The 1987 Minnesota Twins Topps baseball card set is notable for capturing an exciting season where the Twins won the American League Western Division pennant. The Topps company had been producing thorough Major League Baseball card sets year after year to commemorate each season. For 1987, Topps included flagship cards for every player on the Twins’ 40-man roster at the time.
Some key players featured prominently in the set included starting pitchers Frank Viola and Bert Blyleven, who anchored the Twins’ rotation. Both had terrific seasons and played a large role in the team’s success. Viola won the Cy Young Award after going 20-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 1987. It was a career year for the lefty. Blyleven continued his strong late-career performance by going 17-9 with a 3.45 ERA and 162 strikeouts as the team’s ace. Their cards aptly depict their important roles on that championship contender squad.
Position player cards of note included catcher Tom Nieto, who batted .300 in a backup role but was an excellent defender and catcher for the staff. Third baseman Gary Gaetti had a breakout season, leading the league in extra-base hits and finishing sixth in MVP voting after posting a .278 average with 28 home runs and 105 RBI. His card shows him in the midst of a powerful swing that epitomized his production that year. Center fielder Kirby Puckett also had a signature campaign, batting .297 with 14 home runs and 88 RBI in helping lead the Twins offense.
Manager Tom Kelly’s card is also a standout as it captures the skipper in the midst of animated discussion with an umpire, representative of his feisty personality in guiding the Twins to deep playoff runs. Kelly would go on to be quite successful as the Twins’ manager throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Backup catcher Rick Lysander also received notoriety due to his unique batting stance card image, bent over at an extreme angle reminiscent of batting practice takes in the cage.
Rookies and prospects rated cards as well, such as pitcher Allan Anderson who made his major league debut in 1987 and went 6-8 with a 3.86 ERA in 21 games. Other youngsters like infielder Tim Teufel and pitcher Brad Havens received cards highlighting their potential despite having seen limited major league action up to that point. Even long reliever Ron Romanick, who did not make an appearance for the Twins in ’87, was given a card as he remained on the Twin Cities roster.
The standard team logos, team name fonts, and card color/design from that era are all well represented. The 1987 Topps set delivers traditional nostalgia while also signifying an optimistic time of contention for the Minnesota franchise. The backdrop images used for many players are from Met Stadium, the Twins’ home field through the 1981 season before moving to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Met Stadium had since been demolished but remained a source of familiarity and baseball history for Twin Cities fans.
Of course, the reverse side of each card contained statistics, career highlights, and fun facts about the players from the 1986 season and earlier points in their careers. Things like birthdates, handedness, and rookie season information were consistently listed. Pitcher cards contained full season-by-season loglines listing won-loss records, ERA and innings totals. Hitter cards focused more on season batting stats. This data tracking of player progression proved engaging for collectors to research and compare players year over year.
Although 1987 concluded with a disappointing American League Championship Series loss to the Detroit Tigers, that twins squad laid the groundwork for consistent contention throughout the late 80s and early 90s. Topps helpfully commemorated its key performers through this flagship 1987 set. While not quite making the timeless upper echelons of rookie cards for players like Puckett or Blyleven, they retain plenty of nostalgia and affordability for Twin Cities enthusiasts and baseball memorabilia appreciators. With sharp photography and representation of that competitive ’87 team, it stands as one of the more historically notable Topps releases for Minnesota baseball fans.
