Airbrushed Fridays: 1984 Topps Traded #29T

Adventures in airbrushery.

Who is he? Ken Dayley was a lefty reliever whose 11 year career spanned most of the '80s, which afforded him some time to wear the powder blue uniforms that were fashionable at the time. Dayley pitched at a small Catholic school, the University of Portland (local ties!) before beginning his big league career in the Atlanta Braves rotation.

How did he get here? The Braves traded Ken to St. Louis, who had other plans for him: relief duties. Dayley spent the remainder of the 1984 season in the Cardinals farm system save for 5 innings, which makes his inclusion in the 1984 Topps Traded set all the more bizarre. Dayley would go on to be a key member of the Cardinals bullpen, proving himself as sort of a second closer, should Whitey Herzog decide that a lefty was better suited to finish up the game.

Repeat offender? No

Other versions of this card: None

Airbrushed Score: 6

Comments: Oh, they really tried! That lettering on the jersey and the birds on the bat must be really hard! '80s airbrushed cards can sometimes be hard to spot, but when they're bad they're really bad. This one probably could have been overlooked if it wasn't for the dastardly cap.