Tuesday, October 24, 2017

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD- 1974 SUB-SET

Next up in the “Awards” thread I’ve been running for a while is a 1974 “Rookie of the Year” card for the 1973 winners, Gary Mathews and Al Bumbry, two guys who’d go on to have long productive careers in the Major Leagues:



In the National League, Mathews would have a really solid year for the San Francisco Giants, batting an even .300 with 22 doubles, 10 triples and 12 home runs with 74 runs scored and 58 runs batted in.
He played in 148 games and collected 162 hits over 540 at-bats, and even had 17 stolen bases thrown into the mix. Very nice first full season that led to an award.
He would go on to play 16 seasons in the Majors, retiring after 1987 with over 2000 hits with a very nice .281 batting average and 234 home runs
Over in the American League, Alonzo (Al) Bumbry only played in 110 games for the Baltimore Orioles, but he made the most of the opportunity as he led the American League with 11 triples while batting a hefty .337 with 120 hits over 356 at-bats.
He would go on to have a very nice 14-year career in the Big Leagues, all but his final season (with the San Diego Padres) spent in Baltimore, even becoming the first Orioles player to collect 200 or more hits in a season during the 1980 campaign when he collected 205 hits on his way to his only All-Star game nod.
By the time he hung them up after the 1985 season, he too retired with a batting average of .281, with 1422 hits over 5053 at-bats along with 254 stolen bases and 778 runs scored.
Two very good players who definitely left their mark on the game.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER...

@wthballs
Everything baseball: cards, events, history and more.