Oversized in My Collection: 1986 Donruss All-Stars (Part 4 of 6)

For each of the past three Saturdays, we have been going over the 1985 All-Star Game in minute detail, showing ten cards at a time from the 1986 Donruss All-Star set.  There are still 30 cards left, then, and this week we show numbers 31-40; this will finish off the cards of the National League reserves, and start with the American League bench.

Previously in this series:

1. 1986 Donruss All-Stars Part 1 (1-10).
2. 1986 Donruss All-Stars Part 2 (11-20).
3. 1986 Donruss All-Stars Part 3 (21-30). 

#31.  Goose Gossage.

Goose Gossage pitched the bottom of the ninth for the NL, replacing Jeff Reardon as pitcher, and replacing Glenn Wilson of the Phillies at 7th in the batting order.  Gossage didn't get an at-bat though, of course, as he finished the game pitching.   In the ninth he got a groundout by Alan Trammell, walked Wade Boggs, and then struck out two other Red Sox, Jim Rice and Rich Gedman.  It wasn't a save situation, as the NL lead was too big (recall that the NL won the game 6-1).

I've featured cards of Gossage a couple of other times, such as on the 1985 Donruss All-Stars and on the 1981 Topps Supers, and in both of those he appears on the card as Rich Gossage.  It's nice to have some cards identifying him as Goose.

#32.  Ryne Sandberg.

Next up in the set is card #32, Ryne Sandberg.  Personally, I always think of Sandberg as "the one that got away" from the Phillies, as after making his debut with the Phils in 1981, he and Larry Bowa were traded to the Cubs for Ivan de Jesus.  That's got to be one of the worst trades in MLB history.

In the 1985 All-Star Game, Sandberg went 0-1 in two plate appearances, scoring a run.  Dave Stieb struck him out in the 6th inning, and he was then walked by Dan Petry in the ninth.  He then advanced to third base when Petry walked both Tim Raines and Jack Clark, and scored when Willie McGee hit a ground-rule double.

#33.  Jeff Reardon.

Jeff Reardon pitched the eighth for the NL, and appeared 7th in the batting order, although he didn't get an at-bat.  He gave up a leadoff single to Damaso Garcia, got Phil Bradley to hit into a double play, and got a groundout from Tom Brunansky.  Again, the NL dominated this game, and Reardon was one of several NL pitchers to be shutting down the AL offense all night.

I can never remember which relievers are in the Hall of Fame and which aren't, since the selections have seemed completely arbitrary to me.  Looking it up, I see Reardon isn't in the Hall, but Bruce Sutter is.  Seems to me like they had extremely similar careers, but whatever.

#34.  Pete Rose.

I mainly don't post cards of Pete Rose.  I certainly am not buying any new cards of Pete Rose.  But since I'm posting the whole set, I'll put this here.  Rose pinch hit for Fernando Valenzuela in the 8th inning and faced Donnie Moore.  He grounded out.

#35.  Scott Garrelts.

Pitcher Scott Garrelts did not appear in the game.  In 1984 Garrelts pitched in 21 games with the Giants, going 2-3 with 0 saves and a 5.65 ERA.  His 1985 was much better, pitching in 74 games, going 9-6 with 13 saves and a 2.30 ERA.  His team, the San Francisco Giants, were absolutely terrible that year, with a record of 62-100.  Somebody had to represent them on the All-Star team.  Garrelts spent his whole career with the Giants, and later became a starter, winning the 1989 ERA title as the Giants went on to win the pennant.

#36.  Willie McGee.

The Cardinals had some great years and some great talent in the 80s, and Willie McGee was certainly part of that.  In 1985, McGee was on his way to the NL MVP award, as well as a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger, and the batting title (with a .353 average).  He led the NL with 216 hits and 18 triples, and placed third in the NL in stolen bases with 56 (behind teammate Vince Coleman's awesome 110, and Tim Raines' 70 steals).  He would go on to win another batting title in 1990.

In the game, McGee went 1-for-2 with 2 RBI.  He grounded out in the 7th off Donnie Moore, and hit a ground rule double in the 9th off Guillermo Hernandez, scoring Ryne Sandberg and Tim Raines.

#37.  Ron Darling.

Ron Darling also didn't appear in the game.  He had a good 1985, going 16-6 with a 2.90 ERA, although he did lead the league in walks issued with 114.  He was part of the core pitching staff of the 1986 championship Mets, who dominated the NL and then squeaked by the Red Sox in the World Series.  I didn't really remember what happened to him after the Mets, but he pitched with Montreal and Oakland, including pitching for all three in 1991.  I would say his last best year was 1988, when he went 17-9 with a 3.25 ERA.  He finished with a career record of 136-116 with a 3.87 ERA and 1590 strikeouts.

#38.  Dick Williams.

Finally, we have manager Dick Williams of the Padres.  Like relievers, I frequently can't remember which managers are in the Hall of Fame, but it turns out that Williams was selected for the Hall in 2008.  This surely mainly reflects his two World Series wins as manager as part of the A's dynasty in the early 70s, but also reflects his other pennants (with the Red Sox in 1967 and the Padres in 1984).  My first memory of Williams is from the end of his MLB managerial career, appearing in the 1987 Topps set as manager of the Mariners.  I also have some cards of him after that as manager in the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

#39.  Paul Molitor.

That's it for the NL team in the set, and we've also already covered the AL starters (they were cards #10-18).  So now we move on to the AL bench.  First up, then, is Paul Molitor as card #39.  Molitor replaced Rickey Henderson in the first spot in the batting order, and replaced George Brett at third base, at the start of the 7th inning.  Later, at the start of the 9th inning, Molitor moved from 3rd base to center field, replacing Phil Bradley in center, and making room for Wade Boggs at third.  Molitor struck out in his only plate appearance, facing Fernando Valenzuela.

Molitor would eventually be a 7-time All-Star, but he started slowly; in his first ten years in the majors, 1978-1987, he was only an All-Star twice, in 1980 and here in 1985.  He picked up the pace later, making the All-Star team four years in a row closer to the end of his career, 1991-1994.

#40.  Damaso Garcia.

Damaso Garcia played in the majors from 1978 through 1986 for the Yankees and Blue Jays, and then again in 1988 for the Braves and 1989 for the Expos.  He was on the AL All-Star team in both 1984 and 1985, and won a Silver Slugger in 1982.  In the top of the 6th, Garcia replaced Lou Whitaker at second base.  He had a fly out off Nolan Ryan in the 6th, but hit a single off Jeff Reardon in the 8th.  He stole second but was out at third on a double play.

That's it for this week's installment of the 1986 Donruss All-Star set; two more weeks to go to finish the whole set!  Thanks for reading!