Up
on the blog today we have a “not so missing” 1972 card for former
catcher Ed Goodson, who just came off his second partial season in the
Big Leagues with the San Francisco Giants:
Goodson appeared in 20 games during the 1971 season, hitting .190 with
eight hits over 42 at-bats, with four runs scored and a run batted in.
Basically a catcher off the bench his entire career, he had a very nice
1973 season for San Fran when he batted .302 with 12 homers and 53 runs
batted in over 102 games, easily his best season in the Major League.
Overall for his eight-year MLB career, Goodson finished with a .260
batting average, with 329 hits over 1266 at-bats, with 108 runs scored
and 170 runs batted in, with 30 homers in 515 games between 1970 and
1977.
Up
on the blog today, we have a “not so missing” 1978 card for seven-game
Major League pitcher Barry Cort, who played the entirety of his Big
League career between April and June of 1977:
Cort posted a record of 1-1 over those seven games, finishing up with a
nice earned run average of 3.33 over 24.1 innings of work with three
starts and a complete game.
Sadly for him however he’d be back in the Minors where he’d play over
the next four years, never getting back to the Major League level again,
finishing with one year in the Oakland A’s system in 1981.
Today
on the blog we have a “missing” 1971 career-capper for former first
baseman Greg Goossen, who played the last of his Big League games during
the 1970 season:
Goossen finished his MLB career with a split season between the
Milwaukee Brewers and finally the Washington Senators, playing in a
combined 42 games and hitting .241 with 20 hits over 83 at-bats.
In 1969 with the Pilots he had his best year, hitting .309 in 52 games
for the one-year organization, with a power surge of 10 homers in only
139 at-bats.
Over his six seasons under the Big League sun he hit .241 with 111 hits
in 460 at-bats spread out over 193 games between 1965 and 1970, playing
for the New York Mets, Seattle Pilots, Brewers and Senators.
Up
on the blog today we have a “not so missing” 1976 card for 2x #1
overall draft pick Danny Goodwin, still the only player ever taken first
twice in the Amateur Draft:
Goodwin made his major League debut as a 21-year-old during the 1975
season, appearing in four games and collecting one hit over ten at-bats,
a single.
As many of you already know, Goodwin was first drafted #1 back in 1971
by the Chicago White Sox, but turned them down so he could attend
Southern University and A&M.
After a successful college playing career, he was once again the top pick overall in 1975, this time by the California Angels.
All told, between the years 1975 and 1982 Goodwin averaged about 45
games a season for the Angels, Twins and A's, mainly as a designated
hitter, ending up with a .236 lifetime average and 13 home runs to go
along with 81 runs batted in over 252 games and 636 at-bats.
He DID have some good seasons in the minors, but just couldn't continue that performance in the Majors.
He even managed to get a season in Japan in 1986, playing for Nankai,
but only batted .231 with eight homers and 26 ribbies in 83 games, and
called it a career.
In 2011 Goodwin was honored as the very first player from a historically
black university to be elected to the National College Baseball Hall of
Fame after his stellar college career between 1971 and 1975.
Adding
to my long-running 1975 “In-Action” sub-set today, we have a bit of a
swan-song for Hall of Fame third baseman Ron Santo, who finished up his
excellent Big League career with one season out of a Chicago Cubs
uniform, now as a cross town Chicago White Sox player:
Santo hit only .221 as mainly their Designated Hitter in what was his
15th and final Major League campaign, retiring soon after at only 34
years of age.
Of course it was his stalwart career with the Chicago Cubs that
eventually got him his rightful place in Cooperstown, hitting .277 with
342 home runs and 1331 runs batted in while playing stellar third base.
Between 1963 and 1973 Santo was selected for nine All-Star games,
received five Gold Gloves for his defensive work, and four-time finished
Top-10 in the National League MVP race, with a high of fourth in 1967.
Post-playing career, Santo moved on to broadcasting, where he was a
beloved color commentator over the years, working with guys like Harry
Caray, Thom Brennaman and Steve Stone.
But it was mainly his working relationship with Pat Hughes on the radio
that were enthusiastically known as the “Pat and Ron Show”.
Sadly, Santo would die from bladder cancer and complications from
diabetes in December, 2010, and would not live to see himself selected
for the Hall of Fame, as that would come almost a year later when he was
the only player selected by the Golden Era Committee.
Just a crying shame if you ask me.
Today
on the blog we have a 1978 “traded” card for “The Hammer” John Milner,
who found himself part of a blockbuster trade on December 8th, 1977
after seven seasons as a New York Met:
Milner was part of a monster four-team trade between the Mets, Pirates,
Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves that also saw Willie Montanez, Bert
Blyleven, Al Oliver, Jom Matlack and six others on the move.
A Shea Stadium fan favorite during his Mets years, Milner hit as many as
23 homers in a season while playing both First Base and Left Field
between 1971 and 1977.
He would play 12-years in the Big Leagues, finishing with 131 homers, a
.249 batting average and 855 hits over 1215 games and 3436 at-bats
between 1971 and 1982.
Sadly, Milner passed away at the age of only 50 from cancer on January 4th, 2000.
Today’s
blog post has a 1971 custom celebrating the April 7th, 1970 debut of a
new Major League franchise, the Milwaukee Brewers, who were brought East
after one season as the Seattle Pilots the year prior:
Falling to the California Angels 12-0 on Opening Day in 1970, the
Brewers began their franchise run as an American League West team before
sliding into the East in 1972 to make room for the Texas Rangers.
Pretty much the Seattle team from 1969, their stars in their inaugural
campaign were double-threat Tommy Harper, who would go on to have a
30-30 year with 31 homers and 38 stolen bases, Centerfielder Dave May,
and reliever Ken Sanders.
A guy by the name of Bud Selig, the future joke of a Major League
Commissioner, was their owner, who acquired the team in bankruptcy
court, and would own the team in one form or another through 2004.
By the end of the 1970’s they were putting together loaded teams that
would eventually make the World Series in 1982, falling to the St. Louis
Cardinals, boasting line-ups with guys like Robin Yount, Paul Molitor,
Ted Simmons, Cecil Cooper and Gorman Thomas.
In 1998, the organization was moved to the National League (which still
irks me), where they have been ever since, making the N.L. Championship
Series in 2011 and 2018, losing both times.
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