TRADED: 1977 JEFF BURROUGHS

Allow me to post my newest “Traded” card, this one as part of the 1977 set and featuring former A.L. MVP Jeff Burroughs, who found himself in Atlanta after spending the first 7 years in the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers organization:

The Braves gave up five players PLUS $250,000 for Burroughs, and he would make an immediate splash in the National league, hitting 41 home runs (a career high) while driving in 114 runs playing at the “Launching Pad”, Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium.
Though he wouldn’t match those numbers again in his career, he would put together a very nice 16-year career that saw him hit 240 homers while driving in 882 runs between 1970 and 1985.
As stated earlier he would take home the 1974 A.L. MVP Award when he hit 25 homers and led the league with 118 runs batted in along with a .301 batting average, arguably his finest season in the big leagues.
A #1 pick in the amateur draft of 1969 out of Long Beach, California, he would be one of the first members of the 30-home runs-in-both-leagues club (30 with the Rangers in 1973/41 Braves in 1977), and actually one of the most successful #1 over-all picks at the time.
At the tail end of his career during the early-1980’s he was a potent bat off the bench for teams like the Seattle Mariners, Oakland A’s and Toronto Blue Jays.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK-1960: TED WILLIAMS GOES OUT IN STYLE!

Knowing what we know about all-time great Ted Williams, how could career end in any other way, correct?
So let’s celebrate arguably the greatest all-around hitter of all-time with a 10th anniversary card in the 1970 set of his home run in the final at-bat of his legendary career:

“The Splendid Splinter” was just incredible as a hitter. The last .400 hitter, 521 home runs, a .344 lifetime average with SIX batting titles, and the man missed MULTIPLE years in his prime due to war and his service in the military.
I remember as a kid (nerd alert) I used to love averaging out the three seasons before and after his missed seasons and then factoring them into his final career numbers, and they were insane!
If I remember correctly (‘cause I ain’t doing it now) he would have had somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 home runs, 3500 hits, 2000+ runs scored and runs batted in along with the slugging and on-base percentages that would have made his already monster career just other-worldly!
So yes, having his Hall of Fame career end with a home run, the 29th of his final season, makes total sense to me.
On a side note, David Ortiz is currently putting together what can be the greatest “final season” in baseball history, and it is just awesome to watch it all unfold.
The numbers he’s on pace to finish with are staggering for someone (who still) states that he is retiring at the end of the year.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 RAY BUSSE

Today’s “missing” player is former Houston Astros infielder Ray Busse, who could have gotten a card in the 1974 Topps set. Take a look at the card I came up with:

Busse appeared in 39 games during the 1973 season, split between the St. Louis Cardinals and Astros, and hit a combined .126 with 11 hits in 87 at-bats.
That would end up being the most action he’d see in any of his three Major League seasons, which would end after the 1974 season after only appearing in 19 games, hitting .209 with seven hits in 34 at-bats.
Overall he would hit .148 over the 68 games played in the big leagues, with 23 hits over 155 at-bats while playing both third base and shortstop for both St. Louis and Houston.

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S: "THE RYAN EXPRESS" NOLAN RYAN

Don’t know why it took so long, but here’s a “nickname” card for all-time legend Nolan Ryan, the “Ryan Express”, who was starting a run like no other by the time this 1974 card would have been issued:

What really needs to be said about a guy who has become more myth than baseball legend?
300+ wins, 5700+ strikeouts, 60+ shutouts, and oh yeah SEVEN no-hitters, two of which came when he was well into his 40’s while with the Texas Rangers!
I used the 1974 template since he was fresh off his record-breaking 383 strikeout season of 1973, his second consecutive 300+ strikeout season, and on his way to make the Mets regret BIG TIME for letting him go.
I love thinking about the fact that he did all of this in the American League, with the designated hitter. Now imagine how many strikeouts he could have had in his prime pitching in the National League where the pitcher batted?!
Would it be safe to say you could add 20-30 strikeouts a season to his total?
Hey, you never know…
Nevertheless, the man became a baseball God, eventually finding his place in the Hall of Fame upon his first year of eligibility as an absolute no-brainer.
I just thank the skies above that I got to see him pitch in-person!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 FRANK TEPEDINO

Here’s a “missing” 1972 card for former first-baseman/outfielder Frank Tepedino, who put together an eight-year career in the Major Leagues between 1967 and 1975:

Tepedino appeared in 59 games during the 1971 season, split between the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers, batting .188 with 21 hits over 112 at-bats.
After playing in only eight games the following year for the Bronx Bombers, he would move on to the Atlanta Braves, where he would play the final three years of his pro days, seeing the most action of his career, helping out at first base as well as pinch-hitting.
He would end up batting .241 as a Major League player, totaling 122 hits in 507 at-bats in 265 games, with 50 runs scored and 58 runs batted in.

FANTASY COACH CARD: 1974 BILL MAZEROSKI

The next “Fantasy Coach Card” to hit the blog is former Pittsburgh Pirates great Bill Mazeroski and a 1974 card celebrating him in his new duties post-playing-career:

Mazeroski just wrapped up what would turn out to be a 17-year Hall of Fame career, all with the Pirates, that saw him bring home two world championships, one of which he literally won himself on a dramatic series-ending home run against the heavily favored New York Yankees in 1960, and that had him be declared one of the best defensive second basemen the game ever saw.
He topped 2000 hits, took home eight Gold Gloves, and became an instant hero in Pittsburgh after his 1960 heroics in the World Series, all leading to his place in Cooperstown.
Mazeroski turned to coaching right after his career as a player ended, and eventually would become a “special infield instructor” for the Pirates every Spring training to this very day.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 RICK JOSEPH

Time to give former Philadelphia Phillies player Rick Joseph a “missing” 1971 card, closing out a short five-year career:

Joseph finished-off his career batting .227 with 27 hits over 119 at-bats in 71 games in the City of Brotherly Love, giving him a .243 career average with 154 hits in 633 at-bats, with 13 homers and 65 runs batted in along with 69 runs scored.
All but four of his pro seasons had him playing for the Phillies, with his rookie year of 1964 seeing him suit up for the Kansas City Athletics.

A 1973 AIRBRUSHING GEM: WAYNE GRANGER

Time to look at another airbrushing gem from the 1970’s, the 1973 edition featuring former relief pitching wiz Wayne Granger:

Granger found himself in St. Louis after a year pitching for the Minnesota Twins, and Topps jumped right in and airbrushed (or should I say colored in with a crayon) the correct, up-to-date cap with a BOLD Cardinal “St. L.” logo.
It seems the original photo was of him with the Cincinnati Reds for whom he pitched between 1969 and 1971, coming into his own out of the ‘pen, leading the National League in game appearances twice and saves with 35 in 1970.
After a solid season for the Twins in 1971 he never attained that level of play the remaining five years of his nine-year career, pitching for the Yankees, White Sox, Astros and finally the Expos.
In those nine-seasons Granger totaled 451 appearances with a 35-35 record and 108 saves in 638.2 inning pitched, and his 35 saves were a record until Clay Carroll came along with the very same Reds in 1972 with 37.
Not a long career by any means, but a solid one nonetheless.

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON UNCUT SHEETS-1975

Thanks to Tony L, who sent me an image of a sheet he was keeping an eye on at an auction site, I was able to gawk and appreciate the Topps method of organizing their sheets, allowing for final cutting and packaging so they could land in our young, grubby hands:

Just fantastic to see the colors, the way the tops of some make the bottoms of other and so one, allowing printers to have their cuts lined up with ease (even though the 1975 set was notorious for miscuts and diamond cuts).
I notice the Reggie Jackson card, which was actually an uncorrected error card since he was supposed to be on a yellow-and-red template as an all-star, but perhaps it was done because of lack of space in the running lay-out? This has been a mystery for me for the past 40 years or so! Anyone have an answer?
I also spot one of the best cards of the decade, the Bill Sudakis card, second to last row, third from the right. Just a phenomenal card as far as photo, color and composition!
I also see some key cards in the set like Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose and Jim Palmer along with no less than five team cards and five of the league-leaders sub-set, which feature Steve Carlton, Ryan, Catfish Hunter, Rod Carew, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench and more.
A gorgeous explosion of colors worthy of anyone’s wall, though I would worry about fading hanging up in a frame like that.
I’ll be looking into some more posts focusing on uncut panels and sheets of interest, hope you like the idea.
Thanks again Tony!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 LUIS MELENDEZ

Here’s a “missing” 1977 card for former San Diego Padre outfielder Luis Melendez, who was pretty much wrapping up an eight-year Major League career by the time this card would have come out:

Melendez appeared in 72 games for the Padres after starting the year with the St. Louis Cardinals and playing 20 games for them. Combined he would hit .224 with 32 hits in 143 at-bats combined, with 15 runs scored and five runs batted in.
Making his debut in 1970 Melendez played his whole career with St. Louis before moving on to San Diego during the 1976 season, and after a scant eight games in 1977 his pro career would come to a close.
All told, he would finish with a .248 average with 366 hits over 1477 at-bats in 641 lifetime games, with 167 runs scored and 122 RBI’s, playing all but one game in the outfield between 1970 and 1977.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 ROB SPERRING

Here’s a “missing” 1975 card for former Chicago Cubs player Rob Sperring, who had his rookie season with the Cubbies in 1974:

During his first of four Major League seasons, Sperring played in 42 games, hitting .206 with 22 hits in 107 official at-bats with three doubles and a home run along with nine runs scored and five runs batted in.
He would go on to play two more seasons on Chicago’s North-Side before playing the final year of his career with the Houston Astros, closing out with a .211 batting average, collecting exactly 100 base hits in 473 at-bats in 208 games played.

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S: "THE ROADRUNNER" RALPH GARR

Let’s go and give former batting champ Ralph Garr a “Nickname” card since he had the cool alias of “The Road Runner” shall we?

Now, after seeing this photo I HAD to make the card up with Garr as a Chicago White Sox player, even though he had his best seasons while playing for the Atlanta Braves.
Nevertheless,  Garr put together a very nice 13-year career playing for the Braves, White Sox and California Angels, batting .306 with 1562 hits over 5108 at-bats in 1317 games.
Of course the high point of his career would be his batting championship of 1974 when he hit >353 with a league-leading 214 hits and 17 triples while still with the Braves.
But he would also hit .343 in 1971 with a career high 219 hits and 101 runs scored and .325 the following season, as well as having a third 200-hit campaign when he had exactly that total in 1973, making him one of the most effective hitters in the league between 1971 and 1975.
As for “Road Runner”, Garr did steal 172 bases during his career with a high of 35 in 1973, but I’ll guess it was a nom-de-plume that was stuck to him in the minors where he swiped as many as 63 bases in a season, that number happening in 1969 with Richmond of the International League.
Nevertheless a great nickname to add to the roster of aliases for the wild decade that was!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 MARK SCHAEFFER

Today’s “missing player” is Mark Schaeffer, he of one solitary season as a big league pitcher, 1972 with the San Diego Padres:

Schaeffer appeared in 41 games for the Padres, posting a 2-0 record with a 4.61 earned run average and 25 strikeouts in 41.0 innings of work with one save thrown in.
Oddly, I can’t find any action after that 1972 season on any level for him, Major or Minor. I wonder what happened? An Injury?
If anyone knows either way I’d love to hear it!
Regardless, hope you’re out there living the high-life Schaeffer!

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: 10TH ANNIVERSARY: BILL MAZEROSKI KILLS THE YANKEES IN THE WORLD SERIES

Today we start a new thread regarding baseball anniversaries in the 1970’s, 10th anniversaries throughout the “wild ‘70’s”, and we start with one of the biggies, Bill Mazeroski and his World Series winning home run in Game 7:

I can’t even imagine a series where the Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27, with blow-outs in all three of their wins, only to find themselves going home empty-handed after the Pirates stun the baseball world and take home the top prize in dramatic fashion.
In the three Yankee wins, they outscored Pittsburgh 38-3!!
But that didn’t matter as the Pirates won games 1, 4, 5 and 7 by the scores of 6-4, 3-2, 5-2 and 10-9, proving that it doesn’t matter how you win, taking home the championship is just as sweet!
After the Yanks tied what was a see-saw game in the top of the ninth on a wild play where Mickey Mantle avoided a tag by first baseman Rocky Nelson, allowing pinch-runner Gil McDougald to scoot home, the game was set up going into the bottom of the inning.
Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry was working his second inning after coming in to get the last out in the 8th, and was facing the Pirates lead-off hitter, second baseman Bill Mazeroski, who homered in the first game.
After a first pitch ball, Terry delivered the next, and Mazeroski followed with a home run that instantly made the baseball history books, sending a drive over the left field wall and giving the Pirates their championship, the last until they’d win it all again in 1971.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 LOU CAMILLI

Here’s a “missing” 1972 card for former Cleveland Indians infielder Lou Camilli, who played four abbreviated seasons in the Major Leagues between 1969 and 1972:

Camilli appeared in 39 games for the Tribe during the 1971 season, good for 89 plate appearances, finishing with a .198 batting average with 16 hits over 81 official at-bats.
He’d go on to play the last 39 games of his career the following year, posting a .146 average with six hits in 41 at-bats, coincidentally giving him a lifetime .146 average with 22 hits in 151 at-bats over 107 games, all of them played as an Indian coming out of Texas A&M University.

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! A REVISED FRANK HOWARD COACH CARD

You guys were right!
I should have made a 1979 coach card for Frank Howard instead of a 1977 version, so here you go:

"Hondo" deserves nothing but the best and most accurate cards in his honor! And quite frankly so do all of you who follow the blog!
Thanks for the input!

FANTASY COACH CARD FOR THE "HONDO" FRANK HOWARD: 1977

Here’s a coach card for former Major League slugger extraordinaire Frank Howard, the “Capital Punisher” who slammed his way into Washington record books during the 1960’s and early 1970’s:

After his playing days were up in 1974, Howard became a coach for Milwaukee from 1977 through 1980 before becoming a manager later on for both the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.
I have fond memories of him coaching for the Yankees in the late-80’s/early 90’s, seeing this HUGE guy out on the field making some of his younger peers look like little kids!
As a player, Howard played 16-years and hit 382 home runs, mainly for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Senators between 1958 and 1971, leading the American League in home runs twice, runs batted in once, walks once, and slugging percentage once while getting named to four straight all-star teams, while batting a very respectable .273 with 1119 RBI’s and 864 runs scored.
He was the National league Rookie of the Year in 1960 and was one of the first players to club 30 homers in each league when he hit 31 for the Dodgers in 1962 and 36 for the Senators in 1967.
If I’m not mistaken (being lazy and not double-checking), he was the second such player behind Frank Robinson, who beat him to the punch just a year earlier with his Triple Crown season for the Baltimore Orioles.

MAJOR LEAGUE FOUNDERS: LIP PIKE 1876-1976

Today’s post regarding founding stars of the National league and it’s 100th celebration in 1976 takes us to a guy that arguably belongs in the Hall of Fame, Lip Pike, the first “slugger” in Major League history:

A fellow-native of Brooklyn, Pike played all five years of the National Association’s existence, and led the league in home runs the first three.
As a matter of fact, Pike won four home run titles in his 10 years of pro ball between 1871 and 1887, while also taking home an RBI and doubles crown.
Some consider him one of the very first, if not THE first professional player since he was uncovered to have been paid $20 a week to play for the Philadelphia team in the mid-1860’s, leading the way for the first fully pro team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings just a few years later.
It’s reported that during the pre-N.A. Days, while he played for the Athletics, he even hit six home runs in a single game!
In 1870, he was the second baseman for the Brooklyn Atlantics when they stopped the famous Red Stockings 93-game winning streak still remembered today.
But beyond all the historical value Pike had on his resume, he was also just a plain GREAT player, considered not only one of the strongest but also one of the fastest.
By the time he retired after the 1887 season after a one-game comeback with the New York Metropolitans of the American Association, he’d finish with a .322 career average with 21 home runs, 434 runs scored and 332 runs batted in over 425 games.
He hit the most home runs and had the most extra base hits in the National Associations five year run between 1871-1875, with 15 and 135 respectively.

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S: "THE COUNT" JOHN MONTEFUSCO

Here’s a nickname card for a guy who made a big splash when he played his first full season in the Major Leagues, the 1975 National League Rookie of the Year John Montefusco of the San Francisco Giants, aka “The Count”:

Montefusco had a great rookie season for the Giants in 1975, going 15-9 with 215 strikeouts and a 2.88 earned run average with four shutouts in his 35 games, all but one of them a start.
He followed up with an excellent sophomore season in 1976, posting a career high 16 wins along with a 2.84 ERA and 172 strikeouts, with a league-leading six shutouts over 37 games and 253.1 innings.
He’d stick around in the big leagues through the 1986 season, but sadly for him never had the success of those first two years, though he did post a 14-4 record in 1983 split between the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees, for whom he’d pitch the final 3 1/2 years of his 13-year career.
All told Montefusco finished with a 90-83 career record, with a 3.54 ERA, 1081 strikeouts and 11 shutouts over 298 appearances, 244 of which were starts.
And of course...a cool nickname!
“The Count”!

1976 PROJECT: A RE-DO FOR BOBBY DARWIN

Next up in the long-running “1976 Project” for “Reader Jim” is a revamp of the originally airbrushed masterpiece that was Bobby Darwin’s 1976 Topps card.
For those who need a reminder, here’s the original:

Now here is what we came up with thanks to the Topps Vaults:

Kind of a clean-up job more than anything else, but well warranted.
Darwin found himself in Milwaukee after 3 1/2 productive years in Minnesota, where he averaged over 20 homers a year and just under 90 runs batted in.
Sadly he also averaged about 130 strikeouts per year, leading the American League three years in a row from 1972-1974 while hitting about .260.
After his move to the Brewers his career never equaled his output for the Twins, playing sporadically before being shipped to Boston where he would mainly DH before moving on yet again, this time to the Chicago Cubs for the last 11 games of his nine-year career.
All in all he hit 83 homers over 646 games with 559 hits and 328 RBI’s, with a .251 batting average in 2224 at-bats.

MISSING IN ACTION- "IN ACTION" #59: 1972 RALPH GARR

Did someone request a Ralph Garr “missing” 1972 In-Action card?
Well here it is, the next entry in my long-running thread. Check it out:

Garr was just off his first all-star caliber season of 1971 where he collected 219 hits along with an excellent .343 batting average. Keep in mind this was his first full-time year!
Over the next four years he’d be one of the top hitters in the league, even topping the N.L. with a .353 average in 1974, his career high.
By the time he retired after the 1980 season, he finished with a .306 batting average, leading the league in hits once, triples twice and average once as mentioned earlier, while playing for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox and California Angels over the course of 13 years.

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY!

A great big THANK YOU to Tony L. for snagging me one of these awesome Pete Rose commemorative posters celebrating his Topps cards as a Cincinnati Reds player (and manager)!
A very nice addition to my collection!
The event looked like a great time, wish I could have been there...maybe this will lead to to Cooperstown for "Charlie Hustle"?
Time will tell...
Thanks again Tony! Much appreciated!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 ROY FACE

Here’s a “missing” 1970 card that also acts as a “career capper” for former relief pitching great Roy Face, who closed out an excellent 16-year career in 1969:

Face appeared in 44 games for the Montreal Expos in their inaugural campaign, posting a 4-2 record with five saves and a 3.94 earned run average over 59.1 innings of work.
Not bad for a 41-year old!
He played the first 15 years of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he made a name for himself as a great pitcher out of the bullpen, leading the National League in saves three times, games pitched twice and winning percentage once.
Of course the season he led the league in winning percentage was his magical 1959 season when he went 18-1 with a 2.70 ERA over 57 games, earning him the first of his three all-star team nods.
For his career, Face finished with a 104-95 record, with a 3.48 ERA and 191 saves, a great number considering the era he pitched in, over 848 appearances, which was high up there at the time of his retirement.
On February 20th of this year Face celebrated his 88th birthday, and we wish him many more!! Cheers!

ONE OF THE GREATEST CARDS OF THE DECADE; 1971 KEN MCMULLEN

Recently when I asked everyone what their favorite card of the decade was, there were lots of surprises, and even MORE expected choices.
And ONE mention in particular made me happy since it seems to be forgotten, yet is so freaking cool it deserves a post to it’s awesomeness: the 1971 Ken McMullen card:

Man what a perfect in-game photo, and to top it off it shows old Yankee Stadium AND the flag pole and monuments in the outfield!! To my knowledge I don’t know of any other cards that show that! (anyone know of others?).
Fantastic card from a fantastic set!
So many great action cards from this set, yet I can’t figure out why Topps botched action cards the following couple years so much (especially their "In Action sub-set of 1972!).

THE 1977 DAVE COLLINS CARD

Once I really became a “baseball nerd”, where I recognized player faces to the point of ridicule by my friends, I always stared at the 1977 Topps Dave Collins card, convinced it wasn’t actually him on that card.
It wasn’t until years later that I found out for sure, and that it was Bobby Jones and NOT the former speedster that was staring out onto the field on that slab of cardboard released when I was eight-years old:

Literally decades later, with the advent of the wonderful World Wide Web, I finally got to see some correct images of what should have been on the card, putting to rest the little mystery that bugged me for so long:

 

Getting back to the actual card, it’s funny to see Topps did an airbrush job on a player that never actually played, or even SIGNED with the Mariners organization.
I can’t tell if Jones was in a California Angels uniform, the team he played for the previous season, or the Texas Rangers, for whom he played in 1974 and 1975.
From the back of his uni (or jacket?), it seems to point to the Angels but I can’t be sure.
Either way it was also fun the see that Jones put in a long 20-year career of professional baseball between 1967 and 1987, even playing two years in Japan in 1978/1979.
Thanks to these modern days of information at our fingertips it’s fun uncovering all these little facets of card collecting and players from my childhood!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 PROJECT- JOHN DOHERTY

It’s been a long while but it’s time to add to the long-running “1976 Project” for “Reader Jim”, this time with a card for someone who fashioned a brief two-year career and even had a card in the 1975 Topps set, former California Angels player John Doherty:

After playing in 74 games during his rookie year of 1974, Doherty came back in 1975 appeared in 30 more, hitting .202 with 19 hits over 94 at-bats.
Sadly for him that would be it for his Major League career, ending with a .240 batting average with 76 hits in 317 at-bats and 104 games, all for the Angels.
There are a few more players added to the “1976 Project” recently, so keep an eye out for them in the coming weeks.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1970'S: NOLAN RYAN MATCHES KOUFAX WITH FOUR NO-HITTERS

I don’t know how I forgot THIS highlight in baseball during the decade, but at least I remembered and created a card for Nolan Ryan’s fourth no-hitter, which tied him for the Major League record with the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax:

On June 1st of 1975, Ryan went out and no-hit the Baltimore Orioles 1-0, with light-hitting Dave Chalk driving in the game’s only run in the third inning.
That sole run was more than enough as the Orioles just could no do a thing against the “Ryan Express”, as Ryan struck out nine batters while walking “only” four.
Sadly for Ross Grimsley and Wayne Garland, they lost out on a nicely pitched game as they allowed a single run on nine hits while walking only one, with Grimsley getting tagged for the tough loss.
Ryan was in his stud prime in 1975, yet little did anyone know that he would go on to pitch another EIGHTEEN YEARS before giving his golden right-arm a rest!
324 career wins, 5714 strikeouts, 61 shutouts and SEVEN no-hitters, with TWO of them pitched after he turned 42!
Just ridiculous, stupendous, astonishing.
I remember being at a Yankee-Rangers day game some time in 1989 or 1990, and just hearing his grunts after every pitch, with the ball looking like a PEA, just amazing!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 STEVE HARGAN

Here’s a “missing” 1978 card which also serves as a “career capper” for long time pitcher Steve Hargan, who put together a decent 12-year career between 1965 and 1977:

Hargan played for no less than three teams during the 1977 season: Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves, appearing in 28 games and pitching 78.1 innings with a 2-6 record and a 6.55 earned run average.
The first eight years of his career were with the Cleveland Indians, where he put in some solid seasons, posting three sub-3.00 ERA campaigns while even leading the American League in shutouts with six in 1967, his only all-star nod.
Overall Hargan ended up with a 87 and 107 career record with a 3.92 ERA and 891 strikeouts accumulated over 354 appearances, 215 of which were starts, with 17 shutouts and 56 complete games.

A SPECIAL REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL CARD- 1974 ROBERTO CLEMENTE

Forgive me for forgetting exactly who, but someone who reads this blog brought up the subject of creating a “Hero” card for Pittsburgh Pirate great Roberto Clemente, perhaps in the 1974 Topps set, memorializing the recently deceased superstar while on a flight to help victims of an earthquake on New Year’s Eve, 1972.
I thought this was a very nice idea and went ahead with the following:

Clemente was indeed a ‘hero” to so many outside of baseball, even before he died so tragically trying to help others in need, so a card calling him as such made sense.
On the ball field he was perhaps the greatest Pirate outside of a guy called Honus Wagner, being named to 12 all-star teams, taking home four batting titles, and winning 12 straight Gold Gloves while collecting exactly 3000 hits with a .317 lifetime average.
Who knows how much longer he could have, or would have played had tragedy not struck, but it never mattered as far as his baseball accomplishments.
The man was already in the upper stratosphere in his sport.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 LUTE BARNES

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Have a safe and fun day...
Yes, I AM pushing it here creating a “missing” card for former New York Mets player Lute Barnes, but I’ve decided to push ahead and create cards for anyone I can find a suitable image for and played in a Major League game the year before.
I’ll really hit the ground running in January 2017 with this thread, but here’s a bit of a taste:

Barnes appeared in 24 games for the Mets during the 1972 season, manning second and short while hitting .236 at the plate with 17 hits over 72 at-bats with a couple of doubles and triples.
That would be the bulk of his career in the big leagues, as he would only manage to get into three games the following season, going 1-2 at the plate as a pinch hitter before wrapping up a short two-year career.
If you’re all for these guys getting cards on my blog let me know! Would love to know if there’s an interest in the effort or not...

MAJOR LEAGUE FOUNDERS: EZRA SUTTON 1876-1976

Here’s a “Founders” card celebrating baseball’s 100th anniversary in 1976 for a player who is credited by such baseball resources as “Baseball-Reference” as the very FIRST player in terms of official appearance in professional play, Ezra Sutton, who was the first batter in the National Association when playing for the Cleveland team back in 1871.
When the National League began play in 1876, Sutton was a seasoned veteran and was now a member of the Philadelphia Athletics:

Mainly a third baseman, Sutton played in 18 seasons between the NA and NL between 1871 and 1888, and collected 1574 hits over 5360 at-bats, good for a .294 batting average in 1263 games.
In that inaugural 1876 season, he batted .297 for the Athletics, collecting 70 hits in 236 at-bats with 12 doubles, seven triples and a single homer, with 45 runs scored and 31 runs batted in over 54 games.
Wonder if he ever thought he’d be remembered like this some 140 years later!?!?

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S- "MICK THE QUICK" RIVERS

Gotta have a “Nickname of the ‘70’s” card for my favorite speedster as a young Yankee fan in the late-70’s, Mickey Rivers: aka “Mick the Quick”:

Rivers was as colorful off the base-paths as on them, and if you don’t know what I mean just read some of the “Bronx Zoo” books like “Number 1”.
Absolutely hilarious dude!!
He also wasn’t so bad as a player either!
He would finish his 15-year big league career with a nice .295 batting average, with 1660 hits over 5629 at-bats in 1468 games with the California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers between 1970 and 1984, with 267 stolen bases.
He led the American League in triples twice (1974 and 1975) while also topping the league with 70 steals that second year as well.
His finest season had to be 1980 with the Texas Rangers when he collected 210 hits, giving him an excellent .333 batting average with 96 runs scored (a career high) along with 32 doubles six triples and seven homers.
Of course he was also a member of those two consecutive World Champion Yankees of 1977 and 1978, giving the Yanks that speedster at the top of the order for guys like Munson, Jackson and Nettles to drive home.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 TOM MATCHICK

Allow me to post a “missing” 1972 card for former infielder Tom Matchick of the Milwaukee Brewers, who was at the tail-end of a 6-year Major League career:

Matchick appeared in 42 games for Milwaukee during the 1971 season, hitting .219 with 25 hits in 114 at-bats.
The following season would see him appear in only three games for the Baltimore Orioles, collecting two hits in nine at-bats while covering third base.
A light-hitting fielder, he was a part of the World Champion Detroit Tigers during their improbable run in 1968, which happened to be his rookie year.
Overall for his career, Matchick hit .215 with 178 hits in 826 at-bats, appearing in 292 games playing all four infield positions.