A hard-throwing pitcher finds success by playing chin music, but ultimately finds redemption through sobriety. And, what happens when the podcast you're listening to is also the podcast to be named later? Bar fights and recursion abound. NOW WITH TIGERS.

• Card on Beckett
• YouTube of The Pitch
• Dickie describes The Pitch
• Baseball HOF article on Dickie

Robbed of AL Rookie of the Year honors, this versatile infielder was also robbed of $5 million by poor negotiating. 

Ain't no sense in goin' home!  1988 Topps got your girl and gone.

Links:

• Card on Beckett
• What's up with his hat
• Johnny Taylor "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" YouTube and Spotify
• "Jody, wealth, and the working-man blues" 
• Dwayne Schintzius' mullet
• Jody Reed profile at Florida State University
• Jody and Morgan Magic

Take everything you thought you knew about knuckleballers and throw it right out the window. 

Links: 

• Record Breakers card on Beckett
• Joe's card on Beckett
• Joe in the classic Astros jersey
• MUST WATCH: The Ejection of Joe Niekro
• Joe on David Letterman: "Do I look like a doctor?"
• Phil Niekro on David Letterman
• The Defenestrations of Prague

A journeyman in the minors finally makes it to The Show, then ends up in an exclusive society: The Jamie Quirk Club.

Thanks for listening in 2020! We put a pretty big dent in the set of 792 cards. Requests and feedback welcomed on Twitter @Topps1988 or our Facebook Page, just search 1988 Topps. 

Links: 

• Card on Beckett
• About Paul on Greatest 21 Days and another excellent card!
• The Brawl with the Padres
• Article on SABR
• Coaching Tip of the Day by Paul Noce

One of the best pitchers of his generation battles fear, the bottle, and family tragedy on his way to the Hall of Fame. Cheese for the kitchen and a yakker for the kudo.  

Links: 

• Card on Beckett
• Peter Gammons, "One Eck of a guy"
• OMG that #look
• Eck talking on-air about his ex-wife and ex-friend
• Richard Marx "Take This Heart"
• For the stats-heads: check out Eck's 1988-1992 stats
• SABR: "The last 1000-100 man"
• Eck pitches to Gibson, 30 years later

Pop Quiz: 

1) Without looking it up, pronounce "IORG"

2) Name your Top 5 Garths.

Links:

• Card on Beckett
• What is up with this stance
• Pronunciation of "Iorg" comes from The New York Times so you know it's right
• Of Gareths and Garths
• Garth Brooks playing "Callin Baton Rouge" on the Ellen Show
• Garth Cale Iorg, Son of Garth
• "OK Blue Jays," an OK Canadian song
• "Tom Sawyer," an excellent one

How a poor kid from the Dominican Republic kept a knee on the ground and kept reaching for the stars. 

Links: 

• Tony Peña Card 410 on Beckett
• St. Louis Cardinals Team Leaders Card 351 on Beckett
• The Tony Peña Story by Joe Posnanski
• The Stance
• Tony wearing some nice glasses
• The life of Red Schoendienst

What do you get when you cross a flameout shortstop prospect with 1850's American Literature? Tune in and find out on the 1988 Topps Podcast! 

Links: 

• Card on Beckett  
• Dorktown
• Writeup of Rey on SABR
• Nintendo Power, no longer a magazine, but of course in 2020 is a podcast
• Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville
• Quotes by Henry David Thoreau on Goodreads

A beloved Phillies shortstop who couldn't hit, but he sure did shine. 

Links: 

• Card on Beckett
• Phillies fans LOVE Steve Jeltz
• 1988 Donruss Steve Jeltz (ft. Juan Samuel)
• Coming to America and Coming 2 America (IMDB)
• Steve Jeltz should be in the French Baseball Hall of Fame (Bleacher Report)
• Hidden Ball Trick in action
• Steve Jeltz Power Surge

The son of a trailblazer charts his own path to Ozzie greatness. 

Links:

• Card on Beckett
• Ozzie Sr. profile on ESPN
• Ozzie and Ozzie and Ozzie (Sr., Jr., and Smith) in the 1985 All-Star Game 
• Ozzie Jr. with a home run off of outfielder Paul O'Neill?