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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

1983 NL Champions: Bo Diaz 1985 Topps #737

Today we continue our 1983 Wheeze Kids series by taking a look at the man behind the plate - Bo Diaz  


1985 Topps #737 Bo Diaz

Bo Diaz hit .236 during the Phillies 1983 season but he did have some big games including one on April 13 1983. The Phillies were down 3 runs to the Mets with 2 outs in the 9th inning. This is the moment Diaz picked to hit an Ultimate Grand Slam - A game ending slam down 3 runs. Another highlight for Diaz was catching Steve Carlton's 300th win on September 23rd.
 

During the '83 World Series, Diaz was one of the few offensive bright spots for the Phillies, He batted .333 collecting 5 hits in 15 ABs.

Notice at the top of this posting I did not say that "man behind the DISH" - This is because, sadly, Bo Diaz died at age 37 while installing a satellite dish in his native Venezuela.

1985 Topps


Catchers are great for baseball cards.  All the gear makes for photos that are more than just headshots, even when your show that guy just standing there.  Bo Diaz is shown here carrying his mask and looks to be removing his glove perhaps he is getting ready to talk to Lefty or signal the defense.

I like the photo, dislike the design. 1985 Topps falls into the Phillies purple card genre.  That is Topps designated oddball color for the team for a couple of sets in the 1980s (1985, 1988, 1989). Maybe it's the purple or perhaps it is the ubiquity of the three sets - regardless, I have never been a fan of anf them.

1983 NL Champions Series
Darren Daulton
Bo Diaz 
John Denny
Garry Maddox
Tony Perez

Steve Carlton Passes Walter Johnson

Sources
Baseball-ref.com
wikipedia.org



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