Fresh
off of giving Mike Hargrove an “In-Action” card in my ongoing 1975
sub-set, I just had to include him in my long-running “Nicknames of the
1970’s” set as well, with his awesome “Human Rain Delay” tag:
Hargrove was just hilarious with every single at-bat, and as a kid I was
in awe of the man for being able to do such a routine after every
single pitch.
Granted, nowadays it’d seem almost normal with the way things are, but
back then it was a riot! I was always expecting a pitcher to hit him
with the next pitch out of frustration.
By the time 1979 rolled around, which is the template I used for his
nickname card, Hargrove was firlmy established as a player who would get
on base consistently, posting on-base-percentages hovering around .400.
Already a two-time league leader in walks by the time this card would
have come out, Hargrove went on to post a brilliant .396 OBP over his
12-year career, with four seasons of 100+ walks along with five .300+
batting average campaigns.