Reggie Walton – 1981 Fleer
September 21, 2010
Art 203 – Contemporary Art & Photography Criticism
MWF 9:00 – 9:50 – 3 credits.
Pretest:
What is the most egregious thing about this photo:
1. The light standard growing out of the player’s head.
2. The off-center subject.
3. The blurred print job.
4. The lack of relevant action even though taken in an historic place.
5. The Mariners logo and uniform.
6. The fact that someone on-line is selling this card for $2.95!
Alas, poor Reggie had a short big-league career. I believe that this is his only solo baseball card. (He was featured on a 3-way rookie card with Dave “Music From The” Edler and Dave “Not Rickey, Nor Steve” Henderson.)
The early Mariners had nothing to lose, but continually messed up personnel decisions. Now Walton had some flaws – he had modest power, little patience, and wasn’t that great in the field. But he could hit, and certainly had a higher upside than Dan Meyer, Juan Beniquez, Leon Roberts, Willie Horton, Joe Simpson, Richie Zisk, Jeff Burroughs, Tom Paciorek and Bruce Bochte. Even though some of those players had fine seasons in 1980 and 1981, Walton definitely could have gotten some ABs and maybe be part of an actual winning baseball team in Seattle. I mean, the Mariners would have been hard pressed to lose any more than they did in 1980 and 1981.
But I guess Leon Roberts and Jeff Burroughs put fannies in the seats, right?
