1991 Topps #542 Rob Murphy

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

It may seem strange, but I really like action shots of left-handed pitchers.  I have no idea why.  It does not seem like that impressive of a thing, but a decent action shot of a southpaw really appeals to me.  This was one of the first ones I really remember.

Rob Murphy was a lefty reliever acquired by the Red Sox in the same trade that brought Nick Esasky from the Reds.  Murphy was a valuable member of the bullpen in 1989, finishing with a record of 5-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 105 innings.  He also saved nine games as a second closing option to Lee Smith.  Unfortunately, 1990 was a complete bust for Murphy.  His record was a terrible 0-6 and his ERA ballooned to 6.32 and his innings slipped to 57.  He did save seven games though.  A tired arm may have had something to do with it as his 1989 innings count was a career high.

After the 1990 season, Murphy was allowed to leave as a free agent to the Seattle Mariners. 

Random Awesome Photo: 1990 Upper Deck #461 Rob Murphy

This has always been a favorite photo of mine.  I got this card somewhat early in my collecting days.  I think I found it at Hobbytown, a local store with all manner of hobby products.  They had some boxes of common cards that one could sort through freely.  It was a big place for me to get cards early on because it was in the mall and my parents would let me spend about 15 minutes there looking through the boxes.  And since they were all commons, they were cheap.  

Anyway, this Rob Murphy card shows the lefty reliever doing something on a really primitive laptop.  My memory of computers from this time is fairly limited.  I was nine.  I remember the computers in the school lab but I do not think I ever saw a portable computer at the time.  So I have no idea what that thing is.

This is one of those cards that shows a player doing something outside of the baselines.  It is definitely an interesting shot.