in what must be one of their worst all-time trades, the astros sent kenny lofton to the indians in december of 1991 for willie blair and eddie taubensee. here is his 1992 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:
now the o-pee-chee back:
and the topps back:
lofton had hit .203 in a 20-game trial with the astros in 1991, stealing 2 bases and getting caught once. he also struck out 19 times and had just one extra base hit. with the tribe in 1992, however, lofton hit .285 and led the league with 66 stolen bases (in 78 attempts). it was the first of 5 consecutive stolen base crowns for lofton. he also scored 96 runs and finished 2nd in the al rookie of the year balloting.

blair, meanwhile, spent one mediocre year in houston before he was left unprotected and was drafted in the expansion draft by the rockies. taubensee stayed in houston for two-plus years, and averaged around .230 as a platoon catcher with scott servais. granted, the astros also had luis gonzalez and steve finley in their outfield, but choosing eric anthony over lofton was a mistake.

voici à vous, 1992 kenny lofton!