Mike Morgan, 1989 Upper Deck #653

There's something about the bright sunlight casting shadows on Mike Morgan's flushed face that makes me believe that this photo was taken on a sweltering summer day. Just when a mostly-mild June was lulling me into a sense of complacency, yesterday the miserable extreme heat and humidity struck Baltimore. Technically, summer has just begun, which means that the next few months will bring this torment as often as not. I leave the house at 6:30 in the morning, and it's already hazy and uncomfortable. By midday, the temperature pushes triple digits. I walk outside, and the moisture in the air pushes back at me. Once I get home, I shut the door behind me and don't go back out unless it's absolutely necessary.

I'm incredibly grateful that I'll be getting out of town in about 36 hours to spend a week in Ocean City with my family. Breezes coming off of the water, no climbing into a stuffy car that's been baking in the sun, and cold beer and swimsuits instead of coffee and a dress shirt and tie. Just in the nick of time.

Mike Morgan, 1988 Topps Traded #73T

When you think about baseball players going straight from the amateur draft to the big leagues, you might think of legendary names like Dave Winfield, or inspirational stories like Jim Abbott. But one of the few players to make that jump was Mike Morgan, who was selected by the Athletics out of Valley High School in Las Vegas with the fourth overall pick in the 1978 draft. Coincidentally, the first of his 597 major league appearances came against the Orioles, for whom he would pitch in 1988. It was an uneven appearance on June 11, 1978, as he pitched a complete game but took the loss. He allowed ten hits and five walks, did not strike out a single batter, yet gave up only three runs (two earned) in a 3-0 game. Ken Singleton drove in a pair of runs, and Lee May hit a solo homer. Scott McGregor got the shutout win on six hits, striking out six. It was the tenth straight win for the O's, as they attempted to charge back into the American League East pennant race after a slow start. Morgan didn't gain a lasting foothold in the majors until 1986, but he proved to have staying power, winning 141 games (against 186 losses) with a 4.23 ERA in parts of 22 seasons.

Mike Morgan, 1989 Donruss #164

Mike Morgan is the journeyman's journeyman. He set the major league record by suiting up for a cool dozen different teams in his 22-year career. His longest tenure was not quite three-and-a-half years, with the Cubs. Mike's resume looks like this:

Athletics (1978-1979, made his debut at age eighteen)

Yankees (1982)

Blue Jays (1983)

Mariners (1985-1987)

Orioles (1988)

Dodgers (1989-1991)

Cubs (1992-June 1995)

Cardinals (June 1995-August 1996)

Reds (September 1996-1997)

Twins (April-August 1998)

Cubs again (August-October 1998)

Rangers (1999)

Diamondbacks (2000-2002)

That's right; his last team didn't come into existence until 20 years after his career began. Mike was traded six times in his career in deals involving a total of eleven other players, including Fred McGriff, who would go on to hit 493 home runs in his career. He was also once traded along with Todd Zeile, another former Oriole who played on eleven teams himself.

These trivia bits are entertaining enough, but I had another reason for choosing Mike Morgan as today's card. You see, one of the most rewarding aspects of blogging and reading other card blogs has been trading. I've made trades with the guys behind White Sox Cards, Thorzul Will Rule, and Cardboard Junkie, and also received neat giveaways from the masterminds of Indians Baseball Cards. Always. and The Fleer Sticker Project. So as my first full year of card collecting since the mid-90's begins, I'm looking to make more trades.

You may have noticed the sidebar link to my other blog, The Great 1965 Topps Project. The short story is that I'm trying to complete as much of the 1965 Topps baseball set as I can through trades. I've posted lists of all of my duplicate cards that are available to trade. I've made a little bit of progress, but at the same time I want to use that site as a hub for trades of a larger variety. So if you don't have any 1965 Topps for trade, you can check out the top of the left sidebar to see what else I need and make me an offer! Right now I've got a few needs lists up, since I'm determined to finally complete my Topps base sets from 1986-1989 and 1993. I'll update it as time permits with other sets I need to complete. I also plan to put up lists for Orioles team sets, to make sure that this blog doesn't ever run out of subjects. (Don't panic, though: at present, I've got enough O's cards to last me a couple of years at least!)