1982 Topps - Hoofdklasse Honkbal Edition

I was fully prepared to start off this post with a breakdown of some Hoofdklasse Honkbal, but that will have to wait for a little later. But first, I have to note the big change in the Yankees coaching staff. That change was the firing of CMC set member Dave Eiland.

Eiland was among my first features on this blog and, as such, it was a pretty sparse feature. So I'll have to get back to it again, hopefully after he finds another team.

But, back to 1982 Topps and the Hoofdklasse Honkbal. This Topps pack was the last pack I picked up on our recent trip to Cooperstown. It was also the most expensive, marked at $6. There's a good reason for that, of course. That's the possibility of getting the Ripken rookie. Before anyone asks, no I didn't get the Ripken rookie. I did get the coveted Kent Hrbek rookie, though.

There are actually two reasons this is the Hoofdklasse Honkbal Edition. The first is because of the guy to the left, Stan Bahnsen. Bahnsen was a veteran of 16 major league seasons and a pitcher sometimes referred to by the nickname The Bahnsen Burner, according to Baseball Reference's Bullpen.

Bahnsen's final appearance in the majors came the year his card came out, in 1982. But he continued pitching long afterward. In 1989, according to B-R's Bullpen, Bahnsen returned to play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association, along with several CMC set members, including Ron Washington and Danny Boone, as well as his pack-mate and former Expo teammate Grant Jackson.

But it was his time after that, when he was 46 that makes this post the Hoofdklasse Honkbal Edition. Hoofdklasse Honkbal is the a Dutch professional baseball league. And it's actually been around since the 1920s. According to B-R's Bullpen, the league plays a short, 42-game schedule, mostly on the weekends. But that was apparently a good schedule for a 46-year-old.

Bahnsen's packmate Grant Jackson had his own long career, 18 seasons in the majors. He only pitched for the Expos briefly, 10 games in 1981. His most wins came in 1969 with 14. That year he also got his most losses, 18.

As far as Hall of Famers, there weren't any in the pack. I did get the guy to the right, an expected future Hall member, Bert Blyleven. Blyleven is, of course the other Honkbal connection. While he never played in the league, Blyleven is the most famous Honkbal player from the country. And, of course, he has also been on the brink of becoming the first Dutch-native in the Hall of Fame.

Ron Cey's In action card was there, as well. Apparently, he had no worthy highlights after 1978, with All-Star, Championship Series and World Series highlights on the back of his card all from then or before.

Unlike the last 1981 Fleer pack, there were no direct CMC set members in the 1982 Topps pack. A direct reference did come in the Twins checklist. There, No. 438, is Pete Mackanin, who would go on to manage the Nashville Sounds. Note the absence from the checklist of the Hrbek rookie, along with his cardmates Lenny Faedo and Tim Laudner.

Other last things to note, I got this sticker of Larry Herndon. The sticker is actually smaller than it appears, maybe the mini of its day. I'm sure I've seen the stickers before, but I didn't realize they actually came in packs. The sticker back reads to "ask your dealer" about the Topps sticker album.
I also got the Dale Murphy entry in the set, which brought to mind Larry over at Emerald City Diamond Gems. He's a Murphy collector. I see he's looking for the 1980 and 1983 Murphys, but not the 1982 one. He's also a Tony Gwynn collector and I pulled an 84 Topps Gwynn from one of my original Cooperstown packs and shipped that one off to him a while back.