Up on the blog today, my Yogi Berra special insert from my "1960s Career-Cappers" set released a few years ago:
Thursday, February 29, 2024
1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: YOGI BERRA
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
REVISITING AN OLD BLOG POST: 1972 MISSING IN ACTION DEAN CHANCE
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 BILL MADLOCK
On the blog today, a fun 1977 OPC/Topps image variation, this one of the reigning National League batting champ at the time, Bill Madlock, who went from the Chicago Cubs to the San Francisco Giants before the 1977 season began:
Madlock didn’t disappoint, as he’d put in two solid seasons of .300+ averages with some pop before he was shipped off to Pittsburgh in the middle of the 1979 season.
He would go on to put together a very nice 15-year career between 1973 and 1987, but apparently not quite Hall material, finishing with a .305 average with 2008 hits, 920 runs scored and 860 runs batted in with 163 homers and 174 stolen bases.
Just one of those historical quirks that has him as a four-time batting champ, but not really one of the all-time greats.
Monday, February 26, 2024
"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: WILLIE STARGELL
Sunday, February 25, 2024
1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. CATCHER JOE TORRE
With a decade that didn't have that Campanella or Bench behind the plate, Torre out-distances other catchers in the league in my opinion.
A five-time all-star during the '60's, Torre had a couple of "monster" years that kind of get lost in history.
In 1964 playing for the Milwaukee Braves, Torre hit .321 with 20 homers and 109 runs batted in. He also chipped in 193 hits and 36 doubles. Not bad!
But in 1966, with the Braves relocated to Atlanta, Torre clubbed 36 home runs to go along with a .315 average and 101 R.B.I.'s.
Later on when he'd switch over to third base he'd win an M.V.P. with the St. Louis Cardinals, and tack on a few more excellent years at the plate, and it's those years that people generally remember Torre as a player.
But his catching days for the Braves organization were very good in their own right. yet easy to overlook.
Later on, as we all know, Torre would be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager in 2014 for his days leading the New York Yankees through their most recent dynasty in the late-90's/early-00's, along with taking the helm of the Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers as well between 1977 and 2010, finishing up with 2326 wins and four championship titles.
Saturday, February 24, 2024
1960's IN-ACTION SPECIAL: 1968 HARMON KILLEBREW
The next "1960s In-Action" card from my recent custom set to get the spotlight here on the blog is my 1968 edition for all-time slugger Harmon Killebrew:
Just a fun in-game action shot of the Hall of Famer doing what he did best, launching baseball over outfield fences, to the tune of 573 such "jacks" before he was done.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.
Friday, February 23, 2024
WTHBALLS APPEARANCE ON "SPORTS CARD NATION" PODCAST!
Hello All!
Had the pleasure to chat with John Newman on his "Sports Card Nation" podcast, talking baseball, card collecting, and our shared Brooklyn upbringing and how it formed our love of the hobby.
Fun time!
Give it a listen if you're interested:
New Episode! "Ep.273 w/ Gio Balistreri of WTHBalls Blog"
https://www.sportscardnationpodcast.com/ep273-w-gio-balistreri-of-wthballs-blog/
Thank you John for the invitation!
MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1976 WALT ALSTON
Good day all.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
CAREER-CAPPER: 1972 CAMILO PASCUAL
Fun card to add to the WTHBALLS stable today, a 1972 "Career-Capper" for former all-star pitcher Camilo pascual, who finished up a great Major league career with nine games as a Cleveland Indian:
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
1969 "DO-OVER" SET: AURELIO RODRIGUEZ
Today on the blog, another card from my recently released "1969 Gimmie-A-Do Over" set, finally correcting the famous "bat-boy" image error Topps made way back when on the Aurelio Rodriguez card where they actually had the California Angels bat boy Leonard Garcia depicted:
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: PETE ROSE
Up on the blog today, the next "mini gum pack" card from my recently produced custom card set, the great Pete Rose:
Monday, February 19, 2024
OPC IMAGE VARIATION- 1977 ELLIS VALENTINE
Good day all!
Sunday, February 18, 2024
"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: DUKE SNIDER
Saturday, February 17, 2024
1960'S "IN-ACTION": 1967 ROBERTO CLEMENTE
The next card from my recent "1960s In-Action" custom set to be spotlighted here on the blog is my 1967 Roberto Clemente, a really fun "add" to the WTHBALLS stable:
Friday, February 16, 2024
1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: WARREN SPAHN
Thursday, February 15, 2024
OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 DAVE LEMANCZYK
Today on the blog, we take a closer look at the image variation between former pitcher Dave Lemanczyk's 1977 OPC and Topps cards:
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
REVISITING A 10-YEAR OLD POST: NICKNAMES OF THE 1970S: 1971 "MUDCAT" GRANT
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
1969 "DO-OVER" SET: LUIS APARICIO
Up on the blog today, we take a look at my "redo" for Luis Aparicio and his 1969 card, fixing the reuse of images Topps had originally put out there due to their spat with the MLBPA:
Monday, February 12, 2024
MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION: STAN MUSIAL
Good day everyone!
Sunday, February 11, 2024
MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1976 ALVIN DARK
As a player, Dark cannot be overlooked, as he was a versatile player who played almost every position throughout his 14-year Big League career, winning the 1948 Rookie of the Year Award while finishing third in MVP voting.
He’d end up collecting over 2000 hits, hitting .289 and scoring 1064 runs, all while entering the league at the age of 26 (after 15 games in 1946) because of World War II. If not for the war he had a decent shot at 3000 hits, among other milestones like 1500 runs and 500 doubles.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
1960's IN-ACTION SPECIAL: 1964 MICKEY MANTLE
Friday, February 9, 2024
CAREER-CAPPER: 1974 ALAN GALLAGHER
Today on the blog we have a career-capping 1974 card for former infielder Alan Gallagher, who played what turned out to be the last of his MLB games in 1973 with the San Francisco Giants and California Angels:
Thursday, February 8, 2024
MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 TRADED MIKE TORREZ
Fun card to add to the WTHBALLS mix today, a "missing" 1976 traded card for solid MLB starter Mike Torrez, who seemed to find himself on a new team every year in the mid-to-late 1970s, even though he kept on winning for whomever he suited up for:
In 1974 he won 15 for the Montreal Expos, then 20 for the Baltimore Orioles in 1975, then 16 for the Oakland A’s, then the aforementioned 17 combined wins with the Yanks and A’s in 1977, then finally 16 for the Boston Red Sox in 1978.
Toss in his 16 wins for the Expos in 1972 and then another 16 for the Red Sox in 1979, and we are talking a solid eight-year run of dependability that gets overlooked.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season, Torrez fashioned himself a solid 18-year career that saw him go 185-160, with a 3.96 E.R.A., 1404 strikeouts and 15 shutouts over 494 games, 458 of which were starts.
He also won two games in the 1977 World Series against the Dodgers, pitching a complete game in both starts, yielding a 2.50 E.R.A. with 15 strikeouts. Not bad at all…
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
1969 "DO-OVER" SET: ERNIE BANKS
Good day everyone!
Easily a first ballot inductee, Banks was named to 83.8% of the ballots after posting a career that saw him win two Most Valuable Player Awards (1958 and 1959), slam over 500 home runs while knocking in 1636 Cubbies during his illustrious 19-year career.
The man IS what the word “legend” is all about, getting named to eleven all-star teams hitting 30+ homers seven times during his career, with five of those seasons topping 40.
Sadly he’d never taste the sweet taste of a World Series, but that certainly did not take away from all of his successes.
“Mr. Cub” gets his due in 1977, and rightly so!
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 RICO CARTY
Today on the blog, one of the most fun image variations between OPC and Topps from the 1977 set, Rico Carty and his ironing twist to the photo-swap:
1978 would remind many of that as he would go on to hit a career high 31 home runs with 99 runs batted in while hitting .282 for the Blue Jays and Oakland A’s, where he would be traded later in the season for Willie Horton and Phil Huffman.
He’d play one more season in the Big Leagues, back with Toronto in 1979, where he hit .256 over 132 games and 512 plate appearances before calling it a career.
He’d finish his Major League tenure with a .299 batting average, with 1677 hits in 5606 at-bats, with 204 homers and 890 RBIs, getting named to an All-Star team in 1970 when he was voted in by write-in vote, a season that saw him hit .366 for the Atlanta Braves with 25 homers and a career-high 101 RBIs.
But a crushed knee had him miss all of 1971, while tuberculosis had him miss all of 1969, two full seasons lost for the all-star hitter that really altered his MLB resume.
Monday, February 5, 2024
WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: JIM PALMER
Good day all!
As a matter of fact we’d probably be looking at a 300-game winner if not for over a season of missed time between 1967 and 1968.
Though he had a great first professional season in 1964 as an 18-year-old, going a combined 15-5 in the O’s system, he found himself on a Major League mound in 1966, still a teen, going 5-4.
In 1966 he’d improve to a record of 15-10 for the surprising eventual World Champs, shocking everyone with a sweep of the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with Palmer contributing a complete game shutout.
But injuries derailed him until 1969 when he hit his stride, going 16-4 with a 2.34 ERA and six shutouts, completing 11 of 23 starts.
From there, all the man did was top 20-wins in eight of the next nine seasons, winning three Cy Young Awards, the first American League pitcher to do so, helping the Orioles to another championship in 1970, eventually finishing with a career 268-152 record along with a brilliant 2.86 ERA and 53 shutouts before he was done in 1984.