REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2014: "MISSING" 1972 LOU BROCK "IN-ACTION" CARD

On the blog today, revisiting a blog post from September of 2014 for those that missed it the first time around, my "missing" 1972 In-Action card for the great Lou Brock:

I really enjoyed filling in the gaps that Topps left with this great sub-set, when they gave us guys like Bob Barton and Paul Schaal (no offense), while leaving out so many uber-stars.

As for Brock, the man was running wild by the early 1970's, on his way to a then Major League record 938 stolen bases to go along nicely with 1610 runs scored, 3023 hits and 776 extra base hits.

1971 was typical for Brock, as he gathered 200 hits, led the National League in runs scored with 126 (a career high), batted over .300 (.313) and of course, led the Senior Circuit in stolen bases for the fifth time (on his way to eight stolen base crowns for his career).

His stellar career eventually got Brock elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility.

Nicknamed "The Franchise", I'm sure any team would love to build a roster around a player like Brock in any era.

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. FIRST BASE STEVE GARVEY

We move on to the National League's top first baseman in my "1970s All-Decade Team" set, with my pick the great Steve Garvey of the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Let's see: all the man did in the 1970s was produce six 200-hit seasons, four 100-RBI campaigns, four Gold Gloves, an MVP and six All-Star nods.

Seems like a no-brainer to me for this pick!
The anchor of the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers teams of the era, they took over from Cincinnati as the preeminent team in the Senior Circuit in the late-70s, reaching the World Series three times over five seasons between 1977 and 1981, winning it all that final year, beating the New York Yankees and exacting some sweet revenge for their two losses in 77/78.
I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a few hundred times: the fact that this man is NOT in the Hall of Fame, representing his era of Major League baseball, is a joke. Flat out nonsense. Beyond the numbers, the personality, the leader of a team that was shattering attendance records, helping popularize the game further, the man was an All-Star year in-year out.
In my book, seeing that the most support he ever received was 42.6%, which was in his second-year of eligibility in 1994, is nothing short of a mark on what the Hall of Fame is.

Modern metrics be damned, get this man in!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1979 JUAN EICHELBERGER

On the blog today, we have a 1979 "not so missing" card for seven-year MLB pitcher Juan Eichelberger, who made his Big League debut in 1978 with the San Diego Padres:

Eichelberger appeared in three games for the Padres, not factoring in a decision while tossing 3.1 innings in relief, giving up four earned runs on four hits and two walks.

He'd also appear in three games the following season before getting some regular playing time between 1980 and 1982, winning 19 games over that time across 71 appearances, now a starter, tossing a shutout while completing eleven games.

In 1983 he found himself with the Cleveland Indians, appearing in 28 games with 15 of those starts, completing two games and posting a record of 4-11 with a 4.90 ERA over 134 innings of work.

He would toil in the Minors between 1984 and 1987 before making a comeback at the age of 34, some five years after his last Big League action, pitching for the Atlanta Braves and appearing in 20 games, going 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 37.1 innings, calling it a career soon after.

All told, he finished up with a record of 26-36, with a 4.10 ERA and 281 strikeouts over 125 appearances, with 14 complete games and 603.1 innings pitched.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 N.L. STRIKEOUTS

Good day all!

On the blog today, we have the top three National League strikeout pitchers of 1978 proudly displayed on a 1979 “expanded league leader” card, featuring three studs of the mound:

 

We begin with Houston Astros ace J.R. Richard, who had himself quite a season in 1978, reaching the 300 strikeout plateau for the first time with 303 total over 275.1 innings of work.

Richard was just getting better and better at this point, reaching the 300 strikeout mark after two seasons of 214, winning 18 games each year between 1977 and 1979 with a 20-win season in 1976.

He was a beast on the mound, and would follow up his 1978 campaign with an even better 1979 season, striking out 313 batters while leading the league with a 2.71 earned run average while completing 19 of his 38 starts, throwing 292.1 innings.

I cannot even imagine how the 1980’s could have gone for him had not a tragic stroke strike him during the 1980 season, ending his career just like that.

In second place with 248 strikeouts, the 1977 K-leader in the N.L., Atlanta Braves pitcher Phil Niekro, who started 42 games while completing 22 of them, both league high marks, as well as his whopping 334.1 innings.

He went 19-18 with a very nice 2.88 ERA, tossing four shutouts and even winning the first of his five Gold Gloves, this at the age of 39! Amazing.

In third place with 226 strikeouts, a man who at that point was already a five-time K-King, Cincinnati Reds ace Tom Seaver, who had a very nice first full-season after his shocking trade to the team during the 1977 season.

“Tom Terrific” went 16-14 over 36 starts, posting an ERA of 2.88 over 259 innings, tossing one shutout while completing eight, making his eleventh All-Star team on his way to an easy Hall of Fame selection years later, in my opinion THE best pitcher of the 1970’s.

Quite the trip of arms here!

NEGRO LEAGUE TO MAJOR LEAGUE STARS: LARRY DOBY

On the blog today, adding to a fun thread I started somewhat recently, a 1972 sub-set celebrating ballplayers that began their careers in the Negro Leagues before coming to the N.L./A.L. later on, this time the great Larry Doby, the first African-American player in American League history:

Doby began his professional career at the age of 18, suiting up for the Newark Eagles at second base in 1942, putting in parts of three seasons before heading off to the Military in 1945.

He'd be back to playing ball in 1946 with Newark, and would lead the Negro Leagues with 85 hits, 10 triples  and 138 total bases while making his first All-Star team.

In 1947, just a few months after Jackie Robinson broke the MLB color-barrier playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League, Doby would do the same in the American League, donning the uniform of the Cleveland Indians, appearing in 29 games.

Though his initial start with Cleveland was a bit rough, to the tune of a .156 batting average over 32 at-bats, Doby would immediately find his stroke in 1948, hitting .301 for the eventual World Champions, scoring 83 runs while hitting 14 homers with 23 doubles and nine triples, even garnering some MVP attention at season's end.

He would make seven All-Star teams while with Cleveland, with MVP consideration in four of those campaigns.

He'd lead the A.L. in homers twice with 32 in both 1952 and 1954, while leading the league with 126 RBIs in the latter season, one of five seasons he'd top 100.

Never given enough praise for his ground-breaking MLB debut, often overshadowed by Jackie Robinson's debut just before him, I'm happy to see his place in Big League history getting more and more attention as time passes.

Thankfully, he was also given his rightful place in the Hall of Fame, having been selected for enshrinement in 1998, though far too late in my opinion, but at least before he passed away, which he did on June 18th of 2003 at the age of 79.

1960'S "DEDICATED ROOKIES": 1965 TONY PEREZ

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1965 "Dedicated Rookie" for Hall of Famer Tony Perez, the RBI-machine, from my special set released a few years ago:

Perez truly was an overlooked star on a team that would also have guys like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan, just to name a few, and it’s just plain criminal considering he logged 10 seasons in a row over 90+ runs batted in, with six of them over 100 as stated earlier.
With a batting average hovering around .280, he was a solid and steady force at the plate and out in the field for a team that would become legendary, on their way to two straight championships in 1975 and 1976.
He would play for 23 seasons in the Major Leagues, and end up with 379 homers, 1652 RBI’s, 2732 hits and a very nice .279 average before he left the game at the age of 44.
The “Big Dog”, Sparky Anderson always stated that what killed the “Big Red Machine” from dominating longer was trading away their slugging first baseman in December of 1976 to the Montreal Expos for Woodie Fryman and Dale Murray, a trade that still baffles me.
Nevertheless, after nine tries, he finally made it into the Hall of Fame in 2000, and rightly so. Hopefully Pete Rose can also join his former teammates someday as well.

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: JOE MORGAN

Today on the blog, we go and add elite second baseman Joe Morgan to my long-running 1977 N.L. "Centennial" sub-set, honoring the Senior League's 100th anniversary celebration of 1976:

Morgan was "all-world" when this card would have seen the light of day back then!

What else could Morgan have accomplished by 1977?! The reigning two-time MVP led his “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds to two straight World Series wins in 1975 & 1976, took home his third straight Gold Glove Award, was RIPPED OFF a Rookie of the Year Award back in 1965 (look it up), and was well on his way to the Hall of Fame.
His 1976 season was the stuff of legend at the time: a .320 batting average, 27 homers, 111 runs batted in, 113 runs scored and 114 base on balls, leading his league in On-Base-Percentage and Slugging while claiming a spot on his seventh National League All-Star team.
The man was a machine!

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS EARLY WYNN

On the blog this fine day, a "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks card for the great Early Wynn, adding to my all-time favorite "odd-ball" set over the next few months:

The set is extremely popular for vintage collectors, and rightly so, sporting such a great design against solid color backgrounds, perfectly representing the era.

Oddly, the set had both superstars and middle-of-the-road players in it's limited 20-card set, ranging from uber-stars like ted Williams to White Sox outfielder Johnny Groth, so I figured I'd add the biggest stars of the game that are missing for fun.

Wynn's Major League romp towards 300 career wins didn't really pick up steam until he was 30-years old and a member of the Cleveland Indians in 1950, as he posted an 18-8 record with a league-leading 3.20 earned run average.

From then on he was hovering around 20-wins every year for the next ten years, topping the mark five times.

In 1959, now a member of the "Go-Go" Chicago White Sox, Wynn anchored the staff that led the team to a World Series appearance against the eventual champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, by posting a 22-10 record, leading the league in wins and copping a Cy Young Award at the age of 39.

However, the struggle to get that elusive 300th win is now well-documented, as he hung on for the next four years until he got that final victory in 1963 at the age of 43, thus joining the exclusive club and pretty much sealing his Cooperstown induction in his fourth year of eligibility, getting 76% of the BBWA vote.

All told, Wynn finished his 23-year career with a 300-244 record, with a 3.54 E.R.A., 49 shutouts and 2334 strikeouts in 691 games, 611 of which were starts, and was named to seven all-star teams.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1979 BOBBY SPROWL

On the blog today, we have a 1979 "not so missing" card for Boston Red Sox pitcher Bobby Sprowl, who made his MLB debut in 1978 with three starts:

Sprowl went 0-2 in his first taste of the Big Leagues, pitching to a bloated 6.39 earned run average over 12.2 innings, walking 10 while striking out 10.

He would find himself traded to the Houston Astros in June of 1979, playing parts of the next three years for them, appearing in 19 games over the course of the remainder of his career, with the bulk of those appearances coming in his last season, 1981, when he appeared in 15 games.

All told, he finished his major League run with a record of 0-3 over 22 games, posting an ERA of 5.44 in 46.1 innings, starting four of those games, walking 27 batters while striking out 34.

1970 "20-WIN CIRCLE": DENNY McLAIN

Today's blog post has us adding Detroit Tigers' great denny McLain to my 1970 "20-Win Circle" thread, celebrating all the pitchers who reached the lofty mark in 1969:

For McLain, it was his second fantastic season in a row, posting a league-leading 24 wins and sharing the Cy Young Award with Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar.

In addition to the 24 wins, he also led the league with his nine shutouts and 325 innings of work, posting an ERA of 2.80 while striking out 181.

It was his second Cy Young win in a row, coming after his "all-world" campaign in 1968 when he became to this day the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season for the World Champion Tigers.

McLain experienced both the highs and the lows of playing in the Big Leagues, reeling off five super seasons between 1965 and 1969, including the aforementioned two Cy Youngs and an MVP, then plummeting in 1970 where he never again found his form, retiring from the game at only 28 years of age after the 1972 campaign.

His 1968 season was the stuff of legend, as he helped the Tigers on their way to a World Championship, with the 24-year old McLain led the way anchoring the staff with an incredible 31-6 record, along with a 1.96 earned run average, 280 strikeouts, six shutouts and completing 28 of 41 starts!
Not only was that good for the Cy Young Award, but he also took home the Most Valuable Player Award as well.
Of course 1968 will forever be known as the “Year of the Pitcher”, but it does not take away from what McLain accomplished.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 A.L. E.R.A.

Up on the blog today, we have a 1979 "expanded league leader" card celebrating the top three ERA men in the American League for 1978:

Of course we begin with the pitching apex of 1978 in Major League baseball, New York Yankees great Ron Guidry.

Guidry was unstoppable that season, cruising to an incredible 25-3 record, helping the Yankees win their second straight championship while setting a new MLB record .893 winning percentage for 20+ win seasons, which still stands today.

Along with his 25 wins, “Louisiana Lightning” led the league with his nine shutouts and 1.74 earned run average, while finishing second with 248 K’s, a new Yankee record that stood until last season when Gerrit Cole topped the mark.

That all resulted in a Cy Young Award while coming in second for the MVP, which arguably should have been his. Just a legendary season for the whip-it from Lafayette, Louisiana.

Lost in the Ron Guidry performance in 1978, the wonderful season the second place finisher in ERA had in his first year with the Texas Rangers, former N.L. Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack, who posted an excellent 2.27 ERA while going 15-13 over 35 appearances, completing 18 starts while striking out 157 batters.

Matlack, who spent the first seven years of his Big League career with the New York Mets, was as solid as they came between 1972 and 1980, regularly putting in 200+ innings of work a year with double digit wins for some pretty bad teams.

By the time he hung them up he finished with 125 wins and 1516 K's, with 30 shutouts  and a very nice 3.18 ERA.

In third place, the man who had the misfortune of having his best Big League season in 1978, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Caldwell, who along with his 22 wins and six shutouts, posted an ERA of 2.36 over 293.1 innings.

Incredibly Caldwell completed 23 of his 34 starts, the top mark in the A.L. that year, even picking up a save as he also made three relief appearances over the course of the season.

That year would begin a six-year run for him that saw double-digit wins and 200+ innings every year except the strike-year of 1981, when he still tossed 144.1 over 23 starts.

Three great starters right here!

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. CATCHER THURMAN MUNSON

LET THE ARGUMENTS BEGIN!

Today on the blog, we move on to the American League and my pick with the top catcher in the league for the 1970's, New York Yankees great Thurman Munson:

Now, Carlton Fisk is obviously a close second in my book, and he arguably can be in the top spot for many, but with Munson putting in the full decade, taking home an MVP in 1976 as well as the Rookie of the Year in 1970, and leading the Yankees to two straight World Championships in 1977 and 1978, he gets the nod from me here.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

As for Fisk, I think we can fairly say he was incredibly the A.L.'s best catcher for the 1980's, displaying what an unbelievable career he had both in terms of production AND longevity for a Big League catcher.

Two amazing guys that came up at the same time and were heated opponents.

BASBEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS: FERGIE JENKINS

On the blog today, adding to the "missing" 1971 Baseball's Greatest Moments checklist with a card for the great Fergie Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs, celebrating his fourth straight 20-win season in 1970:

Fergie was just tacking on great season after great season at this time, with 1970 seeing him post a career-best (at the time) 22 wins while completing 24 of his 39 starts, tossing three shutouts and pitching to a 3.39 ERA over 313 innings, with 274 strikeouts, topping his previous high mark by one.

An absolute machine, he still had another three 20-win season's in the tank, including his 24 from 1971 that brought home a Cy Young Award, when he also completed an astounding 30 of 39 starts, striking out 263 batters and posting a 2.77 ERA over 325 innings.

As we all know, he put together a Hall of Fame career, topping 280 wins, 3000 strikeouts, with 49 shutouts, the aforementioned Cy Young Award in 1971 and four other top-3 finishes in the award voting.
In 1991 he capped off his career with an induction into Cooperstown on his third try, just getting the 75% of the vote with 75.4% support.
On a geeky side-note, “Fly” was also the first pitcher to ever regsiter 3000+ strikeouts while issuing less than 1000 base on balls.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM SEPT. 2013: "MISSING IN ACTION 1979 MIKE MARSHALL

Thought it'd be fun today to revisit another post from the first year of this blog, 2013, this time from September of that year and my "missing" 1979 card for former Cy Young winner and reliever extraordinaire Mike Marshall:

Here's the original write-up of that post, as it appeared way back when:

"Mike Marshall is about as interesting a character in Major league baseball during the 1970's as any other. And considering some of the characters we've looked at in the past, that is saying something.
How else can you describe a guy who seriously considered retiring from the sport so he could focus on his P.H.D. studies before his record setting 1974 season?
If you've ever read Jim Bouton's hilarious and landmark book "Ball Four" you read about Marshall's legendary battles with his then-manager Jim Schultz while both were members of the ill-fated single-season organization Seattle Pilots.
This guy was something else. And his arm was undoubtedly something else as well. In no less than three seasons, Marshall appeared in 90 or more games, including his record-setting mark of 106 in 1974 that still stands today.
And UNLIKE today with specialty pitchers who come in and face a batter or two, when Marshall came into a game, he pitched.
In 1974, purely a relief role, Marshall threw an astounding 208.1 innings, going 15-12 with a 2.42 E.R.A. and a league-leading 21 saves. Amazing by any standard, any era.
This easily got him a Cy Young award that year, beating out fellow teammate Andy Messersmith, while also finishing third in M.V.P. voting as well.
When it came to baseball cards, Marshall was equally as "unique". Rumor has it that he was a bit of a headache for Topps, refusing to "pose" for pictures. Because of this, his cards featured action shots between 1974 through 1977.
Then, after his '77 card, he disappeared altogether. Why I have no idea. But even though Marshall played through the rest of the decade, there were no cards for him in the 1978 and 1979 set.
I'll come back to his missing 1978 card at a later date since I have to do some extensive Photoshopping to have him in a Texas ranger uniform (I can't find a good shot of him while pitching for Texas).
But for today, I'll go ahead with a "gimmie" and design a 1979 card for him.
1979 was another amazing year for Marshall. He appeared in an A.L. record 90 games, closing out 84 of them, good enough for a 10-15 record with a league-leading 32 saves. Those numbers got him a fifth-place finish in the Cy Young voting that year, which marked the fifth time he was in the running for the award in his career.
He even finished in 11th place for M.V.P. as well, which was the fourth time he garnered serious attention as "Most Valuable Player" during his playing days.
But because of what I understand as "problems" between Topps and Marshall, he was not included in the set that year, leaving a gaping hole for a guy who was as good as any coming into a game as a reliever.
It must have been frustrating for fans of the Twins, and more specifically Marshall, to rip open packs during the late '70's only to find that one of your best pitchers wasn't even depicted on a card.
Then again, from everything I've read online, he's about as tough an autograph to get as anyone else out there, long refusing to sign his name for fans, so perhaps they weren't really missing him too much after all."

 

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: JIM WYNN

On the blog this fine day, we add to my fun 1977 "N.L. Centennial" series, by including former slugger, the "Toy Cannon" Jim Wynn:

I love this image of the former All-Star, clearly showing the ceremonial patch all National League teams wore during their 100th anniversary season of 1976.

I actually used this earlier on the blog as a 1977 "do-over" about two years ago, but really wanted this to be a part of this set.

Though at the tail-end of his career,  Wynn put up some solid years during his excellent 15-year Big League run.

Eight times he'd top 20 homers, with three of them 30+, while also driving in 100+ runs twice, scoring 100+ runs four times and topping 100 walks six times, two seasons of which he'd lead the National League, with a high of 148 in 1969.

While slugging away, he was also a threat on the base paths, as he'd go on to swipe a total of 225 before retiring, with a high of 43 in 1965.

After a handful of games with the Milwaukee Brewers in the latter half of 1977, he called it a career, finishing with 1100+ runs scored, 1665 hits, 291 homers and 964 runs batted in, with a .250 average thrown in.

 

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1970 FELIPE ALOU

Today on the blog, I have a do-over for Felipe Alou and his 1970 Topps card, this time showing him with the team he suited up for the previous year, the Atlanta Braves, over the non-descript Oakland A's version Topps had out there way back when:

For those that need a refresher on what the original looked like, here you go:

Felipe would hit wherever he played, hitting .282 for Atlanta before heading West, where he would hit .271 for the A's in his only full season there.

The 35-year old was winding down an excellent 17-year Major League career that saw him make three All-Star games, top the National League in hits twice with 218 in 1966 and 210 in 1968, runs with 122 in ‘66 and total bases with 355 that same season.
By the time he retired after a few games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1974 he finished with 2101 hits and 206 homers with 985 runs scored and 852 RBIs, with a very nice .286 batting average.
Of course we all also remember him going on to becoming a Major League manager, leading the Montreal Expos from 1992 to 2001 before taking over the San Francisco Giants in 2003, managing them until 2006, while also being a part of that baseball family that included brother Matty and Jesus, son Moises, cousin Jose Sosa and nephew Mel Rojas.
Just amazing.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1979 JERRY MADDOX

Up on the blog today, we have a 1979 "not so missing" card for seven-game Major Leaguer Jerry Maddox, who put in all his Big League appearances with the Atlanta Braves in June of 1978:

Maddox collected three hits over 14 official at-bats in his time as a Major Leaguer, scoring a run while driving in one while playing third base.

Sadly for him it would be his only time in the Big Leagues, being sent back down to Richmond for the rest of the season, which was also the case for all of 1979.

In 1980 he'd take his bat and glove South, playing in the Mexican League for Nuevo Laredo, before retiring for good, still only 26 years of age.

Nevertheless, the man made the "Big Show", even if for only seven games, and THAT is something to celebrate here at WTHBALLS!

Cheers!

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. CATCHER JOHNNY BENCH

Today on the blog we begin a FUN new thread, my personal picks for the 1970's "All-Decade Team", which I'm sure will cause some arguments back and forth as I have selected some surprises when it was all said and done!

I definitely plan on releasing this as a custom set this year, as the cards came out brilliant, using the 1980 Topps template as the design.

We begin with my pick for the decade's best N.L. catcher, this is a simple decision, Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench, perhaps the greatest catcher of them all:

Not really much going into this pick, as anyone trying to argue for someone else as the decade's best N.L. catcher has quite the task in front of them, with Bench dominating the Majors over the 1970's.

Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

Next week, my pick for the A.L.'s top catcher for the 1970's...

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 N.L. ERA

On the blog today, we move on to the National league and their top three ERA pitchers of 1978, displayed on a 1979 "expanded league leader" card:

We begin with New York Mets starter Craig Swan, who surprisingly put in a solid year for the cellar-dwelling Mets, leading the league with his 2.43 earned run average.

Though his record was only 9-6 over his 29 appearances, he did toss 207.1 innings, giving up only 56 earned runs while completing five games, including a shutout.

He'd follow that season up with another solid season, posting a record of 14-13 over 35 starts, with an ERA of 3.29 along with three shutouts and twn complete games, striking out a career-best 145 batters.

Sadly for him injuries began setting in, and aside from 1982 when he threw 166.1 innings, over the rest of his career he'd never throw more than 96.1, retiring in 1984 at the age of only 34.

In second place with a fin 2.47 ERA, Montreal Expos All-Star Steve Rogers, about as solid a starter in the game between 1973 and 1983 before injuries also derailed his career.

For Rogers, he gave the upstart Expos 13 wins against 10 losses, with eleven complete games and a shutout, throwing 219.1 innings.

Of course we know now that he would go on to become a top starter in the early-80's, taking home an ERA crown himself in 1982 with a 2.40 mark, winning 19 games and coming in as runner-up in the Cy Young Race.

In third place with a 2.54 ERA, St. Louis Cardinals starter and future A.L. Cy Young winner Pete Vuckovich, who put in a very nice year for his new team after coming over from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Vuckovich was used as both a starter and reliever, appearing in 45 games, with about half of those starts, completing six games and tossing two shutouts on his way to 198.1 innings of work.

After two more solid years with the Cardinals, he'd find himself with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981, tying for the league-lead with his 14 wins during the strike-shortened season, then following that up with his Cy Young year, helping Milwaukee make it all the way to the World Series as he'd go 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA over 30 starts.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1970 JACK AKER

On the blog today, a "do-over" of the very first 1970 Topps card I ever owned, bought as a ten year old in 1980 at an Antique Store in Brooklyn, featuring former New York Yankees reliever Jack Aker:

As issued by Topps

As you can see from the original image, Topps was in the middle of a battle with MLBPA regarding licensing rights so they were recycling tons of photos of many players in the late-60's/early-70's.

The issued image shows Aker clearly as a member of the Kansas City/Oakland A's, where he played between 1964 and 1968.

He did appear in 38 games for the Yankees in 1969 after coming over from the Seattle Pilots, performing very well by posting a record of 8-4 with a 2.06 ERA and eleven saves.

In his entire 11 year career he never started a single game, appearing in a total of 495 games in relief, posting a (then) very respectable 124 saves, including 32 in 1966 alone when he had his best season in the big leagues for the Kansas City Athletics, going 8-4 with a 1.99 ERA to go along with those league-leading saves.

Between 1964 and 1974 he'd suit up for the Athletics, Pilots, Yankees, Cubs, Braves and Mets, finishing with a 47-45 record with a nice 3.28 ERA and 404 strikeouts over 746 innings of work in 495 appearances.

1970 "20-WIN CIRCLE" DAVE McNALLY

Today on the blog we add Baltimore Orioles great Dave McNally to my fun 1970 "20-Win Circle" sub-set, something I plan to produce and release this year:

McNally was in the middle of a tremendous four-year run by the time this card would have come out, posting four straight 20+ win seasons along with three wins spread over three World Series (1969-1971) and a World Championship.

His 20-win season in 1969 was this second, going 20-7 over 40 starts, with four shutouts and 166 K's along with an ERA of 3.22.

Between 1969-1971 he finished in the top-5 in Cy Young voting each time, with a second place finish in 1970 behind Jim Perry.

Along with Jim Palmer and Mike Cuellar he formed one of the most talented pitching rotations in the game, and in 1971 was one of FOUR Oriole pitchers to post 20 or more wins.

By the time he retired after the 1975 season, he finished with a 184-119 record, with a 3.24 earned run average, 33 shutouts and 1512 strikeouts.

Some of the other highlights of his career are pretty nifty: still the only pitcher to hit a Grand Slam in a World Series game; he had three different streaks of 12 or more wins in a row during his career (Roger Clemens would later match this) including a 17-game streak between 1968-69; and he threw a Series-clinching shutout against the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series to match teammates Jim Palmer and Wally Bunker, completing an improbable sweep of the reigning champs and their staff which had future Hall of Fame pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

Quite a career for the man from Billings, Montana.

1960'S DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1966 FERGIE JENKINS

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1966 "dedicated rookie" card for pitching great Fergie Jenkins, who began his fantastic career as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies:

The card was part of my fun "1960's Dedicated Rookie" set released a few years back, easily one of the more popular sets I've produced since starting the blog.

For Jenkins, the 22-year-old appeared in seven games for the Phillies in 1965, going 2-1 over 12.1 innings with a very nice 2.19 EAR and 10 strikeouts.

After one game with Philadelphia in 1966 he was shipped to Chicago in a multi-player trade that the Phillies would LOVE to take back, as Jenkins would go on to reel off six straight 20-win seasons beginning in 1967, taking home the Cy Young Award in 1971.

As we all know, by the time he hung them up he put together a Hall of Fame career, topping 280 wins, 3000 strikeouts, with 49 shutouts, a Cy Young Award in 1971 and four other top-3 finishes in the award voting.
In 1991 he capped off his career with an induction into Cooperstown on his third try, just getting the 75% of the vote with 75.4% support.
On a geeky side-note, “Fly” was also the first pitcher to ever register 3000+ strikeouts while issuing less than 1000 base on balls.

The man was truly "Fly"!

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 DOCK ELLIS

Good day everyone!

Up on the blog today, we take a look at the images variation between Dock Ellis' Topps and OPC cards from 1977:

OPC version

Topps version

Nothing really too earth-shattering here, with the Topps image much nice in my humble opinion, showing the iconic starter posed at the Stadium rather than some Spring Training shot.

Ellis has one full season with the New York Yankees, posting a very fine season in 1976 and helping them make the World Series for the first time in 12 years before losing to the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds.

He posted a record of 17-8 over 32 starts with a 3.19 ERA, tossing 211.2 innings while completing five and throwing one shutout.

By the time he left the game after the 1979 season, Ellis would post a final record of 138-119 over 345 games, 317 of them as a starter, tossing 14 shutouts and striking out 1136, while famously throwing a no-hitter in 1970 allegedly while tripping on LSD, and also starting the 1971 All-Star game, giving up the towering home run to Reggie Jackson that struck a light tower at Tigers' Stadium.

Eventful career to say the least!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 JIM SADOWSKI

Today's blog post has a good old-fashioned "not really missing" card for four-game Major League pitcher Jim Sadowski of the Pittsburgh Pirates:

Sadowski appeared as a reliever in all four of those games, going 0-1 with a 6.00 earned run average for the Pirates, throwing exactly nine innings and giving up six earned runs on seven hits and nine walks (ouch!).

The 22-year-old Pittsburgh native would go on to put in four more years in the Minors for both the Pittsburgh and Kansas City Royals organizations before retiring in 1978, having those four games during the Spring of 1974 that most of us can only wish we had.

Cheers buddy!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 A.L. VICTORIES

On the blog today, we move on to the American League’s top winning pitchers for 1978 on an “expanded league leader” card, showcasing the top three players in each statistical category instead of the two top league leaders as Topps issued for a few years during the decade:

Of course, we begin with Mister “All-World” as far as pitchers go for 1978, the New York Yankees Ron Guidry, who put in an all-time year on the mound, leading Major League ball with his 25 wins.

Guidry was unstoppable that season, cruising to an incredible 25-3 record, helping the Yankees win their second straight championship while setting a new MLB record .893 winning percentage for 20+ win seasons, which still stands today.

Along with his 25 wins, “Louisiana Lightning” led the league with his nine shutouts and 1.74 earned run average, while finishing second with 248 K’s, a new Yankee record that stood until last season when Gerrit Cole topped the mark.

Of course, all of this led to Guidry taking home the league’s Cy Young Award, while finishing second in the MVP race to Jim Rice, who put in an equally superb year from the offensive side of the game.

In second place with 22 wins is a guy who happened to have his best MLB season at the wrong time, as he would have easily taken home the Cy any other year, Mike Caldwell of the Milwaukee Brewers, who went 22-9 with a brilliant 2.36 ERA and six shutouts, completing 23 of his 34 starts.

A solid starter between 1978 and 1983, the man had it all working in his first full year with the Brewers, tossing 293.1 innings and even picking up a save over his 37 appearances.

Originally somewhat of a journeyman pitcher in the National league between 1971 and 1977, he found his home in Milwaukee, playing the last eight years of his 14-year career there, even leading them to a World Series appearance in 1982 as well as a playoff in the strike-shortened 1981 campaign.

Tied for third with 21 wins apiece, Kansas City Royals pitcher Dennis Leonard and Baltimore Orioles legend Jim Palmer, who each put in solid years for their respective teams.

For Leonard, it was his second straight 20-win season for the A.L. West juggernaut Royals, posting a record of 21-17 over 40 starts, with an ERA of 3.33 over 294.2 innings of work, with 20 complete games and four shutouts.

After a 14-win season in 1979 he’d be back in the 20-win circle again in 1980, going 20-11, making it three times in four years the ace reached the elite level, as well as a 13-win season in 1981, just one off the league lead because of the strike.

For Palmer, it was “business as usual” for the Orioles Hall of Famer, posting his eighth 20-win season in nine years with a wonderful 2.46 ERA and six shutouts over 38 starts, just missing the 300-inning mark with 296, which broke his string of three such seasons between 1975 and 1977.

The man was top-three as far as pitchers are concerned for the 1970’s, in my book only behind Tom Seaver, but with Steve Carlton elbowing his way in the conversation.

A great group of hurlers here!

 

NEGRO LEAGUE TO MAJOR LEAGUE STARS: JACKIE ROBINSON

On the blog today, we add the great Jackie Robinson to my thread celebrating players who made their professional debuts in the Negro Leagues before playing the Majors, of course he being the man who started it all:

Before Robinson made baseball history in 1947 as the first African-American to play in the Majors, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

Garnering interest from a few Major League teams, Robinson eventually signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and spent 1946 in their Minor League system, playing for the Montreal Royals of the International League.

Of course, the rest is history, as Robinson would make his MLB debut in 1947 and immediately make an impact, taking home the Rookie of the Year Ward, while also winning MVP two years later.

Just an incredible man who had the strength that most of us do not possess, to handle all that was thrown at him solely for the color of his skin.

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: JERRY KOOSMAN

On the blog today, we add former New York Mets ace Jerry Koosman to my running 1977 sub-set celebrating the Senior League's 100th anniversary of 1976:

“Kooz” spent the first 12 years of his Major League career as a New York Met, and performed marvelously, posting solid seasons which saw him finish behind Johnny Bench in 1968 for National League Rookie of the Year in 1968, and in second-place for Cy Young in 1976 when he won a career high 21 games to along with a 2.69 earned run average and 200 strikeouts.
But over the following two seasons, and not entirely HIS fault, Koosman posted a combined 11-35 record, even though his ERA was around 3.62 and he struck out 352 batters.
That was enough for the Mets to ship him to Minnesota on December 8th, 1978 for a relief pitcher that would pay off years later, Jesse Orosco.
Koosman immediately made an impact in Minnesota, posting another 20-win season (at the time one of the few to do so in both leagues), while posting a 3.38 ERA and 157 strikeouts.
By the time he retired after the 1985 season he’d win 222 games, while collecting a nice 3.36 ERA with 2556 strikeouts and 33 shutouts over 612 games, 527 of which were starts.
I remember hearing years ago that Koosman loved to tell people how his “rookie card” was worth a lot of money and was the hottest card in the 1968 set, only to follow up and casually mention that “Oh yeah, some guy named Nolan Ryan is on there too.”
Love it...

GIMMIE A DO-OVER OF ONE OF MY OWN: 1973 CAREER-CAPPER FOR HOYT WILHELM

 

Today on the blog, a do-over for one of my early "career-cappers", a 1973 capper for the great Hoyt Wilhelm, who I originally had an early version created for way back in September of 2013, using an image that was a bit sub-par for my taste:

This is a great image of the man closing out a game during his final season of a Hall of Fame career, one that was unique and in my opinion under-appreciated.

Here's the original write-up from the first time around:

"As if Hoyt Wilhelm needed another card in a LONG and illustrious career, I couldn't help but create a 1973 Topps card for the knuckleball relief specialist.
I've always been fascinated by Wilhelm's career.
Who knows what he could have done if he remained a starter. Who knows what his career numbers would have been if he began his career in his early 20's instead of at the ripe "old" age of 29!
Think about this for a second: the man started his career at 29 and he STILL pitched in 21 seasons. He still ended up setting what was then the all-time record for appearances by a pitcher with 1070.
Throw in seven seasons of sub-2.00 E.R.A.'s, 227 saves, and on top of all of that, TWO E.R.A. crowns in the ONLY two years he even threw enough innings to qualify, and you definitely have a Hall of Fame career when it's all said and done.
Take a look at Wilhelm's rookie season. In 1952 he shows up in New York, pitching for the Giants, and all he does is go 15-3 in 159.1 innings, with a league-leading 2.43 E.R.A. and 11 saves. And this was ALL in relief! He appeared in 71 games without a single start. Just awesome.
He also managed to hit a home run in his first Major League at bat on April 23, 1952, never to hit another one in his career. Go figure.
It would then be another seven years before he would pitch more than 154 innings, this time topping out with a career high 226 with the Baltimore Orioles in 1959 mainly as a starter.
His other numbers that year were good enough to have him selected as an All-Star: 15-11, league-leading 2.19 E.R.A., and 13 complete games with three shut outs.
Whether you had him starting or coming in as a reliever, he was up for the challenge.
Wilhelm finally called it a career after the 1972 season where he appeared in only 16 games for the L.A. Dodgers.
Over the course of his last five seasons (all post-45 years of age), he bounced around a bit and pitched for five teams: White Sox, Angels, Braves, Dodgers and Cubs, going 17-18 with 43 saves.
Nevertheless, Wilhelm was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985, generally considered the first relief pitcher to have this honor bestowed upon him.
So without any further delay, here's a 1973 card design capping off a great and unique Major League career."

1960'S DEDICATED ROOKIES: 1966 DON SUTTON

Today's blog post has us putting a spotlight on my 1966 "dedicated rookie" for the great Don Sutton, from my custom set released a few years ago:

A really fun set to produce, and one of the most popular sets among you all over the years, there was a plethora of future Hall of Famers to create dedicated cards for from the 1960s.

Sutton was set to start a wonderful 23-year run in the Major Leagues, reeling off win after win for the Los Angeles Dodgers coming up as a 21-year-old in 1966.

The man was a machine, and while some people think incredible steadiness like this doesn’t warrant a Hall of Fame selection, I do!

There is something to celebrate when a player performs year after year over a long period of time (think Eddie Murray) without having a “mega-season” along the way.
By the time Sutton left the game after the 1988 season, he finished with 324 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts in 774 appearances, 756 of them starts.
Needless to say, in 1998, on his fifth try, he made it into Cooperstown, joining former teammates Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, with 81.6% of the vote.

 

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2014: JIM BARR AND HIS INCREDIBLE STREAK

On the blog this fine day, we revisit an old post from the blog dating back to June of 2014, a "Highlights from the 1970's" card featuring San Francisco Giants pitcher Jim Baar and his record-breaking streak of 41 batters in a row retired:

Here's the original write-up for the post:

"Here's a highlight from the 1970's that usually went underreported, Giant pitcher Jim Barr and his 41 batters in a row retired in 1972.

What made this more amazing was that he retired 41 batters in a row yet didn't throw a no-hitter, since it spanned two games on August 23rd and August 29th of that year.

On the 23rd he retired the final 21 batters he faced after he walked Pirates pitcher Bob Moose in the third inning.

Then on the 29th, he retired the first 20 Cardinals batters before Bernie Carbo hit a double.

It wasn't something that got a lot of attention until White Sox reliever Bobby Jenks topped it 35 years later in 2007 (then later topped by another White Sox hurler, Mark Buehrle, in 2009-including his perfect game).

Barr fashioned a pretty solid 12 year career between the San Francisco Giants and California Angels between 1971 and 1983.

He finished 101-112 with a 3.56 E.R.A., with 20 shutouts and three seasons of a sub-3.00 earned run average.

1974 was arguably his best season in the Majors, as he went 13-9 with a 2.74 E.R.A. and five shutouts, with two saves thrown in as well.

I remember this streak was one of my favorite trivia questions to stump people from time to time as a kid, and I promise you no one ever got it.

It just wasn't appreciated, either by baseball folk or Topps."

1970 "20-WIN CIRCLE": DAVE BOSWELL

Good day all!

On the blog today, we add Minnesota Twins pitcher Dave Boswell to my new(ish) 1970 "20 Win Circle" sub-set, celebrating the pitchers who reached the magic mark during the 1969 season:

Boswell had what turned out to be the best season of his career in 1969, helping the Minnesota Twins take the American League West by posting a record of 20-12 over 38 starts, posting an earned run average of 3.23 and tossing 256.1 innings.

Sadly things went downhill for him rather quickly after that season, as he suffered an arm injury in the 1969 American league Championship Series against the Orioles.

In 1970, he went 3-7 over 18 games, with a bloated 6.42 ERA before finding himself splitting the 1971 season with the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles, his last year in the Big Leagues.

For his career Boswell went 68-56 with a 3.52 E.R.A., six shutouts and 882 strikeouts before leaving the game at a young 26 years of age due to the aforementioned injury.

Rough end to a once thriving career.