VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS WILLIE MAYS

On the blog today, we add the great(est), Willie Mays to my "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks set, perhaps the greatest oddball set of the 1950s:

While I do hope to print this set in the future to add to the WTHBALLS stable, I may have some issues because of the super thin white borders on the original set.

My printer may not be able to handle this in the automated cutting process. We shall see!

As for Mays, what needs to be said about perhaps the greatest player in history?
660 home runs, 3000+ hits, over 2000 runs scored and over 1900 runs batted in, with over 300 stolen bases and a .300+ batting average as well!
He took home the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951, then proceeded to win two Most Valuable Player Awards, the first in 1954 and the second eleven years later in 1965.
Let’s also not forget the 20 all-star nods and 12 Gold Gloves, leaving him in that rarified company of Ruth, Cobb, Aaron and Gehrig as far as accomplishments and legend.
Of course, Hall of Fame voting being what it is, he wasn’t a UNANIMOUS selection because of this silly unspoken rule of “no one gets 100% voting”, something I will NEVER understand.

 

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1978 ATLANTA BRAVES DAVE BRISTOL MANAGER CARD

Today on the blog, a card I've wanted to do for some time, a redone 1978 Atlanta Braves manager card, being as the original card issued by Topps featured Bobby Cox, who was about to begin leading the team that season.

I wanted a card featuring the guy who managed the team in 1977, in this case Dave Bristol, who finished the 1977 campaign as the Braves on field manager after some moves:

While Bristol began the year as the manager for the Braves, posting a record of 8-21, he was "replaced" by team owner Ted Turner in his famous stunt where he named himself manager.

After that was blocked by the league, Bristol was put back in the manager's seat for the last 131 games, not faring any better, going 52-79 for a slightly better .397 winning percentage, with the Braves finishing a cumulative 61-101.

It took me a while to find a somewhat usable image of Bristol's playing days, though not an optimum one at that.

However I figured for this it would do and here we are.

Bristol put in 11 years as a Big League manager, finishing up with a record of 657 and 764, most notably as the manager of the burgeoning Cincinnati Reds up until Sparky Anderson replaced him in 1970, just as the elements of the "Big Red Machine" were coming together.

As a player, he never made it to the Majors, but put in ten years in the Reds' Minor League system as an infielder between 1951 and 1961.

His last year as a manager was 1980, as he led the San Francisco Giants to a record of 75-86, finishing fifth in the N.L. West.

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2013: "GIMME A DO-OVER"- PART XXII: 1979 #320 CARL YASTRZEMSKI

Thought it'd be fun to revisit another blog post from 2013, this time my redone 1979 card for the great Carl Yastrzemski:

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

"Anyone else out there also hate those "skyward" gazes that appear from time to time on Topps baseball cards?
Ugh. I always found them annoying. Where were they looking?
I wonder if the players were actually directed to look up and far away by the photographer as if something SO meaningful caught their attention. But why? It was so boring and lame in my opinion.
Carl Yastrzemski's 1979 Topps card (#320) definitely falls into this category.
Why use an image like this? Why not wait about an hour and catch him up at the plate in full glory?
Well allow me to do exactly that.
I've taken a nice photograph of Yaz at the plate right around 1979 and used it for my redesign of his otherwise boring card from that year.
Much more colorful, interesting and appropriate for a legend like Yastrzemski, don't you think?
As you can see from the original issued card, Yaz is in Yankee Stadium, probably looking at some crazy stuff going on in the upper deck. Lord knows there was never a game that didn't have SOME nonsense going on up there...(and I "may" have been responsible for some of it! just sayin'...)
By 1979 Yastrzemski was in the twilight of his amazing career, turning 40 in August and playing through to 1983, a nice 23 year career ALL in the friendly confines of Fenway Park while playing for the Red Sox.
What more can you say for the guy but: 3000+ hits, 450+ homers, 1800+ runs batted in AND runs scored, and almost 650 doubles in 3300+ games played.
Oh, maybe we can also add that he participated in 18 All-Star games, collected seven Gold Gloves, and won the Triple Crown in 1967 while pretty much single handedly carrying the Red Sox on his back the last few weeks of the season to a World Series birth before running into Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The man was a machine, plain and simple, and needless to say he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1989."

VINTAGE CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1950 DRAKE'S "EXTENDED" SET: STAN MUSIAL

On the blog today, we have my "missing" 1950 Stan Musial Drake's card, from my custom set released a couple of years ago in special packaging:

One of my favorite oddball sets of the vintage era, Drake's did in fact leave out some of the biggest names of the sport, including "Stan the Man".

As for the great Musial, his MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average. Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: JOHNNY BENCH

On the blog today, we add the great Johnny Bench to my on-going 1977 N.L. Centennial sub-set, celebrating the league's 100th anniversary of 1976 designated with a patch you can see in all the photos used in these cards:

Bench already had two MVP’s under his belt by the time this card would have hit the market, and was also a two-time world champion with two straight World Series wins in 1975 and 1976 against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees respectively.
He would put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: 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.

Arguably, he rewrote the catching position from both sides of the plate, with his incredible offense as well as his defense.

Legend!

NEGRO LEAGUES TO MAJOR LEAGUES: ROY CAMPANELLA

Good day everyone.

Today's blog post has us adding the great Roy Campanella to my 1972 "NBL-MLB" thread, celebrating greats who began their careers in the Negro Leagues:

Incredibly, Campanella began his career at the age of 15 with the Washington Elite Giants in 1937, when he appeared in six games, hitting .167 over 18 at-bats.

He'd appear in nine games the next season, before jumping up to 16 games in 1939, then 35, 37 and 41 games over the next three respective years.

In 1944 he would lead in batting, hitting .388 over 34 games for the Baltimore Elite Giants and Philadelphia Stars, making his second All-Star team, still only 22 years of age.

In 1945 he dominated again, leading all Negro Leagues with 51 runs scored, 18 doubles and 47 runs batted in while hitting .369 and making another All-Star team.

After a stint in the Venezuelan league in 1946, Campanella went to the Brooklyn Dodgers Minor League system after Branch Rickey began the process of breaking the color barrier.

According to many sources, Campanella's easy-going personality made him Rickey's first choice to be the first African-American player, though eventually deciding on Jackie Robinson.

Nevertheless, once Campanella began his Major League career, he would certainly NOT disappoint the Brooklyn faithful: three times he was M.V.P. (1951, 1953, 1955) and an important part of the strong Dodger teams of the decade along with Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, and Gil Hodges.

Though unable to play Major League ball until the age of 26 because of segregation, he still managed to hit 242 lifetime homers, with a high of 41 in 1953, as well as drive in 856 runs in his short ten-year career.

During his second M.V.P. season, Campy led the Brooklyn offense by driving in a league-leading 142 runs while hitting .312 and scoring 103 runs. One of the top-offensive catcher seasons in baseball history.

Tragically, as he was getting prepared to move to Los Angeles with the rest of the Dodgers over the Winter of 1957-58, Campanella was driving home to Long Island and hit a patch of ice near his home, flipping his car over and breaking his neck in the process, rendering him paralyzed from the shoulders down.

The L.A. Fans would never get to see the future Hall of Famer play in Chavez Ravine.

In my opinion, considering his delayed MLB action, "Campy" would be my pick as the greatest catcher in MLB history, even in front of Johnny Bench, though Josh Gibson would top them all.

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. SECOND BASEMAN JOE MORGAN

On the blog today, we move on to the National League and my pick for the Senior League's top second baseman of the decade, and it's about as easy as it gets with Joe Morgan:

Who else would get picked over "Little Joe", the two-time MVP who had a phenomenal run between 1970 and 1979?

The man was an All-Star every year except for 1971, MVP in both 1975 and 1976, top-5 in the award in both 1972 and 1973, and a five-time Gold Glove selection.

Oh yeah, he also led the Cincinnati Reds and their "Big Red Machine" juggernaut to two World Championships as well as another World Series appearance 1972.

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.

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, let alone the top man at his position for the decade.

DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1977 LEN BARKER

Up on the blog this fine day, we have a 1977 "dedicated rookie" for pitcher Len barker, who'd have himself a decent eleven-year Major League career ahead of him with some truly bright moments:

Barker made his Big League debut in 1976, appearing in two games while going 1-0 for the Texas Rangers, pitching to a nice 2.40 earned run average over 15 innings, including a complete-game shutout.

He'd be back in 1977, appearing in 15 games, with three of those starts, going 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA in 47.1 innings, giving the Rangers hope that they found a home grown ace.

Sadly the 1978 season had Barker struggle, going 1-5 over 29 games, seeing his ERA blow up more than two full runs to 4.82, eventually leading to a trade to the Cleveland Indians along with Bobby Bonds for Larvell Blanks and Jim Kern.

In Cleveland, Barker found his groove, putting in solid seasons between 1980 and 1982, including 19 wins in 1980 and two straight strikeout titles in 1980 & 1981.

Of course, the high point of his career would be May 15th of 1981 in Cleveland, when Barker reached the ultimate pitching accomplishment, tossing a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays, at the time the ninth such gem in MLB history.

At this writing it is STILL the last no-hitter thrown by a Cleveland pitcher, and something Barker to this day loves to talk about, never tiring of that grand performance.

Sadly by 1983, still only 27 years of age and now a member of the Atlanta Braves, Barker starting having arm trouble, which quickly led to his retirement by 1983, on 31.

Over his 11 year career, Barker finished with a record of 74-76, with an ERA of 4.34 over 248 games and 1323.2 innings, with seven shutouts and five saves, with the aforementioned two K-titles and an All-Star game appearance in 1981, and of course that perfect game.

SECTION420- "TALKIN' YANKEES" PODCAST

Hello everyone!

Just a quick post about my recent appearance on the Section420: "Talkin' Yankees podcast with James Zeiss thew other day.

Fun time talking about baseball, baseball cards, and some 1970's Brooklyn.

Here's the link for those that want to take a peek:

 

 

1970 "20-WIN CIRCLE": JUAN MARICHAL

Today we add the "Dominican Dandy" Juan Marichal to my 1970 "20-Win Circle" set, celebrating the stable of 20-game winners in 1969:

For Marichal, it was the sixth and final time he'd reach the mark over his amazing career, winning 21 games for the San Francisco Giants while leading the N.L. with a 2.10 earned run average and eight shutouts.

As much as Marichal is celebrated as an all-time pitching legend, you still have to feel for the guy when you consider the timing of all his banner years in the big leagues.
In 1963 he has his breakout year, going 25-8 with a 2.41 E.R.A., but takes a back seat to another guy who has a breakout year, Sandy Koufax.
In 1966 he wins 25 games again, but again takes a backseat to a now dominating Koufax, who wins 27 along with a bunch of other eye-popping numbers.
In 1968 he sets a career high of 26 wins to go along with a 2.43 earned run average, but wait, a guy named Bob Gibson has a year for the ages, winning both the Cy Young Award and the M.V.P.
But when you look at the decade as a whole, there wasn't a better pitcher in the game from 1960-1969, as Marichal went on to win 191 games, winning 25 or more wins three times, post seven sub-3.00 E.R.A. seasons,  top 200+ strikeouts six times , and get selected as an all-star every year between 1962-1969.
What a BEAST on the mound!
Easily would have been the first 3-time Cy Young winner if not for Koufax and Gibson.
Ah well, I’m sure his spot in Cooperstown makes it a bit easier to take.

1971 "BASEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS": WILLIE STARGELL

In my on-going thread of filling-in "missing" players in the great 1971 "Baseball's Greatest Moments" set, we add "Pops" Willie Stargell, who had himself a huge day on August 1st of 1970:

On that day in Atlanta, Georgia, the Pittsburgh Pirates slugger collected five hits, all of them for extra bases, becoming just the third player at the time to do so.

Stargell had three doubles and two home runs in the 20-10 victory at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, padding his already impressive Major League credentials while still in his 20's.

As we all know by now, over 21 seasons, he would lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to two world championships, take home an MVP Award in 1979 (shared with the Cardinals Keith Hernandez), and get named to seven All-Star teams.

"Pops" would also have a great three-year run between 1971 and 1973 that saw him finish second, third and second respectively in MVP voting, winning two home run titles, an RBI title and even lead the league with 43 doubles (1973).

Luckily, I got to see him towards the end of his career in the late-70's/early-80s before he retired after the 1982 season.

His final numbers? Hall of Fame worthy as he'd finish with 475 home runs, 1540 RBIs, a surprisingly high .282 batting average and 2232 hits over 2360 games and 7927 at-bats.

Think about those numbers in UNDER 8000 at-bats!

Of course when eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in, with 82.4% of the vote in 1988.

So sad that he would pass away at only 61 years of age in 2001.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1974 DAVE LEMANCZYK

Today on the blog, we have a "not so missing" 1974 card for former pitcher Dave Lemanczyk, who made his Big League debut in 1973 with one appearance:

Lemanczyk was hit hard in his first game, giving up three runs in 2.1 innings on four hits, for a bloated earned run average of 11.57 for the Detroit Tigers.

The Syracuse native would be back in 1973, appearing in 22 games, all but three of those out of the bullpen, going 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA over 78.2 innings, striking out 52 batters while walking 44.

He'd stay with Detroit until the 1977, where he found himself one of the "original" 1977 Toronto Blue Jays, getting his first true full season under his belt, starting 34 games and going 13-16 with a 4.25 ERA, completing 11 games and totaling 252.2 innings.

Over the next three years he'd see decent action, tossing over 100+ innings each season, but never the full-time totals he saw in 1977.

By the time he was done after the 1980 season, where he split the year between the Blue Jays and California Angels, he finished with a record of 37-63 over 185 games, with an ERA of 4.62, completing 30 games with three shutouts.

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS YOGI BERRA

Continuing with my fun vintage special thread of "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks cards, we add the great Yogi Berra, New York Yankees legend and American Icon:

Berra was coming off a second place-MVP finish in 1953, and it would only get better, as he would reel off two straight MVP seasons in 1954 and 1955, making it three such awards in five years, instantly putting him in all-time conversation by the time he was 30 years of age.

Besides being a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, he was a FIFTEEN-TIME all-star, and received Most Valuable Player votes every single year between 1947 and 1961. As a matter of fact, between 1950 and 1956 he never finished lower than fourth for the MVP, with three wins, and two second place finishes!

That's seven top-4 finishes in seven years! Just awesome.

Except for four scant games in 1965 with the New York Mets, Berra played the rest of his 19-year career with the Bronx Bombers, amassing 358 homers, 1430 runs batted in and a .285 average.

One other note about his amazing career: the man only struck out 414 times over 8359 at-bats!

YOGI!!! I loved that man!

A true baseball treasure…

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 A.L. FIREMEN

Ok!

After many months, we have come to the final “expanded league leader” card in my fun thread expanded on Topps popular sub-set through the 1970’s, with the American League’s top three relievers of the 1978 season:

 

We begin with the New York Yankees Rich “goose” Gossage, who led the A.L. with his 37 “points”, with 10 wins and a league-leading 27 saves for the World Champions.

Gossage had an excellent first season with his new team after coming over from the Pittsburgh Pirates, posting and earned run average of 2.01 over 63 appearances and 134.1 innings of work, striking out 155 batters.

Of course we all know now that the man wasn’t nearly done, as he would continue to mow batters down through the 1994 season, appearing in 1002 games while saving 310, putting in 22 seasons in the Majors, getting elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008.

Just behind Gossage with 35 points, the California Angels Dave LaRoche, who posted his best season in the Majors, winning 10 games while saving 25, with a very nice 2.82 ERA over 95.2 innings, even getting some MVP consideration for his efforts.

Just three years later he’d join the Yankees himself, where he’d pith the last three years of his 14-year career, and entertain us NYC kids with his “La Lob” eephus pitch.

All told, LaRoche finished with a record of 65-58 over 647 games, with a 3.53 ERA and 126 saves between 1970 and 1983.

In third place with 31 points, no stranger to dominating relief seasons, former Cy Young winner Mike Marshall of the Minnesota Twins, who took his talents back to the American League, winning 10 games and saving 21 games.

The man was amazing, as he would follow this up with 42 points the following season, winning 10 games while saving a league-leading 32 while appearing in 90 games, the third time in his career reaching that mark, including a ridiculous 106 games in 1974, still the Big League record some 50 years later.

By the time he retired after the 1981 season, he appeared in 724 games, saving 188 and winning 97, taking home that 1974 Cy Young Award and making two All-Star teams.

Well, this was a FUN thread, and perhaps I’ll keep going into the 1980’s. We shall see!

VINTAGE CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1950 DRAKE'S "EXTENDED" SET: JOE DiMAGGIO

Today on the blog, I begin to post customs from my 1950 Drake's "extended set, which I released in limited edition last year, beginning with a card for the "Yankee Clipper" Joe DiMaggio:

I love the Drake's set, and as with many of the oddball sets released in the 1950's, there were always many of the game's top players missing, so I decided to release a special set, in ultra-special packaging, on genuine thick card stock to help "fill-out" the checklist.

Obviously "Joltin' Joe" was an easy choice, as he put together a legendary career that had become an American Icon, taking home three league MVP Awards, hitting safely in a record 56 straight games in 1941 and being a part of a staggering NINE World Champion teams between 1936 and 1951.

If not for his military service, losing three years during his prime between 1943 and 1945, his already lofty numbers would have been even better.

One of my favorite career stats for the guy? Let's admire his incredible feat of hitting 361 home runs while striking out only 369 times over his Big League tenure.

Now, while I certainly don't think he was the game's "greatest living ballplayer" as they voted him later on, the man was definitely up there, especially capturing the nation's attention the way he did.

A true legend.

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: JOHN MONTEFUSCO

Today we add former San Francisco Giant ace John Montefusco to my long-running 1977 "N.L. Centennial" sub-set:

The 1975 N.L. Rookie of the Year had a fine Sophomore season in 1976, winning 16 games with a 2.84 earned run average, leading the league with six shutouts while striking out 172 batters in 253.1 innings.

In his Freshman season of 1975 he cruised to the rookie-award by posting a record of 15-9 with a 2.88 earned run average and a very impressive 215 strikeouts.
He also chipped in four shutouts over his 34 starts, completing 10 of them while throwing 243.2 innings, even finishing fourth in the league Cy Young race.

He’d stick around in the big leagues through the 1986 season, but sadly for him never had the success of those first two years, though he did post a 14-4 record in 1983 split between the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees, for whom he’d pitch the final 3 1/2 years of his 13-year career.
All told Montefusco finished with a 90-83 career record, with a 3.54 ERA, 1081 strikeouts and 11 shutouts over 298 appearances, 244 of which were starts.
And of course...a cool nickname!
“The Count”!

BY SPECIAL REQUEST: 1979 A'S ROOKIE PROSPECTS REDONE

On the blog this fine day, a special request that to be honest, I'm very surprised I didn't think of myself, a 1979 "A's Prospects" card with a small revision, that being the inclusion of some young up and coming outfielder named Rickey Henderson:

When you think about it, the fine folks at Topps easily could have had Henderson on that card instead of any of the three originally appearing on it, being that he was tearing through the Minors while posting high stolen base totals in his three full years before his call up.

In 1978 for example, Henderson hit .310 for the Jersey City A's in Double-A while stealing 81 bases, while in 1977 playing for the Modesto A's he hit .345 with 95 steals, scoring an incredible 120 runs in only 134 games.

Granted, I'm glad Topps DIDN'T do this since his 1980 rookie card is the stuff of legend, and I absolutely abhor the black and white prospect cards of the 1979 set.

But it indeed would have been something if this was what was issued instead.

NEGRO LEAGUES TO MAJOR LEAGUES: MINNIE MINOSO

The next player featured in my fun thread celebrating guys that played in the Negro Leagues before the Majors, the great and under-appreciated Minnie Minoso:

The "Cuban Comet" spent three years with the New York Cubans from 1946 through 1948 before coming to the Cleveland Indians to begin his excellent run in the Majors.

In 1947 he hit .356 while a year later he hit at a .344 clip, leading the league with six triples.

I'm so happy that Minoso 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.

If only he didn't have to wait until his age 27 season to show the ENTIRE country what he could do on a ballfield.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2013: 1973 BILL MAZEROSKI CAREER-CAPPER

On the blog today, we revisit a blog post from September of 2013, a 1973 "career-capper" for Pittsburgh Pirates great Bill Mazeroski:

Here's the original write-up for the Hall of Famer:

"When most people think of Pittsburgh Pirates 2nd baseman Bill Mazeroski, they immediately think of the game-winning homer he blasted to beat the Yankees in the 1960 World Series.
But it's easy to forget that Mazeroski's homer was in only his fifth full season in the Majors. He went on to star for the Pirates for the next 12 seasons before hanging them up at the end of the 1972 season.
By the time he retired, Mazeroski won two world championships (1960 & 1971), eight Gold Gloves, made seven All-Star teams, topped 2000 hits and made a name for himself as one of the premier fielding second baseman in baseball.
He still hold the all-time record for turning double-plays for second basemen at 1706, and lead the National League in assists nine times between 1958-1968.
While the BBWA failed to vote him into the Hall of Fame withing the 15 years of eligibility, the Veteran's Committee got him in 2001, almost 30 years after retiring, joining such former teammates like Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente.
Though his 1972 late-series Topps card is a nice "final" card. I went ahead and designed a 1973 edition, using a nice shot of "Maz" at the plate, showing a little bit o'girth around the waistline on what seems to be a rainy day in Pittsburgh."

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 MIKE PAUL

Up on the blog today, we have a 1975 "not so missing" card for former pitcher Mike Paul, who closed out a seven-year Big League career in 1974 as a member of the Chicago Cubs:

Paul, who originally came up in 1968 with the Cleveland Indians, appeared in only two games with the Cubs in 1974, going 0-1 and giving up four runs in 1.1 innings of work, for an unsightly 27.00 earned run average.

Generally both a starter and reliever over his career, he appeared in 228 games with 77 starts, completing five games while saving eight, with a 3.91 ERA over 627.2 innings playing for the Indians, Texas Rangers and Cubs.

HIs best season was easily 1972 with the Texas Rangers, when he pitched to a brilliant 2.17 ERA over 161.2 innings, appearing in 49 games with 20 of them being starts, though only having a record of 8-9 to show for it.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: N.L. FIREMEN

Good day all!

On the blog today, we have the top firemen of the 1978 season in the National League, proudly displayed on a 1979 “expanded league leader” card:

 

We begin with hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who had himself a wonderful 1978 season for the San Diego Padres, winning six games while leading the league with 37 saves, good for 43 “points”.

Fingers followed up a fantastic 1977 season, his first with the Padres, with an even better year in 1978, posting an ERA of 2.52 over 107.1 innings, appearing in 78 games and closing out 69, both high-marks in the N.L.

Three years later, back in the American League, he’d top both those seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, earning both the Cy Young and MVP Awards when he led the league with 28 saves while posting a microscopic 1.04 ERA.

By the time he was done in 1985, he put together what would be a Hall of Fame career that spanned from 1968 to 1985, winning three championships, and finishing up at the time with the all-time best 341 saves.

Behind Fingers with 39 points, the Pittsburgh Pirates great Kent Tekulve, who appeared in a staggering 91 games, saving 31 while picking up eight wins, pitching to a wonderful 2.33 ERA over 135.1 innings.

The previous year was his breakout season, posting a record of 10-1 while saving seven games for the Pirates, something he’d be doing for the next seven plus seasons, helping them finally take it all home with a championship in 1979 as part of the “We Are Family” team led by the great Willie Stargell.

Incredibly, even in 1987 at the age of 40, he’d lead the league with 90 appearances while with the Philadelphia Phillies, finally hanging them up after the 1989 season after one year with the Cincinnati Reds, totaling 1050 games over his 16 year career, with 184 saves and a very nice 2.85 ERA.

Tied for third with 35 points, Cincinnati Reds reliever Doug Bair and Chicago Cubs uber-star Bruce Sutter, who both put in All-Star caliber campaigns for their respective clubs.

For Bair, it was a wonderful year that saw him win seven games while saving 28, posting an excellent 1.97 ERA over 70 appearances and 100.1 innings of work.

The righty would put in 15 years as a Major Leaguer, appearing in 584 games generally as a middle-reliever as the game changed, using set-up men more and more in the 1980s.

He would be part of two World Champion teams, funny enough, one of those with the guy he tied right here, Bruce Sutter, the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals, while two seasons later he was part of the juggernaut Detroit Tigers team.

For Sutter, what really needs to be said about perhaps the dominant relief pitcher of his era?

After an incredible 1977 season that saw him save 31 games while posting a 1.34 ERA over 62 games and 107.1 innings, he came back in 1978 with eight win and 27 saves for the Chicago Cubs, striking out 106 over 98.2 innings.

The following year, he’d top all of that, winning the N.L. Cy Young Award by saving 37 games while winning six, striking out 110 batters in 101.1 innings and pitching to an ERA of 2.22, all this for a Cubs team that finished under .500 with a record of 80-82.

The man revolutionized the “closer” role, going on to lead the league in saves five of the next six seasons, setting a (then) record of 45 saves in in 1984 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, finishing with 300 saves over his stellar career.

All of that eventually got him a Hall of Fame induction in 2006, and rightly so!

 

SUPER-DUPER LIMITED EDITION SET! MY DOGS GET THEIR ROOKIE CARDS!

Hello all!

Just for fun, I went and created "rookie cards" of my five big and beautiful pooches, and they came out great!

 

Too bad I had to kick it back to the printer because they miscut three of the five.

But I found a few good enough for the first photo.

Allow me to introduce Bossy, Windy, Genny, Jack and Marco, aka "The Brood".

Love them all more than words can convey...

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. FIRST BASEMAN GEORGE SCOTT

OK!

Here's another of my picks for position player of the 1970's that I am sure will cause an argument or two: my pick for the American League's top first baseman for the decade, and here I went with a guy who played the WHOLE decade at the position, George Scott, aka "Boomer":

Now hear me out.

While Hall of Famers like Carl Yastrzemski and Rod Carew put in time at the position during the decade, they certainly did not play the whole decade there, while Scott not only did, but also took home six Gold Gloves as a first baseman between 1970 and 1979, while giving the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers serious power, even leading the league with 36 homers and 109 runs batted in in 1975.

This combination of consistent hitting and fielding for all ten years of the 1970s made this my surprise pick, as I initially thought I'd go with Yaz.

He put together an excellent career playing for the Red Sox, Brewers, Royals and Yankees between 1966 and 1979, slamming 271 home runs with 1051 RBI's, 1992 hits and a .268 batting average.

Defensively all he managed to do was take home eight Gold Gloves for his work at first base, and though he was only named to three all-star games, he garnered MVP attention in seven seasons, or half his career!

Not too shabby to say the least...

So what say ye out there, do you agree with this pick or not?

Let me hear it up on Twitter!

1970 "20 WIN CIRCLE": JIM PERRY

The next pitcher to be featured in my 1970 "20-Win Circle" sub-set is former Cy Young winner Jim Perry, older brother of Gaylord and quite the pitcher himself:

Perry the elder would post the first of his two career 20-win seasons in 1969, helping the Minnesota Twins to a first place finish in the newly designated American League West, as he posted a record of 20-6 with a 2.82 earned run average over 46 appearances, 36 of those starts, with 12 complete games, three shutouts and 153 strikeouts.

The following year he'd top that with a league-leading 24 wins, completing 13 of his 40 starts, tossing four shutouts while striking out 168 batters to take home his Cy Young Award.

By the time he retired after 1975, he finished with 215 wins, along with a 3.45 ERA and 32 shutouts over 630 appearances, winning 20 games twice, including his Cy Young winning 1970 season, and teaming up with his brother to combine for over 500 MLB wins.
Amazing.

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: JOHN MILNER

Adding to my monster 1977 "N.L. Centennial" sub-set, celebrating the Senior League's 100th anniversary of 1976, we have "The Hammer" John Milner of the New York Mets:

Milner was a couple of years removed from the two best seasons of his career, hitting 20+ homers in both 1973 and 1974 while also manning first base and the outfield for the New York Mets.

He'd have a decent 1976 season, hitting 15 home runs with 78 runs batted in while hitting .271, bouncing back from a bad year in 1975 when he hit .191 over 91 games.

However he’d never quite reach those numbers again in his 12-year career, or even get the playing time, as he’d top 500 plate appearances only once more between 1975 and the end of his career in 1982,
By the time he was out of big league ball in 1982, he finished with 131 homers with 855 hits over 3436 at-bats, for a lifetime average of .249 with 455 runs scored and 498 runs batted in...and one cool nickname.

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS ROBIN ROBERTS

On the blog today, we add Philadelphia Phillies great Robin Roberts to my fun "missing" 1954 Wilson Franks baseball sets, one of my all-time favorite baseball card sets:

Such a beautiful set that has always garnered heavy interest from serious collectors, and rightly so!

Roberts was a machine during the 1950’s pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, posting six 20-win seasons with  a 19 and 17 win season thrown in as well.
He led the league in wins four times with a high of 28 in 1952, while also leading the National league in strikeouts twice, complete games five times, innings pitched five times and shutouts once.
By the time he retired after the 1966 season, he finished with 286 wins and a 3.41 earned run average, with 45 shutouts and 2357 strikeouts over 676 games and 4688.2 innings pitched.
Between 1950 and 1956 he was named to the all-star team each year, while also garnering MVP attention every season.
To be honest how he didn’t win the MVP in 1952 is beyond me, as the award went to Chicago Cubs slugger Hank Sauer.
Granted the Phillies finished in fourth place with an 87-67 record, 9.5 games behind the Dodgers.
But the Cubs finished in fifth place, with a 77-77 record.
So what went on there is something worth looking into considering all Roberts did was go 28-7 with a 2.59 ERA, three shutouts, 148 strikeouts and 30 complete games out of his 37 starts!

1971 "BASEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS": BOOG POWELL

Today's blog post has us adding former Baltimore Orioles slugger Boog Powell to my "missing" 1971 "Baseball's Greatest Moments" thread, celebrating his MVP season of 1970:

After finishing second in the MVP race in 1969, helping the Orioles get to the World Series with 37 homers and 121 runs batted in with a career-best .304 average, Boog came back with an equally impressive season in 1970, enough to take home the award, hitting 35 homers with 114 RBIs, walking 104 times while hitting .297.

He would go on to finish his Major League career with 339 home runs, 1187 runs batted in and a .266 average, while being named to four all-star teams, taking home the aforementioned Most Valuable Player Award in 1970, and two other top-3 MVP finishes in 1966 and 1969, playing for 17 Major League seasons.
Always a fan-favorite in Baltimore, Boog can still be seen around Camden Yards at his "Boog's Barbeque" restaurant.
And who can forget those awesome Miller Lite commercials in the 1980's!? Those were great!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1979 DAVE FORD

On the blog today, we have a "not quite missing" 1979 card for former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dave Ford, who made his Big League debut in 1978:

Ford appeared in two games for the Orioles that season, going 1-0 with a brilliant 0.00 earned run average over 15 innings of work, with 10 hits allowed while striking out five.

The following year he also showed some promise, going 2-1 over nine appearances, two of those starts, posting a fine 2.10 ERA over 30 innings, even saving a couple of games for the American League champs.

But in 1980 and 1981, he fell back a bit, posting ERA's of 4.26 and 6.53 over 40 appearances, posting a combined record of 2-5 in 109.2 innings, which turned out to be the last of his career.

He would spend the next four years in the Minors, never getting back to the Big League level, retiring after the 1985 season, finishing up with a 5-6 record, along with a 4.02 ERA in 51 games and 154.2 innings.

WTHBALLS NEWEST: "CUP O' COFFEE" NOW AVAILABLE!

Good day everyone!

Happy to announce my newest WTHBALLS card set, “Cup O’ Coffee”, featuring 11 Big League players who never had a baseball card celebrating their short careers:

 

I have been wanting to issue cards of players like this for some time, and finally decided on an 11-card series to start it off, featuring 10 players from the 1970s (one for each year of the decade), as well as a bonus player from either the 1960s or 1980s.

The players that will be featured range from guys that played dozens of games, sometimes more, down to players that had one glorious day under the Major League sun, but never had a Topps card to commemorate their Big League tenure, including a multi-player rookie card, etc.

I do hope to have multiple “Cup O’ Coffee” series produced when it is all said and done, gathering a nice grouping of players that can help us “fill in” our vintage sets.

This first series will kick it off with names like Lafayette Currence, Kerry Dineen and Greg Heydeman, with a bonus 1982 card for one-game Major League catcher John Lickert of the Boston Red Sox.

I’m happy to offer up this set for $10 each, with a one-time $4.50 postage fee, no matter how many sets you buy.

As usual, you can send payment via Paypal to: slogun23@gmail.com

As with the last release, please allow me a few extra days to get to the Post office and ship orders, as my work schedule has changed a bit recently.

Take Care and thank you for the continued interest and support!!!

Thank you all for the continued interest and support!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 A.L. STRIKEOUTS

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, as we near the end of this long-running thread of "expanded league leaders", we get the the top three American league strikeout pitchers of 1978, displayed on a 1979 expanded leader card:

Of course, if we're talking strikeouts in the American League during the 1970s we're most likely talking about all-time great Nolan Ryan, who prevented the New York Yankees Ron Guidry from a pitching triple crown by striking out 260 batters to Guidry's 248.

For Ryan, it was his sixth strikeout title in seven years, incredibly with another five to come, four of those during the late-80's/early-90's!

The man was not human, as he would go on to whiff 5714 batters over 27 seasons, with 15 seasons of 200+ K's under his belt. Just bonkers.

In second place with the aforementioned 248 K's, the Yankees Ron Guidry, who had a season for the ages in 1978, winning 25 games (against only 3 losses), with nine shutouts and a microscopic 1.74 earned run average.

Not only did he take home the Cy Young that year, but finished second behind Hall of Famer Jim Rice for the league MVP Award, which some may argue he should have won anyway.

In third place with 183 strikeouts, Kansas City Royals ace Dennis Leonard, who put in another great year for the American League West champs.

Leonard posted a career best 21 wins that season, completing half of his 40 starts while posting 294.2 innings of work, tossing four shutouts and posting an ERA of 3.33.

Three aces of the era led by one of the all-time greats in Nolan Ryan. Not too shabby!

NEGRO LEAGUE TO MAJOR LEAGUE STARS: ERNIE BANKS

Today on the blog, we celebrate the great Ernie Banks and his time as a Negro League player before he took the Majors by storm, added to my 1972 sub-set featuring stars who had their start in the Negro Baseball Leagues:

Banks, whose father Eddie also played in the Negro leagues right after World War I, began his professional baseball career as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs in 1950, still a teenager.

Military service interrupted his playing time in 1951 and 1952 before he rejoined the team in 1953, but only for a little while, as he would be playing with the Chicago Cubs by September of that year, where he would stay until 1971, becoming "Mr. Cub", becoming a BASEBALL fan-favorite until his death in 2015.

I can't find any statistics for Banks' time in the NBL, but his time in MLB is certainly well-documented!

The most beloved baseball player in the North Side of Chicago, Banks was a two-time Most Valuable Player (1958 and 1959), with 500+ home runs, 2500+ hits, 11-time all-star and all-around great guy.

Oh, I may as well throw in the 1300+ runs scored, 1600+ runs batted in, 400+ doubles and 90 triples he chipped in as well, setting him on a straight path to the Baseball Hall of Fame with his 1977 induction, a no-brainer in anyone's book!

"Mr. Cub", wish there were more like him!

Banks, along with others like Buck O'Neill and Yogi Berra, were truly treasures of the sport and of life in general, who were lovable by all, and should be cherished forever.

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL SUB-SET: JOE TORRE

The next National League player given a card in my 1977 "Centennial" sub-set celebrating the 100th anniversary season of 1976, future Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre of the New York Mets:

By the 1977 season Torre was a Player-Manager (remember those?) for the New York Mets after a distinguished career playing for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals.

By the time the 1978 season opened, Torre became a full-time manager, thus ending a rock-solid 18-year career that saw him finish second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1961, and win a Most Valuable Player Award in 1971.

It's easy to forget that Torre's career was so good for some reason.

A nine-time all-star, Torre excelled while catching, playing third base, and even first base over his Major League tenure.

Of course the 1971 season was his high-point, leading the league in batting (.363), hits (230), total bases (352) and runs batted in (137).

But the guy also topped 200 hits the year before, hit more than 20 homers in a season six times, drove in over 100 five times and batted .300 or better five times.

By the time he hung up the playing cleats, Torre retired with: 996 runs scored, 2342 hits, 252 homers, 1185 R.B.I.'s and a nice .297 batting average.

But it was his post-playing career that got him inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 by the Veteran's Committee.

As a manager over the course of 29 seasons for the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees and Dodgers, Torre won 2326 games and took home six pennants and four world championships.

Not bad for a kid from the neighborhood!