1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: NOLAN RYAN

Good day all!

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" card for the great Nolan Ryan, from my fun custom set released last year:

 

What really needs to be said about a guy who has become more myth than baseball legend?

300+ wins, 5700+ strikeouts, 60+ shutouts, and oh yeah SEVEN no-hitters, two of which came when he was well into his 40’s while with the Texas Rangers!

I love thinking about the fact that he did most of his damage in the American League with the designated hitter. Now imagine how many strikeouts he could have had in his prime pitching in the National League where the pitcher batted?!

Would it be safe to say you could add 20-30 strikeouts a season to his total? More?

Hey, you never know…

Nevertheless, the man became a baseball God, eventually finding his place in the Hall of Fame upon his first year of eligibility as an absolute no-brainer.

I just thank the skies above that I got to see him pitch in-person!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1989 JOSE CRUZ

Super fun card to add to the WTHBALLS roster today, that a 1989 "Career-Capper" for Jose Cruz, who closed out a brilliant Major League career in 1988:

Playing in his 19th Big League season, Cruz suited up for 38 games with the New York Yankees, and I was happy to have witnessed some of them in person!

The man hit an even .200 over 80 at-bats with the Yankees, hitting a homer and driving in seven with nine runs scored and eight walks.

Cruz, who would go on to find fame and fortune with his 13 seasons playing for the Houston Astros between 1975 and 1987, appeared in six games for St. Louis in his first taste of the Big Leagues in 1970, hitting a robust .353 with six hits over 17 at-bats.
He’d never find his true hitting stroke over the parts of five seasons he spent in St. Louis, but after being purchased by the Astros in December of 1974, he would go on to become an All-Star outfielder.
He would be named to two All-Star teams, win two Silver Slugger Awards, and three times finish in the top-10 for N.L. MVP, even leading the league in hits with 189 in 1983.
By the time he finished with one season as a New York Yankee in 1988 at the age of 40, he retired with 2251 hits, a .284 batting average, 165 homers and 317 stolen bases.

 

FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1984 FRED LYNN

On the blog today, a real travesty for Topps regarding their All-Star cards of the 1980s.

Imagine being selected as a starter for your league, and THEN you go on to hit the FIRST grand slam in All-Star game history, helping your league win its first Midsummer Classic in 12 years, and you get OVERLOOKED for an All-Star card the following year!?

Well, welcome to California Angels star Fred Lynn, who had this very thing happen in 1984 when the new Topps baseball cards came out.

So here is his rightful All-Star card, 42 years later:

As for Mr. Lynn, after a wonderful college career at USC, Lynn became an instant star in 1975 when he led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series after copping both the Rookie of the Year AND Most Valuable Player Awards. The first player ever to do so, and still only one of two (Ichiro Suzuki joined him in 2001).
He’d go on to win four Gold Gloves, get named to nine all-star teams, and hit the only Grand Slam in All-Star game history, a memorable shot off of Atlee Hammaker in the 1983 classic that gave the American League it’s first win over the National League since 1971.
Hampered by injuries throughout his 17-year career, he still finished with a very solid MLB resume: 306 homers, 1111 RBI’s, 1063 runs scored and a .283 batting average, with 10 seasons of 20+ homers over 1969 games.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: ORLANDO CEPEDA

On the blog today, the next card from my 2019 "1960 Stars of the Game" custom WTHBALLS gelatin set, this time HOFer Orlando Cepeda:

Cepeda was a much heralded prospect coming up in the Minors before making his Big League debut in 1958, and of course, he would not disappoint, as he would take home the Rookie of the Year that season, hitting .312 with 188 hits, 25 homers, 96 RBIs and a league-leading 38 doubles, in what was to become a "typical" season for the future Hall of Famer.

While Cepeda's career was productive enough to get into Cooperstown, it's well known that if not for his bad knees, his final statistics could have been mind blowing.
Nevertheless, by the time he retired, he posted final numbers of: 379 homers, 1365 runs batted in, 2351 hits and a .297 average, with a Rookie of the Year (1958) and M.V.P. award (1967) thrown in.
It took a little while, but he was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999 after being selected by the Veteran's Committee.
What a power trio San Francisco had in Cepeda, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey! Power to the ultimate degree!”

 

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION 1975 GEORGE THEODORE

Time for another "revisit" for many of you that weren't following the blog 10 years ago.

This time it's my "missing" 1975 card for former New York Mets first baseman/outfielder Geprge Theodore:

Theodore did get a card in the 1974 set after his rookie year of ‘73, but after appearing in 60 games during the 1975 season, it didn’t warrant a card the following year in Topps’ eyes, and considering he never played another Major League game again, they made the right choice.
For the ‘74 season, Theodore hit .158 with 12 hits over 76 at-bats, giving him a combined .219 career batting average based on 42 hits in 192 at-bats over 105 games.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1973 JIM ROLAND

Up on the blog today we have a 1973 "career-capper" for pitcher Jim Roland, who put in ten seasons on a Big League mound:

Roland appeared in 23 games during the 1972 season, split between three teams: the New York Yankees, Oakland A's and Chicago White Sox.

Over those appearances he finished with a record of 0-1 with a 5.28 earned run average in 30.2 innings, striking out 17 while walking 18 (ouch!).

Originally up as a 19-year-old with the Minnesota Twins in 1962, he'd generally be used out of the bullpen as a middle reliever, moving on to the Oakland A's in 1969 until that final 1972 season.

Overall, he'd finish with a record of 19-17 over 216 games, with a nice 3.22 ERA in 450.1 innings, saving nine while tossing a complete game back in 1963.

 

1981 DRAKES BIG PITCHERS: PHIL NIEKRO

The next card from my wildly successful 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" custom set released last year to get the spotlight here on the blog is the one for Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro:

Incredibly, though getting a bit of a "late-start" in his career, the man would end up putting in 24 years in the Majors, pitching his knuckler until the age of 48 in 1987.

It is astonishing to think Niekro didn’t have a full season on Big League duty until 1967 at the age of 28, yet still went on to pitch those 24 seasons, winning 318 games with a very nice 3.35 ERA along with 45 shutouts and 3342 strikeouts before he was done at the age of 48!
I always thought it amazing that at the age of 44 in 1983, he took home the last of his five Gold Gloves, ALL of which were garnered beginning his age 39 season in 1978.

Just an amazing talent!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: ROCKY COLAVITO

Today on the blog we focus on my 1960 "Stars of the Game" custom for slugger Rocky Colavito, from my 2019 set released in authentic WTHBALL gelatin box with gelatin packet:

Colavito ended his playing days back in 1968 before immediately going into coaching, putting in a great MLB “lifer” career that began way back in 1955 when the 21-year-old debuted with the Indians.
Between 1956 and 1966 there were few Major League batters who hit homers as frequently as he, hitting 358 home runs playing for the Indians, Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics.
He topped 40+ homers three times, with a career-best 45 in 1961 while also leading the American League in 1959 with 42 blasts.
By the time he retired, he hit 374 homers with 1159 RBIs over 1841 games in 14-years, finishing Top-5 in MVP voting three times and making the All-Star team six times.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1970 DANNY FRISELLA

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1970 card for pitcher Danny Frisella, who appeared in only three games for the New York Mets in 1968:

Frisella was drafted by the New York Mets in 1966 out of Washington State University and made it up to the Major Leagues the following year.
He pitched for New York over the next six seasons, having his best year in the big leagues in 1971 when he went 8-5 with a sparkling 1.99 E.R.A. to go along with 12 saves in 53 games after learning to throw a forkball from Diego Segui over the Winter in Venezuela.
In November of 1972 he was traded to the Atlanta Braves along with pitcher Gary Gentry for George Stone and Felix Milan and stuck around for two years before going over to the San Diego Padres in 1975.
Though he posted a record of 1-6, he did have decent numbers overall, but San Diego shipped him to St. Louis after the season, where Frisella started the season in 1976.
But after only 18 games, he was once again traded, this time to the Brewers where he appeared in 32 games, posting impressive numbers of a 5-2 record and a 2.74 E.R.A. as a man out of the bullpen.
Sadly, Frisella never made it back to a Major League mound.
While riding a dune buggy near his home on January 1st, his vehicle tipped over and Frisella was not able to escape in time. He was caught underneath the roll bar as the vehicle rolled over his body, crushing him. He was only 30 years old with a wife and two sons.

His final numbers were: 34-40 record, 3.32 ERA and 57 saves over 351 appearances and 609.1 innings pitched between 1967 and 1976.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: CURT FLOOD

Time to post up another card from my custom "Classic Baseball set that I hope will see the light of day in the near future, this one of pioneering outfielder Curt Flood:

Flood pretty much sacrificed his career by the early-70’s , fighting MLB for their handling of players “as cattle” in regards to trades, releases, eventually opening the doors for Free Agency and allowing players some control over their own careers.
You have to understand how HUGE this was, as it was something players have been trying to do since the late-1800’s (think of the failed Players League of 1890).
Sadly for Flood, while it did end up helping ballplayers soon after he left the game, his own playing career was over by the age of 33, really 31.
Beginning in 1962 Flood strung together eight fantastic seasons starring for the St. Louis Cardinals, consistently batting over .300, two 200-hit seasons, and seven straight Gold Glove Awards, right up to the 1969 campaign.
Then it all began with a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies along with others including Tim McCarver for superstar slugger Dick (Richie) Allen and a couple of other players.
Flood refused to report to his new team, eventually forcing the Cardinals to send prospect Willie Montanez to complete the deal, essentially ending his career as a player while he fought to have control over his own career, fighting the “reserve clause”.
After sitting out the season in 1970, the Phillies eventually sent him to the Washington Senators, where Flood played the last 13 games of his career before leaving the team within the first month, abruptly closing out a great career that could have been Hall of Fame worthy had he played longer.
If you’re not familiar with Flood’s case, and his teaming up with Players’ Union head Marvin Miller, you MUST read up on this to understand the state of the game today.
I just touched upon some brief points here, but the case and Flood’s decision to pursue this cause is incredible.
Every single player today has much to thank Flood and his sacrifice, allowing the Free Agent boom of the mid-70’s to change the game forever, leading to the salaries and benefits even the average players have today.

FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1984 ROBIN YOUNT

Up on the blog today we have another 1980s Topps All-Star fix, this time a 1984 All-Star card for the 1983 American League starting shortstop, Robin Yount:

If you remember, Topps decided to give Cal Ripken the All-Star card in their 1984 set over the rightful player, Yount. Still a mystery as to why Topps changed their All-Star card selection process in 1981. Never a fan of that!

Yount went 0-2 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI in the 1983 Midsummer Classic, the first win for the A.L. since 1971! I remember that game vividly, as I watched it as a 14-year-old and witnessing an A.L. win for the very first time as a young baseball fan.

A Milwaukee Brewer for life, Yount finished his great career with 3142 hits, 1632 runs scored, 251 homers and 271 stolen bases, taking home two A.L. MVP Awards and incredibly only making three All-Star teams. How on earth?!
Anyway, it’s amazing to realize that when he had his first true All-Star season in 1980, after what was already seven years in the Big Leagues, Yount was STILL only 24 years of age!
He was on cruise-control from then on, elevating his game to become one of the elite players in the American League, with 1982 the high point when he led the Brewers to the World Series and taking home his first MVP Award.
What a player...

 

EVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 DIEGO SEGUI

Good day all!

On the blog today, we revisit another 10-year-old post, this time my "missing" 1976 card for pitcher Diego Segui:

Segui appeared in 33 games for Boston in their American League championship season, posting a 2-5 record with a 4.82 earned run average over 71 innings of work.
He would miss the 1976 season before joining the Seattle Mariners team for their inaugural 1977 year, a forgettable one for Segui as he went 0-7 with a bloated 5.69 ERA in his swan-song.
For his 15-year career he would go 92-111 with a 3.81 ERA over 639 games, 171 of them starts, leading the A.L. in ERA in 1970 with a 2.56 mark when he split the year between starting and relieving for the Oakland A’s.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: ROBERTO CLEMENTE

Good day all!

On the blog today, we spotlight my 1960 "Stars of the Game" card for the great Roberto Clemente, from my 2019 custom set in WTHBALLS gelatin packaging:

I instantly knew the direction of how this set would be released, and I hope you all found it just as interesting, with deluxe packaging and special inserts! Too much fun putting this one together!

Anyway, as for the man himself, Clemente's career is the stuff of legend: His fiery play on the field, his good deeds, and his absolute adoration by teammates and fans alike.

On the field Clemente's numbers were incredible: four batting titles, five seasons batting over .340, four 200 hit seasons, 12 all-star nods, 12 Gold Gloves and a Most Valuable Player Award in 1966.

And a prime example of Clemente's importance to the game was his immediate induction into Cooperstown by special committee in 1973, waiving the standard five-year wait before a player joins the Hall ballot, as well as the establishment of the "Roberto Clemente Award", given every year to the player that exemplified "outstanding baseball playing skills who is personally involved in community work."

The man was truly something else, and I'm not even thinking of his baseball prowess.

Just special and truly one of a kind!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1972 FRANK BROSSEAU

On the blog today, we have my 1972 "not so missing" card for pitcher Frank Brosseau of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who appeared in a single game during the 1971 championship season:

Brosseau appeared in one game that year, pitching two innings of relief and not allowing a run on one hit, with no walks or strikeouts.

It was his first taste of the Big Leagues since his debut in 1969 when he appeared in two games for the Pirates, tossing an inning and two-thirds and giving up two runs on two hits for a bloated 10.80 ERA.

Those three games made up the entirety of his Major League career as well as professional career, as there is not a record of him appearing in a Minor League game after the 1971 season.

So for his MLB career: three games, no record and a 4.91 ERA over 3.2 innings, with two strikeouts and two walks.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 LARRY HISLE

The next OPC to Topps image variation we cover here on the blog is that of Larry Hisle and his 1977 cards, which is really just a cropping change:

OPC version

Topps version

As you can see, OPC decided to zoom in on the image Topps used for their 1977 card, just as we have seen with other cards that year.

Nothing big, but different nonetheless.

For posed shots like these I actually prefer the zoomed in OPC cards since there's no need to be backed up for such photo.

As for the man Hisle himself, had some productive years with the Twins, even leading the American League in runs batted in in 1977 with 119, and driving in another 115 in 1978 as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

But that 1978 season would be his last solid year, as he'd scratch out another four years with Milwaukee, never appearing in more than 27 games in any of those seasons due to injuries.

He'd retire after 1982 with 166 lifetime homers, 674 R.B.I.'s, and 1146 career hits.

 

1981 DRAKES BIG PITCHERS: ROLLIE FINGERS

Today on the blog we spotlight another card from my recent 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" custom set, this time Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers:

Fingers was in his superstar prime at the time this card would have seen the light of day, unknowingly about to find himself with the Milwaukee Brewers that year on his way to both a Cy Young Award and a Most Valuable Player Award.

He would put together a wonderful 17-year career which would see him lead the league in saves three times, post sub-2.00 ERA's 12 times and finish up with a sparkling 2.90 career ERA over 944 games and 1701.1 innings pitched.

He was named to seven all-star teams, both in the A.L. and N.L., before closing out his career in 1985, finishing with a 114-118 record with 341 saves.

One of the great characters of the decade! But a force out of the 'pen as well.

He was voted into the Hall in 1992, his second year on the ballot, garnering 81.2% of the vote.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1971 JIM JOHNSON

Today on the blog we have a great "old fashioned" 1971 "not so missing" card for three-game Major League pitcher Jim Johnson of the San Francisco Giants:

The entirety of Johnson's Big League tenure was during the month of April, 1970, when he appeared in the aforementioned three games, going 1-0 with a 8.10 earned run average over 6.2 innings.

He was hit hard over those 6+ innings, giving up eight hits and six runs while walking five, striking out two with a balk and two wild pitches.

Though he was sent down to the Minors for the rest of the season, it seemed probable that he would be back up either later in the year or the following season, however because of a stubborn Giants front office and later on a sore arm, Johnson decided the best move for his family was to retire and move onto a long and distinguished career in Education.

Sadly he passed away at the young age of only 42 due to Pancreatic Cancer in 1987, at the time he was the Superintendent of Schools at North Muskegon, Michigan High School.

He had devoted his life to Education even before he retired, attaining advanced Degrees at University while toiling in the Minors.

 

1981 DRAKES BIG PITCHERS: RICH GOSSAGE

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, a spotlight on another card from my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" custom set released late last year, this one of Hall of Fame reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage:

After spending his first five Major League seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Gossge found himself with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 1977 season, performing very well as he would go 11-9 over 72 appearances, with 26 saves and a sparkling 1.62 earned run average over 133 innings, striking out 151 batters.

He parlayed that season in the new Free Agent world, signing with the New York Yankees, where he would star for the next six years, gaining tons of fans, me included.

Gossage was a true character of the game. He was all legs and arms whipping near-100 mile-per-hour fastballs while sporting that trademark 'stache, closing out games for those "Bronx Zoo" teams I loved so much.

He spent six years in the Bronx, and never had an E.R.A. over 2.62, even sporting a microscopic 0.77 in 1981!

He also led the league in saves twice while wearing pinstripes, as well as getting named to three all-star teams.

In 1978, 1980 and 1981 he'd also finish in the top-5 in Cy Young voting, in addition to getting some M.V.P. attention.

Around the school-yard I literally spent most of my childhood in, the nickname "Goose" was taken by so many kids it was ridiculous. We all loved that "crazy dude" who looked as mean as any biker.

By the time he was done, Gossage put in a 22 year career that landed him in the Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2008.

He was also given a plaque out in Yankee Stadium this year (to which I am a bit puzzled by), cementing his Yankee legend for all to look back on.

The "Goose", a real wild-man of a closer…

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1965 PETE RUNNELS

Up on the blog today, let's delve into the 1960s and give two-time batting champ Pete Runnels a 1965 "Career-Capper" shall we?

Here you go:

Runnels put in what turned out to be the last Major League action of his career in 1964, as a member of the Houston Colt .45s, or Astros as they were making that transition at that time.

Just two years removed from his second batting title in 1962, he hit .196 over 22 games for Houston, with 10 hits over 51 at-bats with three RBIs.

Runnels took home the American League batting title in 1960 and 1962 as a member of the Boston Red Sox, hitting .320 and .326 respectively, topping the .300 mark all of his five years with Boston.

His first seven years in the Big Leagues were with the Washington Senators between 1951 and 1957, where he average about .280 while playing both the infield and outfield, even getting some MVP votes in both 1952 and 1956.

Overall, by the time he retired, he finished with a .291 batting average, with 1854 hits in 6373 at-bats over 1799 games, getting named to five All-Star teams along the way.

Not too shabby a career!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1973 PHIL REGAN

Today on the blog we'll go ahead and give former reliever Phil Regan a 1973 "career-capper" to celebrate a nice 13-year Big League tenure:

Regan split the 1972 season with the Chicago Cubs and crosstown Chicago White Sox, appearing in 15 games and going 0-2 with a 3.63 earned run average in 17.1 innings.

He would have a couple of incredible seasons on a Big League mound, particularly his 1966 campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he posted a record of 14-1 with a sparkling 1.62 ERA over 116.2 innings, leading the National League with 21 saves, helping L.A. go to the World Series.

Two years later, splitting the year with the Dodgers and Cubs, he'd post a record of 12-5 with a 2.27 ERA over 134.2 innings, leading the league once again in saves, this time with 25.

By the time he retired, he appeared in 551 games between 1960 and 1972, finishing with a record of 96-81, with a 3.84 ERA over 1372.2 innings, saving 92 games.

Not too shabby!

 

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1975 JOSE CRUZ

Good day everyone.

On the blog today, a card I've been meaning to "do-over" for years, a 1975 redo for Jose Cruz, showing him with the team he suited up with in 1974, the St. Louis Cardinals:

Now if you don't remember the card originally out there in packs that Spring of 1975 for Cruz, please look at this airbrushed gem:

Absolutely hilarious!

That Houston Astros logo is about the largest logo I've ever seen on a cap!

In late October of 1974 Jose Cruz was purchased by Houston from St. Louis, where he played from 1970-1974.
He never really got to play full-time with the Cardinals, but that changed in a hurry when he suited up for the Astros.
He immediately became a popular player, going on to play 13 solid seasons for them in the outfield and finishing in the top-10 in M.V.P. voting three times in the process.
Actually, Cruz can be the quietest 2000+ hits guy from the 1970's and '80's. He finished with 2251 hits, 165 home runs and 317 stolen bases while collecting two Silver Slugger awards over a 19-year career. Not bad at all.

 

REVISIT: 1978 "TURN BACK THE CLOCK" STAN MUSIAL

Up on the blog today, thought it'd be fun to revisit another 10-year-old post, this one my 1978 "Turn Back The Clock" card for all-time great Stan Musial, celebrating his 3000th hit from 20 years earlier:

He would go on to collect another 630 more hits to become the leading National League hit-maker before Hank Aaron would overtake him about 10 years later.
Throw in 725 doubles, 177 triples and 475 home runs and you have yourself one of THE best all-around hitters the game ever saw.
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.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SPECIAL: 1980 RICKEY HENDERSON PEPSI ALL-STAR

Good day all!

On the blog today, we have a fun card I created for my latest WTHBALLS release, a reprint of the never-released 1980 Pepsi All-Stars baseball set, with a bonus Rickey Henderson you see here:

I thought it'd be fun to add in one special card to the 22-card reprint set, and the Rickey rookie card was a natural choice.

Imagine if this was part of the very valuable test set!?

In his first taste of the Majors, Rickey appeared in 89 games with the Oakland A's in 1979, hitting .274 with 96 hits in 351 at-bats, stealing 33 bases and scoring 49 runs.

Coming into 1979 Henderson was on fire in 1977 and 1978 playing for Modesto and Jersey City in the Minors.

In '77 with Modesto, all he did was hit .345 with 120 runs scored and 95 stolen bases to go along with a sick .465 on-base-percentage.

The following year, getting promoted to Double-A ball, Henderson kept on hitting, this time to the tune of .310 with 81 runs scored and 81 steals.

So at the dawn of the 1979 season Henderson was ready to just about take over the game, straight to the Hall of Fame some 25 years later.

Just a glimpse of the dynamic player that was about to take over the baseball world over the next quarter century!

Greatest lead-off man the game has ever seen!

FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1984 MANNY TRILLO

Today on the blog we fix another 1980's Topps All-Star snub, this time a 1984 card for Manny Trillo of the Cleveland Indians, the starter at second base for the American league in the 1983 game:

Topps decided to give the All-Star card to Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers, a practice that I came to hate as a kid collecting back then. Why stray from the voted players? 

Anyway, Trillo would find himself shipped off to the Montreal Expos after the All-Star game, before ending up with the San Francisco Giants for the 1984 season.

He’d put together an excellent career that saw him win a World Championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, win three Gold Gloves between 1979 and 1983 and get tabbed for four All-Star games.
By the time he retired after the 1989 season he finished up with 1562 hits over 5950 at-bats, good for a .263 average, with 598 runs scored and 571 runs batted in.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: MARK FIDRYCH

Time to go ahead and give "The Bird", Mark Fidrych a card in my long-running custom WTHBALLS set, "Classic Baseball":

Does everyone still remember the impact Mark Fidrych had in Major League Baseball that summer of 1976!?
It was incredible, and for a young kid of seven, it was one of the first hypes I remember as a baseball fan.
The antics: talking to the baseball, grooming the mound, and all-around clownish behavior made him an instant favorite of mine back then.
There was so much I was learning about baseball all at once, and one thing I thought I learned was that guys like this were always around. Little did I know that what I was seeing was something truly special.
Well, we all know the story: Fidrych came up later in the season, having only pitched one inning as of mid-May, until a lucky break had him spot start for the Tigers where he ended up pitching a complete game two-hitter. In his first 13 starts, Fidrych had a remarkable 120 1/3 innings pitched. That's MORE than nine-innings a start due to three 11-inning games. Amazing.
By early July, as the media took hold of the story, "The Bird" was 9-1 with a 1.85 E.R.A. and was picked, as a rookie, to start the All-Star game for the American League.
By now he was taking over the baseball world, and everyone loved the show, including me!
He ended his season as Rookie of the Year, with a league-leading 2.34 E.R.A and 24 complete games out of 29 starts with a 19-9 record.
Sadly, after a dead arm the following season and repeated attempts at comebacks, Fidrych hung up the cleats by 1980 and ended up working as a contractor and fixing up his farmhouse back home in Northborough, Ma.
Turns out a torn rotator cuff went undiagnosed for years, and by the time this was discovered in 1985, all hopes of a repair and a comeback to baseball was long gone.
As it seems to happen with so many larger than life characters who come in and out of our lives, Fidrych met an untimely death on April 13th, 2009 at the age of only 54 when the truck he was working under caught his clothing.
I'll always remember that season, just as I was religiously forming my baseball addiction, and this "crazy" bird-man was always on T.V., talking to the baseball and smiling his way into my psyche.

 

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1972 GEORGE HENDRICK

Up on the blog today we have a do-over for George Hendrick and his classic 1972 rookie card, which originally had a black and white image colorized:

Redone version

Here's the original as-issued if you don't remember:

As-issued by Topps

I remember I found this card at a flea market in Brooklyn, where you went through boxes of cards this guy had on these fold-out tables. It was $1.00 for 22 cards! This was around 1981. I walked away with about 400 cards, and had to explain to my dad why I was carrying this big box when I went back to meet him after wandering around the market wondering where I was. I also remember how pissed he was that I managed to spend $20, all of my money, on something as ridiculous as "old cards". 

Hendrick would go on to play through the 1988 campaign, finishing up with 267 homers, 1111 RBIs, a .278 batting average and 1980 hits in 2048 games and 7129 at-bats.

He was an important cog in the Cardinals '80s machine that would net a World Championship in 1982, while taking home two Silver Slugger Awards and making two All-Star teams.

Apparently his nickname was “Silent George”, though I do not remember that, but perhaps I need to whip up a “nickname of the 1970’s” card for him as well!

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 MIKE JORGENSEN

Good day all!

On the blog today, we take a closer look at another OPC to Topps image variation, this one the 1977 cards of former Montreal Expos first baseman Mike Jorgensen:

OPC version

Topps version

Seems OPC decided to crop in a bit on the photo Topps used of Jorgensen swingin, with the Topps image more to my liking to be honest.

Jorgensen put in 17 years as a Major League player, originally coming up with the New York Mets in 1968 at the age of 19, and playing through the 1985 season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

In between, he had his best years with the Expos between 1972 and 1976, even taking home a Gold Glove in 1973.

In 1975 he pretty much set career bests with 116 hits, 18 homers and 67 runs batted in over 445 at-bats, hitting .261 while also collecting 79 walks.

Never truly a full-time player, he finished up with a .243 batting average, with 833 over 3421 at-bats in 1633 games.

 

1981 DRAKES BIG PITCHERS: RON GUIDRY

Up on the blog today, a spotlight on my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" custom for my favorite childhood pitcher, Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees, from my set released late last year:

"Louisiana Lightning" was a God in Brooklyn in the late 1970's into the 1980's, and rightly so, given his electric pitching and helping the Yankees to back-to-back championships in 1977 and 1978.

His 1978 season was the stuff of legend, going 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA and nine shutouts, with 248 strikeouts, just ridiculous numbers while taking home the Cy Young Award, though getting robbed of the MVP (at least to me anyway).

Beyond his great career, he was, and still is, a great man. One of those guys that everyone seemed to respect no matter what.

On the mound, all he did was win a Cy Young in 1978, get ripped off an MVP that very same year (sorry Jim Rice), get named to four all-star teams, win five Gold Gloves, lead the league in wins twice, ERA twice, shutouts once, WHIP twice, and of course post that awesome 18-strikeout game against the Angels in 1978 during his magical 25-3 season which also saw him post 248 K's.

For his 14-year career he went 170-91, good for a .651 winning percentage, along with a 3.29 ERA, 26 shutouts and 1778 strikeouts.

He'd also go 5-2 in postseason play, with a 3.02 ERA and 51 K's in 62.2 innings, and was part of two World Champion teams (1977/78).

 

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION 1973 BRENT ALYEA

Today on the blog I thought we'd revisit another 10+ year old post many may have forgotten about, this one my 1973 "missing in action" card for outfielder Brent Alyea of the Oakland A's:

Alyea played in 33 games during the 1972 season, starting off with 10 for the A’s before being traded to St. Louis where he’d suit up for 13 games, before being returned of all things BACK to the A’s where he would play the final 10 games of his career.
Alyea combined for a .180 average in 1972, with nine hits over 50 at-bats with a single home run while playing the outfield.
For his career, he ended up with a .247 batting average with 214 hits over 866 at-bats, along with 38 homers and 148 runs batted in. Not bad production for the limited play when you do the math.
His finest season was in 1970 while with the Minnesota Twins, when he hit .291 with 16 homers and 61 RBI’s in just 94 games and 258 at-bats.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: CHUCK ESTRADA

The next custom 1960 "Stars of the Game" card to get the spotlight here on the blog is my card for Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chuck Estrada, who had himself a very nice rookie year in 1960:

Estrada finished in second place for the Rookie of the Year Award that year because of his league-leading 18 wins, as he started 25 games while appearing in 36 total, completing twelve, saving two and tossing a shutout.

In 1961 he would follow it up with another solid season, going 15-9 over 33 appearances, all but two of those starts, pitching to a 3.69 ERA over 212 innings.

Sadly for him it would be his last "good" year in the Majors, as 1962 would see him lead the league in losses with 17 against only nine wins, posting an ERA of 3.83 over a career best 223.1 innings of work.

In 1963 arm issues led to an abbreviated season that saw him appear in only eight games, going 3-2 with a 4.60 ERA, and it would go downhill from there, as his ERA would bump up to 5.27 over 17 appearances in 1964, with only six of those games as a starter.

He would spend all of 1965 in the Minors, and would be back on a Big League mound in 1966 as a member of the Chicago Cubs for nine games, getting hit hard to the tune of a 7.30 ERA over 12.1 innings.

In 1967, he would put in what turned out to be the final games of his Major League career, suiting up for nine games with the New York Mets, going 1-2 with a 9.41 ERA over 22 innings, while also spending the bulk of the season in the Minors.

He'd pitch in the Mets Minor Leagues in both 1968 and 1969, but never get another shot at the Majors, closing out a once promising career with a record of 50-44 over 146 games, with an ERA of 4.07 and 535 strikeouts.

AVAILABLE NOW! 1ST WTHBALLS REPRINT SET- 1980 PEPSI-COLA BASEBALL ALL-STARS SET!

Good day all!

Happy to announce the latest WTHBALLS custom set, this a first for the brand, a REPRINT set, the 1980 "PEPSI-COLA BASEBALL ALL-STARS" 22-card set that was NEVER produced/released to the public, faithfully reproduced here along with a bonus:

For those not familiar: Pepsi-Cola and Topps were in agreement to create a 22-card baseball card set in 1980.

The negotiations went as far as Topps fully designing the 22-card set, front and back, and producing a few uncut sheets to show Pepsi.

For one reason or another Pepsi backed out of the idea, and in the ensuing years some folks took the produced sheets and hand-cut the cards, which eventually would show up at auction for high-dollar amounts.

I've been fascinated by this sweet-looking set for decades, and am proud to issue it now!

I was lucky to find high-resolution images of each card and added "REPRINT" clearly on the back of each card to avoid any unscrupulous mishaps later on.

All 22 cards of the original test set are here, along with a fun BONUS card: the 1980 Rickey Henderson rookie added as a 23rd card!

But that's not all! Since I actually made a mistake with the first printing of the Henderson card, with his position listed as "REL", I had it reprinted with correct "OF" position, and decided to also give you all the error card as well, thus 24 cards total!

As with my 1954 Wilson's Franks and 1980's "Career-Cappers", I am releasing this set in acetate box with full-color wrap.

They are $16 each with postage at $5.50 1st Class w/tracking. As usual, the postage stays the same no matter how many sets you buy.

Same paypal email: slogun23@gmail.com

Really psyched to have this first REPRINT set produced, and I hope you all are as well! I added a set in my 1980 Topps set binder as a cool coda, and it fits right in!

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

Gio/wthballs