Here’s
a card that easily could have been Warren Cromartie’s rookie card, a
1977 edition after playing almost three-dozen games during the 1976
season:
Cromartie appeared in 33 games for the Montreal Expos in 1976, batting
.210 with 17 hits over 81 at-bats, just beginning what would be a very
nice 10-year career that saw him hit a career .281 playing all but one
year in Montreal.
What a great young team those Expos had! Along with Cromartie, you had
Andre Dawson and Ellis Valentine coming up around the same time as well,
giving Montreal quite a stud outfield.
Cromartie would have some solid years in the latter half of the 1970’s,
collecting no less that 1972 hits in each season between 1977 and 1980,
along with 30+ doubles and averaging about a .285 batting mark for the
period.
But, after finding himself out of the Major Leagues prematurely in 1984,
he would sign with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and put in some monster
seasons through 1990, even winning the league’s MVP Award in 1989 after
batting .378 with 15 homers and 72 runs batted in.
After another solid 1990 season, he was invited by Kansas City to come
to Spring Training, at the age of 37, eventually batting .313 in limited
play before retiring for good after 69 games.
Quite a baseball adventure for the fan favorite in Montreal.