The next OPC to Topps image variation to get the spotlight here on the blog is the one for "original" Blue Jay Bob Bailor:
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| OPC version |
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| Topps version |
While
Topps gave him a spot in their multi-player rookie card, OPC of course
gave him a dedicated card celebrating the new Canadian franchise.
Bailor
originally made his Big League debut as a Baltimore Oriole in 1975 when
he appeared in only five games, before returning for another
nine games in 1976, collecting three hits over those 14 appearances with
two runs scored and a triple among the scant highlights.
1977
would see him suited up for the new Toronto Blue jays franchise, being
their second overall pick in the expansion draft held on November 5th,
1976.
With a chance to play everyday, Bailor did not
disappoint, hitting a very nice .310 over a full rookie year, with 154
hits in 496 at-bats, stealing 15 bases and scoring 62 runs.
Surprisingly,
he didn't get a single vote for Rookie of the Year, though he had tough
competition with Eddie Murray leading the way followed by the Oakland
A's Mitchell Page.
Nevertheless, he was one of the bright spots of the Blue Jays inaugural season for sure.
While
he would never come close to that performance over the next eight
seasons of his career, he did provide his team with a player who could
fill in both all over the outfield and infield, putting in time "around
the horn" as a solid utility man for the Jays, New York Mets and Los
Angeles Dodgers before calling it a career after the 1985 campaign.
All
told, he finished with a career .264 average, with 775 hits in 2937
at-bats in 954 games, with 90 stolen bases and 339 runs scored along the
way.
