Monday, March 18, 2024

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: JOE MORGAN

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1969 "redo" for the great Joe Morgan, from my recent "1969 Gimmie a Do-Over" set from a few months back:




Just a nice image of the great second baseman that wasn't a reused image like Topps had out there way back when!
For Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, still with his original team before eventually helping to build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine" when he was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1972 season in a blockbuster trade.
Those Reds teams would win two straight World Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season at the age of 40, he finished with two MVP Awards, 10 All-Star nods, five Gold Gloves, 2517 hits, 1650 runs scored, 268 homers and a cool 689 stolen bases with 1865 walks.
One of the all-timers right there at second base!

Sunday, March 17, 2024

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION- TY COBB

The next baseball legend to get a card in my "Minor League Days: Legends Edition" set, the "Georgia Peach, Ty Cobb, arguably the greatest hitter of them all:


Here we see a young Cobb as a member of the Augusta Tourists of the South Atlantic League in either 1904 or 1905, just a teenager ready to set the baseball world on fire before he was through.
Records are sparse, but it seems he hit .237 and .326 in his two partial seasons playing there before making the jump to the Majors in 1905.
Basically all the man did between the foul lines one he did hit the Big Leagues was win 12 batting titles, reach 200 hits in a season nine times, hit .366 for his entire career, a triple crown in 1909, score over 2200 runs, hit over 720 doubles, just under 300 triples, and even drove in 1938 runs during the dead-ball era! Oh, and let's not forget the 897 stolen bases!
It's even funny to think that it's so easy to overlook the fact that Cobb also led the league in slugging eight times!
It's Ty Cobb for pete's sake!
The man was incredible, and it is somewhat understandable that he became bitter when Babe Ruth came along and put the offensive focus on power as opposed to "small ball", almost erasing all appreciation for those "intangibles" that Cobb was famous for.
But it is also tragic that he was portrayed in such a negative light by Al Stump, and believed by so many years later, unjustly so, as we are learning more and more that he was NOT the beast he was said to have been when he was alive.
Rest in Peace Ty Cobb!

 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: NELLIE FOX

Up on the blog today, my Nellie Fox special insert from my "1960s Career-Cappers" set released a few years ago:




Fox put together a brilliant Major League career, first as a Hall of Fame second baseman mainly for the Chicago White Sox, then as a coach later on, a true baseball life before sadly passing away at the young age of 47 in 1975.
He led the AL in hits four times in the 1950’s, and of course would lead the Chicago White Sox to the 1959 World Series, taking home the league’s MVP Award for his efforts.
By the time he retired as a player after two years with the Houston Astros in 1964-65, he finished with 2663 hits and a .288 batting average, with twelve all-star nods and three Gold Gloves.
Defensively, it’s incredible to see he led the American League in putouts every single season between 1952 and 1961, while leading the league’s second basemen in fielding percentage six times, double-plays five times and assists six times.
In 1997, the Veteran’s Committee selected Fox for the Hall of Fame, joining former teammates Luis Aparicio and Early Wynn from that 1959 pennant winning team.

Friday, March 15, 2024

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. FIRST BASEMAN HARMON KILLEBREW

Up on the blog today, my pick for the American League first baseman of the 1960s, Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew, powerhouse slugger who would homer his way to the Hall of Fame:


First off, I will state right now that I do realize that he didn't play solely first base throughout the decade of the 1960's.
Killebrew also had periods where he played in the outfield and third base regularly. But I felt that of the guys who DID play solely first base in 1960's, Killebrew STILL had a better run during his stint at first base.
What a monster he was during the '60's!
In the 10-years from 1960 and 1969, he posted eight seasons of 30+ home runs, with SIX of those years over 40!
He capped off the decade with an M.V.P. in 1969, with another four seasons where he finished in the top-5 in voting.
All told, he was an all-star eight out of ten years in the 1960's, and led the American League in homers five times, runs batted in twice, and walks three times.
Playing for Washington, Minnesota and a final season in Kansas City between 1954 and 1975, Killebrew mashed 573 home runs to go along with 1584 R.B.I.'s, winning an M.V.P. award along the way in 1969 while finishing in the top five in voting five other seasons.
In 1984 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame, capping off a stellar career that sometimes gets lost among the Mantles, Mays, Clementes and Aarons that were garnering all the attention in the same era.

 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: JIM BUNNING

Today on the blog, we add Hall of Fame pitcher and future United States Senator Jim Bunning to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, which I hope to have released later this year as part of an ambitious 100+ card set:


As a baseball player Bunning put in 17-years of all-star play, winning 20 games once, but putting together four 19-win seasons along with three 17-win seasons, while leading his league in strikeouts three times and shutouts twice.
The seven-time all-star threw a no-hitter in each league, with his National League no-no a perfect game against the New York Mets in 1964.
He also won 100-games in each league, becoming the first to do so since the great Cy Young at the beginning of the 20th Century.
But I would love to mention one more time how this guy's career record is deceptive (224-184), as he posted multiple no-hitters, the aforementioned 100 wins as well as 1000 strikeouts in BOTH leagues before it became somewhat more frequent with the growth player movement from team to team, league to league.
Also, at the time of his retirement after the '71 season he was second all-time in Major League history with his 2855 strikeouts.
In 1996, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining contemporaries such as Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford.
By then he was already a Representative of Kentucky’s 4th District  for nine years before becoming a State Senator in 1999, a position he would hold until January 2011.
A great life to say the least. Though I like to think of it as incredible actually. To do any ONE of these things he accomplished is a life’s great achievement, and Bunning did them all.
Amazing man.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

REVISITING A 10-YEAR OLD POST: MISSING 1973 ART KUSNYER

Hello all!
On the blog today, revisiting one of my early "missing" player cards from the blog, a 1973 "missing in action" card for catcher Art Kusnyer, whom I would create a few more missing cards through the 1970s before I was done:


Here's the original write-up from that post, dating April 19th, 2014:
Today's "missing" Topps card from the 1970's features a player who did appear on a multi-player rookie card in 1972, but was left out of the 1973 set even after some decent playing time the year before: Angels catcher Art Kusnyer.
Kusnyer was yet another of those players I read about in a SABR article that spoke of guys who posted the most career at-bats or innings pitched who were not represented on a Topps card (in this case, a card of their own).
Kusnyer came up for a cup-of-coffee in 1970 with the White Sox after getting picked in the 37th round of the 1966 amateur draft.
After four games and ten at-bats with Chicago in 1970, he was traded to California in March of 1971 for a couple of minor players, appearing in only six games for the season.
However 1972 would fare much better for the young catcher, as he would go on to play in a career high 64 games, good for 198 plate appearances.
For the year he batted .207, getting 37 hits in 179 at-bats with two doubles, a triple and two homers.
However this wasn't enough to get him more playing time the following season, as the Angels already had Jeff Torborg and John Stephenson ahead of him in the depth chart for the position, so all Kusnyer would see as far as playing time in 1973 would be 41 games, good for 67 plate appearances and an anemic .125 batting average.
However, not all was a lost-cause for the youngster, as on July 15th of that year Kusnyer would have perhaps the biggest thrill of his Big League career, catching Nolan Ryan's second career no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium.
But when 1974 rolled around, Kusnyer found himself struggling to find a spot for himself in the Milwaukee Brewers organization after being traded by California in October of 1973 in a nine-player swap between the two clubs.
He'd end up toiling in the Minors for the next two seasons before finding his way back into a Major League game in 1976, getting into 15 games for the Brewers, hitting .118 on four hits in 34 at-bats.
His last hurrah on the Major League level would be in 1978 with the Kansas City Royals, playing in nine games and getting three hits in 13 at-bats, good for a .231 average.
He'd scratch out another season of Minor League ball for the White Sox in 1979 before calling it a career and eventually moving into coaching work for the Sox and the Oakland A's over the next 28 years.
Nevertheless, here's yet another "missing" piece to total representation for those of us that want players who saw enough playing time in a season to get a card along the way.

 

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: ROD CAREW

Good day all.
On the blog today, for fun, my mini "Gum Pack" custom of Rod Carew, from my recent custom set released a few months back:
 




Just a fun little set to create and get out there in the collecting world!
I just took the uber-stars of the game in that era and put together a specially packaged set to add to the WTHBALLS roster, akin to the original sets I created back in 2018-2019.
As for Carew, the man was a player for the ages, as he would go on to play in 18 All-Star games, missing only his final season in the Majors in 1985. Just incredible.
The first nine seasons of his career were as an All-Star second baseman, while the last nine were as a first baseman.
The man topped .300 15 years in a row, with a high of .388 in 1977 on his way to a Most Valuable Player Award and capturing the public’s attention with his .400 chase late in the season.
A clear-cut Hall of Fame player, he was inducted on his first year of eligibility in 1991 when he garnered 90.5% of the vote, which leaves me with the question: who the hell are the 9.5% who DIDN’T vote for him!!!???
3053 hits, a .328 career average, 353 stolen bases and 15 straight seasons of .300+ batting.
The man was a hitting machine, and I'm so glad I got to see him play during his magnificent career!

 

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