Okay!
Today we move along to the 1975 Topps set, and
start an "Expanded League Leaders" set to make up for the released
league-leaders that only had the top statistical leader of each league.
Here
we expand and create dedicated league cards showing the top-three
performers in each category, to spread the love to the second and third
place guys:
We begin with the National league's
top hitter for 1974, the "Roadrunner" Ralph Garr who had a magnificent
year, hitting a blistering .353, while also leading the league with 214
hits and 17 triples.
The batting average topped his previous
best of .343 back in 1971 when he collected 219 hits in his breakout
season, scoring 101 runs and stealing 30 bases for the Atlanta Braves.
By
the time he hung them up, he finished with a .306 career average, with
1562 hits in 5108 at-bats in 1317 games between 1968 and 1980.
In
second place, some 32 points behind Garr, one of my favorite players
from the era, Al Oliver of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who hit .321 on 198
hits in 617 at-bats, while scoring 96 runs and driving in 85, earning
him a seventh place finish in the N.L. MVP race at season's end.
It
was a "typical" year for the great hitter, as he would finish his
career with 2743 hits over 9049 at-bats, a .303 career average, and a
batting crown in 1982 while with the Montreal Expos while also leading
the league in RBIs with 109, hits with 204 and doubles with 43.
In
third place, and a fun player to have on this card, rookie Greg Gross
of the Houston Astros, who played his first full season in the Big
Leagues after 14 games in 1973, and he did not disappoint, hitting .314
with 185 hits in 589 at-bats over 156 games, scoring 78 runs, earning
him a second place finish in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting at the
end of the year.
For Gross, he also put in a very nice lengthy
Major league career, retiring after the 1989 season, and hitting .287
with 1073 hits in 3745 at-bats in 1809 games, playing the bulk of his
career with the Philadelphia Phillies between 1979 and 1988.
Well
there it is! The start of the 1975 expanded league leader cards, and
next we move on to the American League's top three hitters of 1974. See
you then!