MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 CRAIG KUSICK "1976 PROJECT"

Here’s a “missing” 1976 Topps card for former Minnesota Twins player Craig Kusick, check it out:

 
Kusick appeared in 57 games for Minnesota in 1975, batting .237 with 37 hits across 156 official at-bats while manning first base and DH-ing.
He would go on to put in seven seasons as a big league player, all but 24 games of them with the Twins, with those aforementioned 24 with the Toronto Blue Jays at the end of his tenure in 1979.
All told he batted .235 for his career with 291 hits over 1238 at-bats, with 46 homers and 171 runs batted in in 497 games played.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 JOE HORLEN

Let’s go and give long time starting pitcher Joe Horlen both a “missing” and career capping 1973 Topps card shall we? 
Here you go:

Horlen capped off a very nice 12-year career when he retired after the 1972 season, posting 32 appearances with the Oaklnad A’s after playing all eleven of his previous Major League seasons with the Chicago White Sox, for whom he had some really good seasons.
In 1972 he posted a 3-4 record with a 3.00 earned run average, with six starts and a save scattered among his 84 innings of work.
While with the White Sox Horlen had some all-star seasons, particularly his 1967 season when he went 19-7 with a league-leading 2.07 ERA and six shutouts.
Those numbers would good enough for a second place finish in the Cy Young race, as well as a fourth place finish in MVP voting.
Of his 12 years on a big league mound, Horlen posted five sub-3.00 ERA campaigns, all consecutive (between 1964 and 1968), with a low of 1.88 in 1964.
By the time he retired he finished with a 116-117 record with a nice 3.11 earned run average and 18 shutouts over 361 games, 290 of which were starts, and 2002 innings.

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #119 (A REVISIT OF #37)

Another week, another set of trivia questions for you to ponder.
This week I'm focusing on 30-save seasons during the 1970's.
See which ones you can get.
As usual, I'll post the answers tomorrow.

1. Of all 30-save seasons in both the N.L. and A.L. through the '70's, who posted the most losses in a season of 30+ saves?

2. Who posted the lowest E.R.A. in a 30-save season during the decade?

3. Who posted the most wins during a 30-save season?

4. Who struck out the most batters in a 30-save season during the '70's?

5. Who appeared in the fewest games during a 30-save season in the 1970's?



***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. Mike Marshall, Twins. 15 losses in 1979.

2. Bruce Sutter, Cubs. A 1.34 E.R.A. in 1977.

3. Mike Marshall, Expos. 14 wins in 1973.

4. Bruce Sutter, Cubs. 129 K's in 1977.

5. Dave Giusti, Pirates. 58 appearances in 1971.

ANOTHER AWESOME 1976 CARD: RAY FOSSE

As if the 1976 needs any more hype as to how awesome it was/is, here’s another card that I’ve always thought was near perfect: Ray Fosse.
Just look at the colors, the action shot, that look on his face!
What a card!
I remember first seeing that card as a kid and thinking Fosse looked so mean, like a biker ready to block the plate and demolish whoever was heading his way.
LOVE this card!
So many of those Oakland A’s cards looked great because of the color scheme, like the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tiger cards as well.
As for Fosse, he put in a nice 12-year career that some say was derailed somewhat because of the famous Pate Rose collision during the 1970 All-Star game that left Fosse injured.
Many say he was never the same again.
Nevertheless, he played until 1979, being named to two All-Star teams and winning two Gold Gloves along the way before retiring after the 1979 season.

"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #37: PETE ROSE COLLECTS 3000TH HIT

I don’t know how THIS highlight from 1970’s baseball eluded me when I was running my “Highlights from the 70’s” thread a while back, but it just hit me the other day: Pete Rose collecting his 3000th hit on May 5th, 1978 against the Montreal Expos.
Check out my card:

Of course Rose would charge right through 3000 hits and head for 4000, eventually overtaking Ty Cobb for the all-time hits total with 4256.
The man was a machine!
One of the all-time greats, it’s a shame his career has been marred by all the gambling B.S., which personally shouldn’t keep a guy like Rose out of the Hall.
“Charlie Hustle”...

MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 PAUL SIEBERT

It feels like I’ve done quite a few “missing” New York Mets hasn’t it?
Well here’s another, former pitcher Paul Siebert, and a “missing” 1978 card.
Take a look:

Siebert appeared in 25 games with the Mets after coming over from the San Diego Padres during the season.
He posted a 2-1 record (all with the Mets), with a 3.69 earned run average over 29 games and 31.2 innings of work.
In his short five-year career he went on to post a 3-8 record with a 3.77 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 129 innings and 87 appearances.
Keep an eye out for his “missing” 1979 card in the near future as well!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 JERRY MARTIN "1976 PROJECT"

Next up in the “1976 Project” of “missing” players is former outfielder Jerry Martin.
Take a look at the card I came up with:

 
Martin played in 57 games during the 1975 season for the Philadelphia Phillies, hitting .212 with 24 hits in 114 at-bats.
It was his second taste of the big leagues, and he’d go on to play for another nine years before hanging them up after the 1984 season after 51 games with the New York Mets.
In between he suited up for the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals, putting in his best seasons with the Cubs in 1979 and 1980 when he hit a combined 42 home runs with 146 runs batted in.

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #37: "SWEET LOU" PINIELLA

Up next in my ongoing nickname thread is “Sweet Lou” Piniella, a baseball “lifer” if there ever was one.
Take a look at my card first:

I used the 1978 template since Piniella was in the middle of his “sweet” run as a Bronx Bomber, taking part in four World Series, taking home two championships, and being a spark plug in the ever famous “Bronx Zoo” with the likes of Reggie, Thurman and Bucky.
As we all know, after wrapping up his nice 18-year career he went on to an excellent career as a Major League manager, leading the 1990 Reds to a championship as well as heading the 2001 Mariners, who tied the Major League record with 116 wins.
Combined the man was in a Major League uniform for over 40 years!
“Sweet”!!!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 LARRY BIITTNER

Here’s a “missing” 1974 card for long time Major League player Larry Biittner:

For some reason he was left out of the ‘74 set even though he played in 83 games during the 1973 season.
In that campaign he he collected 65 hits over 258 official at-bats. Good for a .252 average with a homer and 12 runs batted in.
He’d go on to play straight through to the 1983 season before retiring, a nice 14-year career that saw him hit a very respectable .273 with 861 hits in 3151 at-bats in 1217 games
I’ll always remember him as a Chicago Cubs player, for whom he suited up between 1976 and 1980, even though he also played for the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds.
And of course for his unique surname with the consecutive "I"...

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #118 (A REVISIT OF #36)

This week's trivia is a revisit of one that deals with all pitchers with a sub-2.00 E.R.A season in the 1970's.
See how many you can get.
Answers posted tomorrow, so check back!

1. Among all pitchers who had a sub-2.00 E.R.A., who was the only one to have such a season after the introduction of the designated hitter in 1973?

2. Who suffered the most losses in their sub-2.00 E.R.A. season?

3. Who threw the least shutouts in their sub-2.00 season?

4. Who threw the most innings in their sub-2.00 season?

5. Of all pitchers who threw a sub-2.00 E.R.A. season during the 1970's, who was the only one to have another season under 2.00?



***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. Ron Guidry, Yankees. 1.74 in 1978.

2. Gaylord Perry, Indians. 16 losses in 1972.

3. Gary Nolan, Reds. Two shutouts in 1972.

4. Steve Carlton, Phillies. 346.1 innings in 1972.

5. Luis Tiant. He had a 1.91 E.R.A. in 1972 for the Red Sox, and also threw a 1.60 E.R.A. back in 1968 for the Indians.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #50: 1972 RICO CARTY

Even though Rico Carty missed all of the 1971 season due to injury, I wanted to include him in the “Missing In-Action” 1972 sub-set I’ve been working on.
Take a look at my card:

Who knows what career numbers Carty could have finished with if not for injuries during the prime of his career.
His 1970 season was monster: a league-leading .366 batting average, a league-leading .454 on-base-pct, 25 homers and 101 runs batted in, with a .584 slugging percentage and 84 runs scored in only 478 at-bats.
Sadly by the time the 1972 season opened up he was about to bounce around for the rest of his career, playing for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Oakland A’s, Cleveland Indians, Oakland A’s )again) and Toronto Blue jays.
He’d finish with over 200 homers and a .299 career average, but the rest of his numbers could have been seriously impressive if the injury bug didn’t take him out for so much playing time in his late-20’s and early-30’s.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 BUDDY BRADFORD

Here’s a fun card, particularly because of the uniform worn by the player on this “missing” card, a 1977 “Missing in Action” Buddy Bradford.
Take a look:
 

As you know the White Sox players were all sporting the new blue and white uni’s (some had to be airbrushed into them for lack of photos), but I just could not find an image of Bradford in one of them, perhaps because he never actually got to wear one since his career was over by the end of the 1976 season.
So here we have a unique 1977 White Sox card with a player sporting the red and white uniform that was already gone by the time the 1977 cards came out.
Nevertheless, Bradford appeared in 55 games during 1976, with 184 plate appearances and a .219 batting average based on his 35 hits over 160 official at-bats.
He closed out a respectable 11-year career which saw him suit up for the White Sox three separate times, the Cleveland Indians, The Cincinnati Reds and  St. Louis Cardinals.
He hit .226 for his career with 363 hits in 1605 at-bats, with 50 doubles, eight triples and 52 homers on top of his 224 runs scored and 175 runs batted in.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK 1951: BOBBY THOMPSON AND THE "SHOT HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD"

Today’s “Turn Back the Clock” card is a 20th Anniversary card in the 1971 set for the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”, New York Giant Bobby Thompson’s pennant clinching home run off of Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Ralph Branca on October 3rd, 1951 (funny enough, 63 years ago today as I write this! Happy 63rd birthday Dave Winfield!!!).
Take a look at my card:

We’ve all heard the story numerous times over the years: with the Brooklyn Dodgers seemingly steamrolling their way to another National league pennant, the Giants went on a tear in the last weeks of the season, winning 37 of 44 games to catch the “Bums” and force a playoff series, which the Giants would end up winning 2 games to 1 with Thompson’s homer.
Of course the story would get A LOT more interesting years later when it was confirmed that the Giants were stealing signs during the second half of the season, AND during the October 3rd game, taking some luster off of the historic event.
Nevertheless, Thompson’s homer is still the stuff of legend, AND as I mentioned earlier above, it was also the exact day that a future Hall of Famer outfielder, Dave Winfield, was born.
Just one of those things that always stayed with me since childhood...

HALL OF FAME #35: ROBIN ROBERTS: CLASS OF 1976

In 1976 Robin Roberts was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his fourth try, which is absurd in my book considering some of the lame honorees voted in just before and after him. This guy should have been in on his first try.
Take a look at my card before we get into it all...

 

Roberts was a freaking machine during the 1950’s pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, posting six 20-win seasons with  a 19 and 17 win season thrown in as well.
He led the league in wins four times with a high of 28 in 1952, while also leading the National league in strikeouts twice, complete games five times, innings pitched five times and shutouts once.
By the time he retired after the 1966 season, he finished with 286 wins and a 3.41 earned run average, with 45 shutouts and 2357 strikeouts over 676 games and 4688.2 innings pitched.
Between 1950 and 1956 he was named to the all-star team each year, while also garnering MVP attention every season.
To be honest how he didn’t win the MVP in 1952 is beyond me, as the award went to Chicago Cubs slugger Hank Sauer.
Granted the Phillies finished in fourth place with an 87-67 record, 9.5 games behind the Dodgers.
But the Cubs finished in fifth place, with a 77-77 record.
So what went on there is something worth looking into considering all Roberts did was go 28-7 with a 2.59 ERA, three shutouts, 148 strikeouts and 30 complete games out of his 37 starts!
What does a guy have to do!?

TRADED: 1978 FERGIE JENKINS

Next up in my “Traded” series is “Fly” Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins, who appeared as a Boston Red Sox pitcher in the 1978 set even though he was traded over the off-season back to the Texas Rangers for cash and a prospect.
Here’s the card I came up with:

Jenkins first pitched for the Rangers in 1975 and 1976, and in his second stint went on to pitch for them through the 1981 season before heading back “home” to the North side of Chicago for the 1982 and 1983 seasons before retiring after 19 years on a Major League mound.
As we all know, he put together a Hall of Fame career, topping 280 wins, 3000 strikeouts, with 49 shutouts, a Cy Young Award in 1971 and four other top-3 finishes in the award voting.
In 1991 he capped off his career with an induction into Cooperstown on his third try, just getting the 75% of the vote with 75.4% support.
On a geeky side-note, “Fly” was also the first pitcher to ever regsiter 3000+ strikeouts while issuing less than 1000 base on balls.
Love stuff like that!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 STEVE BAKER

Let’s go and give former Detroit Tigers pitcher Steve Baker a “missing” card in the 1979 Topps set shall we?
Take a look at what I came up with:

Baker was pitching in his first season in the big leagues during the 1978 season, appearing in 15 games, 10 of which were starts, going 2-4 with a 4.55 earned run average and 39 strikeouts over 63.1 innings.
He’d go on the pitch in 4 years total for his career, amassing a 7-16 record with a 5.13 ERA and 131 strikeouts over 84 lifetimes games (26 of which were starts) and 237 innings pitched.

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #117 (A REVISIT OF #35)

Once again we find ourselves staring down some trivia questions on a Thursday…
I wanted to revisit a set I originally posted back in January of 2014.
This one focused on at-bat leaders during the 1970's.
See how many you can get.
Answers tomorrow!

1. Among all at-bat leaders during the decade, who had the fewest amount of hits that season??

2. Of all at-bat leaders in the '70's, who had the most hits that season?

3. What player had the least runs scored in a season where he lead his league in at-bats?

4. What player struck out the fewest in a season they lead their league in at-bats?

5. What player drove in the least runs during his at-bat leading season?



***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. Bert Campaneris, A's. 150 hits on 625 at-bats.

2. Pete Rose, Reds. 230 hits on 680 at-bats.

3. Larry Bowa, Phillies. 74 runs scored on 650 at-bats in 1971.

4. Dave Cash, Phillies. Only 13 K's in 666 at-bats!

5. Larry Bowa, Phillies. 25 R.B.I.'s in 650 at-bats.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 MIKE BACSIK "1976 PROJECT"

The next player up in the ongoing “1976 Project” is former pitcher Mike Bacsik of the Texas Rangers.
Check out my card:

Bacsik appeared in seven games for the Rangers in 1975, good for 26.2 innings of work.
He posted a 1-2 record with a 3.71 earned run average and 13 strikeouts during what was his rookie year.
He’d go on to pitch a few more years in the big leagues, 1976 in Texas and then 1979-80 with the Minnesota Twins before leaving the game with a career 8-6 record, with a 4.43 ERA and 77 K’s over 73 games and 172.2 innings.

CAREER CAPPER- 1975 STEVE BARBER

Today I wanted to go and give long time starter Steve Barber a “Career Capper” in the 1975 set.
Take a look at my card:

Barber wrapped up a nice 15-year career as a Major League pitcher after appearing in 13 games for the San Francisco Giants in 1974, posting a 0-1 record with a 5.27 earned run average over 13.2 innings of work.
His best years were as a Baltimore Oriole, with whom he came up with in 1960, and for whom he posted a 20-win season in 1963, three seasons of sub-3.00 ERA, and leading the American league with eight shutouts in 1962.
Once he left Baltimore he became somewhat of a journeyman pitcher both as a starter and an arm out of the bullpen, pitching for the New York, Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, California Angels and Giants.
He finished his career with a 121-106 record, with a 3.36 ERA, 21 shutouts, 14 saves and 1309 K’s over 466 games and 1999 innings.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 LARRY BROWN

Here's a "missing" 1973 Topps card I created for former infielder Larry Brown, who was at the tail-end of his career by the time he sported the Oakland uniform:

Nice photo that "fits" the feel of the 1973 set, no?

Brown played in 47 games for the A's in 1972, good for 157 plate appearances with 26 hits in 142 official at-bats, that's a .183 average to you and me.

During his days in Cleveland between 1963 and 1970 he put together a decent career, putting in a workman's resume manning shortstop while also filling in at second and third base for the 'Tribe.

After the 1974 season with the Texas Rangers, he called it  a career, finishing with a .233 average over 1129 games and 3872 plate appearances.

THEN AND NOW: 1972 DON McMAHON

Let's go and give former longtime pitcher Don McMahon a "Then and Now" card as part of the 1972 set, his final appearance as a player in a Topps set:

By the time he retired after the 1974 season, McMahon put together a wonderful 18-year career that had him appear in 874 games, all but two out of the bullpen, with 152 saves and a nice 2.96 earned run average over 1310.2 innings.

Playing for seven organizations between 1957 and 1974 he was a valuable arm off the bench, posting ten seasons of sub-3.00 ERA, with five of them coming in under 2.00, and in 1957 with the Milwaukee Braves and in 1968 with the Detroit Tigers, he was a World Champion for good measure.

To be honest, McMahon should have had a card in both the 1973 and 1974 Topps sets. I already created on for the 1973 omission, but look for my 1974 and possibly 1975 "Career Capper" in the near future!

TURN BACK THE CLOCK 1950: GIL HODGES SLAMS FOUR HOMERS IN ONE GAME!

Here's a tribute of sorts to a guy that in my opinion should be in the Hall of Fame: Gil Hodges, longtime cog in those awesome Brooklyn Dodger teams of the late-40's and 1950's:

On August 31st, 1950 against the Boston Braves, all Hodges did was go five-for-six with four homers and nine runs batted in!

This awesome offensive attack led the Dodgers to a 19-3 win, shockingly at the hands of Hall of Fame Braves starting pitcher Warren Spahn!

I still cannot figure out why he never got into the Hall, as he was a MAJOR part of those "Bum" Dodger teams, slamming 370 career homers, driving in 100+ runs seven years in a row between 1949-1955, and topping 30+ homers six times.

Later on he went on to a managerial career that includes one of the all-time great surprises in Major League ball, leading the "Miracle Mets" over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in 1969.

You think all these accomplishments would warrant induction, even all these years later (???).

MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 JIM DWYER

Here's a "missing" 1977 card for a guy who managed to put together an 18-year career solely as a part-timer, never plating more than 292 appearances in any season, Jim Dwyer.

Check it out:

Dwyer missed out on the 1977 Topps set after playing in 61 games in 1976, good for 119 plate appearances and 105 official at-bats, hitting .181 for both the Montreal Expos and New York Mets.

Not many usable photos of him out there donning the Mets uni, so I'm sure you're familiar with what you see here.

By the time Dwyer retired after the 1990 season, he appeared in 1328 games with 271 at-bats and 719 hits, good for a lifetime .260 average.

The highpoint of his career had to be as an often worked platoon guy off the bench for the 1983 World Champion Baltimore Orioles, when he hit .286 for the O's with 17 doubles and eight home runs in only 196 at-bats.

Not bad "Pig Pen"!

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #116 (A REVISIT OF #34)

Time for trivia Thursday!

We'll revisit my set from January 23rd, 2014….

That week the questions were all based on home run champs of the 1970's.

See how many you can get. Answers posted tomorrow.

1. Of all the home run champs in the Majors during the '70's, who posted the lowest batting average the year he lead his league in blasts?

2. Which homer champ had the fewest runs batted in the year he hit the most homers?

3. Surprisingly, who stole the most bases during his home run championship season?

4. What slugger also slammed the most triples among home run champs in a home run winning year?

5. Which home run champ struck out the fewest times in a season where he lead his league in homers?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. Gorman Thomas, Brewers. .244 in 1979.

2. Bill Melton, White Sox. He drove in 86 runs in 1971.
 
3. Mike Schmidt, Phillies. He stole 29 bases in 1975.
 
4. Jim Rice, Red Sox. He hit 15 triples in BOTH 1977 and 1978. Amazing.

5. Johnny Bench, Reds. He struck out "only" 84 times in 1972.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #49: 1972 TOMMY HARPER

Time to go and give former double-threat Tommy Harper a "missing" In-Action card in that glorious 1972 Topps set.

Check it out:

Harper put together a very nice 15-year Major League career, coming up with the Cincinnati Reds and going on to play for the Indians, Pilots, Brewers, Red Sox, Angels, A's and Orioles before hanging them up after the 1976 season.

Along the way he led the American League in steals twice (1969 and 1973), the National League in runs scored once (in 1965 with the Reds), and managed to put a 30-30 season together with the Brewers in 1970 (their inaugural season) when he hit 31 homers to go along with his 38 steals.

By the time he retired he totaled 408 steals in his career to go along with his 1600+ hits, 972 runs and 146 homers.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 SONNY SIEBERT "1976 PROJECT"

Here's a card I was really psyched to finally be able to create: a 1976 "career capper" of sorts for former pitcher Sonny Siebert, who was wrapping up a very nice 12-year career in 1975.

Take a look:

Siebert is one of those pitchers who flies under the radar in my book as far as good, solid hurlers during the 1960's and 1970's.

Between 1964 and 1972, pitching for the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox, Siebert would post five seasons of sub-3.00 ERA's, five seasons of 14 wins or more, all while pitching for sub-par teams.

He kind of gets grouped in with the Gary Peters, Joel Horlens and such of the world for me.

Anyway, in 1975 he started the season with the San Diego Padres, but found himself off to Oakland where he appeared in the final 17 games of his career, ending up with a 7-6 record with a 3.90 ERA over 23 games before retiring.

He and Jim Perry were two of the tougher guys I had to try and whip up a card for in that awesome 1976 set, so with Siebert complete, I now have to try and find a "real" photo of Perry as an Oakland A's player (as opposed to the Photoshop job I created months ago).

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 MARK BALLINGER

Here's a "missing" 1972 card for a guy that I'll admit barely makes my informal requirements for such a creation: former Cleveland Indians pitcher Mark Ballinger:

Ballinger played his only Major League action during the 1971 season, really only a month between the middle of August to the middle of September, appearing in 18 games for the Tribe, posting a 1-2 record with a 4.67 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 34.2 innings of work.

That would be it for him on a Major League mound, as he'd toil in the Minor Leagues up until 1979 pitching for the Angels and Royals double and triple-A teams.

But it sure is fun creating cards for players with such brief careers like this! Many more to follow in the coming months!

HALL OF FAME #34: FREDDIE LINDSTROM: CLASS OF 1976

OK, another NY Giant Hall of Fame inductee from the 1970's, another questionable call by the Veteran's Committee: Freddie Lindstrom, who was voted in in 1976.

Check out my card:

At the risk of being disrespectful, Lindstrom joins the like of Jesse Haines, Stonewall Jackson et al as players who benefited from cronyism by the Veteran's Committee, putting up a nice, solid Major League career but nothing resembling Hall of Fame status.

During his 13-year career between 1924 and 1936, Lindstrom batted .300+ seven times, but really had only two all-star seasons while donning a big league uniform, and one of them was during the bloated 1930 season in the National League.

In 1928 he batted .358 with a league-leading 238 hits and 107 runs batted in for the Giants, and in 1930 he had his best season, as he batted .379 with 231 hits, 106 RBI's and career highs in runs scored with 127 and home runs with 22.

As we all know that 1930 season was an aberration, with everyone and their mother seemingly putting up career numbers in the N.L.

So with that being stated, take a look at the rest of his career and you have to wonder how this guy is in, but guys like Pete Browning, Vada Pinson, Dave Parker or even Gil Hodges aren't in.

It's a shame really. But again, no disrespect to the players themselves as I'd like to think they had nothing to do with their inductions. It's just a shame that those Veteran's Committee guys like Frankie Frisch had to resort to such gimmicks to get their buddies into Cooperstown regardless of merit.

Anyway, by the time Lindstrom retired he had a career .311 average with 1747 hits, 895 runs scored and 779 RBI's with 103 homers and 84 steals thrown in.

Dick Allen anyone? Or how about Lefty O'Doul?

DEDICATED ROOKIE- 1973 DWIGHT EVANS

Time to go ahead and give long time Red Sox star outfielder Dwight Evans, aka "Dewey" a "dedicated rookie card" in the 1973 set:

His rookie card in that 1973 set was a shared slab alongside two other promising players: Al Bumbry (eventual 1973 A.L. Rookie of the Year) and Charlie Spikes.

But it was Evans who was about to start a wonderful 20-year Major League career, 19 of which were with the Boston Red Sox patrolling their outfield alongside guys like Yastrzemski, Lynn and Rice, and enter some arguable Hall of Fame talk by the time he was done..

He appeared in 18 games during the 1972 season to get his first taste of the big leagues, but was here to stay once 1973 got going.

By the time he retired after the 1991 season, he collected over 2400 hits, 480 doubles, 380 homers, 1300 runs batted in and 1400 runs scored, all while posting a .272 batting average.

Oh yeah, he also went and took home eight Gold Gloves for his defensive work and had four years of top-10 MVP finishes when voting came around.

Funny enough it wasn't until he reached 30 years of age that he really started raking!

Beginning in 1981 (at 29 years old), he started putting up big time numbers, including four 100+ RBI seasons, five 25+ home run seasons and four 100+ runs scored seasons, the ONLY times he'd do ANY of that in his career!

Amazing.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK 1950: 20TH ANNIVERSARY WHIZ KIDS TAKE THE PENNANT!

Today we embark on a new thread which I hope you'll all find as interesting as I do: a "Turn Back The Clock" series (as in 1977) for every set of the 1970's.

For the very first entry I give you the 20th anniversary of the Philadelphia Phillies, aka the "Whiz Kids", who took everyone by surprise and took the National League pennant in 1950.

Take a look:

I'll be running this thread chronologically with the 20th anniversaries first, that is, events from the 1950's, then on to the 10th anniversaries of baseball events from 1960 through 1969. So each year will get both 20th and 10th anniversary milestones by the time this is all done.

Anyway, led by star players like Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts and eventual National League Most Valuable Player Jim Konstanty, the young team (who averaged only 26.4 years of age) were steamrolling their way to the pennant before allowing the Brooklyn Dodgers to make it all the way back in September because of a rough patch, forcing a "winner-take-all" final game of the season.

With two stars starting in Robin Roberts for the Phillies and Don Newcombe for the Dodgers, it was Dick Sisler who would end up being the hero, hitting a game-winning, and pennant-winning, three-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to set the stage for a Phillies/New York Yankees World Series.

Besides the aforementioned stars above, the Phillies also had Del Ennies, who led the team in all three triple crown stats that year, Willie Jones and Eddie Waitkus who both scored over 100 runs and Curt Simmons who contributed with his 17 wins.

But it was Konstanty who put together a year for the ages, as he came out of the bullpen and set National League records for saves with 22 and relief wins with 16, posting a 16-7 record with a 2.66 ERA over 74 games and 152 innings of work.

Sadly the young team could not keep up the winning ways of 1950, never seeing another postseason until the 1976 when guys like Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski were suiting up in the city of "Brotherly Love".

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #115 (A REVISIT OF #33)

Hey everyone.
Time to revisit some more 1970's trivia, this time from my trivia set first published in January of 2014.

These questions focus on pennant winning teams.

Take a look at the questions below and see what you can get. As usual I'll have the answers tomorrow.

1. Among all pennant winners, who had the lowest total for it's team leader in pitching wins?

2. Of all the pennant winning teams from 1970-79, who's home run leader had the fewest homers for the year?

3. What pennant winner's leading batter had the lowest batting average?

4. Which pennant winning team's E.R.A. leader had the highest earned run average?

5. Who lead his pennant winning team in Runs Batted In with the lowest total in the 1970's?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. 1979 Pirates. John Candelaria with 14 wins.

2. 1975 Red Sox. Jim Rice with 22 Homers.
 
3. 1973 Mets. Felix Milan hit .290.
 
4. 1975 Red Sox. Bill Lee & Rick Wise both had a 3.95 E.R.A.

5. 1973 Mets. Rusty Staub drove in 76 runs.