Card of the Week: 1983 Topps #32 Dave Bergman
Posted by Andy on August 4, 2010
(click on images for larger versions)
OK, here is a real 1983 Topps card to take a look at. This is a favorite set of many collectors thanks to the dual photos--the action shot and the head shot. In fact, Topps included many great action photos for the main picture since all the head shot were, umm, head shots. (In most other sets, there are lots of posed head shots since the cards had only one picture.) Here, we always get two photos. I think the design of this card is inspired, in particular the two color system (brown and orange on this one) and the thin border used on both halves of the card. Unlike 1975, when the bold colors were not consistent across different teams, this year they were consistent, i.e. all the Giants cards were brown and orange like this one.
This Bergman card caught my eye as a particularly great example. The action shot is unusual for the 1980s--a first baseman snagging a liner on the foul line. Plus we have the easily-identifiable Candlestick Park in the background. And how about the banner for retired uniform #4 for Hall-of-Famer Met Ott? Very cool.
The card back is typical of most other Topps sets of the era, again doing a nice job with black ink and one color (in this case orange) creating an interesting-looking set of stats and information.
Dave Bergman was part of the 1984 Tigers championship team, and like a lot of guys on that squad he played above his head that year.
Check out his career value grid, especially his RAR and WAR:
| Year | Age | Tm | PA | Rbat | Rbaser | Rroe | Rdp | Rfield | Rpos | Rrep | RAR | WAR | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 22 | NYY | 19 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | -0.4 | /9 |
| 1977 | 24 | NYY | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | /3879 |
| 1978 | 25 | HOU | 228 | -3 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 37 |
| 1979 | 26 | HOU | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 | /3 |
| 1980 | 27 | HOU | 91 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3 | 5 | 0.5 | 3/79 |
| 1981 | 28 | HOU | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | /3 |
| 1981 | 28 | SFG | 167 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 5 | 5 | 0.5 | 37 |
| 1982 | 29 | SFG | 140 | 3 | 3 | -1 | 1 | -1 | -2 | 4 | 7 | 0.8 | 3/79 |
| 1983 | 30 | SFG | 167 | 9 | 0 | -1 | -1 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 10 | 1.1 | 3/7 |
| 1984 | 31 | DET | 316 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -5 | 10 | 21 | 2.1 | *3/79 |
| 1985 | 32 | DET | 157 | -12 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 5 | -12 | -1.3 | 3/D7 |
| 1986 | 33 | DET | 151 | -4 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 5 | -3 | -0.3 | 3/D79 |
| 1987 | 34 | DET | 207 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -2 | -4 | 7 | 10 | 0.9 | 3/D97 |
| 1988 | 35 | DET | 333 | 9 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -6 | 10 | 15 | 1.6 | 3D7 |
| 1989 | 36 | DET | 436 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | -4 | -7 | 14 | 2 | 0.2 | *3/D7 |
| 1990 | 37 | DET | 241 | 3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 8 | 3 | 0.4 | D3/7 |
| 1991 | 38 | DET | 231 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 8 | 7 | 0.7 | 3D/7 |
| 1992 | 39 | DET | 204 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 7 | -6 | -0.7 | 3D/7 |
| 17 Seasons | 3114 | 11 | 0 | -6 | 2 | 10 | -53 | 99 | 63 | 6.3 | |||
Every year, Bergman hovered right around zero for fielding runs. Every year except 1984, that is, when he registered a huge +10, a big number for a first baseman. That, plus an above-average-for-him +6 batting runs, enabled him to earn a career high 2.1 WAR in 1984. He regressed big time in 1985, dropping to -12 batting runs and a career-worst -1.3 WAR.
August 4th, 2010 at 7:44 am
May 2: Cracked single and scored run! Stop the presses!
August 4th, 2010 at 8:13 am
LOL @1!
August 4th, 2010 at 8:15 am
My recollection is that the Elias annual book in spring 1986 pointed to the decline of the Tiger bench players as a group as the biggest reason for the team's record dropping from 1984 to 1985. They underperformed a lot in 1985 just as they overperformed by a lot in 1984.
August 4th, 2010 at 10:02 am
When will the card of the week be Rusty Kuntz 1984 Fleer Card?
August 4th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Guy had 9 homers in about a full season's worth of AB... but his only hit for the '81 Astros was one of them. I love baseball.
August 4th, 2010 at 10:31 am
I too enjoyed the Candlestick Park/Mel Ott retired number sign immediately when the card popped up on my screen.
I wonder if Dave holds the record for longest career (date of first game to date of last game) without ever having a qualifying season (3.1 PA's per team game).
August 4th, 2010 at 11:01 am
RE: I wonder if Dave holds the record for longest career (date of first game to date of last game) without ever having a qualifying season (3.1 PA's per team game).
Maybe Thad Bosley.
Or, Moe Berg.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:21 am
"The action shot is unusual for the 1980s--a first baseman snagging a liner on the foul line."
Actually, it was a hard grounder that went under his glove. He then tripped over the foul line. I was there.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:35 am
I recall an epic Bergmann at-bat in either 1984 or 1987. After fouling off a bunch of pitches, he hit a HR into the upper deck in right at Tiger Stadium. It may have even been against the hated Blue Jays. It left an impression on me as a teenager for some reason. Ah, memories...I'll have to look up the game.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:56 am
I looked up that May 2nd game because I assumed there had to be some kind of importance to it, but no, there isn't. He singled in the 2nd inning and later scored on a Duane Kuiper double. That's it, no other hits or anything else. So one of his two best highlights for the season was scoring a run in the 2nd inning of an early season game against a non-division team.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Since when is a Duane Kuiper double NOT considered a feat of "some kind of importance"?
I love 1970's/1980's baseball.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
That's a great photo on the card.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Wait. Duane Kuiper hit a double? That's the time to stop the presses.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
RE: Longest career without qualifying for league titles. If you use dates of first and last MLB games Bergman sort of cheated by playing in 1975 but not appearing in the majors in 1976. I might prefer years or games or PA's.
I nominate Raphael Belliard. Is there some way to use PI for this? e.g. generate list a list of all non-
pitchers who played 18+ seasons without qualifying?
August 4th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
I love the 1983 Topps Reggie Smith card: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D84Z7vc38Aw/S1xpNp4ot0I/AAAAAAAAEQE/mm4JsY4tF8c/s320/83topps282.jpg
Know who that is going back to first base? Hint: 1982 was his rookie season, and he's a HOFer.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Rhyno!
His rookie card is one of the cornerstones of this set - along with Gwynn and Boggs. And Dave Bergman of course.
If you want to see nice photos from this set...check out the HR trot on Lee Mazilli...like he does it every day.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Re: 3, by Detroit Michael
No, it wasn't an Elias essay that id'd the Tigers decline in 1985 as being the bench, it was a Bill James article in the 1986 Abstract.
"You could look it up."
August 4th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Sorry, I forgot to attach the mazzilli card...
http://www.checkoutmycards.com/Cards/Baseball/1983/Topps/685/Lee_Mazzilli
August 4th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
You wonder what the process was for the person who wrote that highlight. Today you would go to BBRef, find the game with most HRs or RBIs or SBs whatever. But back then, the writer probably didn't have a game-by-game recap to work from (actually, it's pretty clear that he didn't, or he would have found something more interesting), so how did he come up with that May 2 game?
Writer: "We're looking for one or two good highlights from last season...anything come to mind?"
Bergman: "I remember cracking a pretty good single in early May -- I may even have scored a run."
Writer: "That's great stuff! Keep 'em coming!"
That's a good future topic for Andy: Lamest playing card highlights.
August 4th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Jeff,
It's funny you mention an epic Dave Bergman at-bat, my 1986 "Complete Handbook of Baseball" book sheds some light on this. Under Sparky Anderson's bio it says, "Known for his outrageous and exaggerated opinions...Once called an at-bat by Dave Bergman against the Blue Jays in May 1984 'the greatest at-bat in the history of baseball'." So now we know, Dave Bergman had the single greatest at-bat ever.
August 4th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
#9: I recall an epic Bergman at-bat in either 1984 or 1987. After fouling off a bunch of pitches, he hit a HR into the upper deck in right at Tiger Stadium. It may have even been against the hated Blue Jays.
#20: So now we know, Dave Bergman had the single greatest at-bat ever.
One stone, two birds (both Blue Jays) killed. From the Wikipedia article on Dave Bergman:
"On June 4, 1984, Bergman came to bat in the 11th inning with two men on base and two outs in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Bergman fouled off seven pitches, and on a full count hit the 13th pitch of the at bat into the upper deck at Tiger Stadium for a walk-off, three-run home run. In his book Bless You Boys, Detroit manager Sparky Anderson wrote, 'Tonight I saw the greatest at bat in my life...Bergie fouled off seven pitches and then picked one practically off the ground and drilled it into the upper deck in right. What a battle! Bergie was up there a full seven minutes.'"
The Toronto pitcher was Roy Lee Jackson, and it was actually the 10th inning. Still a helluva way to end a ballgame.
In 1984, Detroit's pinch hitters put up an .866 OPS and a 166 sOPS+. Is there any way to check whether either of these numbers is among the highest of all time?
August 4th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Those slugging first basemen.
August 4th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
#7, Val Picinich played 25 July 1916 to 28 August 1933 with a high of 358 PA in a season. Bergman was 26 August 1975 to 4 October 1992, beats Picinich by less than a week out of 17 years. Jamie Quirk, 4 September 1975 to 4 October 1992, just a few days shorter than Picinich. But the champion might be Buck Martinez; 18 June 1969 to 3 October 1986, peaking at 295 PA.
If you allow pitchers (never qualifying for ERA title), then it must be Paul Schreiber, at 23 years, 6 days, and no more than 15 IP in a season
August 5th, 2010 at 12:12 am
@6 and 14, re: longest career without qualifying.
Use PI to find non-pitchers with most seasons below 502 PA. Rick Dempsey comes up on top with 24 (every season he played, from 1969 to 1992). You have to check strike years and anytime a player was close to 502 you have to check to see if the team didn't play all 162 games. The closest Dempsey got to qualifying was 1978, 498 PA (the team had 161 games, so he needed 499 to qualify!).
I guess it makes sense that a catcher would lead the way on this stat.
August 5th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Oops, make that @7 and 14.
August 5th, 2010 at 9:53 am
No particular examples but I recall lots of late sixties cards with cartoons of players doing some activity and a caption like "Dave derives pleasure from playing billiards."
August 6th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Bergman went to Detroit didn't he have a rockin' huge stache?
August 10th, 2010 at 11:35 am
that's another hof in the background of mazilli's card. robin yount.
http://garveyceyrusselllopes.blogspot.com/2010/07/whos-that-lurker.html