Saturday, November 30, 2019

1977 SPECIAL- RAY FOSSE DENIES THE RED SOX DWIGHT EVANS

Just a fun card to create and post up today on the blog, an “action” card of Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse against the Boston Red Sox:


I can’t really determine what game this is, though the Indians played the Red Sox in their second game of the 1976 season after opening up the year against the Detroit Tigers for one game.
Anyone have an idea?
Fosse was enjoying a return to the Indians, the team he made his mark with earlier in the decade when he made two All-Star teams and two Gold Gloves in 1970 and 1971.
Of course, everyone remembers that play at the plate with Pete Rose in the 1970 All-Star game which left him in agony after Rose plowed into him trying to score.
Fosse would end up putting in 12 years as a Big League catcher, playing through the 1979 season and finishing up with a career .256 batting average, with those two Gold Gloves and two All-Star nods between 1967 and 1979.

Friday, November 29, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 MIKE DARR

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day!
Really fun card to post up today on the blog, a “not so missing” 1978 card for one-game Major League pitcher Mike Darr of the Toronto Blue Jays:


Darr appeared in his one game against the Boston Red Sox on September 6th, 1977 allowing five earned runs over 1.1 innings of work, giving him an unsightly 33.75 earned run average along with four walks allowed against one strikeout.
He would go on to spend the next two seasons in the Toronto Minor League system, but never make it back to a Big League mound, finishing up with that one game under the sun in September of 1977.
It’s also worth noting that Darr was the father of future MLBer Mike Darr who tragically died in a car accident at the age of 25 during 2002 Spring Training.
The younger Darr played three seasons for the Padres, 1999-2001, appearing in 188 games and hitting .273 before the tragic accident.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 CHRIS WARD

Good day everyone!
Today on the blog we have a card for a guy who made his MLB debut with one single at-bat in 1972, Chris Ward, who appeared in his first Big League game on September 10th of ‘72, his only appearance of the season:


Ward flied out against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dick Selma in the top of the 6th inning on that date for the first at-bat of what would end up being a brief two season career.
After spending all of 1973 in the Minors, a season that saw him his a solid .340 over 70 games at Triple-A, he made it back to the Big Leagues in 1974 where he played in 92 games, hitting .204 with 28 hits in 137 at-bats.
Sadly for him however, he would spend the next three years in both the Cubs, San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians systems but never get a chance back in the Majors, finishing up with a .203 average over 93 games, with eight runs scored and 15 RBIs.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 JOSE CRUZ

Today on the blog we have a “not so missing” 1971 card for a grossly underrated player, Jose Cruz, who made his MLB debut during the 1970 season with the St. Louis Cardinals:


Cruz, who would go on to find fame and fortune with his 13 seasons playing for the Houston Astros between 1975 and 1987, appeared in six games for St. Louis in his first taste of the Big Leagues in 1970, hitting a robust .353 with six hits over 17 at-bats.
He’d never find his true hitting stroke over the parts of five seasons he spent in St. Louis, but after being purchased by the Astros in December of 1974, he would go on to become an All-Star outfielder.
He would be named to two All-Star teams, win two Silver Slugger Awards, and three times finish in the top-10 for N.L. MVP, even leading the league in hits with 189 in 1983.
By the time he finished with one season as a New York Yankee in 1988 at the age of 40, he retired with 2251 hits, a .284 batting average, 165 homers and 317 stolen bases.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 TOM BUSKEY

Today I present a 1974 “not so missing” card for former reliever Tom Buskey, who made his MLB debut during the 1973 season as a member of the New York Yankees:


Buskey appeared in eight games for the Yanks, going 0-1 with an ERA of 5.40 over 16.2 innings pitched, collecting a save along the way.
He would end up putting in eight years in the Big Leagues, pitching through the 1980 season and appearing in 258 games, all out of the bullpen for the Yanks, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays between 1973 and 1980.
His final numbers looked like this: a 21-27 record with a 3.66 earned run average over 479.1 innings pitched, picking up 34 saves and striking out 212 hitters.
His best year would arguably be 1975 while with the Indians when he finished 5-3 with a nice 2.57 earned run average over 50 appearances and 77 innings pitched, with seven saves.

Monday, November 25, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 HAL DUES

Up on the blog today is a “not so missing” 1978 card for former Montreal Expos pitcher Hal Dues, who made his MLB debut with six appearances during the 1977 season:


Funny enough, the image used for this card is almost exactly like the one for his 1979 card that Topps actually put out, that I had to compare side by side to be sure I wasn't duplicating.

Seems he liked this pose!
Over those six appearances, he posted a record of 1-1 with an earned run average of 4.30 as a 22-year-old, with four of those games being starts, over 23 innings pitched.
He’d have a very nice 1978 season which saw his record of 5-6 betray his ERA of 2.36 over 25 appearances, 12 of those starts, throwing 99 innings and pitching a complete game while also picking up a save.
Seems like injuries curtailed his Big League tenure, as he would spend all of 1979 in the Minors, appearing in only 12 games split between Double and Triple A ball before making it to the Majors in 1980.
In what turned out to be his last taste of the Big Leagues, Dues appeared in six games for Montreal during the 1980 season, going 0-1 over 12.1 innings pitched, posting a bloated 6.57 ERA.
He would play another two seasons in the Minors for the Montreal organization, but would retire from pro ball after the 1982 campaign, ending up with a career 6-8 record over 37 appearances, with a nice 3.08 ERA in 134.1 innings pitched.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

1976 TRADED- BERT BLYLEVEN

Time to go an add future Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven to the long-running “traded” thread on the blog with a 1976 edition, marking his move from the Minnesota Twins to the Texas Rangers as part of a blockbuster six-player trade that also included $250,000:


Blyleven was sent packing along with Danny Thompson to the Rangers for a package of Mike Cubbage, Jim Gideon, Bill Singer and Roy Smalley along with $250,000 on June 1st of 1976.
Before the trade he was 4-5 with a 3.12 earned run average over 12 starts, and would go on to post a record of 9-11 with Texas, starting 24 games and completing 14 of them with six shutouts.
He’d finish the combined season with over 200 strikeouts, the sixth straight season doing so, along with a very nice 2.87 ERA over 297.2 innings of work.
Of course, little did anyone realize that the man would go on to pitch another 16 years in the Majors, finishing up with 287 wins, 60 shutouts and 3701 strikeouts, which at the time of his retirement was third all-time.
I’m still amazed that it took BBWA so many years for them to select him for Hall of Fame enshrinement considering his career numbers, produced for generally bad teams.
His post season numbers were even better, going 5-1 over eight games with an ERA of 2.47, with 36 strike outs in 47.1 innings pitched with only eight walks allowed.
“The Frying Dutchman”!

Saturday, November 23, 2019

AIRBRUSHING THROUGH THE 1970s- 1976 MIKE ANDERSON

Taking a look today at the original Topps image used for former outfielder Mike Anderson’s 1976 Traded card, airbrushed to perfection in that oh-so-70s style we all love:


Not the best of jobs here with that wild St. Louis Cardinals cap, but then again not the worst by any means either.
Anderson came over to the Cardinals from the division rival Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Ron Reed straight up in a December 9th, 1975 trade.
He would have a pretty good season in 1976, hitting .291 over 86 games, but would fall to a .221 clip in 1977, which would lead to a crazy 1978 season for him where he was released by the Cardinals, Phillies, then Baltimore Orioles in the space of only seven months.
Ironically he’d play out his last Big League season in 1979 back with the Phillies, hitting .231 over 79 games before playing two seasons in the Minors through 1981 before calling it a career.
Overall, he finished his nine-year career with a .246 average, with 367 hits over 1490 at-bats in 721 games between 1971 and 1979.

Friday, November 22, 2019

MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 MARIO MENDOZA

Time to go and give Mario Mendoza, he of the “Mendoza Line”, a “missing” 1977 card to fill out his nine-year Major League career:


Mendoza, who (unfairly?) became the go-to reference for hitting under .200, appeared in 50 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1976 season, you guessed it, hitting under .200 with a .185 figure based on his 17 hits over 92 at-bats.
Now granted, the man hit under the .200 threshold five times during his career, but he did end up with a career .215 average by the time he retired from Big League ball in 1982.
I guess you can say that in back-to-back seasons in 1980 and 1981 he was positively raking when he hit .245 and .231 for the Seattle mariners and Texas Rangers respectively.
Nevertheless, by the time he retired, he finished with 287 hits over 1337 at-bats spread out over 686 games between 1974 and 1982, good for the .215 average, with 106 runs scored and 101 runs batted in.
Some say (and I agree), that it was unfair to make HIM the poster child for the light-hitting set, and though I cannot at this very moment remember many of the players, there are a handful that were actually much worse at the plate than he, including who I consider the worst, former catcher Bill Bergen, who hit .170 over eleven seasons between 1901 and 1911, and the guy pretty much played FULL TIME!
Go check out his numbers. I think you’ll all agree.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 JACK HEIDEMANN

On the blog today, we close out the career of former infielder Jack Heidemann, who wrapped up an eight-year Major League career with five games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1977:


Heidemann went 0-1 at the plate over those five games, with a run scored, in what turned out to be the last taste of Big League action for his career that started in 1969 with the Cleveland Indians.
In between, he also suited up for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, generally a player off the bench except for 1970 when he appeared in 133 games for the Indians for his only full-season, hitting .211 with 94 hits over 445 at-bats with six homers, 44 runs scored and 37 runs batted in, all career highs.
He finished his Major League tenure with a .211 batting average, with 231 hits in 1093 at-bats over 426 games, hitting nine home runs and driving in 75, scoring 94 himself.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 LAFAYETTE CURRENCE

This right here is one of the main reasons I ever started the blog in the first place, a “not so missing” card for a player I have never heard of before, who happens to have one of the best names I’ve ever heard of, former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Lafayette Currence:


The extent of Currence’s career was eight games during the Summer of 1975, pitching 18.2 innings and going 0-2 with a bloated 7.71 earned run average, with seven strikeouts and 14 walks with 25 hits allowed (ouch)!
Nevertheless, though he never got another chance at a Big League game after that initial showing, spending the next two seasons in the Brewers’ system through 1977, I wish there was a card, even just a multi-player rookie slot, for him in the 1976 set just to have had this name thrown at me all those years ago.
Originally in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, Currence spent eight-years in pro ball, spanning 1970-1977, but only got those eight games in 1975 on a Big League mound.
And get this: his FULL name is actually Delancey Lafayette Currence! Fantastic!!!

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 BOB DAVIS

Always fun to create 1974 “missing” cards of the San Diego Padres, as it also gives me a chance to create a “Washington Nationals” counterpart remembering the dilemma Topps had with the proposed move of the franchise before the 1974 season.
Today, it’s former catcher Bob Davis, who made his Big League debut in 1973 with five games, leading to the following two creations for the blog:


Davis collected one hit over eleven at-bats in that time, good for a .091 batting average, before heading back to the Minor Leagues where he’d play all of 1974.
He’d be back behind a Major League plate in 1975, appearing in 43 games and hitting .234 with 30 hits in 128 at-bats, and he would go on to play parts of the next six seasons in the Majors.
Over that time he would play for the Padres, Toronto Blue Jays and California Angels between 1975 and 1981, hitting just below the “Mendoza Line”, finishing his Big League career with a .197 batting average, with 131 hits over 665 at-bats and 290 games.
Speaking of the “Mendoza Line”, keep an eye out for a “missing” 1977 Mario Mendoza card later this week!

Monday, November 18, 2019

DEDICATED ROOKIES- 1976 WILLIE RANDOLPH

I have been wanting to do a proper 1976 “dedicated rookies” card for my favorite second baseman, Willie Randolph, for years now, and I finally scored a wonderful photo of him during his brief time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, so here you go:


Hard to find some really good photos of Randolph with the Pirates in what was his first taste of the Big Leagues in 1975, but I think this one fits the bill!
Of course, Randolph was (thankfully) traded to the New York Yankees by the time this card would have seen the light of day as part of a blockbuster deal that also saw Ken Brett and Dock Ellis head to the Bronx for pitcher Doc Medich.
All Randolph did was play the next 13 years of his great career as the Yankees second baseman, the understated infielder who dealt with all the “Bronx Zoo” madness with grace and professionalism, making six All-Star teams and helping the Yankees win two championships while also taking home two American League titles.
I cannot state how much I loved him as a kid growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Year in and year out all he did was give the Yankees a solid bat in the line-up while playing stellar defense, keeping out of the Steinbrenner madness, and acting as an anchor those “Bronx Zoo” teams sorely needed.
What a steal for the Yanks!

Sunday, November 17, 2019

1979 SPECIAL- "KING KONG" KINGMAN GETS A HOLD OF ONE

Today on the blog, we have a 1979 “Special” I created for all-or-nothing slugger Dave Kingman, “Kong”, since I came across this nice image of him at Wrigley in what I like to think was another of his prodigious blasts:


Kingman was in the middle of his best year as a Major Leaguer, leading all of baseball with 48 home runs while driving in 115 runs for the Cubs, also setting career-highs with a .288 batting average and 97 runs scored.
I was always enamored with the guy: his wiffle-ball like swings, his dour and somewhat aloof disposition, and of course his tape-measure homers.
I got to see a lot of him due to his time with the Mets, and me growing up in New York City (though I was a Yankee fan), and I always though Kingman was that cool “loner” dude who did things his own way.
Then I really became fascinated by him when he retired after the 1986 season, just after posting his THIRD straight 30+ home run year with the Oakland A’s.
As a kid I could not understand how no one wanted to have a 30+ homer guy back then on their team, even IF he struck out a lot.
I was mesmerized and still am somewhat that the guy’s final year in the Majors produced 35 home runs and 94 RBI’s, only to walk away after being signed as a Free Agent by the San Francisco Giants that never led to anything after some Minor League action.
The enigma that is “Kong”.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

AIRBRUSHING THROUGH THE 1970'S- 1972 RICHIE SCHEINBLUM

Today on the blog we have an interesting card for a few reasons, the classic-70’s airbrushed 1972 card for former outfielder Richie Scheinblum. Take a look at the original image with final result:


Scheinblum was given a card in the 1972 set even though he was coming off a 1971 season that saw him appear in only 27 games while with the Washington Senators, and you can clearly see the “Senators” across his chest in the original before Topps cropped the image just right for the final resulting card.
The year before that, in 1970, was entirely spent in the Minors, so it’s clear that Topps thought it fitting to give him a later-series card in the 1972 set really on what was going on DURING the 1972 season.
And what was going on that year was a solid season for Scheinblum in what turned out to be his only season playing for the Kansas City Royals, also a season that saw him make the American League All-Star team, AND the only season of his eight-year MLB career that had him play full-time.
Pretty unique scenario here.
Scheinblum hit .300 on the nose that year, with career-highs across the board: 60 runs scored, 135 hits, 21 doubles, four triples, eight homers and 66 runs batted in.
He also had a very nice .383 on-base-percentage with 58 walks against only 40 strikeouts for the season over 520 plate appearances.
Yet he never got a chance to play full-time again, even though the very next year he hit a combined .307 playing for the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels over 106 games and 333 plate appearances.
You’d think some teams could have used a contact-hitting guy who already proved himself a decent hitter in the mid-70’s who just hit the age of 30.
As a matter of fact, in 1974, which turned out to be the last of his Big League career, Scheinblum ended up suiting up for three teams, the Angels, the Royals (again), and finally the St. Louis Cardinals for six games, for which I earlier created a “not so missing” 1975 card on the blog some time ago.
That was it for even his pro career, as I cannot even find any Minor League action for the guy after those Cardinal games in 1974.
All told Scheinblum finished with a career .263 batting average, with 320 hits over 1218 at-bats spread out over 462 games between 1965 and 1974.
It’s worth noting that in 1971, he tore up the Minors when he hit .388 for the Denver Bears, with 25 homers and 108 RBI’s over 106 games, with a crazy .492 on-base-percentage and .725 slugging percentage, getting him that late-season call-up with the Senators.

Friday, November 15, 2019

MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 JIM YORK

Was originally going to have this as a “not so missing” card, but realized that it really was a “missing in action” 1974 card for former reliever Jim York of the Houston Astros. So here you go:


York appeared in 41 games for Houston during the 1973 season, going 3-4 with an earned run average of 4.42 over 53 innings of work with six saves.
Definitely enough action in the season to warrant a card in the 1974 set don’t you think?
Ironically, York WAS given a card in both the 1973 set after a 1972 season that saw him appear in only 26 games with 36 innings pitched.
Nevertheless, York put in seven years in the Big Leagues, appearing in 174 games and throwing 285 innings, all but four appearances out of the bullpen.
Over that time he finished with a career 16-17 record, with an ERA of 3.79 and 10 saves pitching for the Kansas City Royals, Astros and three games with the New York Yankees in his final year of 1976 (watch for that “not so missing” card right here in the near future).

Thursday, November 14, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 LARRY HARDY

Up on the blog today we have a 1976 ”not so missing” card for former San Diego Padres pitcher Larry Hardy, who appeared in only a few games the previous season after a very nice rookie campaign in 1974:


Hardy appeared in only three games during the 1975 season throwing 2.2 innings and ending up with a bloated earned run average of 13.50 without factoring in a decision.
It was a big come-down after a very nice rookie year in 1974 that saw him appear in 76 games, all but one out of the bullpen,going 9-4 for a bad Padre team, while posting a 4.69 ERA over 101.2 innings pitched, with two saves thrown in.
After getting traded to the Houston Astros over the Winter of 1975 for Doug Rader, Hardy’s luck didn’t improve as he would appear in 15 games out of the ‘pen, not factoring in a decision and pitching to an ERA of 7.06 over 21.2 innings.
Turns out those would be the last innings of his Major League career as he would go on to play another three years in the Astros’ Minor League system, but never making it back to a Big League mound again, finishing up with a career 9-4 record, with a 5.29 ERA over 94 appearances and 126 innings of work.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

1975 IN-ACTION: AMOS OTIS

Time to go and add that Kansas City Royals spark-plug and grossly overlooked player from the 1970’s, Amos Otis, to my long-running 1975 “In-Action” sub-set:


Otis, who came over to the Royals before the 1970 season in a famously lopsided trade by the New York Mets that netted them Joe Foy, went on to have a wonderful 17-year Major League career, all but three of those seasons in K.C.
All the man did was put in consistent solid seasons year after year, making it to five All-Star games and taking home three Gold Gloves for his defensive work out in centerfield.
He twice led the American League in doubles, while also topping the league in stolen bases once, and even had some “pop” in his bat with six seasons of 15+ homers, with a career high of 26 in 1973.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season after one year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he ended up with 193 homers, 341 stolen bases, 1092 runs scored and 2020 hits along with a batting average of .277 and 1007 runs batted in.
Considering the “dead ball” era of the early-70’s in the American League, his numbers are up there with the best of them, and it’s sad he get’s lost among his contemporaries when looking back at that time in Major League baseball.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

DEDICATED ROOKIE- 1970 GENE TENACE

Time to go and add Oakland A’s All-Star Gene Tenace to my long-running “Dedicated Rookies” thread, giving him his own 1970 card:


Gotta love those classic A’s uniforms!
Tenace of course went on to become an important cog in the three-peat World Champion teams of 1972-1974, switching between catching duties and first base, consistently posting on-base-percentages hovering around .400 with the help of his ability to draw walks.
As a matter of fact in three different seasons Tenace collected more walks than hits in full seasons where he walked over 100 times.
Part of the first big wave of Free Agency, he’d move on to the San Diego Padres in 1977 where he’d play for four seasons before playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1981 & 1982, then one last season in the Big Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983.
By the time he retired he ended up with a .241 career average, with 201 homers and 674 runs batted in, with 1060 hits and 984 walks over 1555 games and 4390 at-bats, with an All-Star start in 1975.

Monday, November 11, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 GENE ROUNSAVILLE

Time to go an add a 1971 “not so missing” card to the blog for eight-game Major League pitcher Gene Rounsaville of the Chicago White Sox:


After spending the first five years of his professional career in the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League system between 1965 and 1969, Rounsaville was drafted by Chicago in the Rule 5 Draft before the 1970 season.
He’d make his Big League debut on April 7th and  spend the month with the White Sox, going 0-1 with a bloated 9.95 ERA over those eight games, throwing 6.1 innings all out of the bullpen.
He would spend the rest of the year in the Minors, pitching well to the tune of a 3.26 ERA over 27 appearances and 91 innings, with five saves.
However from what I can find, he never played pro ball again, even though he was still only 25 years of age, finishing up with those eight Major League appearances and a record of 0-1.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970's- "HAWK" CLAY CARROLL

Time for another “nickname of the 1970’s” card, this time former relief pitcher Clay Carroll of the Cincinnati Reds, who was (by my count) the third player who had the “Hawk” moniker:


This makes my third “Hawk” nickname card, following a 1978 Andre Dawson and a 1970 Ken Harrelson, easily making this the most popular alias in this long-running thread.
Carroll get’s a 1973 template since he was coming off his amazing 1972 campaign that saw him set a National League record mark with 37 saves while posting a 2.25 ERA over 65 appearances and 96 innings.
Those numbers were good enough to finish fifth in the Cy Young Race, as well as a 13th-place finish for MVP, while making his second All-Star team.
Since coming to the Reds in 1968 he did nothing but put in stellar season after season, posting double-digit saves while posting records like 12-6 in 1969, 10-4 in 1971 and 12-5 later in 1974.
Over his 15-year Big League career he would end up with a record of 96-73, with 143 saves and a very nice 2.94 ERA over 731 appearances and 1353.1 innings pitched.

Friday, November 8, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 TERRY CORNUTT

Fun card to add to the 1979 stable, a Terry Cornutt “not so missing” creation for his brief, and I mean very brief, tenure as a Major League pitcher in the decade’s last season:


Cornutt, who made his Big League debut the previous year with 28 games and 44.1 innings pitched for the Giants, appeared in only one game during the 1978 season, pitching a total of three innings on September 15th, a successful scoreless appearance against the Cincinnati Reds.
Sadly for him that would be it though as far as his MLB career, as he would go on to play the next two years in the Minors but never getting a chance to make it back to a Big League mound again.
In his brief two-year career, Cornutt finished with a record of 1-2, with an earned run average of 3.61 over 29 games and 47.1 innings pitched, all but one of those games out of the bullpen.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 TOM HEINTZELMAN

Today I present to you a 1978 “not so missing” card for former infielder Tom Heintzelman, who appeared in only two games for the San Francisco Giants during the 1977 season, but you all know that’s good enough for me to create a card:


Heintzelman spent all of 1975 and 1976 in the Minors after coming up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973 and playing parts of 1973 and 1974.
Over those two games in 1977, he went 0-2 at the plate while not getting any time defensively out in the field, though I did post his position as “2B” instead of pinch-hitter.
Regardless, in 1978 he’d play what turned out to be the last games of his MLB career when he appeared in 27 games for the Giants, batting .229 with eight hits in 35 at-bats, with a double and a couple homers thrown in.
He’d spend all of 1979 in the Minors, but would retire soon after, finishing up his Big League tenure with a career .243 average, with 34 hits over 140 at-bats in 90 games between 1973 and 1978.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 MOOSE HAAS

Up on the blog today, a 1977 “not so missing” card for former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Moose Haas, who made his MLB debut during the 1976 season with five appearances as a 20-year-old:


Haas went 0-1 during his first taste of the Big Leagues, sporting an earned run average of 3.94 over 16 innings of work, with two of those games starts.
He would go on to be a solid arm, generally as a starter, for Milwaukee over the next nine seasons before finishing up his career with two years out in Oakland.
The early-90’s were his solid seasons, as he would have double-digit win totals every year between 1979 and 1983, with a high of 16 in 1980 when he went 16-15 with three shutouts and a career-high 252.2 innings.
In 1983 he’d lead the American League with a .813 winning percentage after posting a record of 13-3over 25 games, all starts, with three shutouts.
By the time he retired after the 1987 season, still only 31 years of age, he finished with a career 100-83 record, with a 4.01 ERA over 266 games and 1655 innings pitched, with eight shutouts and 853 strikeouts.
For me, I’ll always remember him for the near no-hitter he tossed against the Yankees in June of 1985, finally broken up with a Don Mattingly double to right field in the seventh inning.
Haas was dealing that game and he really looked to have the Yankees number, eventually settling for a 6-0 win with just that one hit allowed.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

1976 REDO OF ONE OF MY OWN- TOM EGAN

Anytime I use a non-Topps photo for a card I always look to “correct” it later on with the genuine article, like today for former California Angels catcher Tom Egan:


I originally used a non-Topps photo for Egan and a 1976 “not so missing” card a while back, and although it was fine, I like using the “real-deal” so much more. Lucky to find this one.
Egan was just coming off the last games of his Big League career in 1975 that saw him appear in 28 games for the Angels, who seemed to use DOZENS of catchers during the decade.
He hit .229 for the Halos that year, collecting 16 hits over 70 at-bats with seven runs scored and three runs batted in, with three doubles and a triple.
Turns out that was it for him in the Majors, retiring shortly after without even some Minor League games before calling it a career.
He originally came up to the Big Leagues back in 1965 as a 19-year-old with the Angels, appearing in 18 games and hitting .263.
He’d go on to play parts of the five years with the Angels, never more than 79 games (1970) before going on to play for the Chicago White Sox in 1971/1972.
After a year in the Minors, he was back with the Angels in 1974, playing in 43 games before that last season of 1975, finishing up with a career .200 batting average after collecting 196 hits in 979 at-bats spread out over  373 games.

Monday, November 4, 2019

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 JIM QUALLS

On the blog today, a career-capping “not so missing” 1973 card for former Chicago White Sox outfielder Jim Qualls, who played the last of his brief three-year Big League career in 1972:


Qualls appeared in 11 games during the 1972 season, his only time with the White Sox, going 0-for-10 at the plate ironically in general use as a pinch-hitter, with one game out in the field.
He originally came up to the Majors in 1969 with the Chicago Cubs, playing in 43 games and of course being remembered for breaking up Tom Seaver’s perfect game on July 9th with one out in the ninth inning.
The following season had him play in nine games for the Montreal Expos, going 1-for-9 at the plate, before spending all of 1971 in the Minor Leagues.
After his Big League career he played for two years in Japan, suiting up for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1972/1973 before calling it a career.
For his MLB tenure, he finished with a .223 average, with 31 hits over 139 at-bats over 63 games, most during his debut season in 1969.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

TRADED- 1978 JERRY REMY

Today on the blog we have a 1978 “traded” card for former second baseman Jerry Remy, who found himself heading East to the Boston Red Sox after three seasons with the California Angels:


Traded to the Red Sox for pitcher Don Aase, Boston picked up the sweet end of this deal as Remy not only would become a productive player, but eventually go on to becoming a baseball “lifer” of sorts as he’d move into the Boston broadcast booth for over 30 years, something he still does to this day.
After three really good years with the Angels between 1975 and 1977, the Angels shipped Remy to Boston and Remy quickly paid dividends as he’d make the only All-Star team of his career during his first season with the Sox, hitting .278 with 87 runs scored and 30 stolen bases.
He’d go on to play seven seasons with Boston, sadly his career suffering from injuries which led him to retire at the young age of 31 after the 1984 season.
He’d finish his 10-year career with a .275 batting average, with 1226 hits and 605 runs scored over 1154 games and 4455 at-bats., stealing 208 bases.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S- "SPIDER" ROGER NELSON

Fun card to add to the “Nicknames of the 1970’s” stable, a 1973 edition featuring Kansas City pitcher Roger Nelson, aka “Spider”, who came out of nowhere in 1972 with a season for the ages, albeit somewhat under the radar:


Nelson, who barely played the previous two seasons, so much so that he wasn’t even in the 1972 Topps set, went on to post one of the lowest WHIP’s in MLB history in 1972 with a 0.871 mark.
He’d post a record of 11-6 over 34 appearances, 19 of them starts, with six shutouts and two saves while striking out 120 batters while walking only 31.
His 3.87 strikeouts to walks ratio also led the American League, while also finishing the season with a stellar 2.08 earned run average.
However he quickly fell to earth the following year, now pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, appearing in only 14 games while going 3-2 with a decent 3.46 ERA, throwing only 54.2 innings.
He’d pitch parts of the 1974 and 1976 seasons, spending all of 1975 in the Minors, finishing up his nine year Big League career with three games for the Royals out of the bullpen during the Bicentennial year.
All told, he finished with a career 29-32 record, with a very nice 3.06 ERA over 135 appearances and 636.1 innings, with seven shutouts and four saves.
Half of his career 20 complete games and all but one of his career shutouts were during that magic run of 1972 when he had it running on all cylinders.

Friday, November 1, 2019

MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 MARCEL LACHEMANN

p on the blog today we have a “missing” 1970 card for former pitcher Marcel Lachemann, who made his MLB debut during the 1969 season with the Oakland A’s:


Lachemann, who would also go on to manage in the Majors, just as his brother Rene Lachemann, appeared in 28 games for Oakland, going 4-1 with an earned run average of 3.95 over 43.1 innings of work with a couple of saves.
He would pitch for parts of two more seasons before toiling in the Minor Leagues through the 1974 season, that last two in the Montreal Expos organization.
All told, he finished his Big League career with a record of 7-4, posting a final ERA of 3.44 over 70 appearances and 102 innings pitched, collecting five saves, with all of his time in the Majors coming out of the bullpen.
Between 1994 and 1996 he’d manage the California Angels, finishing his managerial career with a 161-170 record, leading the Angels to a second place finish in 1995.

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