Lloyd McClendon had a successful 13-year playing career in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from 1975 to 1987. While he did not achieve superstar status, McClendon was a solid role player and contributor to multiple playoff teams. As a result of his lengthy MLB tenure, McClendon has been featured in numerous baseball cards over the years from his playing days up through today as a former manager. Let’s take a more in-depth look at some of the most notable Lloyd McClendon baseball cards that exist.
One of McClendon’s earliest baseball cards comes from his rookie season of 1975 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. That year, he appeared in the 1975 Topps set, released during his debut MLB campaign. McClendon’s rookie card features an action shot of him batting from the left side wearing his Pirates road uniform. The photo depicts him with an open stance and his left foot pointed towards the pitcher as he takes a big cut. The 1975 Topps rookie card is one of McClendon’s more sought after issues today given it commemorates his MLB starting point. Graded mint condition examples in PSA 10 or BGS/SGC 9.5 holder can fetch $100-200 based on recent eBay sales.
McClendon appeared regularly in Topps sets throughout the late 1970s as an everyday player for Pittsburgh. One of his more iconic baseball cards comes from 1977 Topps, which shows him fielding a ball during an infield drill while wearing the Pirates home pinstriped uniform. This issue is part of the classic design aesthetic associated with 1970s Topps cardboard. McClendon also had prominent cards in the 1979 and 1980 Topps sets from his All-Star seasons hitting .280 and slugging 17 home runs in ’79 while driving in 97 runs for the world champion ’79 Pirates the following year.
In the early 1980s, McClendon continued to appear in annual Topps issues after trades sent him to the Cleveland Indians in 1981 and Detroit Tigers in 1982. One of his sharper and more visually appealing cards is the 1981 Topps Traded issue, which features a close-up headshot portrait of McClendon in an Indians road jersey. His 1982 Traded Topps card as a Tiger standing in the on-deck circle with bat in hand is a clean simple design from that era. McClendon also saw releases in the Donruss and Fleer sets of the 1980s as competition grew against Topps’ monopoly of the baseball card market.
Following his playing retirement after the 1987 season, McClendon remained out of the baseball card spotlight for several years. Once he transitioned to coaching and managing in the 1990s, card companies began producing manager/coach issues of McClendon. One of the earliest is a 1996 Donruss Elite Extra Edition card showing him in a Mariners coaching uniform alongside future Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez. McClendon eventually got his first managerial card in 1998 Donruss Leaders as skipper of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He achieved his greatest managerial success guiding the Seattle Mariners to an AL West title in 1995 depicted on a memorable 1995 Upper Deck card.
Entering the modern era, McClendon has stayed relatively visible with inserts and parallels in high end sets befitting his status as a former All-Star and playoff contributor. Examples include coveted 2015 Topps Tribute Refractors and Memorabilia Cards with swatches of his Pirates and Mariners jerseys. Additionally, 2001 and 2003 Finest refractors from his time with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Pirates are always in demand. Overall, McClendon collectors can assemble a comprehensive collection tracing his entire baseball career across various card companies and sets from the 1970s to today’s more specialized insert-driven releases. While not one of the sport’s true superstars, McClendon made enough of an impact to achieve lasting recognition through decades of baseball cards.
In conclusion, Lloyd McClendon served baseball fans well for over a decade in the major leagues both as a player and coach/manager. As a result, the hobby of baseball card collecting has commemorated and memorialized his playing career and managerial accomplishments through extensive inclusion in annual sets from the 1970s to today’s moderninsertedrefractor laden products. Fans can find McClendon cards spanning his entire tenure both as a dependable reserve outfielder/first baseman and leader on the field in a variety of managerial roles. Whether it’s his 1975 Topps rookie, all-star issues from the late 70s, or 1995 Upper Deck managerial card, Lloyd McClendon remains represented within the expansive world of baseball cardboard long after his retirement.
