STARS RETIRE: 1977 BILLY WILLIAMS AND TONY OLIVA

Up on the blog today, another 1977 "Stars Retire" card, this time one for two wonderful hitters of the 1960's and 1970's, Billy Williams and Tony Oliva:

Beginning with "Sweet Swingin' Billy from Whistler", Williams wrapped up a Hall of Fame career in 1976 with the Oakland A’s, his second season with the team after 16 years with the Chicago Cubs.
Is it possible to be considered overshadowed and underrated yet still make the Hall of Fame? Williams is the perfect example!
By the time he retired, he finished with 2711 hits, 1410 runs scored, 426 home runs, 1475 runs batted in and a .290 batting average over 2488 games.
He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961, two-time runner-up to the MVP Award (thanks to Johnny Bench each time) in 1970 and 1972 and a six-time All-Star.
What a career he put together, yet always in the shadows of giants like teammate Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
Nevertheless, though it took him six years of eligibility to make it, he was elected for a rightful place in Cooperstown in 1987 when he received 85.7% of the vote.
Just a great player all around.

As for the great Oliva, he established himself as possibly the second best Twins hitter ever at that point (behind Rod Carew), and would retire with a .304 career average, 220 homers and just under 2000 hits (1917) in his 15 year career.

Oliva was well on his way to the Hall of Fame until injuries derailed his Cooperstown march once he reached his 30's.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.

In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 

He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!

Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.

The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again lead the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.

He also lead the league in total hits again, this time with 185.

All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.

When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existant years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 

So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.

And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!

Nice 1-2 punch right there.

 

JAPAN SPECIAL: 1979 KATSUYA NOMURA

On the blog today, something special, a fantasy 1979 card for all-time Japanese great catcher Katsuya Nomura:

Perhaps the greatest catcher in Japan League history, Nomura put in an astounding 26 seasons of ball between 1954 and 1980, collecting 2901 hits while slugging 657 homers while driving in 1988 runs.

At the height of his game, between 1962 and 1965, he'd top 40 homers each season, with a high of 52 in 1963, while drivi9ng in 135 runs in 150 games.

He would top 30 homers ten times over his career, while reaching 100-RBIs seven times and hit .300 six times, with a high mark of .320 in 1965.

He would lead the league in homers eight times, and in 1965 he was the first Triple Crown winner in league history.

On top of his on-field play, the man was also a manager for 24 years, with three stints: 1970-1977 with Nankai, 1990-2001 with Yakult and Hanshin, and 2006-2009 with Rakuten.

In 3204 games as skipper, he'd finish an even .500 with a record of 1565 and 1963.

Really fun creating this Japanese Special cards, and I hope to create more of them throughout 2023!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 A.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, we move on to the American league and the top three relievers of the 1977 season proudly showcased on a 1978 “expanded league leader: card:

 

We begin with Bill Campbell, “Soup”, who had a great first season with the Boston Red Sox after coming over from the Minnesota Twins.

The man went 13-9 with a 2.96 earned run average while saving a league-leading 31 games, giving him his 44 “points” to come out on top for the A.L.’s premier fireman.

The 1977 season followed an even better 1976 season that saw him win 17 games while saving 20 for the Twins, appearing in 78 games while closing out 68, throwing an incredible 308 innings in relief over those two campaigns!

In second place with 39 points, funny enough, the pitcher who would take home the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1977, New York Yankees closer Sparky Lyle, who also had a fantastic season out of the bullpen, going 13-5 with 26 saves while pitching to a brilliant 2.17 ERA in 137 innings.

Lyle was a stallion of the Yankees bullpen since 1972, and helped them all the way back to glory with a World Series win in 1977, their first championship since 1962.

In third place with 32 points, Chicago White Sox reliever Lerrin LaGrow, who was converted to a reliever and found success, going 7-3 out of the ‘pen with 25 saves, posting a very nice 2.46 ERA over 66 appearances and 98.2 innings of work.

Easily the best season of the man’s 10-year Big League career, LaGrow previously made his mark in the Majors as a starter for the Detroit Tigers in the early-70’s, though finding some tough luck with a 19-loss and 14-loss season in 1974 and 1975.

Well there you go!

The top relievers in the Junior Circuit for 1977 on a 1978 “expanded league leader” card.

1978 STARS RETIRE: BROOKS ROBINSON & DICK ALLEN

Today on the blog, we have a 1978 "Stars Retire" card celebrating the great careers of brooks Robinson and Dick Allen, who called it a Major League career after the 1977 season:

First up, Brooks Robinson, Orioles legend, who retired after a STAGGERING 23 year Big League career playing for only one team.

A perennial all-star, all Robinson did throughout his career was win 16 Gold Gloves, an MVP Award in 1964, two World Championships (1966 & 1970), and get named to 15-straight all-star games.

By the time he was eligible for Hall of Fame induction in 1983, he was voted in without a problem, getting named on 344 of 374 ballots.

For Dick Allen, though still "only" 35 years of age in 1977, he decided to retire after a season with the Oakland A's, bringing to a close a career that saw him take home an MVP Award in 1972, a Rookie of the Year Award in 1964, and make seven All-Star teams over his 15 year career.

By the time he left the game, Allen hit over 350 homers, batted .292 and scored 1099 runs with 1119 RBI's.

Two studs of the game that could be proud of what they accomplished on the baseball diamond!

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS: 1966 WARREN SPAHN

A fun one today on the blog, from my "1960's Career-Cappers" set released a few years ago, my 1966 capper for the great, and I mean GREAT, Warren Spahn, who called it an amazing career in 1965 after a brief tenure with the San Francisco Giants:

Spahn began the season with the New Yrok Mets before finding himself out West, appearing in 16 games for the Giants and going 3-4 over that time with a very nice 3.39 ERA in 71.2 innings.

Overall, the 44-year-old went 7-16 in his 21st year of Big League action, appearing in 36 games and ending up with a 4.01 ERA with eight complete games and 197.2 innings pitched with 90 strikeouts.

The man was amazing, flat out, and by the time he retired in 1965 he posted a 363-245 record, with a 3.09 ERA, 63 shutouts, 28 saves and 2583 strikeouts over 750 appearances, 665 of which were starts.

Oh yeah, he also hit 35 career home runs along with 189 runs batted in with (coincidentally) 363 hits!

And remember he didn’t win his first game until he was 25 years of age, as he served in the military from 1943 to 1945.

His first 20-game season was 1947 (at the age of 26), and he kept right on rolling until his final 20-game season in 1963!

In between, he ended up posting 13 such campaigns, leading the league eight times (with five of those coming consecutively from 1957 to 1961).

Just an incredible talent! Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Once in a lifetime right there...

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 DAVID CLYDE

On the blog this fine day, we have a "not so missing" 1976 card for former #1 overall pick and pitching phenom David Clyde of the Texas Rangers:

After coming up straight to the Majors in 1973 to much fanfare after being drafted #1 in the nation by the Rangers out of High School, Clyde developed arm problems because of the organization's mishandling of the young pitching prodigy, to the point where he appeared in only one game during the 1975 season, tossing seven innings in a start while giving up only two runs.

Turns out he wouldn't be back to the Majors until 1978, now a member of the Cleveland Indians, where he'd pitch for only two years before retiring for good, his massive promise squashed because of Texas' greed at putting asses in seats back when Clyde was an 18-year-old state legend.

As profiled earlier on this blog, Clyde is a classic example of how an organization mishandled a young prospect for their own financial gains.

If you want more info on how the Rangers messed with him, click the following link for a more in-depth write up:

http://whentoppshadballs.blogspot.com/2013/10/some-respect-for-david-clydea-not-so.html

During his senior year at Westchester High School, Clyde had an incredible record of 18–0, giving up only three earned runs in 148 innings pitched, while pitching five no-hitters and setting 14 national high school records.

Clyde was a hometown hero of sorts after his outrageous exploits at Westchester High School in Houston, Texas, so it seemed like a marriage made in heaven for the struggling Rangers and their attendance problem.

But as we all know it didn't quite turn out the way the Rangers (or Clyde) had hoped, and what makes the pick all the more incredible is that the third and fourth picks in the amateur draft that year were two future Hall of Famers that each played for over 20 years at the big league level: Robin Yount at #3 and Dave Winfield at #4.

You think Texas would have wanted a "do-over" with THAT draft?

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 STEVE BRAUN

Today on the blog we take a look at Steve Braun and his 1977 image variation between his Topps and OPC cards, with both airbrushed images, this time with Topps coming out the winner in my opinion:

OPC version

Topps version

 

As I said, I'll take the Topps airbrush version on this one since the OPC one is a bit more "cartoonish".

Drafted away from the Minnesota Twins by the new Seattle Mariner franchise in the November, 1976 expansion draft, Braun would put in a season and a half with the team before being shipped off to the Kansas City Royals mid-way through the 1978 season.

Originally up with the Twins in 1971, he ended up putting in 15 years in the Majors, the first half as a starter and the rest as a guy off the bench, hitting a very respectable ,271 over that time, seeing a championship in 1982 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

He'd finish with 989 hits in 3650 at-bats, with 52 homers and 388 runs batted in along with 466 runs scored in 1425 games between 1971 and 1985, the last game of his career being a pinch-hitting appearance in the 1985 World Series for St. Louis.

Not a bad way to go out!

BY SPECIAL REQUEST: MIA MIA DICK ALLEN (DODGERS EDITION)

Today on the blog, by special request for my buddy Richie, here's a "missing" 1972 In-Action card of the great Dick Allen in a Los Angeles Dodger version, since that was the team he suited up for in 1971:

Of course, Allen would be a member of the Chicago White Sox in 1972 and go on to take home the American League MVP Award after almost winning the triple crown, but since the man also looked so bad-ass in a Dodger uniform, creating this version here was something I did not want to skip!

In 1971 he did not disappoint the L.A. faithful, as he'd hit .295 with 23 homers and 90 RBIs over 155 games while putting in time at third, left field and first.

However, simply put Allen had it all going on in 1972, just missing out on that Triple Crown while leading the Junior Circuit in homers with 37 and runs batted in with 113, as well as walks (99), on-base-percentage (.420) and slugging (.603).

And let's not forget that although you'd think otherwise, he chipped in with 19 stolen bases and five triples!

He was just on fire.

Needless to say he ran away with the M.V.P. voting that year, finishing about 160 points ahead of runner-up Joe Rudi of the Oakland A's.

The man was a beast at the plate, putting up numbers that were consistently up in the league-leaders year after year.

Needless to say, he took home the Rookie of the Year in 1964, and in 1972 would take home the MVP trophy while with the White Sox when he paced the American League with 37 homers and 113 RBI's, while just missing out on the Triple Crown, batting .308, just ten points off the league-leading mark by perennial winner Rod Carew.

By the time he left the game at the age of 35, Allen hit over 350 homers, batted .292 and scored 1099 runs with 1119 RBI's.

The seven-time all-star also led his league in triples once, walks once, on-base-percentage twice and slugging three times.

This man is a Hall of Famer in my book!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1972 BILL NORTH

Up on the blog today, we have a 1972 "not quite missing" card for speedster Bill North, who made his Major League debut during the 1971 season with the Chicago Cubs:

North appeared in only eight games for the Cubs that year, hitting a blistering .375 with six hits over 16 at-bats, with three runs scored and one stolen base.

A two-time stolen base champ in mid-1970's. North played 11 years in the Big Leagues, between 1971 and 1981 for the Cubs, A's, Dodgers and Giants.

He led the A.L. in stolen bases in 1974 and 1976, with totals of 54 and 75. He would have led the league in 1973, ending up one behind leader Tommy Harper, had he not sprained his ankle on September 20th, which also cost him seeing any action in the post-season.

He'd end up with 395 stolen bases to go along with a .261 lifetime average, 640 runs and 1016 hits, while being on two championship teams with Oakland in 1973 & 1974.

Funny enough, he was also the very first designated hitter in Oakland A's history, going 2 for 5 in the 1973 season opener against the Minnesota Twins.

Go figure…

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 N.L. FIREMEN

On the blog today, an awesome card to create featuring three future Hall of Fame members, an “expanded league leader” 1978 card featuring the National League’s top three firemen of 1977:

 

 

 

We start off with the great Rollie Fingers, who had a wonderful first season in the Senior League, racking up 43 “points” in 1977 as a Free Agent signing for the San Diego Padres.

Fingers led the N.L. with his 35 saves, in addition to his 8 wins, giving him the 43 point total, while also posting a 2.99 earned run average with 113 strikeouts over 132.1 innings of work.

The man was a machine coming out of the bullpen for all three franchises he suited up for: Oakland A’s, Padres and Milwaukee Brewers, with whom he took home a Cy Young Award and MVP in 1981.

In second place with 38 points, a man who was just announcing himself and his future greatness to the Big League world, Chicago Cub reliever Bruce Sutter.

In his second season as a Major Leaguer, Sutter absolutely dominated batter, posting a ridiculous ERA of 1.34 over 107.1 innings, while saving 31 games and winning seven more in 62 appearances.

An absolute beast as a reliever, Sutter would go on to take home a Cy Young Award in 1979 when he saved 37 games while posting a 2.22 ERA over 62 games, striking out 110 batters in 101.1 innings.

In third place, with 37 points, yet another future Hall of Famer, the “Goose” Rich Gossage, who put in one great season for the Pittsburgh Pirates after coming over from the Chicago White Sox, saving 26 games while winning 11 more over 72 appearances, striking out 151 batters over 133 innings while finishing up with a brilliant 1.62 ERA.

He would parlay that performance by signing with the New York Yankees as a Free Agent before the 1978 season, helping them win their second World Series in a row and become a fan favorite through the early-80’s before heading off to the San Diego Padres.

Three studs out of the bullpen who were easily three of the best in the game during that and any other era!

1977 CENTENNIAL SPECIAL: DAVE KINGMAN

Adding to my fun 1977 Centennial sub-set today on the blog, we have New York Mets slugger Dave Kingman:

 

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.

Coming off of two seasons of serious home run production for the Mets in 1975 (36) and 1976 (37), he was about to top those numbers when he finally found himself in a Chicago Cubs uniform in 1978, slugging in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field after signing with them as a free agent.

Many Mets fans still hurt from the infamous "Midnight Massacre" house-cleaning in 1977 which saw the organization trade Kingman to the Padres, Tom Seaver to the Reds, and Mike Phillips to the Cardinals, all on June 15th.

In 1979 Kingman would have his finest season as a big leaguer when he lead the Majors in home runs with 48 round-trippers, a career high, along with 115 runs batted in and a very respectable .288.

He'd find himself back in Queens as a New York Met by 1981, after falling out of favor in Chi-Town, and would lead the National League again in home runs in 1982 when he hit 37, along with a dismal .204 average.

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”.

DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1978 MIKE EASLER

Today's blog post has a 1978 "Dedicated Rookie" for the "Hit Man", Mike Easler, a guy who I have created a couple of "pre-rookie" cards for over the years:

It would be a slow process for Easler to really break though, not getting any substantial playing time until the 1980 season playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, now 29 years of age.
However, he’d do alright over the next seven seasons, having some really good years with the Pirates, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees before retiring after the 1987 season.
By the time he did retire, he finished with a lifetime .293 batting average, with 118 homers and 522 runs batted in over 1151 games and 3677 at-bats.
It’s amazing to realize that of his 14 seasons as a Big League player, he only had four in which he even had enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.

1960'S DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1965 JOE MORGAN

Today's blog post has a spotlight on my 1965 "dedicated rookie" for Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, from my special set produced a couple of years ago:

For Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, while helping eventually build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine" when he was dealt to to Cincinnati before the 1972 season.

Those Reds teams would win two straight World Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.

By the time he retired after the 1984 season at the age of 40, he finished with two MVP Awards, 10 All-Star nods, five Gold Gloves, 2517 hits, 1650 runs scored, 268 homers and a cool 689 stolen bases with 1865 walks.
One of the all-timers right there at second base!

 

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2015: 1972 J.R. RICHARD DEDICATED ROOKIE

On the blog today, thought it'd be fun to revisit a post from eight years ago, my 1972 "Dedicated Rookie" for Houston Astros great J.R. Richard:

Here's the original write-up for the post way back when:

"Richard appeared in his first four games during the 1971 season, and blew the MLB world wide-open when he struck out 15 batters in his first start.

It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout campaigns, four straight 200+ K years,  four straight seasons of 18+ wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…"

 

JUST FOR FUN-1977 WILLIE McCOVEY OAKLAND A'S VARIATION

Just for fun today on the blog, I finally went and created a 1977 variation card for Hall of Famer Willie McCovey celebrating his brief time as an Oakland A's player:

McCovey spent only 11 games with Oakland at the tail end of 1976, hitting .208 after starting the year with the San Diego Padres, for whom he played since 1974.

In 1977 he'd be back where it all started, San Francisco, where he would finish his brilliant Big League tenure, playing through to 1980.

McCovey was beginning to enter the twilight of his Hall of Fame career which spanned 22 seasons between 1959 and 1980.
Over that time he took home a Rookie of the Year when he burst onto the Major League scene with a .354 average and 13 homers in 52 games in 1959, an MVP in 1969 when he led the league with 45 homers, 126 runs batted in, a .453 OBP and a .612 slugging percentage, while getting six All-Star nods.
By the time he hung them up for good, he finished with 521 homers, 1555 RBIs, 1229 runs scored and 2211 hits playing for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and a brief 11-game stretch with the Oakland A’s at the end of the 1976 season.
In 1986, in his 1st year of eligibility, he was voted into the Hall with 81.4% of the vote, an easy first-try inductee for the man from Mobile, Alabama.

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS: 1966 NELLIE FOX

On the blog today, we have my 1966 career-capper for Hall of Famer Nellie Fox, from my "1960's Career-cappers" set released a few years ago:

Fox put together a brilliant Major League career, first as a Hall of Fame second baseman mainly for the Chicago White Sox, then as a coach later on, a true baseball life before sadly passing away at the young age of 47 in 1975.
He led the AL in hits four times in the 1950’s, and of course would lead the Chicago White Sox to the 1959 World Series, taking home the league’s MVP Award for his efforts.
By the time he retired as a player after two years with the Houston Astros in 1964-65, he finished with 2663 hits and a .288 batting average, with twelve all-star nods and three Gold Gloves.
Defensively, it’s incredible to see he led the American League in putouts every single season between 1952 and 1961, while leading the league’s second basemen in fielding percentage six times, double-plays five times and assists six times.
In 1997, the Veteran’s Committee selected Fox for the Hall of Fame, joining former teammates Luis Aparicio and Early Wynn from that 1959 pennant winning team.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 A.L. STRIKEOUTS

Up on the blog today, we have a 1978 “expanded league leader” card that features the top three strikeout pitchers in the American League for 1977:

 

Of course we begin with the king, California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan, who led the A.L. with his 341 strikeouts, almost ONE HUNDRED more than the runner-up!

It was the fifth time in six years Ryan reached the 300-strikeout plateau, something he would do one more time TWELVE years later when he’d K 301 with the Texas Rangers at the age of 42 in 1989. Just mind-boggling!

He would top 200+ strikeouts 15 seasons over his incredible Major League career, finishing with 5714 and atop the all-time list, something we may never see matched or broken.

In second place with 244 strikeouts, former Kansas City ace Dennis Leonard, who reached the 200-K mark for what would be the only time in his career.

Leonard also won 20 games that year, his first of three such campaigns for the perennial A.L. West powerhouse Royals of the late-70’s/early-80’s, while posting innings totals that would destroy a pitcher of today, with a high of 294.2 in 1978, which followed a 1977 season of 292.2.

Sadly arm troubles cut his career short by 1982, and he was out of baseball by 1986 after only 45 appearances the final three years of his Big League tenure.

In third place with 205 strikeouts, Nolan Ryan’s teammate Frank Tanana, who was still a fire-balling pitcher before he’d change his game to becoming a true “pitcher” after arm issues set in.

For Tanana, it was his third straight 200-strikeout campaign, leading the league with his 269 K’s in 1975 before a follow-up season of 261 in 1976.

What a one-two pitching punch Ryan and Tanana were for the Angels back then! Must have been something to witness.

There you have it! The top three power-pitchers of the American League in 1977, on an “expanded” league-leader card for 1978.

 

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL SPECIAL: DAVE CONCEPCION

On the blog today, we add Cincinnati Reds All-Star shortstop Dave Concepcion to my fun 1977 N.L. Centennial sub-set, celebrating the league's 100th anniversary of 1976:

Concepcion was a cog in the Reds’ two-time championship squad of 1975 & 1976, on his way to nine all-star nods, with five Gold Gloves and two top-10 MVP finishes during his prime.
He would end up putting in 19-seasons in the Major Leagues, all with Cincinnati, finishing up with 2326 hits and a .267 batting average over 2488 games and 8723 at-bats between 1970 and 1988.
He played in all four of the “Big Red Machine” World Series appearances and batted a cool .297 over his Postseason action, with 30 hits in 101 at-bats over 34 games.
I’ll never forget opening up a pack of 1979 cards and seeing that the “All-Star” banner was NOT on his card. I was stunned since he was always the National League All-Star shortstop since I started collecting in 1976.
For me, he became somewhat of a baseball institution, playing through my youth straight through college, retiring at the age of 40.
Anyway, once he became eligible for Hall of Fame induction, he was on the ballot all 15 years and never got more than 16.9% (1998), but really, if it IS called the Hall of “Fame”, I think you can make a pretty good argument for the guy since he was indeed in that upper-echelon during the wild-70’s.

He certainly has my pick for the N.L. shortstop of the decade for the 1970's!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 MARIO SOTO

On the blog today, a fun card to create, my 1979 "not so missing" card for former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mario Soto:

Soto made his MLB debut in 1977 with the Reds in 1977, appearing in 12 games while posting a record of 2-6 with a 5.34 earned run average over 60.2 innings.

Those numbers got him a rookie card in the 1978 set, but after only five appearances in 1978, Topps decided to leave him out of the 1979 set altogether.

Over those five games in 1978 Soto went 1-0 with a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings of work, striking out 13 batters while also walking 13.

In 1979 he'd appear in 25 games, all out of the bullpen, going 3-2 with a 5.30 ERA and 32 K's in 37.1 innings, again walking a high amount of batters, this time 30.

It was in 1980 that the man found his groove, becoming one of the great strikeout pitchers in the game over the next six seasons.

In 1980 he went 10-8 over 53 games, with 12 starts, pitching 190.1 innings and striking out 182 batters, tossing a shutout and saving four games, while posting a 3.07 ERA.

In 1981, though cut short because of the strike, Soto won 12 games while striking out 151 batters, tossing three shutouts while pitching to a 3.29 ERA over 175 innings, forming a very nice 1-2 pitching tandem with Tom Seaver, who went 14-2.

Between 1982 and 1985, Soto was a force, as he would average 15 wins a season for the Reds while striking out 915 batters, good for a 229 season average.

In 1982 Soto struck out 274 batters, following up with 242 strikeouts in 1983, some serious strikeout numbers while finishing top 10 in the Cy Young race, including a runner-up finish in 1983 behind the Philadelphia Phillies' John Denny.

Sadly, arm injuries set in during the 1986 season, and though still only 29 years of age, he'd appear in only 19 games that year, followed by six in 1987 and 14 in 1988, retiring soon after at 31.

He finished his 12 year career with a record of 11-92, with a 3.47 ERA and 13 shutouts over 297 games and 1730.1 innings, striking out 1449 batters, making three All-Star games.

A very nice MLB career cut short by injuries.

WTHBALLS SERIES 12 AVAILABLE NOW!

 

Greetings everyone! It's that time again!

The newest WTHBALLS custom set is upon us, and it's the "SERIES 12" set continuing my on-going mission to "fill in" the Topps card sets of the 1970s.

Like the first eleven series, the set features 15 cards, but this time, instead of the usual glossy insert, we have a special mystery insert I think you'll be very pleased with!

Of course, the sets come wrapped inside a "WTHBALLS" wrapper following the other "Series" sets packs from the past.

The "packs" are $13 each plus $4.50 postage. Of course as usual, if you buy more than one set, postage always stays the same at $4.50.

SPOILER ALERT! See photos attached for the cards in this set. Again, I'm keeping the insert a secret until you all receive them, so no images of it here.

My paypal is the usual: slogun23@gmail.com

Thank you all for the continued support and interest!

Be well and safe!

Gio/wthballs

1960'S DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1965 JIM "CATFISH" HUNTER

On the blog today, we spotlight another card from my 1960's Dedicated Rookie set released a couple of years ago, this time my 1965 card for Hall of Famer Jim "Catfish" Hunter:

Hunter was a 19-year-old who hadn't yet pitched in a Big League game when this card would have come out, who would go on to finish 8-8 over 32 games with two shutouts and a 4.26 earned run average over 133 innings.

Over his 15-year career, which wrapped up in 1979 due to arm troubles, Hunter racked up 224 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 42 shutouts and 2012 strikeouts.

He took home the Cy Young Award in 1974 in his last season with the A's, came in second for the award the following year in his first year as a landmark Free-Agent with the Yankees, and threw a perfect game back in 1968 at the young age of 22.

A big-game pitcher, Hunter was a member of no less than five World Champion teams: 1972-74 Oakland A's, and the "Bronx Zoo" Yankee teams of 1977-78.

Did you know that Hunter is the last pitcher in the Major Leagues to complete 30 or more games in a season? 

In 1975 he completed 30 of his 39 starts, on his way to a 23-14 record with seven shutouts and a 2.58 E.R.A.

Between 1971 and 1975 he won 20 or more games each year, a great five year run which saw him win 111 games.

As a matter of fact, Hunter was the first pitcher since the all-time great Walter Johnson to win 200 games before the age of 31! And the only other guys at that time to also do it? Christy Mathewson and Cy Young. Incredible.

Sadly arm troubles and diabetes started to affect his career, forcing him to retire in 1979 at the age of only 33.

The final feather in his baseball cap would be a Hall of Fame induction in 1987 along with Chicago Cubs great Billy Williams, giving him a solid place in baseball history, if he didn't have one already...

 

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1977 PETE VUCKOVICH

On the blog this fine day, another "do-over" for Pete Vuckovich and his 1977 Topps card, showing him with the team he played for in 1976, the Chicago White Sox:

Vuckovich originally appeared in an airbrushed Toronto Blue Jays uni for the upcoming inaugural season, and I then created a re-done card showing him actually suited up in a Blue jay uniform, doing away with the 70's-tastic airbrushing job.

Today we go and show him in the uniform of the team he played for the previous year, the South Side White Sox.

In his first full season in the Big Leagues, Vuckovich appeared in 33 games, seven of them starts, going 7-4 with a 4.65 ERA over 110.1 innings, completing one and striking out 62 batters.

It’s easy to forget the rather pedestrian career Vuckovich had leading up to his 1982 Cy Young Award when he led the Milwaukee Brewers to an American League title, eventually losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
Some may even question if Jim Palmer or even Dan Quisenberry were more worthy recipients of the award (I thought “Quiz” was ripped off three awards to be honest, from 1982 to 1984).
Nevertheless, Vuckovich had his high-point that season, going 18-6 with a 3.34 earned run average, beating out future Hall of Fame Orioles pitcher Palmer for the Cy Young honors.
Sadly for Vuckovich, however, he came up with arm troubles the following year and only appeared in three games before missing the entire 1984 season before returning in 1985, playing for two more seasons before retiring for good after the 1986 season.
He’d win only eight games after his award winning season, finishing with 93 career wins against 69 losses over 11-years and 286 appearances.

DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1974 BAKE McBRIDE

Today's blog post has a 1974 "dedicated rookie" for Bake McBride, who would end up taking home the N.L. Rookie of the Year that year:

McBride made an immediate splash in the Majors, hitting .302 in limited play in 1973 before coming back and taking home the 1974 National League Rookie of the Year Award when he hit .309 with 173 hits and 30 stolen bases.
Sadly, even though he would keep that average around .300 for the rest of his career, he was repeatedly dealing with injuries, ranging from knee and shoulder ailments, to missing almost an entire season because of eye problems relating to contact lenses.
Over his 11-year career he managed to play a full season only four times, with three of those years coming consecutively between 1978-1980.
In that last of consecutive full years, he helped the Phillies win the 1980 World Series, defeating the Kansas City Royals and giving the team their first title.
After that, he played three more years in the Big Leagues, never more than 70 games in any one season, finishing up with a .299 batting average over 1071 games and 3853 at-bats, with 1153 hits and 183 stolen bases.

 

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL SPECIAL: DAVE CASH

On the blog today, we have Philadelphia Phillies hit-machine Dave Cash added to my on-going 1977 "Centennial" special sub-set, celebrating the Senior League's 100th Anniversary during the 1976 season:

Cash, who played the first five years of his Big League career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, came over to the “City of Brotherly Love” in October of 1973 in a trade for pitcher Ken Brett, and did not disappoint the Phillie faithful, having his three best years as a Major Leaguer between 1974-1976.
In those three seasons Cash averaged over 200 hits a season, along with a .300 average while playing pretty much every single game, even setting the MLB record (since broken) of 699 at-bats during the 1975 season.
He’d sign with the Montreal Expos in the Winter of 1976 as a Free Agent, and would have one more very good year in 1977 before quickly having his career turn South.
After an injury-plagued 1979 season he found himself with the San Diego padres in 1980, where he hit .227 over 130 games, before retiring at only 32 years of age.
All told, Cash finished with a very nice .283 career average, with 1571 hits over 5554 at-bats and 1422 games between 1969 and 1980, stealing 120 bases and scoring 732 runs.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1978 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

On the blog today, we have a 1978 “expanded league leader” card celebrating the top three strikeout pitchers of the 1977 season in the National League, featuring three solid pitchers of the era:

 

We begin with Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, who was an absolute BEAST in 1977, leading the league with 262 strikeouts, a career-best for him, while putting in a workhorse of a year for the Atlanta Braves.

Over the course of that year Niekro started 43 games, completed 20 of them, tossed 330.1 innings while going 16-20 with a 4.03 earned run average, tossing two shutouts while allowing 315 hits while walking 164 batters!

If you can believe it he’d top those innings pitched in each of the next two seasons, throwing 334.1 and 342 in 1978 and 1979 respectively, while winning 19 and 21 games, completing 22 and 23 as well.

Just the definition of “workhorse” while throwing his knuckleball on his way to the Hall of Fame, winning 318 games while striking out 3342 batters along the way, with 45 shutouts over 864 games in his 24-year career.

Behind him with 214 strikeouts in 1977, the pitcher who would go on to lead the league in K’s the following two seasons, Houston Astros fire-baller J.R. Richard, who matched his previous season’s strikeout total while winning 18 games along with three shutouts and a 2.97 ERA.

Richard would eclipse the 300-strikeout threshold in the 1978 and 1979, with 303 and 313 before a stroke during the 1980 season tragically cut his career short after a brilliant 10-4 start with a 1.90 ERA, including four shutouts.

The man was well on his way to a dominant decade in the 1980’s, now teamed up with Nolan Ryan who arrived in 1980 to form what could have been one of the great 1-2 pitching tandems of all-time.

In third place with 206 strikeouts, overlooked ace Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos, who had a fine year in 1977 with 17 wins and a 3.10 ERA over 40 starts, completing 17 and tossing four shutouts.

Rogers would go on to post some solid years for the Expos into the 1980’s, winning as many as 19 games (1982) and even leading the league that year with a 2.40 ERA, and shutouts in 1983 with five.

A victim of some bad Expos teams in the early part of the 1970’s, he’d finish with a record of 158-152 over 13 seasons, with a very nice 3.17 ERA and 37 shutouts over 399 appearances, all for the Montreal franchise between 1973 and 1985.

 

1976 "STARS RETIRE": BOB GIBSON & HARMON KILLEBREW

Today on the blog, we have a 1976 "Stars Retire" card celebrating two superstars of the game who called it a career after the 1975 season: Bob Gibson and Harmon Killebrew:

Two baseball heavyweights who made their marks over their careers, taking home awards and eventually both being selected for Hall of Fame glory.

For "Gibby", by the time this card would have come out you were looking at only the second pitcher in Major League history to collect 3000K’s in their career, joining Walter Johnson in the exclusive club.
The two-time Cy Young winner and 1968 MVP would top 250 wins with 251, finish with 3117 strikeouts along with a 2.91 earned run average and 56 shutouts over his 17-year career.
He’d also collect NINE Gold Gloves and be named to eight all-star teams, all while hurling for the Cardinals, leading them to two World Championships, 1964 and 1967.
His 1968 season is the stuff of legend, going 22-9 with 13 shutouts and a microscopic 1.12 E.R.A., completing 28 of 34 starts and striking out 268 batters.
How he lost nine games is incredible!
Of course, by the time he was eligible for selection for the Hall of Fame, he got in without a problem, claiming his rightful spot in Cooperstown in 1981.

For "Killer" Killebrew, he was an absolute BEAST at the plate, crushing 573 lifetime homers, MOST of them during the pitching-era of the 1960's into the '70's.

Eight 40+ home run seasons, nine 100+ runs batted in seasons, seven 100+ base-on-balls seasons, an M.V.P. in 1969 (with five top-5 finishes in M.V.P. voting as well), and a Hall of Fame induction in 1984.

A favorite player of mine "before my time" since I first discovered him when I flipped over his 1973 card, not believing the numbers I was seeing as a 10-year-old in 1979 at my cousin's house.

What a player!

Two super players closing the books on two super careers...

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS (FIRST TIME AROUND FOR THIS PLAYER): 1965 MINNIE MINOSO

Up on the blog today, from my 1960's "Career-cappers" set released a couple of years ago, my 1965 card for the great Minnie Minoso, new member of the Hall of Fame:

As we all know, Minoso would actually come back as a publicity stunt in 1976 and again in 1980 while a coach with the Chicago White Sox, but his "first" retirement came after 30 games with the White Sox in 1964 at the age of 40.

Minoso, aka the “Cuban Comet”, is finally a Hall of Famer, and I always felt the stunts in 1976 and 1980 may have even hurt his chances of getting into Cooperstown.
From 1951 to 1961 he had a wonderful Major League career, leading the league in stolen bases three times, triples three times, and hits and doubles once each, while also driving in over 100 runs four times and topping 20 homers four times.
Eight times in that span he would top a .300 batting average, and in 1951 many consider him the true American League Rookie of the Year when he hit .326 split between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, while topping the league in triples with 14 and stolen bases with 31.
Along the way he was named to seven All-Star games, winning three Gold Gloves as well, funny enough finishing fourth in the A.L. MVP race four times.
Of course, 12 years after his last playing days, in 1976, he ended up going 1-for-8 at the plate as a 50 year-old, then coming back in 1980 at the age of 54 and going hitless in two at-bats.
Nevertheless, Minoso finished his career with a .298 average, with 1963 hits over 6579 at-bats, along with 186 homers and 205 stolen bases while also topping 1000 runs scored and RBIs, 1136 & 1023 respectively.

NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUES ALL-TIME LEGENDS: DOBIE MOORE

Today on the blog, we add another Negro Leagues great to my long-running 1972 sub-set, former shortstop/outfielder Dobie Moore:

Though only active for seven seasons, Moore has been considered one of the greatest shortstop in the Negro League timeline, hitting .359 in his short career while playing Gold Glove defense.

He played his entire career with the Kansas City Monarchs, winning a batting title in 1924 when he hit a blistering .453, and held the highest career batting average in the California Winter League when he hit .385.

Sadly, during the 1926 season Moore was shot by his girlfriend, suffering a compound fracture which pretty much ended his career, though there were reports that he played later on in Semi-Pro ball at first base, not nearly the player he was before.

He finished his career with a .350 batting average, while hitting .270 over 23 games of Postseason play, helping the Monarchs to three consecutive league titles between 1923-1925.