NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 GENE PENTZ

Today we have a career-capping 1979 “not so missing” card for former pitcher Gene Pentz, who played out his four-year MLB career with 10 appearances for the Houston Astros in 1978:

He didn’t factor in a decision over those appearances, pitching to an earned run average of 6.00 in 15 innings of work, all out of the bullpen.
The previous two seasons were successful for the reliever, as he went a combined 8-5 over 81 appearances, with seven saves and an ERA at about 3.50 for Houston.
He made his MLB debut in 1975 with the Detroit Tigers, appearing in 13 games and going 0-4 with an ERA of 3.20 over 25.1 innings, again all out of the ‘pen.
All told, Pentz went 8-9 for his career, appearing in 104 games and posting an ERA of 3.63 in 191 innings pitched, with seven saves and four starts.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 VINCE COLBERT

Today we have a card that I originally pegged as “not really missing”, but upon further review consider it really a “missing” career-capping card for former Cleveland Indians pitcher Vince Colbert:

Colbert, who spent all three years of his Big League career with the Indians between 1970 and 1972, appeared in 22 games during the 1972 season, going 1-7 with an earned run average of 4.58 over 74.2 innings pitched.
The previous year was his only “full” season when he appeared in 50 games, going 7-6 with a 3.97 ERA, starting 10 of those games and completing two.
In his MLB debut of 1970 he appeared in 23 games, going 1-1 with a 7.26 ERA in 31 innings, giving us a final Big League record of 9-14 over 95 appearances, with an ERA of 4.57 in 248.1 innings of work, with three complete games and a shutout, along with four saves.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 BILL EDGERTON

Today we have a “not so missing” 1970 card for former pitcher Bill Edgerton, who was one of the Seattle Pilots during their one year as a Major League franchise in 1969:

Edgerton, who made it back to a Big League mound after spending all of 1968 in the Minors, appeared in four games during the 1969 season, going 0-1 with an ERA of 13.50 in four innings of work.
Before that he made brief appearances in both 1966 and 1967 for the (then) Kansas City Athletics, going a combined 1-1 with an ERA of about 3.00 in 13 games and 16.2 innings pitched.
He finished his three year career with a record of 1-2 over 17 appearances, pitching to an ERA of 4.79 in 20.2 innings, striking out 11 batters while walking 10.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 LOU CAMILLI

Up on the blog today we have a career-capping “not so missing” 1973 card for former Cleveland Indians infielder Lou Camilli:

Camilli, who spent all four seasons of his Big League career with Cleveland, appeared in 39 games over the 1972 campaign, hitting .146 with six hits over 41 at-bats with three runs batted in, the only RBIs of his career actually.
Never a full-time player by any means, the most action he saw was in 1971 when he appeared in 39 games with 89 plate appearances, hitting .198 with 16 hits and five runs scored over 81 official at-bats.
Overall for his brief career, Camilli hit .146 with 22 hits, seven runs scored and three RBIs in 151 at-bats over 107 games between 1969 and 1972.

1978 TRADED: WILLIE HORTON

Another fun 1978 “traded” card to add to the mix, a Willie Horton edition for the former slugger who had himself an active season as part of four organizations between January and December:

Horton was traded by the Texas Ranger to the Cleveland Indians on February 28th along with former pitching phenom David Clyde for Tom Buskey and John Lowenstein.
He’d play for the Tribe through July 3rd before being released, only to be picked up by the Oakland A’s ten days later, where he’d play for about a month before getting traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for the rest of the season.
Overall he’d hit 11 homers and drive in 60 runs over 115 games, which I’m sure must have been frustrating for the guy.
However, By the time the 1979 season opened up, he found himself a member of the Seattle Mariners as their full-time DH, and boy did he have himself a season, hitting 29 homers and driving in 106 runs, which was a career high at the age of 36.
He also collected 180 hits and batted .279 over 162 games and 646 at-bats, again both career-highs for a guy many considered old and done as far as his career was concerned.
Incredible comeback season.
He’d play one more season before retiring, finishing up with 325 homers and 1163 runs batted in, with just under 2000 hits and a .273 average over 2028 games and 7298 at-bats.
Of course, most of hisn career was spent as a fan favorite Detroit Tiger between 1963 and 1977, the high point as a member of the 1968 World Champion team.
Wonderful career!

1970 SPECIAL- NATIONAL LEAGUE STAR POWER

Had this photo prepped for a 1970 “special” for a long while now, so here goes, the magnificent National League All-Stars lined up ready to play in 1969:

Just look at this assembly of Major League baseball superstardom!
Starting on the left, Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst as your manager, followed by Matty Alou, Don Kessinger, Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Ron Santo, Clean Jones, Johnny Bench and Felix Milan.
I love seeing the uber-young Johnny Bench here, barely out of his teens, ready to cruise towards the Hall of Fame, standing side-by-side with some other baseball Gods like Aaron and McCovey.
Add into the fact that the National league starting pitcher for the game was another future Hall of Famer, Steve Carlton, and I’d say you have a pretty nifty starting nine, don’t you?
Fantastic.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 MIKE BEARD

Time to go ahead and give former Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Beard one last “not so missing” card to wrap up his four-year MLB career, this one a 1978 edition:

Beard played the last of his Big League games during the 1977 season, appearing in four games while not factoring in a decision, with a bloated 9.64 earned run average over 4.2 innings of work.
He spent all four seasons with Atlanta, coming up in 1974 with six appearances before having a nice 1975 year when he went 4-0 over 34 games with an ERA at 3.20.
All told, he finished his career with a record of 4-2 over 74 appearances, posting a final ERA of 3.74 over 118 innings pitched, all but two of those games out of the bullpen.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 RICK SUTCLIFFE

Fun card to add to the “wthballs” virtual collection, a 1977 “not so missing” card for Rick Sutcliffe of the Los Angeles Dodgers, future NL Rookie of the Year in 1979 and NL Cy Young Winner for the Chicago Cubs in 1984:

Sutcliffe appeared in one game during the 1976 season, pitching five innings of scoreless ball in his Big League debut, allowing only two hits and a walk along with three strikeouts.
He’d have to wait until 1979 to get a shot at full-time work, and he wouldn’t disappoint as he’d cruise to a Rookie of the Year season that saw him post a record of 17-10, with a 3.46 earned run average over 39 appearances, 30 of them starts, with five complete games and a shutout.
Of course, he’d end up putting in 18 seasons as a Major League pitcher, leading the AL in ERA in 1982 while with the Cleveland Indians, then on to his banner year of 1984 that saw him lead the Chicago Cubs to the NL East title when he went 16-1 after coming over in a trade from Cleveland.
He’d finish his career with a record of 171-139, with an ERA at 4.08 over 457 appearances, 392 of those starts, with 18 shutouts and six saves and three All-Star nods, before heading into broadcasting, something he still does for ESPN today.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 MARVIN LANE

Up on the blog today we have a fourth “not so missing” card for former Detroit Tigers outfielder Marvin Lane, this one a 1974 edition:

Lane appeared in only six games for the Tigers in 1973, going 2-for-8 at the plate for a .250 batting average, with a home run and two runs batted in.
In 1974 he’d see the most action of any of his five Big League seasons when he appeared in 50 games, with 124 plate appearances, hitting .233 with two homers, nine RBIs and 16 runs scored.
All told, he'd finish with a .207 career average with 37 hits and 23 runs scored over 90 games and 210 plate appearances, with three homers and 17 RBI's, all while playing for the Tigers before heading to Mexico to play one last pro season in 1977 for the Mexico City Tigers.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 GERRY ARRIGO

Today we have a “not so missing” career-capper for former pitcher Gerry Arrigo, who played the last of his ten Major League seasons in 1970, though still only 30 years old:

Arrigo played out his career with that one season for the Chicago White Sox after playing the bulk of his career with the Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins.
He appeared in five games during the season, going 0-3 with an unsightly 12.83 earned run average over 13.1 innings of work.
His finest season is easily 1968 when he went 12-10 for the Reds, with an ERA of 3.33 over 36 appearances, with five complete games and a shutout.
Overall, between 1961 and 1970, Arrigo posted a record of 35-40 with a 4.14 ERA over 194 appearances and 620 innings pitched, with three shutouts and four saves along the way.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 WILLIE AIKENS

Let’s go and give former slugger Willie Aikens a ”not so missing” 1978 card, which would have been two years before his actual Topps rookie card:

Aikens could almost be considered straight up “missing” for the 1978 set, as he played in 42 games for the California Angels in 1977, hitting .198 with 18 hits over 91 at-bats.
He’d spend all of 1978 in the Minors before coming back for good in 1979, putting in a very nice rookie year when he hit 21 homers with a .280 batting average and 81 runs batted in in only 116 games.
Strange that the AL Rookie of the year Award went to co-winners Alfredo Griffin and John Castino, as Aikens would have been my pick.
Nevertheless, Aikens played for eight seasons in the Big leagues, hitting 110 homers and driving in 415 runs for the Angels, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue jays between 1977 and 1985.
Of course, the highlight of his career would have to be the 1980 World Series when he tried his best to help the Royals win the title, though falling to the Philadelphia Phillies, when he hit an even .400 over six games with four homers and eight RBIs.
Certainly, if the Royals pulled it out, he would have been the Series MVP.
He would go on to play in Mexico for another six seasons before his pro career was done, playing to the age of 36 in 1991.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1977 TONY TAYLOR

Today on the blog we have a career-capping 1977 card for former Cuban second baseman Tony Taylor, who put in 19 years in the Big Leagues between 1958 and 1976:

Taylor broke into the Majors with the Chicago Cubs at the end of the 1950’s before moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960, where he would play 15 of his years in the Big Leagues, with two years in Detroit in the early 1970’s squeezed in there.
By the time he retired in 1976, he finished with 2007 hits, 1005 runs scored and 234 stolen bases over 2195 games and 7680 at-bats, with an All-Star nod in 1960.

DEDICATED ROOKIES- 1974 FRANK WHITE

Time to go and add 18-year Kansas City Royals second baseman Frank White to the long-running “dedicated rookies” thread celebrating the man’s wonderful All-Star career:

White made his MLB debut with 51 games during the 1973 season, and would march through 17 more years as the Royals second baseman, collecting over 2000 hits, hitting and stealing over 150 homers and bases, and collecting eight Gold Gloves over his fantastic career.
An important cog in the Royals’ dominance in the American League West from the late-70’s and 1980’s, White teamed up with guys like George Brett, Dan Quisenberry, Willie Wilson and Hal McRae to bring the organization massive respect in Big League ball.
Understated and almost too easy to overlook among his high-caliber teammates that carried more bluster, White was a perfect example of a professional ballplayer, and I always respected guys like him, who played year in and year out, doing what they did best without having to stand in front of everyone else.
The five time All-Star would retire after the 1990 season, a career Royal who had the respect of everyone around him.
Great ballplayer, without question.

1971 FANTASY CARD- CARLTON FISK

I always wanted to create a 1971 card for Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk, even though he didn’t appear in a Major League game during the 1970 season, so here goes:

I created a 1970 “not so missing” card for him a while back since he did make his MLB debut as a 21-year-old in 1969, so having a nice “fill-in” card to run his entire career of 1969-1993 was a must in my eyes.
What needs to be stated about his Big League career that hasn’t been said?
All the man did was put in 24 seasons as a catcher, hitting 376 homers, making eleven All-Star teams, giving us one of the iconic moments in the game’s history in 1975 with his homer off the foul pole in the World Series, and playing his way straight to the Hall of Fame.
I will never forget the day as an eleven year old that I heard he was now with the Chicago White Sox! To me he was such a Boston Red Sox player it even stunned the young Yankee fan in me.
Nevertheless, Fisk would end up playing another 13 seasons with the White Sox after eleven with Boston, something I am sure NONE of us expected back in 1981.
Just amazing. The man was a tank! And tough as nails as well!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 PETE LaCOCK

Let’s go an add Pete LaCock  to the “not so missing” card stable today, with a 1974 edition for the former first baseman/outfielder:

LaCock, son of former TV personality Peter Marshall, appeared in eleven games for the Chicago Cubs during the 1973, his second year in the Big Leagues after making his debut in 1972 with five games.
Over those eleven games LaCock hit .250 with four hits over 16 at-bats, driving in three runs, before coming back in 1974 with 35 games, hitting .182 with twenty hits in 110 at-bats.
In 1975 he’d finally get some real action in the Majors when he played in 106 games, hitting .229 with 57 hits in 249 at-bats, hitting six homers and driving in 30.
He would end up putting in nine years in the Big Leagues, splitting his career between the Cubs and Kansas City Royals, collecting 444 hits and batting .257 over 715 games.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 DAN NEUMEIER

Time we go and give three-game Major League pitcher Dan Neumeier a “not so missing” 1973 card commemorating his Big League tenure from the previous season:

Neumeier made his Big League debut on September 8th of 1972, walking the only batter he faced who came around to score later on.
He’d appear in two more games before the season was done, pitching to a 9.00 earned run average while not factoring in a decision.
He’d play two more seasons in the Minor Leagues, never again facing Major League batters, retiring after the 1974 season with only those three games at the end of 1972 as his Major League experience.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 RANDY BASS

Time to go and throw up a 1978 “not so missing” card for former Minnesota Twins DH Randy Bass, who’d find fame and fortune years later as a slugging star in Japan:

Bass made his MLB debut with nine games for the Twins in 1977, going 2-for-19 at the plate as a 23-year-old with a September call-up.
He’d spend the next three seasons making brief MLB appearances, with 2, 2, and 19 games respectively between 1978 and 1980 for three different teams: Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres.
In 1981 he’d have what turned out to be his most active season over his six-year career when he played in 69 games for San Diego, hitting .210 over 176 at-bats, hitting four homers while driving in 20.
He’d split the 1982 season with San Diego and the Texas Rangers, hitting a combined .205 over 29 games and 78 at-bats, hitting two homers while driving in 14 before spending the rest of the year in the Minors.
In 1983 he’d make the move to Japan, where he ended becoming a star slugger, even challenging the Japanese single-season home run record in 1985 when he slammed 54 homers with 134 runs batted in.
He followed that season up with a 47 homer year in 1986, driving in 109 runs while hitting an astounding .389 for the Hanshin Tigers.
In his six seasons in Japan, he hit 202 homers, topping 30+ four times, before retiring for good after the 1988 season, hitting 449 homers over his professional career.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 KEITH MARSHALL

Fun card to add to the “collection”, a 1974 edition for former Kansas City Royals eight-game outfielder Keith Marshall, who played all his Big League games in April of 1973:

Marshall played his entire career between April 7th of 1973 through the end of the month, hitting .222 with two hist over nine at-bats with a double and three runs batted in.
He’d be back in the Minors where he finished up the season before playing another three years trying to make it back to the Majors.
But he’d never get that shot and would retire after the 1976 campaign at only 24 years of age after playing in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

TRADED- 1975 TOMMY HARPER

I love creating “traded” card throughout the 1970’s. Especially my 1975 format, so today I present a 1975 traded card for former 30/30 man Tommy Harper, who found himself a California Angel after a few seasons as a Boston Red Sox player:

Harper was traded to the Angels for Bob Heise and ended up playing only 89 games with them before moving on to the Oakland A’s later in the year, then the Baltimore Orioles in 1976 for what turned out to be the last 46 games of his 15-year career.
An All-Star in 1970 for the Milwaukee Brewers in their first season, Harper became an early member of the 30-homer/30-steals club when he hit 31 taters and swiped 38 bases, just one season removed from leading the American League with 73 steals for the one-year Seattle Pilots franchise in 1969.
He’d also lead the league with 54 steals while with the Boston Red Sox in 1973, while also hitting 17 homers and hitting .281 with 92 runs scored.
By the time he retired in 1976, Harper finished with 146 homers and 408 stolen bases, with a .257 batting average and 1609 hits in 6269 at-bats over 1810 games, with one All-Star nod.

1975 IN-ACTION: RICHIE ZISK

Adding to my long-running 1975 “In-Action” sub-set, today I include Brooklyn-born Richie Zisk into the mix, as he was just coming into his own by the time this card would seen the light of day:

Zisk had just completed his first full season in the Majors in 1974 and did not disappoint, driving in 100 runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates while hitting a robust .313 with 17 homers.
Not to say his previous season, technically his rookie year of 1973 was bad, as he hit .324 with 108 hits over 333 at-bats with 10 homers and 54 Rbis in 103 games.
He would end up playing 13 seasons under the Big League sun, for the Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and Seattle mariners between 1971 and 1983, hitting 207 homers, with 792 RBIs and 681 runs scored, hitting .287 over 1453 games and 5144 at-bats.
I will ALWAYS be bothered by the fact that Topps screwed up his 1978 card, forgetting to place the All-Star emblem on his card, which would have given him two straight All-Star cards in 1978/1979.
For a kid back then, those All-Star designations made you a god, and Zisk had to settle for one instead of two.
Thanks Topps!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 JIM MERRITT

Time to go ahead and give former 20-win pitcher Jim Merritt a career-capping “not so missing” 1976 card, as he closed out an 11-year Major league career with a handful of games with the Texas Rangers the year before:

Merritt appeared in five games with Texas in 1975, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings while not factoring in a decision, all out of the bullpen.
That would be the last action for him on a big league mound, closing out an eleven-year career that saw him come up with the Minnesota Twins in 1965 as a 21-year-old before moving on to the Cincinnati Reds in 1969 for four years before the last three with the Rangers.
In 1970 he had arguably his best season in the Majors when he went 20-12 with the Reds, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting while making his only All-Star team.
I say “arguably” because that year his earned run average was a high 4.08, while in 1967 with the Twins he went 13-7 with a wonderful 2.53 ERA over 37 appearances, 25 of those starts, tossing a career-high four shutouts with 161 strikeouts.
Overall, he’d finish his career with a record of 81-86, posting an ERA of 3.65 over 297 appearances and 1483 innings of work, throwing nine shutouts while collecting seven saves along the way.

Well isn't this a fine how do you do?

So, as ridiculous as it seems, I have JUST realized that after who knows how much time has passed that any comments to blog posts do NOT get sent to my email so I can easily read them as it was set up years ago!!!
I promise you I just thought either the comment capability was eliminated on Blogger or no one commented anymore.
Wow.
I'm scrolling down these posts and seeing all the comments and I thank you all!
I genuinely dropped the ball on this one.
It'll be fun reading these all this weekend when I have the time to really sit down and enjoy them!
Thanks everyone!
Sorry if it seemed I was ignoring the comments!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 BILL PASCHALL

On the blog today, a 1979 “not so missing” card for former Kansas City Royals pitcher Bill Paschall, who made his Big League debut with two games as a September call-up for the American League West champs:

Paschall posted a record of 0-1 over those two games out of the bullpen for the Royals, with an earned run average of 3.38 in eight innings of work as a 24-year-old.
In 1979 he’d appear in seven games for K.C., again going 0-1, this time with a much more bloated ERA of 6.59 in 13.2 innings, before spending all of 1980 in the Minors.
During the strike season of 1981 he’d make it back to an MLB mound, appearing in two games for the Royals, not factoring in a decision while tossing two innings, posting an ERA of 4.50.
Turns out as far as I can find that would be the end of his professional career, as it seems he never even played in a Minor League game again.
All told, he finished his career with an 0-2 record, with an ERA of 5.32 over 11 appearances and 23.2 innings pitched, all out of the bullpen.

FANTASY 1978 CARD- DAVE KINGMAN AS A SAN DIEGO PADRE

Sure, we have seen custom fantasy cards created for Dave Kingman’s crazy 1977 season created before, even San Diego Padre editions.
But I had to create and add them to my own collection of customs, so here goes:

I plan on creating four different 1978’s for the former slugger, one for each of the teams he played for that 1977 Summer when he played for teams in each division of both leagues. Just nuts.
Kingman was coming off a 1976 season that saw him miss his first home run title by one when he slammed 37 homers for the New York Mets, just behind Philadelphia Phillies slugging titan Mike Schmidt.
Nevertheless, the Mets were about to clean house so to speak when they’d trade Kingman to the Padres, only to have the California Angels select Kingman off waivers some three months later, then to have the Angels trade Kingman to the New York Yankees nine days later for the September stretch run.
Throughout all of that, Kingman put in a decent year with all the havoc, hitting 26 homers and driving in 78 runs, hitting .221 over 132 games and 439 at-bats.
Of course, he’d find himself with the Chicago Cubs in 1978, on this way to hitting 48 homers in 1979 for his first home run title, then back to the Mets for three more seasons including his second homer title in 1982 with 37, before finishing up his career with three straight 30+ homer seasons with the Oakland A’s before retiring abruptly after a 35 homer campaign in 1986.
I was always fascinated with the three straight 30+ homer seasons followed by a sudden retirement, as I thought it was bad-ass of him to have done that when he clearly had some years left in his career, possibly en route to 500.
But as it was, he left the game with 442 homers, with the aforementioned two home run titles and a wacky 1977 season that made him the only player to ever play in all four divisions over the course of one year.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 BOBBY DARWIN

Really fun 1970 card to add to the “collection” today, a card for former pitcher turned outfielder Bobby Darwin, who began his MLB career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a young arm as a teenager:

It’s easy to forget that the man who’d eventually go on to the Minnesota Twins and slug 65 homers over three seasons between 1972-1974 started out as a pitcher with the pitching rich Dodgers in the 1960’s.
In 1969, after a seven year hiatus from his MLB debut in 1962, Darwin made it back to a Big League mound and appeared in six games, not factoring in a decision while posting an ERA of 9.82 in 3.2 innings pitched.
Back in his MLB debut in 1962, he appeared in one game at the age of 19, giving up six runs, four of them earned, in 3.1 innings, getting tagged with the loss in the abbreviated start.
But he’d find his place as an outfielder, eventually going on to hit 83 homers in his nine-year career playing for the Dodgers, Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and finally Chicago Cubs between 1962 and 1977.
A “hit-or-miss” type hitter, he led the American League in strikeouts (as a batter) three straight seasons between 1972 and 1974, his only three full seasons as a Big Leaguer.
He finished his career with a batting average of .251, with 559 hits over 2224 at-bats, with 250 runs scored and 328 RBI’s.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 CRAIG ROBINSON

Up on the blog today we have a fun “not so missing” 1977 card for former infielder Craig Robinson of the Atlanta Braves:

I love this image as it stands out a bit from the usual Topps images from the set, so I thought it’d make a great “card” for Robinson, who was about to play out his six-year Big League career.
For 1976, Robinson split the season between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves, appearing in only 30 games and hitting .267 with eight hits over 30 at-bats.
In 1977 he’d play in what turned out to be his last season in the Majors, appearing in  27 games and hitting .207 with six hits in 29 at-bats, with four runs scored and an RBI.
After playing a full season in the San Diego Padres Minor League system for 1978, he’d call it a career, which began as a 23-year-old in 1972 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Generally a player off the bench throughout his Major League tenure, he did play a full year in 1974 with the Braves when he appeared in 145 games and hit .230 with 104 hits in 452 at-bats and 502 plate appearances, scoring 52 runs and driving in 29.
But besides that one season, the most action he’d ever see in any other year was 46 games the previous season while still with Philly.
Overall, he finished his career with a .219 batting average, with 157 hits in 718 at-bats, playing in 292 games with 80 runs scored and 42 RBIs.

SPECIAL- 1979 SAN DIEGO PADRES CY YOUNG WINNERS

Saw this photo floating around on Twitter this past week and remembered I had it stashed away for an eventual “special” 1979 card, so time to post it up:

By the time the 1979 season was opening up, the San Diego padres could boast two Cy Young winners on their pitching staff, Randy Jones, the 1976 winner, and Gaylord Perry, fresh off his astounding 1978 season that saw him win his second and becoming the first pitcher to win one in each league.
For Jones, his 1976 season was incredible as he completed 25 of 40 starts, throwing a league-leading 315.1 innings while hurling five shutouts.
He posted a record of 22-14 with an earned run average of 2.74, this after leading the National league with a 2.24 ERA the previous year when he finished second to New York Mets Tom Seaver for the Cy Young Award.
For Perry, he came over to San Diego as a 39-year-old with an impressive MLB resume already behind him, but immediately made his future Hall of Fame case by going 21-6, leading the league in wins, along with an ERA of 2.73 and two shutouts, out-distancing the NL field for his second Cy Young Award.
And while for both pitchers this was the last hurrah of sorts as their careers were winding down for different reasons: Jones arm troubles, Perry old-age, they both put San Diego on the map so to speak with stellar pitching performances.

MAJOR LEAGUE FOUNDERS 1876-1976: JACK MANNING

Today, in what will probably be the last entry in this long-running thread, I offer up a “1876 Founders” card as part of an imagined 1976 sub-set for 12-year professional Jack Manning, who started his career as a 19-year-old in 1873 in the National Association, straight through the early years of the Majors:

Primarily a right fielder throughout his career, Manning was the third player in Major League history to hit three home runs in a single game when he accomplished the feat on October 9th, 1884 when his Philadelphia club played the Chicago White Stockings at Lakeshore Park, a hitter-friendly ballpark that also had the previous two players (Cap Anson and Ned Williamson) also hit their three homers there as well.
Over his 12 professional seasons, Manning hit .263 with 922 hits over 3505 at-bats in 833 games, playing for eight teams in three leagues between 1873 and 1886.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 PAT DARCY

Time to go an give former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pat Darcy a “not so missing” 1977 card to cap off his brief three season Major league career:

Darcy only appeared in 11 games for the Reds in 1976, pitching to a record of 2-3 with an ERA of 6.23 over 39 innings, with four of those appearances being starts.
After being demoted in June he’d spend the rest of the year in the Minors, where he’d stay for another three years before retiring for good in 1980.
It was a far cry from his 1975 season, which say him go 11-5 with a 3.58 ERA over 27 games, 22 of them starts, helping the Reds head straight to a World Championship over the Boston Red Sox.
Of course, he’ll always be remembered as the pitcher who gave up Carlton Fisk’s legendary game-winning home run in Game 6, forcing a seventh game, but the Reds came out on top, on their way to solidifying the “Big Red Machine” status in baseball history as they’d also take home the title the following year.
Overall, he finished his three-year career with a record of 14-8, with a 4.15 ERA over 44 games and 186.2 innings, with three saves and 75 strikeouts between 1974-1976.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 JERRY MUMPHREY

On the blog today we have a “not so missing” card for long time Major League outfielder Jerry Mumphrey, who put together a nice 15-year career:

Mumphrey wouldn’t get his actual Topps rookie card until 1977, but here is a 1975 edition since he made his MLB debut with five appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1974 season.
Over those five games he went 0-2 at the plate as a September call-up at the age of 21, followed by a 1975 season that saw him spend a majority of it in the Minors, though he did get into 11 games for St. Louis, going 6-16 at the plate for a nice .375 clip.
In 1976 he’d finally get substantial playing time, hitting .258 over 112 games with 22 stolen bases, a common theme throughout the rest of his career.
In 1980 he’d have arguably his best year, playing with the San Diego padres and hitting .298 with a career-high 168 hits and 52 stolen bases.
By the time he retired after the 1988 season he finished with a very nice .289 career average, with 1442 hits in 4993 at-bats over 1585 games, stealing 174 bases and scoring 660 runs, with one All-Star nod, that in 1984 while with the Houston Astros when he drove in a career-high 83 runs.
I was a fan of his while he played for the New York Yankees between 1981 and the first past of 1983, as he hit over .300 while giving the Yanks a bit of speed on the base paths with some pop every now and then.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 MIKE ROGODZINSKI

Up on the blog today we have a “not so missing” card for former outfielder Mike Rogodzinski, who played out a brief three-year Major league career with 16 appearances during the 1975 campaign:

Rogodzinski batted .263 with five hits over 19 official at-bats for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1975, scring three runs while driving in four.
He made his MLB debut during the 1973 season, playing in 66 games and hitting .238 with 19 hits in 80 at-bats, including the only two home runs he’d hit in his career.
It seems after this 1975 action he retired for good, without even any more Minor League time, finishing up with a .219 average, with 25 hits in 114 at-bats over 99 games, all for the Phillies between 1973 and 1975.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 HANK ALLEN

Here’s a fun card to add to the 1974 “not so missing” line-up, a card for former Chicago White Sox infielder Hank Allen, one of the Allen brothers that included Ron and former A.L. MVP and N.L. Rookie of the Year Dick (Richie):

For Hank, turns out he wrapped up a seven year stint in the Majors with 28 games during the 1973 season, batting .103 with four hits over 39 at-bats while playing both third and first base.
He made his debut with the Washington Senators in 1966, never really playing full-time throughout his career with a high of 116 appearances in 1967.
By the time he retired he finished with a .241 career average, with 212 hits in 881 at-bats, with six homers, 104 runs scored and 57 runs batted in over 389 games.
I’ll always remember Hank as the very first 1970 card I ever got, this as a ten-year-old at a neighborhood antique store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in 1979, as I was JUST getting into “vintage” cards, leading to this life-long obsession. I paid a quarter for both his and a Jack Aker card.
I was especially psyched about the Allen card because it was my first Washington Senators card, something that cemented the baseball “nerd” tag my friends were already killing me with back then.