As requested a while back, here is the long overdue
1981 "Career-Capper" for defensive outfielder extraordinaire, Paul Blar,
who wrapped up a wonderful Major League career in 1980 as a member of
the New York Yankees:
Blair
appeared in only 12 games for the Yankees in his final Big League
season, going 0-for-2 at the plate while putting in time as a defensive
replacement in the outfield.
Though a decent hitter in his own right, Blair was a superstar
fielding outfielder for the O's, taking home eight Gold Gloves for his
excellence in the field, seven consecutively between 1969-1975.
He was known to taunt hitters by playing shallow, then sprinting deep to track down fly balls.
A member of four world champion teams (Orioles in 1966/70; Yankees
1977/78), Blair put together an excellent 17-year career playing between
1964 and 1980 for the Orioles, Yanks and Reds.
He'd finish with a .250 batting average with 1513 hits, 134 homers
and 171 stolen bases over 1947 games and 6673 plate appearances.
