Carney Lansford 1992 Upper Deck

On March 14, 2017 I received these cards from the Baseball Card Bandit (BCB):

On Facebook, I wrote: I'm a few days late on this but the BCB struck again on Saturday. The reason why I was late is because I went on a brewery/distillery tour that day and I just now remembered taking this picture that night. 

This is a card of Carney Lansford who was one of the more underrated cogs in those late 80s Oakland sorta dynasty. Lansford was, in baseball terms, a "professional hitter", meaning he got a lot of hits. Baseball people are wordsmiths. 

He was not to be blamed for the A's disappointing postseason as he batted over 300 in eight series, including three World Series. Though a lot of that is due to a 1989 post season where he was on fire. The funny thing about Carney is that after 1987, his power fell precipitously. A threat to reach double figures in dingers ever year, he hit 19 total his last five years. 

He sorta reminded me of Bill Mueller but according to his Bball-ref page, his closest comp is Bill Madlock, which makes sense. All of these guys are professional hitters. 

Anyway, like those guys, Lansford led the league in batting average. And like Mueller he won his title as a member of the Red Sox. 

Three interesting things:

1. Was traded by the Sox for Tony Armas so that Wade Boggs could take over third. 
2. AFAIK, his parents are NOT circus folk so I'm not sure why they named him "Carney". 
3. The return address was BZN. I have no clue what that means -- and I'm fairly sober right now.

2019 Notes: There really isn't much more to say about Lansford other than he's one of those guys that you don't really think of too much any more. And if you're a Red Sox fans, you probably forgot that he was a member of the team. That's too bad because Lansford had a more than decent career. An All-Star, starting third baseman on a World Champion, a batting champion; that's a pretty nice resume for a guy to have. 

He's the type of player that many forget, but he shouldn't be. He may not be the best player at his position at his time, but he was in the conversation. These people should be saluted!