Those A's teams were always entertaining and won a lot of games, even if they only managed to win a single World Series.
Eck was brought over to the Cardinals before the 1996 season along with half a dozen other former A's players. It wasn't one of his better efforts, but it sort of all got swept under the rug. The Cardinals ended up making the National League Championship Series that season and Eck saved 30 games. He was good when it counted....
but the next season was a different story. The Cardinals were not very good in 1997 and Eckersley was part of the problem. The fans, often portrayed as "the best", booed Eckersley after he blew saves. The Cardinal years were basically the end of his career. Eckersley returned to the Red Sox for a season in 1998, but he was not their closer.
Lets talk about Eckersley cards. First up, why have card companies made baseball cards of Eckersley as a Cardinals player since he retired? I'd love to own a nice Eckersley card with him on the A's, Indians, Red Sox, maybe even the Cubs. The Cardinals?
Say it ain't so. Let's look at some 1997 Cardinals Eckersley cards. I am going to go with three different cards for this post.
First up is a 1997 Bowman card. I have posted other cards from this set in other posts in this series. More or less, I love the black border on these cards. I know these are not the best Bowman cards from this decade, but I just love the way that these cards look. Plus, I love the picture of Eck on this card. One eye closed and his hair blowing in the wind. Sweet picture.
This is a really good picture too. The Flair Showcase cards were high gloss, great card stock, and high end for the late 1990s. I really like the contrast on these cards with the color picture in the front and the black and white picture in the background.
This is another favorite from 1997. The first year that Skybox issued the EX product. It didn't have too long of a run, but there are a lot of 1990s cards collectors who love these translucent cards. The sky in the background with the purple and pink frame are an unusual combination, but they work. I also like the picture of Eckersley pointing. That was sort of his signature move at the end of a game.
Sad to hear about his struggles in St. Louis at the tail-end of his career. As an A's fan, he'll always be remembered for his dominance on the mound (except against Gibson... lol) that helped the team reach the WS three years in a row.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of cards, I love the EX products with the acetate embedded into the card. I know they aren't your traditional baseball card, but I feel the 90's were the decade where companies experimented with ideas and that one worked.