Tribute to 1986 Topps: Ryan Ludwick
Country Strong is having a great start to 2009. Right now he's:
- Leading the NL in homers
- Cutting down on his whiff rate
- Piling up the RBI behind Pujols
Don't look now, but he may not be the fluke most people were expecting.
Speaking of home runs, Senor Beso is very happy:
- Carlos Pena, 6
- Ryan Ludwick, 5
- Nelson Cruz, 5
Senor Beso is also pleased with HNC's * insane walk rate:
- .194 batting average
- .396 on base percentage (!!!)
- 11 B / 9 SO in 48 PA
* HNC, of course, refers to "He's Not Clutch"
1986 Topps was a tough set to keep in good condition. Pretty much any cards with black borders end up like that.
I probably have fewer than 10 of these cards, but for whatever reason, I'm absolutely positive that one of them is Mike Heath. That '86 Heath was shuffled back and forth between my brother and me, an unwanted throw in on several trades during our childhood years. It was kind of like this ugly, decorative bow that my dad and my grandpa kept gifting to each other every year. Sadly, the Heath tradition has not continued, although I think the bow tradition continues to this day.
Nice card. Love 86 Topps!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about keeping those '86s in good shape. That was my second year of collecting and 95% of my 86s look like crap. Because of that, I bought a box of the stuff on ebay for cheap a couple of months ago.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking card!
Gotta love '86 Topps! It was my first year of collecting.
ReplyDeleteDoes the back of this card feature his splits vs RHP/LHP? If so, you may want to send a copy to Tony LaRussa so he realizes that Ludwick doesn’t have to sit against righties.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDelete@Charlie -- that's awesome. Totally agree.