Baseball Talk


Baseball Talk was a set of 164 "talking" baseball cards that were released by Topps Baseball Card Company 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. The player retailed for $24.99 and was labeled for ages six and up. It required four AA alkaline batteries to operate. The cards featured most of the better known players in baseball in 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 NFL and NBA cards, but those plans, along with follow-up MLB editions, were canceled as the card players often broke or played with poor audio quality. 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. 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. 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.
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 recounting how his Japanese baseball glove manufacturer 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

Because the cards and players were on the market for a short period of time and that many of the players didn't work well, a complete set and a working player today are very rare and sell for a Beckett book value of $250–$300.

Checklist

The following is the numerical checklist for the only set of cards ever released for Baseball Talk.

Eight classic games

1. 1975 World Series, Game 6
2. 1986 World Series, Game 6
3. 1986 ALCS, Game 5
4. 1956 World Series, Game 5
5. 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

9. Reggie Jackson
10. Brooks Robinson
11. 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 Final season
36. Ralph Kiner
37. Steve Carlton
38. Roberto Clemente
39. Don Drysdale
40. Robin Roberts
41. Hank Aaron Rookie season

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, who had two 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 New York Mets had the most players with eight.
By Card Number
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, Houston Astros
51. Eric Davis, Cincinnati Reds
52. George Brett, Kansas City Royals
53. 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, St. Louis Cardinals
60. José Canseco, Oakland Athletics
61. Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers
62. Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres
63. Doc Gooden, New York Mets
64. Mark McGwire, Oakland Athletics
65. 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, Los Angeles Dodgers
72. Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies
73. Dave Righetti, New York Yankees
74. 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. 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, Houston Astros
100. Steve Sax, Los Angeles Dodgers
101. Rich Gossage, Chicago Cubs
102. 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, Toronto Blue Jays
109. 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, 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
130. 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, Los Angeles Dodgers
139. Tommy John, New York Yankees
140. Chris Sabo, Cincinnati Reds
141. Alvin Davis, Seattle Mariners
142. Frank White, Kansas City Royals
143. Harold Reynolds, Seattle Mariners
144. 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, Cleveland Indians
156. Sparky Anderson, Detroit Tigers
157. Kent Hrbek, Minnesota Twins
158. Frank Tanana, Detroit Tigers
159. Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants
160. Charlie Hough, Texas Rangers
161. Doug Jones, Cleveland Indians
162. Lou Whitaker, Detroit Tigers
163. Fred Lynn, Detroit Tigers
One Checklist card
164. Checklist