Orioles Card "O" the Day

An intersection of two of my passions: baseball cards and the Baltimore Orioles. Updated daily?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Mike Hart, 1988 Topps #69

Tonight's entry is all about questions. First: who the devil is Mike Hart? This vaguely sweaty mustache-sportin' guy was a 13th round draft pick of the Mariners in 1979 out of the University of Wisconsin. He had a sleepy but competent minor league career, even putting up a few on base percentages in the low .400s. He finally debuted with the Twins in 1984, getting a 13-game cup of coffee at age 26 and collecting 5 singles in 29 at-bats (.172 AVG). The Orioles traded for him in 1986 and he spent the lion's share of his two years in the organization at AAA Rochester. But with a creaky major league roster showing its age in 1987, Mike got the call in mid-August and started 24 games in center field. His batting average was even worse the second time around (.158), but he did show a minimum of power; half of his 12 hits went for extra bases. On August 31, his fifth-inning home run off of Mike Morgan gave the O's a 2-1 lead in a game they won 4-3 over Seattle. Anyhow, Baltimore released Hart in October and that was it for his career. According to Baseball Reference's Bullpen Wiki, he's coached in high school and college back in Wisconsin in the years since. There's your Mike Hart tutorial.

Now I hope you can answer a few questions for me. I was one of those slackers who waited until the 11th hour to order the cards that I wanted shipped from Topps as part of their 2010 Million Card Giveaway. Specifically, I put in my order on February 28, one day before the cutoff. Two-plus weeks later, my cards ain't on my doorstep. I recall other bloggers reporting that they'd received their MCG cards in quick and painless fashion. So:

1) Did anyone else order cards from Topps in the last few days of the Million Card Giveaway?

b) If so, have you received your shipment yet?

No, I didn't pay for insurance or delivery confirmation, and I went with USPS. I requested shipping on 22 cards total, so I was trying to keep it as cheapo as possible. I'll probably contact customer service if nothing turns up in the next few days, but I figured I'd give them the benefit of the doubt in the event that like-minded procrastinators like me slammed them at the end of February and they're dealing with a backlog. So keep me posted - no pun intended.

4 comments:

GCA said...

I ordered just under 40 cards two days before the deadline and haven't seen them yet. I'm sure there's a backlog. My friend ordered his a day or two before that and they haven't shown yet either. I expect it to be several weeks.

Kevin said...

Thanks, GCA! This reminds me to respond to your email...

Jason C. said...

I also ordered my cards the day before the deadline and haven't recieved them yet. there seems to be a large backlog. Thoughts and Sox posed the same question a few days ago and the majority of responses from people who ordered their cards late were the same.

Unknown said...

HOLY SHIT he's my gym teacher! no lie. at greenfield middle school.