Head count: the 1980s -- but first, a tangent

 

I'm still working on the third of my series of Head Count posts, in which I show notable cards of hat-less players for each decade.

The '60s and '70s were easy. The '80s, not so much, there is a lot to weed through. But at least it's not the '90s. In fact, that can be the 1980s motto: "at least we're not the 1990s!" It applies in cards, and in so much more.

So, anyway, the '80s Head Count post is coming up. It'll be next week. But before I get to that, I wanted to relay something I thought was interesting (operative word: I) while looking through those '80s cards.

There are several players who showed up repeatedly with their caps missing. This can only be an '80s phenomenon, or later decades, because with limited cards, you didn't get a ton of repeats in the "no hat" category. Maybe a player had three -- I can think of Billy Martin, for example. But it's nothing on the scale of the '80s.

Certain players were prone to the missing hat. Gary Carter is one. That's to be expected with the in-action catchers shots. Pete Rose is another. Moose Haas, weirdly, has a few.

George Brett is a big one, especially with all those All-Star cards. His hat-less cards continue into the 1990s. Good-looking guy, I guess they wanted his whole face showing? Maybe he wanted his whole face showing?

 

Pete Vuckovich -- mercy -- has just as many hat-less shots. In fact, like Brett, you can find him hat-less in a number of oddball sets, too. I guess this tells you, "they oughta put in me in pictures!" And, for, Vuckovich, they did.

But those guys aside, there is nothing like what was going on with the Orioles. I still don't know what was going on.

Maybe it all began with Jim Palmer's cap-less appearance in the 1980 Topps set. This was around the time of his underwear magazine ads. Palmer was a whole beautiful thing at the time.

 

Or maybe it was this shock to the system. Is that really the same guy in consecutive sets?

Or maybe it was Baltimore's commander. If the boss is willing to show up like that, the players must've thought it was good enough for them!

And so they did.

Big Tim Stoddard, hat-less (except for the '83 inset) on four cards between 1982 and 1983.

Dennis Martinez, without hat from 1981 to 1986.

Storm Davis and Todd Cruz getting into the act. Each of them has another hat-less card if you go back in time for Cruz (1981 Topps with the White Sox) and into the future with Davis (1989 with the A's).

What is going on? No other team is as close to the Orioles in hat-less shots during the 1980s. But we're not finished.

Orioles hurler (and future inmate) Sammy Stewart shows up on six cards without his hat while with the Orioles.

 

There's Scott McGregor with six more, including two alone in 1984 Fleer! Why would you want to hide hair like that?

 

There's another in 1983 Donruss, which I don't own.

There he is in 1989 Swell. Does McGregor even own a cap?

But maybe the king in this area -- perhaps the ring-leader -- is relief pitcher Tippy Martinez. There's eight of them without a cap in sight.

 

Nine.

Several other Orioles were known to get into the act here and there.

I'm quite sure if I were to count up all the hat-less card shots in 1980s products that the Orioles will hold an insurmountable lead and get an automatic bye into the Great Ballplayer Hair Tournament Of The Stars.

So, that's something that I always kind of knew but it took leafing through a bunch of cards for it to knock the hat off my head.

You may see some of these in the official "Head Count: the 1980s" post, but, believe me, there are plenty more and I'm still sticking with just showing a dozen, so there is going to be a lot of tough decisions ahead.

Imagine the outcry from the Orioles if one of them aren't in the final 12.