won game 7 in anaheim which was fine with me because, even though i was a big fan of baker, i am a bigger fan of the dodgers which makes it difficult to root for their main rivals.

meanwhile, dusty wasn't a happy camper in san francisco, and the club's management allowed his contract to expire in november of 2002.  dusty wouldn't be out of work long, which meant that he wouldn't be excluded from the topps set(s) in 2003...

here is the yearly tally of appearances to date:

baker 20 (1971-1987, 1993, 2001-2002)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 16 (1972-1987)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 16 (1972-1987)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 18 (1971-1987, 2002)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 15 (1972-1986)
hough 23 (1972-1994)
john 26 (1964-1989)
lacy 16 (1973-1988)
lasorda 19 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1993)
lopes 18 (1973-1988, 2001-2002)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 14 (1972-1981, 1991-1993, 2001)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 16 (1975-1990)
russell 18 (1970-1987)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 23 (1966-1988)
yeager 15 (1973-1987)

teams represented so far: 24 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers, mariners, marlins)

some 1978 topps dodgers returned to the flagship in 2001

topps finally began printing cards of managers in 2001, after not quite a decade of neglect.  as a result, there were offical topps cards of three members of the 1978 topps dodgers to add to my collection.

first up, davey lopes.

lopes had spent his time since retiring as a player coaching for the rangers, orioles, and padres before getting the call from the brew crew to become their manager for the 2000 season.  here's the back of lopes' card, which i scanned because he's blowing a bubble

which he has been known to do, from time to time.  of course, it was rick rhoden, and not lopes, who represented the dodgers back in the bubble blowing contest of 1975.  back to baseball - the brewers regressed in lopes' second year at the helm, finishing at 68-94 (five games worse than they had been in 2000) and in fourth place of the nl central.

dusty baker

baker's giants finished the 2001 season at 90-72, good enough for second place in the nl west, 2 games behind the eventual world champion diamondbacks, and 3 games behind the wild card champion cardinals.  dusty had his team 2 games out with 3 to play when the dodgers rolled into town for the final series of the season, and the blue won the first two games of the series to seal the giants' fate.

johnny oates

it was oates, by the way, that lost to kurt bevacqua in that 1975 bubble blowing contest.  i don't know if he was still blowing bubbles in 2001, but oates was still managing the rangers - for the first few weeks of the season, anyway.  the rangers got off to a slow start in 2001, despite having signed alex rodriguez to the richest contract in history up until that point.  oates was on shaky ground (the owner had said as much), and the team had a record of 11-17 and a 5 game losing streak when oates resigned on may 4, 2001.  just a few months later, oates began having difficulty speaking and was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor.  oates eventually lost his fight with cancer on december 24, 2004.

here is the yearly tally of appearances to date:

baker 19 (1971-1987, 1993, 2001)
burke 2 (1978-1979)
cey 16 (1972-1987)
davalillo 14 (1963-1974, 1978-1979)
forster 16 (1972-1987)
garman 8 (1971-1973, 1975-1979)
garvey 17 (1971-1987)
goodson 6 (1973-1978)
grote 15 (1964-1976, 1978-1979)
hooton 15 (1972-1986)
hough 23 (1972-1994)
john 26 (1964-1989)
lacy 16 (1973-1988)
lasorda 19 (1954, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1983-1993)
lopes 17 (1973-1988, 2001)
martinez 9 (1971-1976, 1978-1980)
monday 18 (1967-1984)
mota 18 (1963-1980)
oates 14 (1972-1981, 1991-1993, 2001)
rau 9 (1973-1981)
rautzhan 2 (1978-1979)
rhoden 16 (1975-1990)
russell 18 (1970-1987)
smith 17 (1967-1983)
sosa 10 (1974-1984)
sutton 23 (1966-1988)
yeager 15 (1973-1987)

teams represented so far: 24 (dodgers, indians, colt .45's, pirates, white sox, astros, mets, a's, red sox, angels, expos, cardinals, braves, cubs, orioles, giants, phillies, yankees, rangers, tigers, padres, brewers, mariners, marlins)

a 2000 topps card that should have been for the 1978 topps dodgers

once again, there were no managerial cards in the topps flagship set, so i decided to make one featuring those members of the 1978 topps dodgers who managed in 2000.  that would be, of course, johnny oates, dusty baker, and davey lopes, who was hired by the brewers in november of 1999.

i scanned some cards from the set as seen below

but once again decided to take an easier route and use a prospects card

i modified it a bit, just so the text could be read, and came up with this card that should have been

dusty led the giants to the national league west title in 2000, with the no-cals winning 95 games and finishing 11 games ahead of the second place giants.  unfortunately (or, fortunately if you are a dodger fan) the giants lost in the nlds to the wild card champion (and eventual national league champion) mets. still, he won his third national league manager of the year award.

oates, on the other hand, had a rough go in 2000.  the rangers dropped from first to last place in the american league west in 2000, winning only 71 games. even so, oates was kept on the job and led the team into the 2001 season.

lopes was brought in to replace interim manager jim lefebvre following a 74-87 season in 1999 which saw the brew crew finish 5th in their second season in the nl central, just as they had in their first.  the good news is that lopes led them to a third place finish in 2000, however the team posted a record of 73-89.  not really an improvement at all.  however, like oates, lopes remained on the case for 2001, when topps decided to bring manager cards back for our enjoyment.

topps cards that should have been for the 1978 topps dodgers in 1998 and 1999

topps didn't include managers in their 1998 or 1999 flagship sets, which means that it's up to me to make cards for dusty baker, johnny oates, and bill russell - the three members of the 1978 topps dodgers who were filling out lineup cards in 1998 - and for baker and oates who were the only ones who survived the 1998 season to manage in 1999.

i scanned some 1998 topps cards to work from - chan ho park for the dodgers,

mark gardner for the giants,

and bobby witt for the rangers

but then i decided that  the background behind the name would be too time consuming to replicate, so i scanned a prospects card instead

i changed "prospects" to "managers" and wound up with this 1998 topps card that should have been

i put oates up top because his team performed the best in 1998, in terms of division placement.  he led the rangers to a first place finish in the american league west with an 88-74 record.  it was the second postseason appearance for the franchise (both with oates at the helm), but they were swept in the alds for the second time.  baker's giants actually had the best record of the three teams managed by members of the 1978 topps dodgers; they finished at 89-74 but were 9.5 games behind the first place padres.  the giants' 'extra' game was a one-game playoff against the cubs to determine the wild card winner.  the cubbies won that game 5-3, ending the giants' season in game 163.  finally, bill russell had the dodgers at 36-38 and 12.5 games out of first when he was fired in late june.  the team played better (47-41) behind interim manager glenn hoffman, but they actually lost ground and finished in third place in the nl west with a 83-79 record and 15 games behind the padres.

for 1999, i didn't even bother to scan cards for the giants or rangers.  this 1999 topps raul mondesi card that was languishing in my scanned folder

reminded me that it would be easier to go the prospects card route again for the 1999 card that should have been.  so, i scanned one

and wound up with this

glenn hoffman makes an appearance, as he replaced bill russell during the 1998 season, but was himself replaced by davey johnson by the time the 1999 season started, let alone the time (2001) that topps got around to making manager cards again.  the only hoffman card that i know of featuring him as the team's manager comes from the 1998 mother's cookies (or was it keebler?) set, which is the photo i used.

as for baker and oates and their teams in 1999, the giants finished 86-76, a full 14 games behind the nl west champion arizona diamondbacks and 10.5 games behind the wild card champion mets, but 9 games ahead of the rival dodgers.  the rangers, on the other hand, won the american league west with a 95-67 record, but were swept in the alds by the eventual world champion new york yankees.

1997 cards that should have been for the 1978 topps dodgers

first of all, a heartfelt thank you to all of the veterans of our armed forces.  i'll be trying to meet up with one of my friends who served and buy him a beer.  in the meantime, let's take a look at some cards that topps failed to make in 1997.

i understand that they were printing smaller sets following the downturn in sales thanks to the players' strike a few years earlier, but i have to believe that most collectors would have preferred a 1997 topps tommy lasorda managerial final tribute card over a john mabry highlight.

to make matters worse, upper deck actually did give lasorda a card in their 1997 set, although it was a checklist

i went a step further and gave my lasorda card that should have been a back

with his complete major league managerial stats.  lasorda, of course resigned from managing during the 1996 season due to health concerns following a heart attack.  his replacement, bill russell, led the team to the wild card berth, although the dodgers were swept in the nlds for the second straight season.

speaking of russell, he too gets a card that should have been

as do johnny oates

and dusty baker

i used photos from each of their mother's cookies cards, by the way.

in his only full season as a manager, russell led the 1997 dodgers to a second place finish in the nl west with a 88-74 record.  the dodgers were 4 games out of the wild card (won by the eventual world champion florida marlins), but only 2 games behind baker's giants.  oates, meanwhile, had the rangers at 77-85, 13 games out in the american league west.

no managerial cards in 1996 topps meant no cards of 1978 topps dodgers

once again, topps did not include managers in their flagship set in 1996, so i was once again shut out.  18 years later, here are the 1996 topps cards that should have been.

tom lasorda

the 1996 topps design is a weird one thanks to the inset 'phantom zone' photo.  the gradient shading used in the name box makes it tough to read when scanned, too.  i should have used a lighter color for the name text.  here's a real 1996 topps card of jose offerman for reference.

note that national league teams have the green shading of the inset photo/name boxes, while american league teams use red. topps would take this color scheme to a whole new level in 1997, in which there were no managerial cards either.

anyway, back to tommy - he did receive a card from someone in 1996 (other than mother's cookies, whose image i used to create the topps card up top).  upper deck gave lasorda a checklist as a managerial salute

recognizing that 1996 would be his 20th season managing the dodgers.  it also turned out to be his last. with the dodgers at 41-35 and two games up in the national league west after beating the astros on june 23, 1996, tommy had a heart attack the following day. it was an off day, of course, and tommy drove himself to the hospital.  he underwent surgery a couple of days later, and officially retired from managing in july.  we'll get to who took over in a bit.

dusty baker

baker had the giants at 68-94 for the season, bad enough to finish last in the national league west, 22 games behind the dodgers, who finished 1 game behind the first place padres.  they weren't the worst team in the league, however, as the phillies finished at 67-95.  baker survived the firing of general manager bob quinn at the season's end, and would return to the giants with better luck in 1997.

johnny oates

over in the american league west, the rangers won their first division title in 1996.  yes, they were in first place when the 1994 players' strike began, but this was the first time they actually advanced to the postseason.  oates had the team at 90-72, their second best win total in franchise history, and 4.5 games ahead of second place seattle.  unfortunately, the rangers lost in the division series to the yankees, three games to one.  oates was voted a co-manager of the year for the american league in 1996, sharing the award with joe torre whose team defeated oates' rangers in the playoffs.

there was no traded set in 1996, and even if there were, there wouldn't have been managerial cards included i am sure.  still, the man who took over for tom lasorda in 1996 deserves at least a 1996 topps card that should have been.

bill russell

the longtime dodger shortstop had been groomed for this moment - serving as bench coach to lasorda and managing in the minor leagues - and he led the team to a 49-37 record after taking over for lasorda. unfortunately, the padres played better ball during that stretch and overtook the dodgers by sweeping the season ending series between the two teams to finish one game up in the west.  this meant that the dodgers were the wild card winner, and so they got to play the braves and were swept in the playoffs for the second straight season.

the 1978 topps dodgers in 1995 were nonexistent

and so it came to pass that the last of the 1978 topps dodgers to be an active player in major league baseball, charlie hough, whose 25-season career ended with a need for a hip replacement in 1994, did not receive a card from topps in 1995.  1995 was the first topps flagship set without a member of the team of my youth since 1962.  that's crazy business, but that's what happens when you put manny mota's and charlie hough's careers together.

anyway, here's the 1995 topps charlie hough card that should have been

it turned out ok.  the '95 design is tough to play with.  plus, the photo selection could have been better - hough's throwing a fastball in that photo, not a knuckler.

here's the back, with all the career stats befitting a final tribute

i did my best with the diamond vision inset.  the only thing not represented at all on the back is the topps watermark under the stats.  here's the back of dave weathers' 1995 topps card that i used as a base for the hough

i lifted it from comc as i was too lazy to go dig for one in the basement.

while topps ignored hough, upper deck gave him a spot on the checklist.  no 'final tribute' shield, but still.  here's his 1995 upper deck card

with a knuckler grip photo!  and the back

hough went out with four straight losing seasons, but finished with an even 216-216 record.

upper deck came through again with a card for hough in their 1995 collector's choice set - front

and back

nice to see the full career stats, plus a photo of hough with a batting helmet on!

now that the 1978 topps dodgers as players are finished, we will be left with just 1978 topps dodgers as managers (except, perhaps, for the random flashback or some other type of subset card).  in 1994, there were again three 1978 topps dodgers managing in the majors, and they, once again, were not recognized by topps in the following year's set.  so, i made a 1995 topps card that should have been for tom lasorda

and, just like with the 1994 cards that should have been, i didn't care much for it.  i decided instead to use the mid-year all-star card from 1995 topps traded (hello hideo nomo!)

and do something along those lines for the managers.

lasorda again shares space with dusty baker, who was in his second year of managing the rival giants

1995 was lasorda's final full season as the dodgers' manager.  he guided them to a 78-66 record in the shortened season (remember, the start of the season was delayed by the lingering players' strike) and won another national league west division title in the process.  it was the dodgers' first trip to the postseason since 1988 when they won it all, but this time they were swept in the nlds by the reds, three games to none.  as for baker's giants, they finished in last (fourth) place in the newly realigned nl west, 11 games behind lasorda's club.

as for the other member of the club, johnny oates was fired by the orioles and so moved on to manage the rangers in 1995.  i put him on a card with the guy who replaced him in baltimore, former dodger phil regan

in his first year in texas, oates led the rangers to a 74-70 record, finishing four games behind the mariners and angels, who sat tied atop the american league west at the end of the 144 game schedule.  so, technically, after the one-game playoff, the rangers were 4.5 games back, but still, oates helped the club that was 10 games under .500 when the strike began in 1994 turn things around.  as for the orioles, they finished behind the red sox and yankees in the al east, and were 3 games behind the rangers in the wild card standings.

i've got more managerial cards that should have been to make for 1996 so stay tuned...