A 1980s Card Part 4 - 1982 Topps Keith Hernandez

For the majority of my childhood Keith Hernandez was a bad man.  The first full summer that I lived in St. Louis was 1985.  Keith Hernandez was the starting first baseman for the Cardinals principle rival the New York Mets.  I was not alone in my dislike of Hernandez.  He was really unpopular with the Cardinals fans.  It was bad enough that he was playing for the Mets, but he had drug problems away from the field that prompted the trade away from the team.  Plus, the Cardinals also got next to nothing in return for him in the trade to the Mets. 

Hernandez won the 1979 National League MVP, batting champion, heir to Lou Brock as the best player on the team, and played an important role on the 1982 World Series winner.

It didn't matter.  Cardinals fans hated him for a long time.  

The first year I collected baseball cards was 1983.  Keith Hernandez was still in favor with Cardinals fans.  At the time I had two sources of baseball cards.  I picked up packs from a connivence store in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and I also got some single cards from a flea market in town.  Not sure of all the details of the flea market, just simply that we would walk around it every few weeks on Sunday afternoons.  

At some point my parents bought my the 1982 Topps Cardinals team set.  Pretty sure it was the pride of my collection for a few years.  I enjoyed owning many of the cards in this set, even after the players were traded away, or left as free agents.  George Hendrick, Joaquin Andujar, Darrell Porter, and Tom Herr were just a few of the good names.  

It took me about twenty-five years to do much with Keith Hernandez.  

I didn't have many of his Cardinals cards outside of what I pulled from packs in 1983, so this 1982 Topps card was the best Hernandez card in my collection for a long time.  Nice action shot of Hernandez playing in a game against the Mets.  I have always liked the design of these cards too, although I think the color scheme on the Cardinals cards is not the best. 

Back of the card. 

The centering is brutal.  The facts are randomly about a Royals catcher and Blue Jays pitcher.  So few stats on the back of this card, but you can read them. 

I have tried to have a little better appreciation for Hernandez's place in Cardinals history. I think many Cardinals fans have moved in this direction over the years.  Yes, it stinks that his career with the Cardinals ended because of drug problems, but it's not like it destroyed the team.  The Cardinals made two more World Series in the 1980s without Hernandez, and made due with Jack Clark and Pedro Guerrero getting most of the at bats at first base after the trade. 

Both Clark and Guerrero were All-Star caliber players for the Cardinals, and hit for a lot more power than Hernandez.  

I have even moved on a bit on Hernandez with baseball cards.  No, the 1982 Topps card is not the best Keith Hernandez card in my collection anymore.....

but it is still my favorite.  

A song I like from 1982.