Rest In Peace Mike Campbell

It's funny, when the 1988 Topps baseball cards came out and featured the second year of the "Future Stars" cards, I got all excited when I pulled one. And that would include Mike Campbell, who passed away in 2025.

Campbell really didn't have success at the major league level despite playing for parts of six seasons in the big leagues. His ERA was below 5.00 only twice in those six years, and that was before the offensive explosion of the late 1990s.

I loved the Future Stars design of 1988 Topps even though it was probably the worst year of Topps cards pre-glossy era. Obviously Topps was incorrect in their prediction, but that's okay. Good or bad, when a player spends parts of six years in the major leagues, he had to have shown teams he had potential. But as we know, not every player lives up to his potential.

One thing I learned about Campbell was he was part of the unfortunate Mark Langston trade that included future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. He was sent with Langston to the Expos. I had completely forgotten about that.

Although he had a mediocre major league career, I will always remember his 1988 Topps baseball card. And for that reason, he will always be a Baseball Card Memory. Rest in Peace, Mike!