On the blog today, a card I’ve wanted to do for quite a long time now, and with the help of my friend Chris in Colorado now a possibility, my 1974 “traded” card for former slugger Ben Oglivie:
After playing the first three years of his Major League career with the
Boston Red Sox, Oglivie found himself in the “Motor City” after a
straight-up trade for Dick McAuliffe on October 23rd of 1973.
He would continue to be played as a platoon-player over the next four
seasons, averaging about 100 games a year, but nevertheless playing well
as he showed power and a decent batting average hovering around .280.
However it wasn’t until he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for
pitcher Jim Slaton that he’d finally find full-time work, eventually
becoming a legitimate slugger who’d lead the American League in 1980
with 41 homers, along with a career-high 118 runs batted in and 94 runs
scored.
He would play with the Brewers through the rest of his 16-year career,
until 1986, before going on to play in Japan for two seasons with
Kintetsu, where he’d his 46 homers combined.
Overall in his MLB career, Oglivie batted .273 with 235 homers and 901
RBI’s, with 1615 hits over 5913 at-bats and 1754 games, getting three
All-Star nods and a Silver Slugger for his Home Run champion 1980
season.
Thank you Chris!!!!
