1978 Topps Baseball #231 - Wayne Nordhagen

• Wayne Nordhagen was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1968. Wayne spent a long time in the minors -- he didn't make it to the majors until 1976 when he was in his fifth organization and was 26 years old. The Yankees traded Nordhagen to the Atlanta Braves in 1973. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975. Wayne was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies in April 1976 and then was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Coggins in July 1976.
• Nordhagen finally made his major league debut on July 16, 1976. He batted .188 in 22 games for the White Sox.
• Wayne was in the majors to stay in 1977. He was a backup outfielder during his career, but he also saw some action behind the plate. Nordhagen batted .315 with 4 HR and 22 RBI in 52 games in 1977.
• Nordhagen had another good year as a bench player in 1978, batting .301 with 5 HR and 35 RBI in 68 games. He didn't play from mid July until early September.
• Wayne was a good bat off of the bench during his career. He batted .280 in 1979.
• Nordhagen got the most playing time of his career in 1980. He played in 123 games and batted .277 with 15 HR and 59 RBI.
• Wayne also got a lot of playing time in the strike-shortened 1981 season. In 65 games Nordhagen batted .308.
• The 1982 season was an odyssey for Wayne. On April 2 he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Aurelio Rodriguez. Wayne was then traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Davis on June 15. On the same day Nordhagen was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Bill Robinson. Wayne spent a week in a Pirate uniform and played in one game and then he was traded back to the Blue Jays for Davis. Nordhagen had a bad back that the Pirates didn't know about. Nordhagen went back to the Blue Jays and the Pirates got Davis. All together Wayne batted .275 in 73 games.
• After the 1982 season Nordhagen became a free agent and signed with the Chicago Cubs. He had a tough time in his final season, batting .143 in 21 games. Wayne was released by the Cubs on June 9.
• 1978 Stats: .301, 5 HR, 35 RBI in 68 games
• 1978 Highlights:
• April 7 - Had two hits and doubled in the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5.
• May 12 - Knocked in a run with a double in the third inning that put the White Sox up 4-0. The White Sox held on to win the rain-shortened game 4-3 over the Milwaukee Brewers.