Airbrushed Fridays: 1989 Topps #74

1989 Topps is the bloated beast in my collection that will never go away. I'm pretty sure that if I leave any space at all in the box that houses these cards, they will multiply until they fill up all of the remaining space. There is never any free space in that box, I swear. Does... anyone want any 1989 Topps cards? Please?

Nick Leyva was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies during a brief period in the late '80s to early '90s. He took over the team for the 1989 season, but was rather unsuccessful and was fired early on in the 1991 season (replaced by Jim Fregosi.) Leyva was a coach for the 1985 and 1987 pennant winning Cardinal teams, both of which suffered frustrating losses in the World Series.

Why did Topps airbrush Nick's photo? He first came to the organization for the 1989 season, so natually they did not have a current photo to choose from.

What's wrong with this picture, anyway? It's pretty bad. I imagine this was originally a Cardinals photo, so it doesn't seem like it would have been too much of a stretch to make it Philliefied. The cap and picture in general is more reminiscent of something you'd see from the late '70s than late '80s, though.

(If you are interested in obtaining a card featured here, please send me an e-mail. If you have a card you would like to nominate for Airbrushed Fridays, please get in touch as well. I will require that I am able to see the card in person, either on loan or as a donation, so that I can examine the card and experience it in all its cruddiness.)