Here's a "missing" card for a guy who actually appeared in 94 games
with 251 plate appearances in 1975, but didn't make the cut for the
1976 set, Jim Mason:
Now that seems like a substantial amount of playing time for Topps to leave him out of the set, no?
Granted, the guy hit a wretched .152 based on his 34 hits in 223
at-bats, but hey, that's a lot of playing time to be left out of a set
in my book.
Mason fashioned a nine-year career as a guy off the bench, with
1974 being his only full season when he played in 152 games and came to
the plate 487 times. He even hit .250 which would be the high mark of
his career.
In 1977 he was an original member of the Toronto Blue Jays, and was
soon sent to the Texas Rangers in mid-season, before finishing up his
career with the Montreal Expos in 1979.
It's funny because as a kid collecting cards in the 1970's he was
always there (except for '76 of course), yet looking at his career now
it's evident how much a card presence elevates a player's career.
All told he hit .203 for his career with 12 homers and 114 runs batted in and 140 runs scored over 633 games and 1583 at-bats.
One final note on his career is his home run in his sole at-bat in
the 1976 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in the Yankees losing
cause against the "Big Red Machine".
