Up on the blog today, a fun card to add to the WTHBALLS roster, a "not so missing" 1977 card for Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals:
Though he didn't get a
rookie card from Topps until the 1979 set, Wilson made his MLB debut
during the 1976 season as a 20-year-old with 12 games, going 1-for-6 at
the plate with the first two stolen bases of his career.
Wilson was already showing his future base-stealing prowess in
Triple-A Omaha in 1977, swiping 74 bases while hitting .281 in 132
games.
That would get him another 13 games in the Big Leagues
during the 1977 season, where he swiped six bases while hitting .324
with 11 hits over 34 official at-bats.
Of course as we all know by now, Wilson went on to have a very nice 19-year career, with a batting
title, five triples titles and a great 1980 season where he lead the
league in hits (230), runs (133) triples (15), while winning a Silver
Slugger Award and Gold Glove.
He also set the (then) Major League record for at-bats in a season, stepping up to the plate 705 "official" times.
By the time he was done, he recorded 2207 hits, 1169 runs, 147 triples and a .285 lifetime average while stealing 668 bases.
As a kid growing up in the 1980's, I remember hating those Royals
teams, with guys like Wilson, George Brett, Dan Quisenberry, Larry Gura,
et al.
They just seemed to always beat the Yanks in the most frustrating ways.