Calgary hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1988, bringing British ski jumper Eddie the Eagle into the spotlight, along with the underdog Jamaican bobsled team, and the figure skating rivalry between American Brian Boitano and Canadian Brian Orser.
In the National Hockey League (NHL), Wayne Gretzky led the Edmonton Oilers to a sweep over the Boston Bruins for their fourth Stanly Cup championship.
Edmonton’s baseball scene saw the Trappers, the Triple-A affiliate of the California Angels, go 61-80 under manager Tom Kotchman in the Pacific Coast League (PCL), causing the team to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year.
Despite the lack of team success, there were bright spots on the squad. Let’s take a closer look in this edition of In The Cards:
Right-handed starting pitcher Jack Lazorko (top right) was not necessarily a flashy pitcher, but he was an ace on the Trappers in 1988 and one of the best arms in the history of the franchise. While the New Jersey native only registered 59 strikeouts in 149 innings that season, he went 11-9 with a 3.87 earned run average (ERA) and, of his 21 starts, 10 were complete games. The 11th-round pick of the Houston Astros in the 1978 MLB Draft ended up appearing in 69 big-league games for the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers and California Angels. During his 222 MLB innings, Lazorko was 5-8 with a 4.22 ERA, 108 strikeouts and a pair of saves. The former amateur hockey goalie had a reputation as an excellent fielder. With the Trappers, he made 52 starts between 1987 and 1989. His 27-14 record with Edmonton saw him finish second in franchise wins behind only Cliff Young. His five shutouts with the Trappers were also the most in team history. After departing from Alberta’s capital city, Lazorko spent one season with the Calgary Cannons in 1990.While Lazorko was the ace of the pitching staff, Joe Johnson(bottom left) was the workhorse. The righthander from Massachusetts had already spent three seasons in the majors with the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays – taking the mound in 62 MLB games – by the time he arrived in Edmonton. The former second-round pick went 20-18 with a 4.48 ERA and 149 strikeouts over 327-plus innings in The Show. In his lone season with the Trappers, Johnson led the club in starts (27) and innings pitched (155.2). Unfortunately, he also allowed the most home runs (19), earned runs (103) and hits (193) on the pitching staff. Nonetheless, he was good enough to go 11-11 on the campaign and chew up innings on a regular basis. The University of Maine alum logged one more season with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in 1990 before hanging up his cleats.With Lazorko and Johnson locked into the rotation, Mike Cook (centre) emerged as the team’s bullpen ace. The 6-foot-3 righty from South Carolina was a 19th overall selection of the California Angels in 1985. His MLB career included 41 appearances with the Angels, Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles between 1986 and 1993. The 1988 season marked his third and final year in Edmonton, although he did take the mound for the Calgary Cannons for 10 games in 1991. The Trappers used Cook as a starter in previous seasons, but he found his groove as a closer in 1988. That year, Cook led Edmonton in games (51), strikeouts (84) and saves (10). He also made five starts and compiled a 5-9 record with a 4.85 ERA in 91 innings. The member of the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame continued to pitch at the Triple-A level in the International League through 1994.Terry Clark (bottom left) was another key rotation piece for the Trappers in 1988. The righty moundsman made 16 starts and went 7-6 with three complete games and a 4.51 ERA over 113-plus innings. The Californian was in his second of three seasons with the Trappers and at the onset of his MLB playing career. The 6-foot-2 hurler ended up pitching in 91 big league contests between 1988 and 1997, picking up 10 wins in 232-plus innings for several teams. Clark also worked as a minor-league pitching coach between 2000 and 2019. He finished third on the Trappers all-time strikeouts leaderboard, with 237 Ks, and tied for third place in wins for the franchise by picking up 26 victories.Second baseman Pete Coachman (bottom left) was a long-serving member of the Edmonton Trappers, having played 482 games for the team over four years. The product of Cottonwood, Alabama was the career hits leader for the franchise, racking up 562 knocks for the Trap. The 11th-round pick of the Angels also finished third all-time for the Trappers with 223 RBI and second in doubles, after smacking 90 of those extra-base hits. He suited up in 129 games for Edmonton in 1988 and led the club with 80 runs. Coachman managed to get into 16 games with the California Angels, representing his only time in the majors, and he finished his pro career as a member of the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent Northern League in 1994.Outfielder Dante Bichette (middle) was one of the better players to come through Edmonton on his way to an MLB career. “He’s very crude as far as talent goes, but it’s all coming together,” said Trapper manager Tom Kotchman of Bichette shortly after he arrived in Alberta. “There’s no telling what he can do because he is so strong.” The Florida product wowed fans at John Ducey Park for three years, before playing 14 seasons with the Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox. He registered 274 home runs and 1,141 RBI over 1,704 MLB games. In 1988, Bichette led the Trappers in games played (132), at bats (509), hits (136), total bases (227), RBI (81), extra-base hits (53) and triples (10). On Edmonton’s all-time stats leader lists, Bichette placed seventh in triples (15), ninth in hits (299), and 11th in homers (38) and RBI (171). Bichette’s son, Bo, played shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays for seven seasons before signing a three-year, $126-million deal with the New York Mets in 2026. Right-handed pitcher Urbano Lugo (top left) served as a swingman for Edmonton in 1988 after working as a starter for the Trappers the previous three years. The undrafted member of the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame made 38 appearances and 15 starts in 1988. He went 9-6 with a 5.26 ERA, two complete games and a save. Lugo also had 69 Ks in 116.1 innings. For his career with the Trappers, Lugo finished eight in wins (23) and sixth in strikeouts (188). In the big leagues, Lugo got into 50 games – 19 of them starts – with the Angels, Montreal Expos and Detroit Tigers. He also pitched in the Mexican League in the early 1990s. Well, this is awkward. Shortstop Craig Gerber (bottom left) has a card in this set. He posed for the pictures that day in his Edmonton uniform, but he didn’t suit up for one game with the Trappers in 1988. The Chicago-born infielder did play 190 games for the Trappers from 1983 to 1986, but he was in Midland, Texas with the Double-A Texas League affiliate in 1988, where he played 91 games. Gerber had given retirement a try in 1987, working at a sporting goods store that year, but opted for another shot at pro baseball the following year. When he arrived in Edmonton, a crowded infield and an injured arm left him out of a job at Triple-A. The 20th-round draft pick had shown promise throughout his career. He won a Rawlings Silver Glove Award for his excellent defensive play with the Trappers in 1984. That season his .976 fielding percentage was tops among Triple-A shortstops. Gerber also played 65 MLB games with the Angels in 1985. He chronicled his baseball journey in a 2022 book entitled The Book of Joe: Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life.
Thanks for going down memory lane with us, cardboard style. We encourage you to leave a comment about the players and cards below.
We are hoping to create an online digital archive of Alberta baseball card sets with our In The Cards series. We are also collecting Alberta team programs for our historical baseball archives. If you have baseball cards or programs you’d like to donate to our cause, please email us at AlbertaDugoutStories@gmail.com with more information.
