The next OPC variation to get the spotlight is the 1977 card for Otto Velez, one of the players shown with the new Toronto Blue Jays franchise that was about to begin play that season:
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| Topps version |
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| OPC version |
OPC
was laying out the red carpet so to speak for the new Canadian team,
and with that came better photography for the player cards instead of
airbrushed examples when possible.
After
playing for the New York Yankees in parts of four seasons between 1973
and 1976, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in their inaugural
expansion
draft before the 1977 campaign.
He was the 53rd pick in the 1976 expansion draft, and would have a decent
year for the Jays in 1977 when he batted .256 with 16 homers and 62 runs
batted in.
He would stay with the team for the next five seasons, hitting as many as 20 homers (1980) as well as matching his 1977 RBI total that very same year.
He would stay with the team for the next five seasons, hitting as many as 20 homers (1980) as well as matching his 1977 RBI total that very same year.
In
1983 he would find himself with the Cleveland Indians, where he would
play what turned out to be the final 10 games of his career, hitting
only .080 with two hits over 25 at-bats, with a run scored and an RBI.
Velez would put 11 years in the Major Leagues, batting .251 with 78
homers and 272 runs batted in, while collecting 452 hits in 1802 at-bats
over 637 games.
