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Opening 25-year-old baseball cards with A's manager Bob Melvin

Many times when we begin to record an episode of 25-Year-Old Baseball Cards, the player or manager opening packs with me asks, “What if I don’t know anybody?” I tell them they will, becuase they always do, because baseball is like that. Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin asked me the same question. I gave him the same answer.

And then, wouldn’t you know it, he knew every single player in the pack he picked.

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Guess that’s how it is when you’ve been around baseball for 30 years like Melvin has — first as catcher in the big leagues from 1985-94, then as a coach and eventually a manager. Oakland is the third stop in his career. He’s also been with the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bob Melvin opening 1992 Topps. (Yahoo Sports)
Bob Melvin opening 1992 Topps. (Yahoo Sports)

The best part of this week’s episode is Melvin’s genuine happiness when we found Phil Garner, who is one of his best friends in the game.

If you’re just discovering our baseball-card-opening series, we bust open wax packs from 25 years ago with baseball people. It started with cards in my garage that my grandma kept unopened, hoping they’d be treasures in the future. They’re mostly worthless, so we open them up and look for nostalgia and great stories instead. If you dig this, please check out some of our previous episodes below:

Previously in 25-Year-Old Baseball Cards
MUST-SEE EPISODES: Bronson Arroyo | Eric Davis | Dusty Baker | Hank Azaria | Alex Rodriguez | Scott Boras | A.J. Ellis

MANAGERS/COACHES: Terry Francona | Joe Maddon | Bruce Bochy | Clint Hurdle | Buck Showalter | Brad Mills

CURRENT PLAYERS: Noah Syndergaard | Kyle Hendricks | Clayton Kershaw | Todd Coffey | John Axford | Dee Gordon

STARS FROM BACK IN THE DAY: Frank Thomas | Sandy Alomar Jr. | Delino DeShields | Cliff Floyd | Dan Plesac | Aaron Boone | Bobby Bonilla

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!