1991 Topps #792: Mike Greenwell

In this series, I will look at my first team set: 1991 Topps. This was the set I started my baseball card collection with.

Finally, I am at the end of this series.  Mike Greenwell was the fourth Red Sox card I received in a pack, and my fifth card overall.  He was also the first card of a very good player I got in my Red Sox collection (Dennis Lamp, Tom Bolton, Dana Kiecker, and Greg Harris came in before this card).  He was also my first position player.  

Greenwell was coming off of a bit of a disappointing season in 1991.  Greenwell had been an All Star in 1988 and 1989, but he was not chosen for the game in 1990.  He struggled early on in the season and it wasn't until heating up in the second half that he was able to get his stats back up to a more acceptable level.  He ended up hitting .297/.367/.434 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs.  He also stole just eight bases after hitting double digits the previous two seasons.  His numbers were certainly not bad, but after the previous two seasons of output, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Unfortunately, this was the real Mike Greenwell.  A batting average around .300, around 15 home runs, and around 75 RBIs.  When he was healthy, these were the numbers he would put up.  Greenwell was no longer an elite player, but merely a good player, an above-average regular that was seldom great.  There is nothing really wrong with that.