1987 Topps, Dave Leiper

#441 Dave Leiper

Two summers ago, I flew out to the west coast to meet a buddy out there and watch some baseball. When we were traveling from Seattle to San Francisco, we stopped outside of Portland to take in a Hillsboro Hops game. Prior to going on the trip, I reached out Rod, from Padrographs, about meeting up in Hillsboro. He obliged and brought a care package with him to the game. In it was a large assortment of Padrographs. There were even a few non-Padre autographs and this is one of those.

I have no idea how Rod got this card. Dave did pitch for the Padres for a few seasons, so I can see Rod's interest in Dave's signature. My best guess is that he bought this card because it came with a signed Padres cards that he needed for his collection. But, that is just a guess.

Dave pitched in the Majors for eight seasons with the A's, Padres, Expos, and Phillies. He never started a Major League game and he never pitched more than 70 innings in a season. Over his career, Dave was 12-8 with 7 saves and a 3.98 ERA. His best season was with the Padres in 1988. That season, he pitched 54 innings and was 3-0 with a save and a 2.17 ERA.