Today
on the blog we have a “not so missing” 1975 card for former catcher
Pete Varney, who played parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues and
only got one “official” Topps card, in 1976:
Varney made his MLB debut during the 1973 season, appearing in only five
games and going 0-4 at the plate then following it up with nine
appearances in 1974 when he went 7-for-28, good for a .250 batting
average.
In 1975 he’d see the most action in any one season, playing in 36 games
for the White Sox, batting .271 with 29 hits in 107 official at-bats,
including 12 runs scored and eight runs batted in.
That amount of face-time In the Big Leagues was good enough to get him a
card in the classic 1976 Topps set, but it sadly wouldn’t last, as he
would appear in only 19 games in the Majors during the Bicentennial
season, split between Chicago and the Atlanta Braves, for whom he’d play
the last games of his career with.
That season he’d bat a combined .216 with 11 hits in 51 at-bats,
connecting for three homers with five RBIs and five runs scored.
Turns out that would be the last action he’d see in the Majors, as he’d
play all of 1977 in the Minors for Atlanta before retiring as a player,
finishing up with a career .247 average, with 47 hits over 190 at-bats,
with 18 runs scored and 15 RBIs.
Fun
card to add to the “nicknames” thread today, a 1970 edition for the
“Mule” Dick Dietz, who had himself a nice eight-year MLB career, with a
colossal All-Star season in 1970:
Dietzput in a decent career, with this MVP-calibre season smack in the
middle in 1970 when he hit .300 with 22 homers, 107 runs batted in, 36
doubles and 109 walks. One of the better seasons by a catcher in that era.
This season was so far and away from any of his other seven campaigns it
reminds me of the 1980 Miguel Dilone or Steve Stone years, or maybe the
1973 Davey Johnson season among others.
Over his eight seasons In the Big Leagues, Dietz hit .261, with 478 hits
in 1829 at-bats, hitting 66 homers and driving in 301, with 226 runs
scored over 646 games, with his one all-star season coming in 1970.
I
have always wanted to “update” that 1970 card for former outfielder Ron
Stone, and I recently found a great image to do it with, so here goes.
As you may remember, with Topps and the Players Union battling each
other, Topps began using old images for players, sometimes reusing
images from years prior for their cards in the late-60’s/early-70s.
This one is a great example, the original Ron Stone 1970, which clearly
shows him in a Kansas City Athletics uniform from about 1966 when he
made his MLB debut with 26 games:
Now, with time on our side I found this image of him in the correct
uniform as a Phillies player, so here’s the new, updated version:
Stone would spend four of his five MLB seasons with the Phillies,
finishing up with a career .241 average over 388 games, collecting 194
hits in 804 at-bats between 1966 and 1972, with 1967-68 spent entirely
in the Minors.
A
familiar face of late-70s/early-80s baseball gets a “not so missing”
1975 card, former catcher Jim Essian a couple of years before his actual
Topps rookie card of 1977:
Essian originally came up to the Big Leagues with the Philadelphia
Phillies in 1973, appearing in two games before coming back in 1974 with
17 games.
Over those 17 games he went 2-for-20 at the plate, with a run scored and
two base on balls before coming back in 1975 for yet another brief
appearance in the Majors, this time two games where he went 1-for-2 at
the plate with an RBI.
1976 would be his break, as he was now a member of the Chicago White
Sox, playing in 78 games and hitting .246 with 49 hits over 199 at-bats,
thus his true rookie card in the 1977 set.
He would go on to play 12 seasons in the Majors, finishing up in 1984
with 63 games as an Oakland A’s catcher, putting in a career .244
average with 453 hits in 1855 at-bats, with 33 homers and 207 runs
batted in.
He’d go into coaching post playing career, even getting some managerial
experience in 1991 as the third manager of the season for the Chicago
Cubs, going 59-63 for a fourth place finish.
Up on the blog today is a “not so missing” 1973 card for former pitcher Ray Bare, who made his MLB debut during the 1972 season:
Bare appeared in 14 games for the St. Louis Cardinals, going 0-1 with a
sparkling 0.54 earned run average over 16.2 innings pitched.
He would spend all of 1973 in the Minor Leagues before making it back in
1974, going 1-2 over 10 appearances with a bloated 5.92 ERA in 24.1
innings.
The following season he’d have a full-time gig, now as a starter for the
Detroit Tigers, appearing in 29 games, 21 of them starts, going 8-13
with a 4.48 ERA over 150.2 innings, completing six games including a
shutout.
He’d be back in 1976, appearing in 30 games, with 21 of them starts,
going 7-8 with a 4.63 ERA, with three complete games and two shutouts.
He’d start off the 1977 season in the Minor Leagues before getting back
on a Big League mound before the season was over, going 0-2 with an ERA
at 12.56 over five appearances and 14.1 innings.
But those appearances would be the last of his career, as he would spend
all of 1978 in the Baltimore Orioles Minor League system before hanging
them up at the age of 29.
All told he finished his career with a record of 16-26, posting an ERA of 4.79 over 88 appearances and 340 innings pitched.
A
bit of a twist creation today for the blog, a “redone” 1971 card for
former first baseman George Kopacz, who appeared in his last MLB games
during the 1970 season as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates:
Now, the twist is that Kopacz did in fact appear on a multi-player
rookie card in the 1971 set, but as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers,
with whom he’d never actually play.
So, finding this image of him in the Pirates uni made for a “corrected”
1971 card representing his final season as a Big League ballplayer.
Originally up to the Majors in 1966 as a member of the Atlanta Braves,
he played in six games in his first MLB action, going hitless in nine
at-bats with a run scored.
After three-plus seasons in the Minors, he made it all the way back to
the Big Leagues with 10 games in 1970 with the Pirates, going
3-for-sixteen at the plate, good for a .188 average.
Turns out that would be it for his career, as he would go on to play
another three years in the Minor Leagues before retiring for good after
the 1973 season.
All told his Big League career ended with a .120 batting average, with
three hits over 25 at-bats in 16 games, along with two runs scored.
Today
on the blog we have a “not so missing” 1979 card for former Kansas City
Royals pitcher George Throop, who appeared in one game for the Western
Division champs the previous year:
Throop, who was originally up for his first taste of the Big Leagues in
1975, appeared in one game during the 1978 season, pitching three
innings of scoreless ball and ending up with the win.
He’d end up playing only one more year in the Majors, splitting the 1979
season between the Royals and Houston Astros, going 1-0 once again,
with a 4.32 ERA over 18 appearances and 25 innings pitched.
But it seems like his professional career ended there, without even any
Minor League games played after that 1979 season, finishing with a
career 2-0 record along with an ERA at 3.83 over 30 appearances and 42.1
innings of work.
Always wanted to do a “not so missing” 1975 card for former Los Angeles Dodgers John Hale.
Why? Well when you break into the Major Leagues going 4-for-4 over four
games with two runs scored, it deserves a little extra attention, so
here goes:
Hale came up as a September call-up during the Dodgers run to the
National League title before falling to the three-peat Oakland A’s in
the World Series.
Over his four game debut, he collect the aforementioned four hits over
four at-bats, along with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Not bad
at all.
Of course, we all know that is not the way it was going to keep moving
along, as Hale would be back in the Big Leagues for 1975, and ended up
hitting .211 over 71 games, with 43 hits in 204 at-bats.
He’d go on to play parts of four more seasons: two more with the Dodgers
and the final two with the Seattle Mariners, never hitting higher than
.241, with two seasons below the “Mendoza Line”.
By the time he left the game as an active player in 1979, he ended up
with a career .201 average, with 137 hits in 681 at-bats over 359 games,
with 14 homers and 72 RBIs.
Found
another great image from the 1970’s and had to create a 1973 special
for it: Chicago White Sox pitching coach Johnny Sain posing with
pitchers Wilbur Wood and Eddie Fisher and their knuckle-ball grips:
Just an awesome shot of the legendary Sain, former pitching star of the
1940’s and 1950’s, along with an effective reliever in Fisher from the
1960’s, and Wood, who was doing some incredible things in the mid-70’s.
While Fisher was wrapping up a very nice 15-year Major League career as a
relief pitcher, Wood was in the middle of a ridiculous run where he’d
post four-straight 20-win seasons, with over 300 innings pitched each
time, with an astronomical 376.2 thrown in 1972, good for top-5 finishes
for the Cy Young Award three straight years between 1971 and 1973.
It’s also worth noting that just a few years earlier, in 1968., Wood
also had one of the great RELIEF pitching seasons of all-time when he
appeared in 88 games, going 13-12 with a sparkling 1.87 ERA over 159
innings pitched along with 16 saves.
Nevertheless, just a great photo of pretty much three eras of the game represented in one shot!
I love creating these “specials”. Just too much fun...
Quick:
who is the only eligible player to win four or more batting titles and
NOT be in the Hall of Fame? Why it would be today’s blog subject, Bill
“Mad Dog” Madlock, who gets a 1975 “In-Action” card for the long-running
thread:
Madlock was coming off his first full season in the Big Leagues, hitting
.313 for the Chicago Cubs after coming over in a trade from the Texas
Rangers a year earlier.
Of course, we all know what would happen next, as Madlock would win
consecutive batting crowns in 1975 and 1976, then lead the league in
batting again in 1981 and 1983 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The man could rake!
He would put in 15-seasons under the Big League sun, hitting .305 with
2008 hits in 6594 at-bats over 1806 games between 1973 and 1987, while
getting tabbed for three All-Star games.
Is he a Hall of Famer?
I’d say he falls a bit short, but then again, if there are NO other
four+ batting title holders not in the Hall, does that raise the
argument for Madlock?
Time
to go ahead and post a “not so missing” 1978 card for long-time
pinch-hitter Terry Crowley, who was left out of the 1978 set, and to be
honest I never even realized it until recently:
Granted, the 15-year veteran only appeared in 18 games for the
Baltimore Orioles in 1977, hitting a robust .364 with eight hits over 22
at-bats.
His Big League career spanned between 1969 and 1983, having the
incredible luck of playing for both the 1970 Baltimore Orioles and 1975
Cincinnati Reds, the two top-winning teams of the 1970’s and World
Champions.
For his career, Crowley hit .250 with 379 hits in 1518 at-bats, with 42
homers and 229 runs batted in over 865 games playing for the Orioles,
Reds, Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos.
Here’s
a card I absolutely thought I already created for the blog some time
ago, but actually didn’t, a 1977 “not so missing” card for former
infielder Bob Heise, then of the Boston Red Sox:
Heise, who I have created a couple other cards for his career (1976
& 1978) here on the blog, appeared in 32 games with the Boston Red
Sox in 1976, hitting .268 with 15 hits over 56 at-bats, driving in five
runs while scoring five himself.
He would play one more season in the Big Leagues, in 1977 with the
Kansas City Royals, finishing up with a career .247 average, with 283
hits in 1144 at-bats over 499 games, with one home run (hit in 1970
while with San Francisco), 86 RBIs and 104 runs scored between 1967 and
1977.
Interesting
custom on the blog today, a “not so missing” 1972 card for former
pitcher Larry Bearnarth, who made it all the way back to Major League
ball in 1971 after four years in the Minor Leagues:
Originally up in the Majors between 1963 and 1966 with the New York Mets
as a reliable middle reliever, Bearnarth toiled in the Minors between
1967 and 1970 before getting what turned out to be his last Big League
action in May of 1971 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
He appeared in only two games, not factoring in a decision and posting
an ERA of 18.00 with six runs allowed over three innings of work.
For his career, he finished with a record of 13-21, with an ERA of 4.13
over 173 appearances and 322.2 innings pitched, along with eight saves.
Another
really fun card to add to my 1976 “collection”, a “not so missing
edition for former outfielder-catcher Paul Powell, who played what would
be the last of his Big League games during the 1975 season:
Originally up with the Minnesota Twins in 1971, Powell played
exclusively in the outfield for the Twins over 20 games, hitting only
.161.
After a full season in the Minors in 1972 he’d find himself out West as a
Los Angeles Dodger, playing in two games during the 1973 season, going
hitless in one at-bat while playing out in Left Field.
After another full season in the Minors for 1974, he’d be back on Big
League grass for eight games in 1975, now also putting in time behind
the plate, going 2-for-10 at the plate while catching seven games, with
one other game out in the outfield.
Definitely a rarity to see an outfielder come back as a catcher like that. And fun to bring up on the blog!
For his career, Powell played in 30 games, hit .167 with seven hits in 42 at-bats, with a homer, two RBIs and nine runs scored.
Fun
card to create today, a “not so missing” 1973 “rookie” card for former
catcher Vic Correll, who made his MLB debut with one game in 1972:
Correll, who I never realized came up with the Boston Red Sox, appeared
in his Big League debut on October 4th of 1972, going 2-for-4 at the
plate with a run scored and an RBI. Not bad.
He’d spend all of 1973 in the Minors before making it back, now as a
member of the Atlanta Braves where he’d play for four seasons, generally
as a platoon or back-up catcher never hitting over .238.
In 1978 he’d move on to the Cincinnati Reds where he would play the
final three years of his eight-year career, finishing up with a career
.229 batting average, with 259 hits over 1132 at-bats, with 29 homers
and 128 RBI’s in 410 games.
I
can’t believe it’s already been two years since I last added to my 1976
sub-set “Founders of the Game”, so today I’ll add former player,
baseball organizer and sports writer Tim Murnane to the set:
Murnane truly was a baseball pioneer, beginning as a player during the
pre-professional days in the Northeast, then on to the National
Association years between 1871-1875, then on to the the first few
seasons of Major League ball beginning in 1876.
Though never a full-time player, Murnane was a man of many interests in
the game besides actually playing, evidenced by his eventual position as
President of the New England League and Eastern League Minor League
systems before moving on to a more well-known career of 30 years as a
sportswriter and baseball editor at the Boston Globe.
Truly a man of many talents, he’s one of the early figures of the game
that need to be read up on for what they helped create, a sport that
still thrives 150+ years later. Just astounding and I’m sure he’d be
thrilled, maybe even a bit surprised as to what the game looks like
today.
On
the blog today we take a closer look at the 1976 airbrush job the fine
folks at Topps created for former pitcher Tom House, who was traded over
to the Boston Red Sox from the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Roger Moret
on December 12, 1975:
Definitely not one of Topps best attempts at airbrushing, but not one of
the worst either, even though the “neon” red cap color is a bit
comical.
House, who made his Big League debut in 1971 as a 24-year-old with
Atlanta, was coming off a 1975 season that saw him go 7-7 over 58
appearances, with a 3.18 earned run average as a solid arm out of the
bullpen.
He’d put in eight years in the Big Leagues, generally as a reliever who
made 289 appearances with only 21 of them starts, finishing up with a
career 29-23 record with an ERA at 3.79 and 33 saves between 1971 and
1978.
As a bit of a side-note, I’ll always remember that he was the pitcher in
the bullpen on that historic 1974 day, catching Hank Aaron’s 715th home
run.
Haven’t
added many managers to my long running “nicknames” thread, so here’s
one of them today, a 1977 edition for “Major” Ralph Houk, who was in the
middle of his Detroit Tigers helm when this card would have seen the
light of day:
Houk, who put in an eight-year Major League career in the
late-40’s/early 50’s as a back-up catcher with the New York Yankees, had
a much more effective Big League career as a manager, putting in 20
seasons leading a team, including his five years with the Tigers between
1974 and 1978.
Of course, everyone will remember that he was the Tigers’ manager before
Sparky Anderson took over in 1979 on his way to an historic run.
For Houk, it was a rough time leading Detroit, with four sub-.500
seasons before finishing on a high-note in 1978 when the team went
86-76.
But don’t feel bad for the guy, as he started as a Big League manager
when he took over the Yankees before the 1961 season, yep, the year the
Yankees went on to win 109 games, straight to a World Championship, and
have Mantle and Maris fight for the “race to 61”.
By the time he retired as a manager after the 1984 season after four
years managing the Boston Red Sox, Houk finished with a 1619-1531
record, with two championships, and three American League pennants.
Today’s
blog post has a 1974 card for former Texas Ranger pitcher Rick
Henninger, who played in the Big Leagues for only six games during the
1973 season:
Henninger had a brief career to say the least, appearing in those six
games between September 3rd and 24th in 1973 for a total of 23 innings,
but it was successful, as he went on to post an earned run average of
2.74 while going 1-0.
However, though only 25 years of age and on a team you’d think could use
a young arm, he’d never get a call-up again, spending the last three
years of his pro career in the Rangers and Cleveland Indians systems
before retiring after the 1975 season.
Next
post up on the blog is a 1973 “not so missing” card for former
California Angels outfielder Tom Silverio, who played the last of his
Big League games during the 1972 season:
Silverio spent all three seasons of his career with the Angels, beginning in 1970 when he appeared in 15 games as a 24-year-old.
He went 0-15 at the plate, walking twice, in his first taste of the “big
show”, before heading back to the Minors for the 1971 season.
But he did get a call-up and appear in three games during the 1971 season, going 1-for-3 to collect his first hit, a single.
In 1972 he’d spend most of the year in the Minors again, but he would
get back up to the Majors and play in 13 games, going 2-for-12 at the
plate while playing all three outfield positions.
But that would be it for the young outfielder as far as his Major League
career was concerned, as he would go on to play the next nine years in
the Mexican League, retiring at the age of 35 in 1981.
All told, his MLB career ended up with a career .100 batting average,
with three hits over 30 at-bats, with two runs scored over parts of
three seasons.
Another
fun card to create for the blog, a 1973 “not so missing” card for
former catcher Charlie Sands, who appeared in one game, for one plate
appearance during the 1972 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates:
Back in 1967 Sands made his MLB debut with one game and one plate
appearance as a 19-year-old with the New York Yankees, before heading
back to the Minors between 1968 and 1970.
In 1971 he made it back to the Big Leagues with 28 games with the
eventual World Champion Pirates, hitting an even .200 with five hits
over 25 at-bats, including his 1st MLB home run.
In 1973 he’d find himself with the California Angels, where he’d suit up
for two years and a total of 60 games combines, before moving on to his
final stop as a Big Leaguer, the Oakland A’s in 1975 with three
appearances.
All told, Sands played parts of six years in the Majors, appearing in 93
games and hitting .214 with 31 hits over 145 at-bats, scoring 15 runs
and driving in 23 with six homers.
Up
on the blog today is a card I thought I already created some time ago,
but better late than never, a 1971 “not so missing” card for former
one-year pitcher Mel Behney:
The 22-year-old played the entirety of his Big League career between
August 14th of 1970, through September 20th, appearing in five games and
going 0-2 with an earned run average of 4.50 over 10 innings of work.
He would go on to pitch another three years in the Minor Leagues, the
last season in the Boston system, but never get a chance at a Major
League game again.
Oddly, he would get a spot on a Topps multi-player rookie card in both
the 1972 and 1973 sets, even though he never appeared in an MLB game
again.
I did notice that in his final pro season, playing with the Pawtucket
Red Sox in 1973, he made 18 starts and completed 12 of them.
Just something quirky that struck me when I looked over his career.
Up
on the blog today I’m posting up a nice 1971 custom featuring three
studs for the Baltimore Orioles, who all posted 20+ wins in 1970:
Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally won a combined 68 games
between them, helping the Orioles post 108 wins in 1970, on their way to
a World Championship over the Cincinnati reds.
Those 108 wins would end up being the high-mark for wins by a team
during the decade, matched by the 1975 “Big Red Machine” Reds, who also
took home the title that year.
For future Hall of Fame pitcher Palmer, it would be the first of eight
20-win seasons, with only the 1974 and 1979 seasons where he didn’t win
at least 20 during the wild-70’s.
McNally and Cuellar would finish second and fourth respectively in the
Cy Young race at the end of year, behind winner Jim Perry of the
Minnesota Twins, with Palmer following right behind at number 5.
What a magnificent stable of young arms!
As an aside to the way the game has changed over the generations, the
Orioles only used six starters all season in 1970, with one of them,
Marcelino Lopez, starting only three games.
Their other five starters accounted for 159 of 162 starts that season. Incredible.
Super
fun card to create for the long running “nicknames” thread, a 1975
edition for Oakland A’s star Gene Tenace, aka “Steamboat”:
Tenace, an important cog in the three-peat champion A’s teams of the
mid-decade, was having himself a wonderful run between 1973 and 1976.
Constantly hitting 20+ homers and drawing 100+ walks a year, his on-base-percentage was always hovering around the .400 mark.
After the 1976 season Tenace, along with many of his star teammates was
shipped off by eccentric team owner Charlie Finley, and found himself as
a member of the San Diego Padres, where he would play for the next four
seasons before moving on to St. Louis for two years and lastly the
Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, his last in the big leagues.
He would total 15-years in the Major Leagues, winning three
championships, an all-star berth in 1975, and hitting 201 home runs
while batting .241 along with a very nice .388 on-base-percentage
because of his walk totals.
Oh yeah, and he had an awesome full name: Fiore Gino Tennaci!
Don’t
know why it took my so long to create a 1974 “not so missing” card for
former New York Mets outfielder Dave Schneck, but here you go:
In 1973 Schneck appeared in 13 games, good for 36 plate appearances,
hitting only .194 with seven hits, including two runs scored and a
triple while playing out in centerfield.
He’d play three years in the Big Leagues, all for the Mets before he was
shipped to the Phillies as part of the Tug McGraw/John Stearns deal in
December of 1974.
He would go on to play in the Minors for Philly, Cincinnati and the
Chicago Cubs for another three years before hanging them up, leaving us
with 143 games played for his career, with a .199 batting average based
on 82 hits over 413 at-bats, with eight homers and 35 RBIs.
On
the blog today we have a “not so missing” card for former reliever Mike
Stanton, who made his Big League debut in 1975 with the Houston Astros:
Stanton appeared in seven games for Houston as a 22 year old, going 0-2
with a 7.27 earned run average over 17.1 innings of work.
He’d go back to the Minor Leagues for the next four seasons before
making it back to a Major League mound in 1980, now as a member of the
Cleveland Indians, for whom he’d pitch the next two years before moving
on to the Seattle Mariners in 1982.
He’d pitch for Seattle for the rest of his seven-year career save for
the final 11 games of his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1985,
appearing in 277 games, all but three of them out of the bullpen,
finishing with a career 13-22 record, with a 4.61 ERA and 31 saves and
304 strikeouts over 384.1 innings of wor.
Today
on the blog we have a “not so missing” 1977 card for former infielder
Tim Nordbrook, who split the 1976 season between the Baltimore Orioles
and California Angels:
Nordbrook, who originally came up to the Big Leagues in 1974, appeared
in 32 games split between the two teams in 1976, hitting .167 with 5
hits over 30 at-bats, scoring five runs with a stolen base.
He would go on to play in parts of six seasons through 1979, never
playing more than 41 games in any year across five organizations,
finishing with a .178 batting average with 30 hits in 169 at-bats over
129 games.
Time
to go and post up my 1979 traded card for the “Mad Hungarian” Al
Hrabosky, who found himself dealt to the American League West champion
Kansas City Royals over the Winter of 1977/78:
Hrabosky was already entrenched as one of the premier relievers of the
Senior Circuit when he was traded to the Royals for Mark Little and Buck
Martinez on December 8th.
He’d go on to play two seasons for K.C., performing very well with 31 saves and a combined 17-11 record, finishing 84 games.
But after the 1979 season he’d be on the move again, heading to the
Atlanta Braves where he would pitch the last three seasons of his
career, developing arm problems and retiring at the end of 1982.
He would finish a very nice 64-35, with a 3.10 ERA and 97 saves over 545
appearances and 722 innings pitched between 1970 and 1982, finishing in
the Top-5 in NL Cy Young voting in both 1974 and 1975.
Of course, the mark he really left on the game were his insane antics,
psyching himself up on the mound like a madman with his back to the
batter before he spun around in an apparent rage.
Classic stuff from one of the real characters of 1970’s baseball!
Today
we have a “not so missing” 1978 card for two-year Major league pitcher
Johnny Sutton, who made his Big League debut during the 1977 season as a
member of the St. Louis Cardinals:
Sutton appeared in 14 games for the Red Birds and did very well,
pitching to a 2-1 record with a nice 2.59 earned run average over 24.1
innings of work.
Over the Winter he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the Rule 5
Draft, and proceeded to appear in 17 games during the 1978 campaign, not
factoring in a decision and pitching to a 3.45 ERA over 44.1 innings.
Sadly for him however, he’d end up pitching in the Minor Leagues over
the next four out of five seasons (missing all of 1981), never getting
another chance at a Major league game again.
He’d finish his tenure with a record of 2-1 over 31 appearances, with an
ERA of 3.15 with 27 strikeouts in 68.2 innings pitched. A nice brief
MLB career for sure.
Wanted
to add this “nickname” card to the long-running series, even though
technically he wouldn’t be considered a “1970s” player.
Nevertheless, veteran Major League infielder “Ducky” Dick Schofield
wound up a nice 19-year career in 1971, carving out a Big League tenure
as a valuable glove to fill-in or platoon throughout the years:
Schofield would end up splitting the 1971 season, his last, between the
St. Louis cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, finishing up with 1321
games played, 3083 at-bats and 699 hits, good for a .227 career average.
Over those 19 seasons he played for seven organizations, three in the
American League and four in the National League, playing what we would
consider a “full” season only twice, in 1963 with the Pittsburgh Pirates
and 1965 when he split the season with the Pirates and San Francisco
Giants.
Later on his son Dick Jr, as well as grandson Jayson Werth would play in
the Big Leagues, making them one of the rare three-generation baseball
families out there.
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