83 From 82

83 from 82. That's a pretty simple math question right? Well, the answer would be (-1) that's because 83 things cannot be taken from 82 different things. Example: If you had 82 different baseball cards and you tried to take 83 of them away, you couldn't. You could take 82 from 82 and be left with nothing. But that extra card? Hmmm...

I can however take 83 from 82 a different way. That being 83 cards from 1982 which is what I discovered when sorting the mega-haul box. I've got 83 cards from 1982. Let's see if I can take 83 from 82 that way. I might even try to keep a running tally.

These two make up the only two 1982 Fleer cards in the box. Early Fleer cards may not be all that great in terms of design but I think they make up for some of that in terms of odd photography. Look at the background of the Rowland Office card. It's definitely Veterans Stadium but something is off about the picture. Why is it tilted?

Running tally: 83 - 2 = 81

Nine cards of the 1982 Donruss variety. More fun photography as well. We've got Greg Luzinski in the old White Sox softball uniforms, Jose Morales right under him posting at what appears to be Spring Training, and Burt Hooton preparing to heave a pitch towards home. Speaking of Luzinski and the Chicago uniform, there's also the appearance of some old-school powder blue road threads from the Rangers and Braves.

Also, someone clearly was not a fan of something on the back of the Luzinski card. Maybe they were trying to scratch out the Phillies stats? Not sure.

Running tally: 81 - 9 = 72

Now comes the bulk of the cards ... 1982 Topps. If my math is right, there should be eight scans of nine. Jeff Reardon headlines this first group. There's also a pretty cool Mariners team leader card. That reminds me, I probably should get back into reviewing some of the multi-player cards I have.

Running tally: 72 - 9 = 63

Ron Hassey and Jim Clancy on the next batch here. But the real star here is the Danny Ainge card. His last regular issue baseball cards came in the 1982 sets and he'd left MLB after the 1981 season so this card could be considered a "sunset" card. We all know what happened next. He debuted in the NBA in December of 1981 and played 14 seasons for Boston, Sacramento, and Phoenix. He also coached Phoenix for four seasons after he retired and led them to the playoffs 3 of those 4 seasons.

Running tally: 63 - 9 = 54

Lots of good stuff in this batch ... Dave Parker, Bruce Sutter, Danny Darwin, and Bill Buckner just to name a few. But look on the bottom left. I spy a Lee Smith rookie card. I wasn't expecting to find that in a pile of random 82 Topps cards.

Running tally: 54 - 9 = 45

Not much happening here unless Joe Lefebvre's garish Padres uniform counts.

Running tally: 45 - 9 = 36

Rick Sutcliffe and Alan Trammell highlight this nine. Denny Lewallyn looks confused and Wayne Garland could be a stand in for my friend's dad. Did anyone else remember Alan Trammell managing the Tigers from 2003-2005? I'd completely forgotten about that. 

Running tally: 36 - 9 = 27

A much better group here. I love seeing Twins cards from the late 70s/early 80s just because I'm completely unfamiliar with them during that time frame.  The Expos cards here are pretty cool too. My favorite though has to be Al Oliver at the bat rack.

Running tally: 27 - 9 = 18

We're getting to the home stretch now. Some pretty notable names with Doug Flynn, Oscar Gamble, Rick Monday, and Lou Whitaker here. Flynn is currently a studio analyst and fill-in radio announcer for the Reds. I probably should've paired Whitaker and Trammell together in the scans but oh well.

Running tally: 18 - 9 = 9

And our last group of nine includes two former major league managers. Jerry Narron managed the Rangers and Reds in the 2000s. His best season in Cincinnati came with the 2006 squad where they finished a surprising third in the NL Central. I'm kind of drawn to Jim Tracy cards since he's a local guy (Hamilton, Ohio). Tracy managed the Dodgers, Pirates, and Rockies during his run from 2001-2012. 2008 was the only year he didn't manage in the bigs during that time.

Running tally: 9 - 9 = 0

So there you have it. I've successfully shown how 83 can be taken from 82 without any negative numbers involved at all. Not bad for a guy who got a "C" in high school algebra.