WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET: SERIES 15 AVAILABLE NOW!

 

It's that time again!

The newest WTHBALLS custom set is here, and it's the "SERIES 15" set!

As usual, this features 15 cards, but as with Series 14, there will be a fun bonus card instead of the glossy insert, a 1975 Pete Rose "WTHBALLS MEMBERSHIP" card, the fourth such card created over the years ('77 Fidrych, '72 Allen & '78 Jackson).
Of course, the sets come wrapped inside a "WTHBALLS" wrapper like the other "Series" set packs from the past.

The "packs" are $14 each plus $4.50 postage, and as usual, if you buy more than one set, postage always stays the same at $4.50.

SPOILER ALERT! See photos attached for the cards in this set. Again, I'm keeping the insert a secret until you all receive them, so no images of it here.
My paypal is the usual: slogun23@gmail.com
Thank you all for the continued support and interest!
Be well and safe!
Gio/wthballs

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1970 TOBY HARRAH

On the blog today we have a 1970 "not really missing in action" card for All-Star shortstop Toby Harrah of the Washington Senators:

Harrah appeared in the first eight games of his career as a 20-year-old in 1969, going 0-1 at the plate while scoring four runs.

He would spend all of 1970 in the Minors before making it back in 1970, where he would stay for the next 16 years putting in a very solid career that arguably has him as THE best shortstop in the American League during the 1970s.

The four-time shortstop would top 20 home runs five times while also topping 20 stolen bases four times, putting in high on-base-percentages while also topping 100 walks in a season twice, with over 80 base on balls another six times.

Very underrated player who finished his career with just under 2000 hits at 1954, hitting .264 with 195 home runs and 238 stolen bases over 2155 games and 7402 at-bats.

While he was the A.L. starting shortstop in the 1976 All-Star game, his 1977 campaign was even better when he hit 27 homers along with 27 steals, leading the league with 109 walks and posting a .393 OBP.

Later in 1982 while with the Cleveland Indians, Harrah would have another excellent season when he scored 100 runs while collecting a career-best 183 hits, hitting .304 with 25 homers and 17 stolen bases.

Solid dude through and through!

1975 IN-ACTION: WILBUR WOOD

Up on the blog this fine day we have a 1975 "In-Action" card for Chicago White Sox ace Wilbur Wood, innings-machine who had himself quite a run in the mid-70s:

The reliever-turned-starter strung four straight 20-win seasons for the Chicago White Sox after some pretty amazing years coming out of the bullpen in the late-60’s, with three top-5 Cy Young finishes between 1971-1973.
His 1972 season is the stuff of legends, as he started 49 games, knuckling his way through an astounding 376.2 innings!!!
The following season he worked another 359.1 innings on 48 starts, equaling his 24 wins from the year prior and leading the American League once again.
I’ve also always been fascinated with his 1968 season when, appearing in 88 games, all but two as a reliever, he went 13-12 with a microscopic 1.87 earned run average, with 16 saves over 159 innings pitched.
The man was incredible no matter where his team used him!
Sadly for him however, when you’re pitching during the same era as Jim Palmer, Jim Hunter, etc, you’ll tend to get lost in the shuffle, thus the Cy Young snubs each year.
By the time he retired after the 1978 season, Wood finished with a 164-156 record, appearing in 651 games, with 297 of them starts.
He’d have a final ERA of 3.24, with 24 career shutouts, 1411 strikeouts and 57 saves over 2684 innings pitched.
He led his league in pitching appearances three times, all consecutive, then went on to lead the league in starts four years in a row soon after.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1979 STEVE TROUT

Today on the blog we have a 1979 "not so missing" card for starter Steve Trout, as he made his Big League debut the previous season with the Chicago White Sox:

Trout had a very nice debut, appearing in four games while going 3-0 with a 4.03 earned run average, completing one game and tossing 22.1 innings.

The following year was promising as he'd go 11-8 with a 3.89 for the Pale Hose, saving four games while also tossing two shutouts over 34 games, 18 of them starts.

Though he'd lower his ERA even more in 1980 to 3.70, he'd see his record come in at 9-16, again throwing a couple of shutouts while completing seven games, throwing what would end up being a career-high 199.2 innings.

Overall he'd end up putting in 12 years as a Major League pitcher, including a famously bad second-half of the 1987 season with the New York Yankees that I witnessed first-hand, that saw him go 0-4 with a 6.60 ERA while being mercilessly torn apart by the New York press.

He finished his career with a record of 88-92 over 301 games, with a 4.18 ERA and nine shutouts, tossing 1501.1 innings and striking out 656 batters.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1970 AL WORTHINGTON

Good day all. On the blog today we have a 1970 "career-capper" for long-time reliever Al Worthington, who wrapped up a nice 14-year Major League career in 1969:

Worthington appeared in 46 games for the Minnesota Twins that year, a season that saw them finish first in the newly configured West Division, before losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the first ever American League Playoffs.

The 40-year-old posted a record of 4-1 over those games, with a 4.57 earned run average in 61 innings, saving three and striking out 51 batters.

The year prior he led the A.L. with 18 saves while posting a very nice 2.71 ERA over 54 games, striking out 57 in 76.1 innings of work.

Originally up in 1953 with the New York Giants, he was generally used as a man out of the bullpen, appearing in 602 games in his career, with only 69 of them starts.

By the time he retired, he ended up with a record of 75-82 with 111 saves and a very respectable 3.39 ERA over 1246.2 innings.

His finest season would have to be 1965 when he helped the Twins make the World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he finished the year 10-7 with a 2.13 ERA over 62 games, saving a career-high 21 games.

 

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: ROBIN ROBERTS

Today on the blog we spotlight my 1960's "Career-Capper" special insert for Philadelphia Phillies legend Robin Roberts:

Just a nice compliment to my color set showcasing legends who ended their careers in the decade of the 1960's.

As for Roberts, the man 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!

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION: JOE JACKSON

On the blog today, a really fun card to create, a 1971 "Minor League Days legends Edition for the great Joe Jackson:

Found this really nice image of him suited up with the Savannah Indians, for whom he played part of the 1909 season before taking his talents to the Major Leagues the following year.

Jackson hit .358 with the Indians over 118 games that season, collecting 161 hits in 450 at-bats, and pretty much giving us an idea as to what to expect once he arrived to the Majors in 1910.

Of course, if not for the alleged complicity in throwing the 1919 World Series along with teammates, Jackson would have had his rightful spot in the Hall of Fame years later, something I feel he should have anyway based on his performance between the lines.

Though he never won a batting title, even with a .400+ season under his belt in 1911, Jackson put together the third-highest career average (.356) the game has ever seen, topping .350+ seven times in 13 seasons, including a .382 average in 1920, his final year in the Majors before getting banished because of the 1919 fixing allegation.

Over his incredible career Jackson led the league in hits twice, doubles once, triples three times. on-base-percentage once and slugging once, and total bases twice, finishing top-5 in MVP voting three times, including a runner-up finish in 1913.

One of the most talked about historical baseball players of the Dead Ball era, who knows what Jackson could have finished with had he not been banned for life at the age of only 32.

Take into account his last season went as follows: .382 average, 218 hits, 105 runs scored, 42 doubles, 20 triples, 121 RBIs and a .589 slugging pct.

The man was clearly in the middle of his peak performance and the live ball era was just beginning.

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 PETE FALCONE

Up on the blog today, we take a closer look at image variations between Topps and OPC on pitcher Pete Falcone's 1977 cards:

OPC Version

Topps version

In a rare case where the Topps images was better than the OPC one, Falcone appears in a non-airbrushed photo, whereas on the OPC card we have the beauty you see before you.

It's strange that the OPC card is an airbrushed image considering Falcone put in a full year with St. Louis in 1976, appearing in 34 games  and tossing 212 innings, going 12-16 with a nice 3.23 ERA.

Nevertheless, Falcone, who went to the same High School as Sandy Koufax (Lafayette) in my old neighborhood of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, would go on to put in 10 years in the Major Leagues, compiling a record of 70-90 playing for the San Francisco Giants, Cardinals, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, appearing in 325 games and finishing up with a 4.07 ERA in 1435 innings of work.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1970 JACK FISHER

On the blog today, we give former pitcher Jack Fisher a do-over on his 1970 Topps card, showing him with the team he played for in 1969, which actually turned out to be the last action of his 11-year baseball career:

Re-Done Version

Original by Topps

Fisher appeared in 34 games for the Cincinnati Reds, going an even 4-4 with a 5.50 earned run average over 113 innings.

Though he was traded to the California Angels during the off-season before the 1970 campaign, he would end up being released just before the season started.

Originally up with the Baltimore Orioles in 1959, he would be a hard-luck pitcher with the New York Mets between 1964 and 1967, leading the league in losses twice, including an incredible 24 in 1965 even though his ERA was at 3.94 over 253 innings of work.

In those 11 years as a Big League pitcher, Fisher would end up with a record of 86-139 over 400 games, with nine shutouts, nine saves, and a 4.06 ERA in 1975.2 innings pitched.

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. MANAGER SPARKY ANDERSON

Time on the blog to go and tab the National league Manager of the Decade for the 1970s, as picked by yours truly, and I went with the "Big Red Machine" skipper Sparky Anderson:

Who else was I going to pick?

Arguably leading the team of the decade, the Cincinnati Reds, Anderson was at the helm of a team that featured many of the top players of the era.

In 1975 the Reds were arguably one of the best teams in baseball history, steamrolling to 108 victories before eventually beating the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

In 1976, more of the same as the team would win 102 games before sweeping the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Throw in the fact that they were also in the World Series in both 1970 and 1972, and it really looked like the team, stacked with guys like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and George Foster, would be keeping our attention for quite some time.

But alas, according to Sparky, it was the trading of one of their OTHER stars, Tony Perez, that took the heart and soul out of the team, and shockingly the "Big Red Machine" would not bring home another championship, and the franchise would have to wait until 1990 before experiencing it again.

For Anderson however, the man would go down as one of the greatest managers in Major League history, moving on to the Detroit Tigers in 1979, where he would go on to manage 17 years, giving him a combined 26 years of Big League managing, even taking home another title with that great 1984 Tiger team that was in first "wire-to-wire", winning 104 games before beating the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

All told the man won 2194 games as a manager, finishing with a .545 winning percentage, three titles, 5 pennants, and of course a Hall of Fame induction in 2000.

Legend, and perpetually looking like an "old man" even when he was in his 30's!

REVISITING A POST FROM OCTOBER, 2013: A MISSING 1973 TOMMY DAVIS CARD

On the blog today, we revisit my blog post from Halloween of 2013, a "missing" 1973 card for two-time batting champ, and a favorite of mine to use on Immaculate Grid, Tommy Davis:

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

"You'd think a former two-time batting champ and twelve year veteran of the Major Leagues would get a little more respect than Tommy Davis did in 1973 with Topps.

In a year that see's Topps issue player cards to the likes of Jose Arcia, Monty montgomery or Jim Geddes, you'd think that a former star player who accumulated over 100 at-bats the previous year would warrant a card.

Well, we've seen a bunch of other strange choices Topps made regarding player selection for their sets, so I guess I shouldn't be TOO surprised here.

But funny enough, even though Tommy Davis was in a state of flux with his career in the early 1970's, 1973 would be a sort of rebirth for him, as he filled in wonderfully for the Baltimore Orioles as their first full-time designated hitter, ending the season with a 10th place finish in the A.L. M.V.P. Voting.

For the season Davis ended up hitting .306 with seven homers and 89 runs batted in over the course of 137 games. Not bad for a guy who bounced around and played for five teams the previous three years.

By all accounts Davis went on to an even better year in 1974, hitting .284 with 11 homers and 84 R.B.I.'s with 181 hits in 626 at-bats at the age of 35, once again getting Most Valuable Player attention.

Well, I've gone and created a 1973 card for Davis, one that easily should have been in place of a few players Topps decided to go with that year.

I can't finish this post profiling Tommy Davis without mentioning his kick-ass 1962 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That season he crushed everything thrown his way, hitting a league-leading .346 with 230 hits, nine triples, 27 homers and astounding 153 runs batted in! He also threw in 18 stolen bases for good measure. 

All those numbers got him a third place in M.V.P. Voting behind teammate Maury Wills and the Giants' Willie Mays, who I think got robbed of the award.

But hey, that's for another day…"

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1973 FERNANDO GONZALEZ

On the blog today, we have a 1973 "not so missing" card for infielder Fernando Gonzalez, who made his MLB debut during the 1972 season:

The 22-year-old appeared in three games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 0-for-2 at the plate, striking out both times.

The following year he'd see some more playing time, appearing in 37 games and collecting the first 11 hits of his career, including a homer, hitting .224 while putting in time at third base.

He played in 60 games in 1974, the first nine with KC before finding himself in New York with the Yanks, hitting for a cumulative .204 average, with 29 hits in 142 at-bats.
After missing out on Major League play the next two seasons he’d make it back, now with the team he originally came up with, the Pittsburgh Pirates, before moving on to the San Diego padres where he would play until 1979, his last year in the Majors.
In his six seasons in the big show he would hit .235 with 244 hits in 1038 at-bats over 404 games, with 17 homers and 104 runs batted in along with 85 runs scored.

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION- JOE DiMAGGIO

Good day all!

On the blog today we add the great "Yankee Clipper", Joe DiMaggio to my 1971 "Minor League Days Legends Edition" sub-set, celebrating all-time baseball legends and their time in the Minors:

DiMaggio spent his late-teens putting up softball type numbers with the San Francisco Seals between 1932 and 1935.

Over that time he hit as high as .398 (1935), collecting 270 hits, with a staggering 456 total bases!

The kid was giving everyone a glimpse of what to expect when he reached the Major Leagues in 1936, instantly becoming one of the greatest to put on a Big League uniform.

"Joltin' Joe" put together a legendary career that eventually made him 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.

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS SPECIAL INSERT SERIES: LARRY DOBY

Up on the blog today, we begin to spotlight what were my special random inserts to my custom 1960's "Career-Cappers" set released a few years ago.

These were square mini-cards inserted one to a set reflecting all the players in this checklist, on beautiful velvet-touch thick card stock.

We'll start this thread with under-appreciated (in my book anyway) Cleveland Indian star Larry Doby:

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.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 "FIREMEN LEAGUE LEADER" CARD

On the blog today, an interesting "missing" card to create, the "missing" 1980 Firemen League Leader card that was conspicuously missing as we ripped open packs that year:

Now, I'm not 100% sure, but I'm assuming the reason Topps didn't create this card was because one of the American League guys, Mike Marshall, would not allow them to use his image for cards at that time, with his last card in the 1977 set, so you could see how that would be an issue here.

Nevertheless, I went and whipped one up all these years later!

In the National League, we have all-world reliever in 1979 Bruce Sutter, who would take home the N.L. Cy Young Award for his monster 1979 campaign.

Ironically, though his 1977 year was better, his 1979 season was also great enough to bring him the hardware, as he'd post a record of 6-6 over 62 appearances, with a league-leading 37 saves, striking out 110 batters over 101.1 innings while pitching to a 2.22 earned run average.

Of course, we all know that he would also go on to lead the league in saves four of the next five years, including his record 45 saves in 1984 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the American League, it was a tie with Mike Marshall of the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers closer Jim Kern, both having excellent years.

For Marshall, he would appear in a league-leading 90 games, going 10-15 with a 2.65 ERA over 142.2 innings, with an A.L. high 32 saves.

It was the third time he reached the 90-game mark in his career, the first time since his Cy Young winning 1974 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he set the STILL standing record of 106 appearances.

As for Kern, I would say he had a serious case for the A.L. Cy Young in 1979, having an incredible year for the Texas Rangers, going 13-5 with a microscopic 1.57 ERA over 71 games and 143 innings, with 136 strikeouts.

Absolute beast!

Sadly for him it would easily be the high point of his career, though he would pitch until the 1986 season, getting in 13 seasons under the Big League sun.

Well, there you have it, filling in a blank in the 1980 set 43 years later!

Hope you enjoyed this one!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1973 BILL STEIN

Good day everyone.

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1973 card for journeyman Bill Stein, who put in some time with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972, though not being included in the Topps set the following year:

It was the first taste of the Big Leagues for Stein, appearing in 14 games and putting in time at Third and the corner outfield spots for the Redbirds.

Over those scant 14 games he hit .314 with 11 hits over 34 at-bats, with a couple runs scored and a couple homers.

He would go on to put in 14 years in the Big Leagues, and 1977 would be the only one of them that was a true full-season, appearing in 151 games for the new organization, with exactly 600 plate appearances.
He put in a nice season, hitting .259 with 13 homers and 67 runs batted in, along with 144 hits and 53 runs scored.
All except the batting average were easily career-highs in a career that spanned 1972 through 1985.
He’d finish his career with a .267 average with 751 hits over 2811 at-bats, appearing in 959 games.

1971 TOPPS ROOKIE ALL-STARS: THURMAN MUNSON

On the blog today, THE "never-released" 1971 Topps Rookie All-Star card everyone would be gunning for these days, Thurman Munson, which would have been a SWEET card to have in any collection:

I guess you can say the future Yankee dynasty of the late 1970's started right here with this guy when he came up and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970.

Soon after he was joined by the likes of Graig Nettles, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, on their way to back-to-back titles as well as an American League pennant in 1976.

Not only did he take home the Rookie of the Year in 1970, but he'd go on to win the Most Valuable Player award six years later, to go along with seven all-star berths as well as three Gold Gloves.

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!

What an age for catchers huh? You had Munson, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons all putting in all-star seasons after all-star seasons.

Sadly we all know how Munson's story played out. I remember that day like it was yesterday and will never forget it.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1971 JOHN MATIAS

Up on the blog this fine day, a "do-over" for one-year Big Leaguer John Matias and his 1971 Topps card, which originally had him as a Kansas City Royal, a team he'd never actually play for:

Do-over

As-issued by Topps

 

Matias came up to the Majors in 1970, appearing in 58 games for the Chicago White Sox and hitting .188 with 22 hits in 117 official at=bats.

In the off-season he would be traded to the Royals along with Gail Hopkins for Pat Kelly and Don O'Reilly and spend the year in their Minor League system before being purchased by the San Diego Padres before the 1972 campaign.

Again, he'd never suit up for his new team, playing instead in their Minor League system before heading off to the Minnesota Twins system for a handful of games in 1973.

In 1974 he decided to try his hand in the Mexican League, playing the next five years for Juarez and hovering around the .300 mark before playing for Mexican City and Veracruz in 1979.

Incredibly, in 1980 the Hawaii native would be back in the Padres' system, playing for this "hometown" Hawaii Islanders for 12 games before calling it a career.

He definitely got his mileage over his career!

1975 IN-ACTION: JERRY KOOSMAN

Good day everyone!

Been a while since I added someone to my long-running 1975 "In-Action" set, so today let's add overlooked starting pitcher Jerry Koosman of the New York Mets:

“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...

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: WILLIE STARGELL

Today we go and add "Pops", Willie Stargell to my long-running thread celebrating the National League's 100th anniversary of 1976 with a 1977 sub-set:

Over 21 seasons, Stargell 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.

One of baseball's beloved players, especially among his fan-base, he left such a lasting legacy that resonates to this day.

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. RELIEVER SPARKY LYLE

Today on the blog, we have my pick for the American League relief pitcher of the 1970s, a character if there ever was one, Sparky Lyle:

Benefiting from a FULL decade in the American league, I picked Sparky over guys like Rollie Fingers or Mike Marshall, as he would help the New York Yankees win two championships, take home a Cy Young Award in 1977, and finish top-3 for an MVP Award in 1972 among many other accomplishments!

Coming over from the Boston Red Sox before the 1972 season, which is often cited as terribly one-sided in favor of the Yankees, it paid instant dividends in the Bronx, as Lyle posted a 9-5 record with a 1.92 earned run average and league-leading 35 saves in his first year there.

He'd even finish seventh in Cy Young voting, as well as third in Most Valuable Player voting during the post-season.

Five years later in 1977, Lyle would win the Cy Young Award, going 13-5 with a league-leading 23 saves and a 2.17 E.R.A., and he'd finish fifth in M.V.P. Voting.

But with Rich "Goose" Gossage joining the Yanks the following year, he'd find himself off to Texas by 1979, and retired from the game in 1982 after a handful of games with the White Sox.

All told Sparky would post 238 lifetime saves in 899 games, setting a record for career games all in relief.

I'm not sure, but it still may be the record actually. Have to check.

 

1971 "BASEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS": DON WILSON

Today on the blog, we celebrate former Houston Astros hurler Don Wilson and his 1967 no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves with this "missing" 1971 "Baseball's Greatest Moments" card:

On June 18th of the 1967 season, the 22-year-old dominated the Braves, on his way to what would be the first of two career no-no's with a 15 strikeout performance, even striking out Hank Aaron for the final out of his gem at the Astrodome.

It turned out to be the first no-hitter tossed under a roof, as well as the first on artificial turf, unique in quite a few ways!

Two years later he'd repeat the feat, this time against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out 13 on his way to history yet again.

Wilson would go on to have arguably his best season in the Big Leagues in 1969, finishing up with a record of 16-12 with an ERA at 4.00 with 235 strikeouts over 34 starts.
He’d match those 16 wins a couple of years later, his high-water mark for a season, with another 15 wins the following year, with ERA’s under 3.00 each time.
A bright star on the Houston Astros team, tragically, on January 5th of 1975 he passed away under mysterious circumstances in his home of carbon monoxide poisoning in his car, which also took the life of his 5-year-old son who was sleeping upstairs above the garage. Wilson was only 29-years-old.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1971 JOE FERGUSON

Today's blog post has a "not so missing" 1971 card for catcher Joe Feruson of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who made his Big League debut with five appearances in 1970:

Ferguson went 1-for-4 at the plate over that time, with a run batted in and a couple walks as part of a trove of young new talent taking over the Dodgers line-up at that time.

Over the next 13 Big League seasons he had himself a nice 14-year Major League career, really acting as a back-up or platooning catcher, with only two seasons seeing him get as many as 500 plate appearances: 1973 with L.A. and 1977 with Houston.
His 1973 season with the Dodgers got him some MVP consideration, as he hit .263 with 25 homers and 88 runs batted in, along with 87 walks and 84 runs scored. Not bad at all!
For his career, he finished with a .240 average with 122 homers and 445 RBIs, with 719 hits over 3001 at-bats.

1971 TOPPS ROOKIE ALL-STARS: CARL MORTON

The next unreleased 1971 Topps Rookie All-Star card we spotlight here on the blog will be the N.L.'s top rookie of the 1970 season, former Montreal Expos pitcher Carl Morton, who took home top honors:

After a brief cup-of-coffee in 1969 on the inaugural Expos team, Morton came back in 1970 and put together an excellent rookie year, posting a record of 18-11 with a 3.60 earned run average and four shutouts over 43 appearances, 37 of which were starts, with a whopping 284.2 innings pitched.

Those numbers also got him a ninth-place finish in the Cy Young race as well, while getting him some points in MVP voting by baseball writers too.

He would go on to put in eight years in the big leagues, never really matching the numbers he put up that first year, but a solid starter nevertheless, finishing up with a career 87-92 record with a 3.73 E.R.A., 13 shutouts and 650 strikeouts over 1648.2 innings of work, pitching for the Expos and Atlanta Braves.

Typical of pitchers of the era, Morton put in some innings-heavy years over his career, with four of his eight seasons topping 250+, three times over 270.

Certainly a far cry for today's handling of moundsmen!

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM JULY, 2013: 1976 HARMON KILLEBREW CAREER-CAPPER

Up on the blog today, thought it'd be fun to revisit a blog post from over 10 years ago, this time my 1976 Harmon Killebrew "career-capper", as "Killer" would close-out a powerful Hall of Fame tenure with some time as a Kansas City Royal:

Here's the original write-up from that post:

"I remember the first time I saw Harmon Killebrew's statistics when my cousin gave me a 1973 card of him when I was about 11 years old in 1980.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All the home runs, all the R.B.I.'s from a player I never knew about. To count out EIGHT 40+ home run seasons blew me away.
This was right before I got my first Macmillan Encyclopedia, so baseball cards really were the only place back then to see stats of players who were around before you were a fan. I just kept rereading those power stats again and again, amazed every time as if I was seeing them for the first time.
Throw in the fact that the 1973 card of Killebrew is pretty damn cool, I was hooked on "Killer" ever since.
Over the years I was able to meet him on more than one occasion and just listen to him tell some stories, not just about baseball but some golf thrown in for good measure. He was an amazing person who was friendly, patient and always seemed to have a smile on his face.
Playing for Washington, Minnesota and a final season in Kansas City between 1954 and 1975, Killebrew mashed 573 home runs to go along with 1584 R.B.I.'s, winning an M.V.P. award along the way in 1969 while finishing in the top five in voting five other seasons.
In 1984 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame, capping off a stellar career that sometimes gets lost among the Mantles, Mays, Clementes and Aarons that were garnering all the attention in the same era.
But nevertheless, here is my design for what should have been a final card for the Hall of Famer, a 1976 edition showing him on his last team, the Royals, in one of my all time favorite baseball card sets."

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 BOB BAILOR

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1976 card for former "everyman" Bob Bailor, who made his MLB debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 1975:

Bailor appeared in only five games that year, before returning for another nine games in 1976, collecting three hits over those 14 appearances with two runs scored and a triple among the scant highlights.

1977 would see him suited up for the new Toronto Blue jays franchise, being their second overall pick in the expansion draft held on November 5th, 1976.

With a chance to play everyday, Bailor did not disappoint, hitting a very nice .310 over a full rookie year, with 154 hits in 496 at-bats, stealing 15 bases and scoring 62 runs.

Surprisingly, he didn't get a single vote for Rookie of the Year, though he had tough competition with Eddie Murray leading the way followed by the Oakland A's Mitchell Page.

Nevertheless, he was one of the bright spots of the Blue Jays inaugural season for sure.

While he would never come close to that performance over the next eight seasons of his career, he did provide his team with a player who could fill in both all over the outfield and infield, putting in time "around the horn" as a solid utility man for the Jays, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers before calling it a career after the 1985 campaign.

All told, he finished with a career .264 average, with 775 hits in 2937 at-bats in 954 games, with 90 stolen bases and 339 runs scored along the way.

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. RELIEVER TUG McGRAW

Good day everyone!

With today's post, we have my selection for the National League's "Reliever of the 1970s", Tug McGraw, a selection that may surprise some on here:

Now hear me out!

While the popular pick may be guys like Rollie Fingers, Mike Marshall or even Bruce Sutter, I went with McGraw because of his FULL tenure in the N.L. that decade, while also being the "Fireman" for my two starting pitcher picks for the All-Decade team, Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton!

McGraw is easily overlooked these days, posting some solid All-Star seasons that led to four Post Season appearances with the Mets and Phillies, bookended by two World Championship years with 1969 (Mets) and 1980 (Phillies).

His 1971 and 1972 seasons were stellar, posting a 1.70 earned run average each year, while going a combined 19-10 with 35 saves.

After putting in nine solid if not excellent seasons with the Mets between 1965 and 1974, McGraw would go on to turn it up a notch and play ten years for the Phillies, closing out his career after the 1984 season at the age of 39.
He would make the All-Star team twice, get MVP consideration three seasons, and finish fifth in the Cy Young race in 1980 after helping the Phillies to a World Championship.
In that season he had perhaps the best year of his career, posting a record of 5-4 with a miniscule 1.46 earned run average over 57 games, with 20 saves, before posting another four saves in the Post Season, including the final out of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.
His final numbers were a career record of 96-92, with a 3.14 ERA over 824 appearances, with 180 saves and 1109 strikeouts in 1514.2 innings pitched.
I can’t believe it’s already been 16 years since he passed away on January 5th of 2004 from a brain tumor which was first diagnosed just about a year earlier.
A true character of the game, he was only 59 years old.
R.I.P. Tug.

"MINOR LEAGUE DAYS": LEGENDS EDITION: JACKIE ROBINSON

The next baseball legend to be added to my 1971 "Minor League days: Legends Edition" thread is all-timer Jackie Robinson:

He would suit up for one season with the Brooklyn Dodgers' Triple-A team, the Montreal Royals, and he'd give the fans everything he had, with a monster performance that saw him hit .349 over 124 games, scoring 113 runs and stealing 40 bases.

As if he had anything to prove, it was clear the man needed to be center stage in the Majors, so his time in Minor League ball was kept to one season before he made his historic MLB debut the following year, changing the game for good in every sense of the word.

1947 would open up with Jackie charging ahead to a Rookie of the Year Award, followed by an MVP just two seasons later, and onto history, opening up the game to other African-Americans and taking the sport to the next level.

Next card up in this series, his MLB debut!

1971 "BASEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS": DEAN CHANCE & HIS 1964 SEASON

On the blog today we add former Cy Young winner Dean Chance to my "missing" 1971 "Baseball's Greatest Moments" sub-set, celebrating the man's incredible 1964 season while with the Los Angeles Angels:

Chance had himself a monster year in 1964 with the Los Angeles Angels that saw him go 20-9 with a sparkling 1.65 earned run average, 11 shutouts and 207 strikeouts, making him the only pitcher besides a guy named "Koufax" to win the Cy Young Award between 1963 and 1966.

Over 46 appearances he made 35 starts, completing 15 and tossing 278.1 innings, while also picking up four saves.

Those numbers were also good enough to give him a fifth=place finish in the MVP race when awards season came around.

For the Cy Young Award, he got 17 of 20 votes, easily out-distancing Larry jackson of the Chicago Cubs, who got 2 votes, and Koufax who got one.

In 1967, now as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Chance had another excellent campaign, posting a 20-14 record with a 2.73 E.R.A., five shutouts and 220 strikeouts.

By the time he retired, he put together a career 128-115 record with a 2.92 E.R.A., 33 shutouts and 1534 strikeouts, with two All-Star game nods and that incredible Cy Young hardware from '64.

DEDICATED ROOKIE (#2): 1971 BILL BUCKNER

Today on the blog, we go and give terribly underrated All-Star Bill Buckner a second "Dedicated Rookie", this time a 1971 edition after he had one created for the 1970 earlier:

Buckner was one of those players that received more than one slot in the dreaded multi-player rookie cards Topps would sprinkle in their sets, hence today's creation.

"Billy Buck" made his first appearance in a Major League uniform in 1969 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, getting into a single game and making one plate appearance.

However he would go on to play on the big league level straight on through to 1990, putting in seven .300+ seasons, winning a batting title while with the Cubs in 1980, posting three 100+ RBI years, reaching 200+ hits twice and leading the league in doubles in 1981 and 1983.

By the time he retired he collected over 2700 hits, with just under 500 doubles, 174 homers and 1208 runs batted in with a .289 career average.

What always got me with his career was the fact that in 9397 career at-bats, the man struck out only 453 times! Just awesome.

Some may even consider this career Hall-worthy. At the very least it can be argued, no?

"Billy Buck", a guy who is sadly remembered for one bad play instead of the great 22-year career…

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 JOE KERRIGAN

Good day all.

On the blog this morning we have a look at another OPC to Topps image variation, the 1977 cards for former reliever Joe Kerrigan of the Montreal Expos:

OPC Version

Topps version

 

As usual, just a more up to date image of the pitcher than the Topps card, as well as what I believe to be some light airbrushing on the Topps version that wasn't needed on the OPC card.

As for Kerrigan, he put in parts of four seasons in the Big Leagues, beginning with the Expos in 1976 and 1977 before finding himself a member of the Baltimore Orioles in 1978 and 1980, with Minor League time in between.

Over those four seasons under the Major League Sun, he finished with a record of 8-12 with a 3.89 earned run average in 131 appearances, only two of those starts, saving 15 games while throwing 220 innings.

His best season is easily 1977 when he appeared in 66 games for the Expose, going 3-5 with a nice 3.22 ERA with 11 saves, striking out 43 over 89.1 innings, finishing out 36 games.