View source for Baseball Talk

{{Short description|1989 set of baseball cards}}
{{refimprove|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox toy
| name = Baseball Talk
| image = Baseball talk logo.png 
| image_size = 200
| image_upright = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| othernames = 
| type = [[Trading card]]s
| inventor = 
| company = [[Topps]]
| country = [[United States]]
| from = 1989
| to = 1989
| materials = 
| features = [[Baseball]] players
| slogan = 
| website = 
}}
'''Baseball Talk''' was a set of 164 "talking" [[baseball card]]s that were released by [[Topps]] and the [[LJN]] Corporation during the spring of 1989. Each card featured a plastic disk affixed to the back of an oversized baseball card. When placed in the SportsTalk player the cards would play two to three minutes of recorded audio.<ref name=keyman>[https://keymancollectibles.com/baseballcards/miscellaneoussets/1989baseballtalkcards.htm 1989 Topps Baseball Talk Baseball Card Checklist] on Keyman Collectibles</ref> The player retailed for [[United States dollar|$]]24.99 and was labeled for ages six and up. It required four AA alkaline batteries to operate.<ref>Beckett Mar. 89</ref> 

The cards featured most of the better known players in baseball in [[1988 Major League Baseball season|1988]] and were sold in toy stores throughout the United States and Canada during [[1989 Major League Baseball season]]. LJN and Topps planned to debut talking [[National Football League|NFL]] and [[National Football League|NBA]] cards (it stated in print advertising "Coming Soon - NFL Football and NBA Basketball Talking Cards), but those plans, along with follow-up MLB editions, were canceled as the card players often broke or played with poor audio quality.<ref>Beckett Nov. 89</ref> Stores were flooded with returned boxes of Baseball Talk and by the fall of 1989 many of the cards and players could be found in discount bins at places like [[Toys R Us]] and [[Target Corporation|Target]]. At one point, packs of cards that had been priced at $4 a piece were selling for as low as 50 cents by stores that were eager to move a failed product.

== Cards ==
The SportsTalk player was sold with four cards (a checklist card that served as an introduction to the series, a [[Hank Aaron]] card, and the cards of 1988 stars [[Don Mattingly]] and [[Orel Hershiser]]). Additional cards were sold with four to a pack and were labeled in a manner that let the buyer know what cards were inside. [[Mel Allen]] narrated eight cards that featured highlights from historic games as well as 33 cards of former stars such as [[Babe Ruth]] and [[Duke Snider]]. Hall of Fame legends like [[Ted Williams]], [[Sandy Koufax]], [[Warren Spahn]], [[Willie Mays]], [[Joe DiMaggio]] and [[Bob Feller]] were omitted from the set as they did not agree to take part.<ref>Beckett Mar 89</ref>

[[Don Drysdale]] interviewed the players of the National League for their cards and [[Joe Torre]] did the same for the American League players. Many of the cards featured amusing or humorous anecdotes, such as [[Mike Flanagan (baseball)|Mike Flanagan]] recounting how his Japanese baseball glove manufacturer ([[Mizuno Corporation|Mizuno]]) spelled his name "Mike Franagan" and that the company's executives told him, "Mr. Franagan, we're very grad you use our grub."

=== Rare collectibles ===
Due to the cards and players being on the market for a short period of time and that many of the players did not work well, a complete set and a working player sells for a Beckett book value of $250 to $300 (Beckett 2008 Almanac).

== Checklist ==
The following is the numerical checklist for the only set of cards ever released for Baseball Talk.<ref name=keyman/>

===Eight classic games===
* 1. [[1975 World Series]], Game 6 <ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B10210BOS1975.htm Boston Red Sox 7, Cincinnati Reds 6] on Retrosheet database</ref>
* 2. [[1986 World Series]], Game 6 
* 3. [[1986 American League Championship Series|1986 ALCS]], Game 5  
* 4. [[1956 World Series]], Game 5  
* 5. [[1986 National League Championship Series|1986 NLCS]], Game 6 
* 6. [[1969 World Series]], Game 5 
* 7. [[1984 World Series]], Game 5 
* 8. [[1988 World Series]], Game 1  

===33 famous former players===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* 9. [[Reggie Jackson]]
* 10. [[Brooks Robinson]]
* 11. [[Billy Williams (left fielder)|Billy Williams]]
* 12. [[Bobby Thomson]]
* 13. [[Harmon Killebrew]]
* 14. [[Johnny Bench]]
* 15. [[Tom Seaver]]
* 16. [[Willie Stargell]]
* 17. [[Ernie Banks]]
* 18. [[Gaylord Perry]]
* 19. [[Bill Mazeroski]]
* 20. [[Babe Ruth]]
* 21. [[Lou Gehrig]]
* 22. [[Ty Cobb]]
* 23. [[Bob Gibson]]
* 24. [[Al Kaline]]
* 25. [[Rod Carew]]
* 26. [[Lou Brock]]
* 27. [[Stan Musial]]
* 28. [[Joe Morgan]]
* 29. [[Willie McCovey]]
* 30. [[Duke Snider]]
* 31. [[Whitey Ford]]
* 32. [[Eddie Mathews]]
* 33. [[Carl Yastrzemski]]
* 34. [[Pete Rose]]
* 35. [[Hank Aaron]] (b) Final season
* 36. [[Ralph Kiner]]
* 37. [[Steve Carlton]]
* 38. [[Roberto Clemente]]
* 39. [[Don Drysdale]]
* 40. [[Robin Roberts (baseball)|Robin Roberts]]
* 41. [[Hank Aaron]] (a) Rookie season
{{div col end}}

===122 Present Day Players and Managers in 1988===
==== By Team ====
Each team was represented by at least three players except for the [[1988 Baltimore Orioles season|1988 Baltimore Orioles]], who had two ([[Cal Ripken Jr.]] and [[Eddie Murray]].) It is possible that the late season trade of [[Fred Lynn]] from Baltimore to Detroit did not allow time to find a third Oriole. The [[1988 New York Mets season|New York Mets]] had the most players with eight.

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[1988 New York Mets season|New York Mets]] '''8''' ''(Hernandez, Carter, Gooden, Darling, Jefferies, Myers, McDowell, and Strawberry)''
*[[1988 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] '''7''' ''(Winfield, J. Clark, Guidry, John, Mattingly, Henderson, and Righetti)''
*[[1988 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]] '''7''' ''(Boggs, Clemens, Rice, Evans, L. Smith, Greenwell, and Hurst)''
*[[1988 St. Louis Cardinals season|St. Louis Cardinals]] '''7''' ''(O. Smith, Guerrero, McGee, Coleman, Worrell, Magrane, and Brunansky)''
*[[1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] '''7''' ''(Hershiser, Gibson, Marshall, Tudor, Sax, Lasorda, and Valenzuela)''
*[[1988 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland Athletics]] '''7''' ''(LaRussa, McGwire, Canseco, Welch, Eckersley, Parker, and Lansford)''
*[[1988 Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins]] '''6''' ''(Hrbek, Gaetti, Viola, Rearden, Blyleven, and Puckett)''
*[[1988 Cincinnati Reds season|Cincinnati Reds]] '''6''' ''(E. Davis, Daniels, Larkin, Sabo, D. Jackson, and Franco)''
*[[1988 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] '''6''' ''(Anderson, Trammel, Whitaker, Morris, Tanana, and Lynn)''
*[[1988 Toronto Blue Jays season|Toronto Blue Jays]] '''5''' ''(G. Bell, Fernandez, Key, Henke, and Flanagan)''
*[[1988 San Francisco Giants season|San Francisco Giants]] '''5''' ''(W. Clark, Mitchell, Reuschel, Craig, and Maldonado)''
*[[1988 Montreal Expos season|Montreal Expos]] '''4''' ''(Raines, Wallach, Galarraga, and Brooks)''
*[[1988 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs]] '''4''' ''(Sandberg, Dawson, Sutcliffe, and Gossage)''
*[[1988 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pittsburgh Pirates]] '''4''' ''(Bonds, Bonilla, Van Slyke, and LaValliere)''
*[[1988 Houston Astros season|Houston Astros]] '''4''' ''(Ryan, Scott, Bass, and G. Davis)''
*[[1988 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians]] '''4''' ''(Snyder, Carter, Butler, and D. Jones)''
*[[1988 Kansas City Royals season|Kansas City Royals]] '''4''' ''(Saberhagen, Brett, White, and Seitzer)''
*[[1988 California Angels season|California Angels]] '''4''' ''(M. Witt, Boone, C. Davis, and Joyner)''
*[[1988 Texas Rangers season|Texas Rangers]] '''3''' ''(McDowell, Incaviglia, and Hough)''
*[[1988 San Diego Padres season|San Diego Padres]] '''3''' ''(Gwynn, Santiago, and Kruk)''
*[[1988 Philadelphia Phillies season|Philadelphia Phillies]] '''3''' ''(Schmidt, Bedrosian, and Samuel)''
*[[1988 Atlanta Braves season|Atlanta Braves]] '''3''' ''(Murphy, Perry, and Sutter)''
*[[1988 Milwaukee Brewers season|Milwaukee Brewers]] '''3''' ''(Molitor, Plesac, and Yount)''
*[[1988 Seattle Mariners season|Seattle Mariners]] '''3''' ''(A. Davis, H. Reynolds, and Langston)''
*[[1988 Chicago White Sox season|Chicago White Sox]] '''3''' ''(Guillen, Fisk, and Baines)''
*[[1988 Baltimore Orioles season|Baltimore Orioles]] '''2''' ''(Ripken and Murray)''
{{div col end}}

==== By Card Number ====
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* 42. [[Dave Winfield]], New York Yankees
* 43. [[Alan Trammell]], Detroit Tigers
* 44. [[Darryl Strawberry]], New York Mets
* 45. [[Ozzie Smith]], St. Louis Cardinals
* 46. [[Kirby Puckett]], Minnesota Twins
* 47. [[Will Clark]], San Francisco Giants
* 48. [[Keith Hernandez]], New York Mets
* 49. [[Wally Joyner]], California Angels
* 50. [[Mike Scott (baseball)|Mike Scott]], Houston Astros
* 51. [[Eric Davis (baseball)|Eric Davis]], Cincinnati Reds
* 52. [[George Brett (baseball)|George Brett]], Kansas City Royals
* 53. [[George Bell (outfielder)|George Bell]], Toronto Blue Jays
* 54. [[Tommy Lasorda]], Los Angeles Dodgers
* 55. [[Rickey Henderson]], New York Yankees
* 56. [[Robin Yount]], Milwaukee Brewers
* 57. [[Wade Boggs]], Boston Red Sox
* 58. [[Roger Clemens]], Boston Red Sox
* 59. [[Vince Coleman (baseball)|Vince Coleman]], St. Louis Cardinals
* 60. [[José Canseco]], Oakland Athletics
* 61. [[Fernando Valenzuela]], Los Angeles Dodgers
* 62. [[Tony Gwynn]], San Diego Padres
* 63. [[Dwight Gooden|Doc Gooden]], New York Mets
* 64. [[Mark McGwire]], Oakland Athletics
* 65. [[Jack Clark (baseball)|Jack Clark]], New York Yankees
* 66. [[Dale Murphy]], Atlanta Braves
* 67. [[Kirk Gibson]], Los Angeles Dodgers
* 68. [[Jack Morris]], Detroit Tigers
* 69. [[Ryne Sandberg]], Chicago Cubs
* 70. [[Nolan Ryan]], Houston Astros
* 71. [[John Tudor (baseball)|John Tudor]], Los Angeles Dodgers
* 72. [[Mike Schmidt]], Philadelphia Phillies
* 73. [[Dave Righetti]], New York Yankees
* 74. [[Pedro Guerrero (baseball, born 1956)|Pedro Guerrero]], St. Louis Cardinals
* 75. [[Rick Sutcliffe]], Chicago Cubs
* 76. [[Gary Carter]], New York Mets
* 77. [[Cal Ripken]], Baltimore Orioles
* 78. [[Andre Dawson]], Chicago Cubs
* 79. [[Andy Van Slyke]], Pittsburgh Pirates
* 80. [[Tim Raines|Roc Raines]], Montreal Expos
* 81. [[Frank Viola]], Minnesota Twins
* 82. [[Don Mattingly]], New York Yankees
* 83. [[Rick Reuschel]], San Francisco Giants
* 84. [[Willie McGee]], St. Louis Cardinals
* 85. [[Mark Langston]], Seattle Mariners
* 86. [[Ron Darling]], New York Mets
* 87. [[Gregg Jefferies]], New York Mets
* 88. [[Harold Baines]], Chicago White Sox
* 89. [[Eddie Murray]], Baltimore Orioles
* 90. [[Barry Larkin]], Cincinnati Reds
* 91. [[Gary Gaetti]], Minnesota Twins
* 92. [[Bret Saberhagen]], Kansas City Royals
* 93. [[Roger McDowell]], New York Mets
* 94. [[Joe Magrane]], St. Louis Cardinals
* 95. [[Juan Samuel]], Philadelphia Phillies
* 96. [[Bert Blyleven]], Minnesota Twins
* 97. [[Kal Daniels]], Cincinnati Reds
* 98. [[Kevin Bass]], Houston Astros
* 99. [[Glenn Davis (baseball)|Glenn Davis]], Houston Astros
* 100. [[Steve Sax]], Los Angeles Dodgers
* 101. [[Rich Gossage]], Chicago Cubs
* 102. [[Roger Craig (baseball)|Roger Craig]], San Francisco Giants
* 103. [[Carney Lansford]], Oakland Athletics
* 104. [[Joe Carter]], Cleveland Indians
* 105. [[Bruce Sutter]], Atlanta Braves
* 106. [[Barry Bonds]], Pittsburgh Pirates
* 107. [[Danny Jackson]], Cincinnati Reds
* 108. [[Mike Flanagan (baseball)|Mike Flanagan]], Toronto Blue Jays
* 109. [[Dwight Evans (Baseball)|Dwight Evans]], Boston Red Sox
* 110. [[Ron Guidry]], New York Yankees
* 111. [[Bruce Hurst]], Boston Red Sox
* 112. [[Jim Rice]], Boston Red Sox
* 113. [[Oddibe McDowell]], Texas Rangers
* 114. [[Bobby Bonilla]], Pittsburgh Pirates
* 115. [[Bob Welch (baseball)|Bob Welch]], Oakland Athletics
* 116. [[Dave Parker]], Oakland Athletics
* 117. [[Tim Wallach]], Montreal Expos
* 118. [[Tom Henke]], Toronto Blue Jays
* 119. [[Mike Greenwell]], Boston Red Sox
* 120. [[Kevin Seitzer]], Kansas City Royals
* 121. [[Randy Myers]], New York Mets
* 122. [[Andrés Galarraga]], Montreal Expos
* 123. [[Orel Hershiser]], Los Angeles Dodgers
* 124. [[Cory Snyder]], Cleveland Indians
* 125. [[Mike Witt]], California Angels
* 126. [[Mike LaValliere]], Pittsburgh Pirates
* 127. [[Pete Incaviglia]], Texas Rangers
* 128. [[Dennis Eckersley]], Oakland Athletics
* 129. [[Jimmy Key]], Toronto Blue Jays
* v130. [[John Franco]], Cincinnati Reds
* 131. [[Dan Plesac]], Milwaukee Brewers
* 132. [[Tony LaRussa]], Oakland Athletics
* 133. [[Hubie Brooks]], Montreal Expos
* 134. [[Chili Davis]], California Angels
* 135. [[Bob Boone]], California Angels
* 136. [[Jeff Reardon]], Minnesota Twins
* 137. [[Candy Maldonado]], San Francisco Giants
* 138. [[Mike Marshall (outfielder)|Mike Marshall]], Los Angeles Dodgers
* 139. [[Tommy John]], New York Yankees
* 140. [[Chris Sabo]], Cincinnati Reds
* 141. [[Alvin Davis]], Seattle Mariners
* 142. [[Frank White (baseball)|Frank White]], Kansas City Royals
* 143. [[Harold Reynolds]], Seattle Mariners
* 144. [[Lee Smith (baseball)|Lee Smith]], Boston Red Sox
* 145. [[John Kruk]], San Diego Padres
* 146. [[Tony Fernández]], Toronto Blue Jays
* 147. [[Steve Bedrosian]], Philadelphia Phillies
* 148. [[Benito Santiago]], San Diego Padres
* 149. [[Ozzie Guillén]], Chicago White Sox
* 150. [[Gerald Perry]], Atlanta Braves
* 151. [[Carlton Fisk]], Chicago White Sox
* 152. [[Tom Brunansky]], St. Louis Cardinals
* 153. [[Paul Molitor]], Milwaukee Brewers
* 154. [[Todd Worrell]], St. Louis Cardinals
* 155. [[Brett Butler (baseball)|Brett Butler]], Cleveland Indians
* 156. [[Sparky Anderson]], Detroit Tigers
* 157. [[Kent Hrbek]], Minnesota Twins
* 158. [[Frank Tanana]], Detroit Tigers
* 159. [[Kevin Mitchell (baseball)|Kevin Mitchell]], San Francisco Giants
* 160. [[Charlie Hough]], Texas Rangers
* 161. [[Doug Jones (baseball)|Doug Jones]], Cleveland Indians
* 162. [[Lou Whitaker]], Detroit Tigers
* 163. [[Fred Lynn]], Detroit Tigers
{{div col end}}

==== One Checklist card ====
164. Checklist

==See also==
* [[Cardboard record]]
* [[Flexi disc]]

==Sources and photographs==
*[http://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/bbtalk5.html Photos and description of player and cards]

"Topps to debut Baseball Talk" ''Beckett Baseball Card Monthly'', March 1989. No by-line.

"Baseball Talk Strikes Out - Sales Too Low to Continue Says LJN" by Steve Fleener. ''Beckett Baseball Card Monthly'', November 1989.

''Street & Smith 1989 Baseball Guide'' pages 104 and 105.

==References==
{{Reflist}} 

{{Topps Sports Card Products By Year}}
{{Sports cards}}

[[Category:Baseball cards]]
[[Category:Baseball culture|Card, baseball]]
[[Category:Trading cards]]
[[Category:Toy brands]]
[[Category:1988 Major League Baseball season]]
[[Category:1989 Major League Baseball season]]