no. 83 - mets rookie stars

Who is the man: Tim Foli made his first appearance in the major leagues in 1970, getting four hits in 11 at-bats in five games with the Mets. Randy Bobb didn't make it out of the minors in 1970. After playing in 10 games combined for the Cubs in 1968 and 1969, he spent 1970 in Triple A Tidewater.

Can ya dig it: I can't get used to Foli without glasses. He had cards through the 1985 season, but he appears without glasses only on this card and his 1972 Topps card.

Right on: Both players have four letters in their last name. I wonder if Topps paid attention to stuff like this?

You see these rookies are bad mothers: Foli was a hot-head, sure, but he was a rookie in 1971, so there was nothing bad-ass about either of them at the time.

Shut your mouth: Early in his career, Foli got into a confrontation with Mets first baseman Ed Kranepool. The first baseman accused Foli of intentionally bouncing balls to first base during infield practice and then refused to participate in a warm-up with Foli before a game. Foli confronted Kranepool in the dugout and a scuffle broke out.

No one understand him but his woman: Bobb is wearing a Mets cap but he never played a regular-season game for the Mets. In fact, he never appeared in the major leagues after this card came out.

(A word about the back): OK, now I see why Bobb got a card. Throwing out Pete Rose on the first major league pitch you see is pretty impressive.