REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION-1976 CHRIS ARNOLD

Good day all!

On the blog today, we revisit a ten-year-old post featuring my 1976 "Missing in Action" card for former San Francisco Giant infielder Chris Arnold, which was part of my "1976 Project" for my buddy Jim:

Arnold played in 29 games during the 1975 season after coming off a half-season of play the previous year, easily the most of his six-year career.

While playing both in the infield and outfields, Arnold chipped in with a .267 batting average based on his eight hits in 41 at-bats, all of those hits being singles.

His 1976 season would end up being the last of his career, which was spent entirely in 'frisco, finishing with a .237 career average with 103 hits in 435 at-bats over 273 games.

MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 EDDIE BANE

Good day everyone.

Thought it'd be fun to go back 10 years this week and revisit my "missing in action" card for former pitching phenom Eddie Bane of the Minnesota Twins:

Bane didn't play much during the 1975 season, but this being my friend Jim's project I created the card at his request.

For the '75 season Bane appeared in four games, all starts, and posted a 3-1 record with a 2.86 earned run average and 14 strikeouts in 28.1 innings of work.

As we all know, Bane, who starred on his college team at Arizona State was named to the All-America team, was drafted 11th overall in the 1973 amateur draft and went right to the Majors without any Minor League time.

It didn't help much, as the young arm posted a 0-5 record with a 4.92 ERA over 23 games, six of which were starts.

After playing in the Minors the entire 1974 season, he made those aforementioned four starts in 1975 before putting in the most time in any one season in 1976, appearing in 17 games, 15 of which were starts, logging 79.1 innings pitched.

He'd finish the year at 4-7 with a 5.11 ERA, but it would mark the last action he'd see on a Major League mound, as he'd go on to pitch in the Minor Leagues another four years before retiring as a player for good in 1980.

All told, Bane finished his Big League career with a 7-13 record, with a 4.66 ERA and 80 strikeouts over 44 games and 168 innings pitched.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 BOBBY JONES

Today on the blog, we gibe former outfielder Bob Jones another "not so missing" card to go with his 1978 edition, this time a 1976 card after playing in a handful of games with the Texas Rangers in 1975:

 

Jones appeared in only nine games in 1975, putting in time at all three outfield spots while collecting one hit over 11 at-bats, for an .091 average for those wondering.

He'd have somewhat of a break-through season in 1976 when he appeared in 78 games, collecting 187 plate-appearances, even if he hit only .211 with 35 hits over 166 official at-bats for the Angels.
In 1978 he had an excellent season in the Minor Leagues, hitting .307 with 14 homers and 102 RBIs, but never got a call up to the Big leagues, prompting him to go to Japan where he played for the Chunichi Dragons before coming back and suiting up for the Texas Rangers in 1981 when he played in 10 games.
He’d spend all of 1982 in the Minor Leagues again, but in 1983 made it back, where he’d play out his career through the 1986 seasons.
By the time he left the Majors in 1986, he finished with a career .221 batting average, with 133 hits over 603 at-bats in 314 games, with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs.
After his playing days, he pretty much made himself a baseball lifer, becoming a coach and Minor League manager in the Texas organization, eventually becoming the franchise’s all-time winning Minor League manager with 1285 career wins.

 

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: 1976 CAPPER FOR SAM McDOWELL

On the blog today we revisit another 10-year-old post, this my 1976 "Career-Capper" for "Sudden Sam" McDowell, who finished up a nice Major League Career in 1975 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates:

McDowell really should have had a card in the 1975 set, that is a no-brainer. But a 1976 edition would be more of a "Career Capper", closing out a brilliant, if not tumultuous, 15-year career that saw him  lead the American League in strikeouts five times, while also pacing the league in walks issued in equal amounts.

He'd finish with 141 career wins along with a 3.17 earned run average and 2453 strikeouts, with two 300+ seasons under his belt.

In 1970 he posted his only 20-win season, and in 1965 he led the A.L. with a 2.18 ERA, but it was those strikeouts, as in 325 in 1965, 304 in 1970, 283 in 1968 and 279 in 1969 that made him stand out of the pitching crowd.

A six-time all-star, his career was sadly derailed when he hit 30 years  of age, pitching for the Giants, Yankees and Pirates, never topping more than six wins in any season.
Who knows "what could have been" had he been able to stay healthy...

 

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: MISSING 1976 GATES BROWN

Hello all.

Today on the blog we revisit a post from 10 years ago here on the blog, my "missing" 1976 card for Detroit Tigers star Gates Brown, who finished up a very nice Major League career in 1975:

Brown closed out a wonderful 13-year career in 1975, all for the Tigers, playing in 47 games.

He hit .171 with six hits in 35 at-bats in his final season, but don't let that fool you, he was THE man off the bench for the Tigers, and one of the top pinch-hitters in baseball history.

Between 1963 and 1975 he collected 582 hits, with 107 of them as a pinch-hitter, and of those 107 pinch-hits 16 were home runs.

It's interesting to note that during the "year of the pitcher" in 1968, when Carl Yastrzemski led the American League with a .301 average, and Danny Cater finished second with a .290 average, Brown, in the role of pinch-hitter, finished with an amazing .370 average in just under 100 at-bats.

Certainly not a full season by any means, but he was raking it nevertheless as part of the eventual World Champion team.

If none of you have read up on the man, I suggest you at least Google him to read some of the anecdotes attributed to him, as well as his interesting life story and how he eventually made it to the Major Leagues. 

Definitely one of those great baseball characters that live on forever in my eyes.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 10 YEARS AGO: MISSING 1976 WINSTON LLENAS

From ten years ago on the blog, today we revisit a "missing" 1976 card for former California Angels infielder Winston Llenas, part of the "1976 Project" I worked on for my buddy Jim:

Llenas appeared in 56 games for the Halos, hitting .186 with 21 hits over 113 at-bats while playing five different positions plus some DH-ing.

The action he saw in 1975 would be the last of his career, all spent with the Angels since he came up in 1968.

He didn't play in 1970 or 1971, so over the six seasons he did see action in the Majors, he hit .230 with 122 hits over 531 official at-bats, spread over 300 big league games.

In 1973 he led the American League with 16 pinch-hits and 56 pich-hit at-bats, while seeing the most action in any season he played, 78 games.

He then went on to play a year in Japan, for the Taiheiyo Club in 1976, hitting .227 before going to to play, coach and manage in the Dominican Republic for years, eventually getting inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.

 

SPECIAL REQUEST: 2025 TOPPS HERITAGE JUAN SOTO YANKEE EDITION

Posted this card on Twitter a few weeks ago, a special request to have Juan Soto's 2025 Heritage card showing him as not only a New York Yankee, but designated as an All-Star, which he was for the 2024 game:

Topps went ahead and had him airbrushed (or Photoshopped) into a Mets uni for the set, while also NOT having the sweet All-Star designation in the lower left-hand corner, leaving an empty spot for us completists.

So I went ahead and made one up to insert in my binder with the other All-Stars, while properly having Yordan Alvarez at the DH spot, which he was voted into.

Of course Soto would break many a Yankee fan's heart by eventually signing with the crosstown Mets organization for three-quarters of a BILLION dollars, thus becoming an instant figure of hate in the Bronx.

Nevertheless the man is on his way to the Hall of Fame, still only 26 years of age and already a batting champ, World Champ, and owner of some incredible seasons.

Time, as they say, will tell...

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 10 YEARS AGO: MISSING 1976 KEN FRAILING

Good day all!

Revisiting a post from 10 years ago this week, my "missing" 1976 card for pitcher Ken Frailing, part of a "1976 Project" worked on for my buddy Jim:

Frailing squeezed 53 innings out of those 41 games, all in relief, posting a 2-5 record with a 5.43 earned run average and a single save.

The previous year he put in 125.1 innings over 55 games, 16 of which were starts, going 6-9 with a 3.88 E.R.A., a save and 71 strikeouts.

Those two seasons would be the bulk of his five-year career, the first two of which were as a Chicago White Sox player in 1972 and 1973.

The 1976 season would turn out to be his last, as he appeared in six games, going 1-2 with a 2.41 E.R.A., with three starts.

He'd play in the minors until 1978 before leaving the game for good, with his final Major League numbers: a 10-16 record with a 3.96 E.R.A., two saves and 136 strikeouts over 116 games, 19 of which were starts.

On a side note: I'm not too familiar with the Topps Vault and that whole "scene", but one thing that I wonder about is the fact that all of the photos are posed shots, and I wonder why there are no "action" shots in the Vault considering so many of the actual cards that came out in the mid-70's on up were awesome "in game" pictures (think Johnny Bench, Willie Horton, etc in the 1976 set for example).

So are all the "action" photos taken by someone other than Topps, which Topps then licensed from the photographer?

Just curious....I thank anyone in advance for any clarification!

REVISITING MY MISSING 1976 CARD FOR GENE PENTZ

On the blog this fine day, revisiting my card posted just about ten years ago today, a "missing" 1976 card for former pitcher Gene Pentz of the Detroit Tigers:

Though his actual rookie card would be in the 1977 set as a Houston Astro, Pentz did in fact pitch in 13 games during the 1975 season for the Detroit Tigers, good for 25.1 innings of work, so we went ahead and created a card for him in the awesome 1976 set.

For the season he posted a 0-4 record with a 3.20 earned run average and 21 strikeouts.

He'd go on to pitch the next three years with Houston, but would be out of the Majors after 10 games in 1978.

His career numbers: 8-9 record, with a 3.63 E.R.A., seven saves and 116 strikeouts in 104 games and 191 innings.

 

REVISITING MY MISSING 1976 RAY SADECKI CARD

From a post ten years ago, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for former ace pitcher Ray Sadecki, with a slight "twist":

As part of a project I created for my buddy Jim for his personal collection, he wanted a 1976 card of Sadecki suited up with the Atlanta Braves, whereas I would have created a Kansas City Royals version since he finished the season with them in 1975.

Nevertheless...Here's the original write-up as it appeared in November of 2015:

"Now, this card has a bit of a twist to it, since if I followed my usual routine, I’d have had Sadecki shown as a Kansas City Royal, the team that he finished the 1975 season with.
However, following Jim’s lead, we felt it better to have him for the team he saw the most action with, the Atlanta Braves, for whom he tallied 25 appearances and 66.1 innings pitched.
He also suited up for the St. Louis Cardinals (who he opened up the season with), and the Royals as I mentioned.
All together with all three organizations Sadecki appeared in 38 games, good for 80.1 innings of work, posting a combined 4-3 record with a 4.03 earned run average while striking out 32 batters.
Sadecki put in a nice long 18-year career in the Majors, coming up as a young arm with the St. Louis Cardinals, even posting a 20-win season in 1964, helping them win the World Series over the New York Yankees.
All told he pitched for six teams (Cardinals, Giants, Mets, Royals, Braves and Brewers), posting a final record of 135-131 with a 3.78 ERA and 1614 K’s over 563 games and 2500.1 innings."

JAPAN SPECIAL: 1976 SADAHARU OH

It's about that time to go and create another 1970's "Japan Special" card celebrating a legend from the "Land of the Rising Sun", and I thought a 1976 edition for the great Sadaharu Oh would fit nicely:

As I've stated earlier here on the blog, I just love creating cards for Japanese Hall of Famers onto Topps templates!

Sadaharu Oh is a GOD in Japan, and rightfully so, topping 100 runs batted in 14 times, 100 runs scored 10 times and 30+ homers 19 times, which he did consecutively including his last year in 1980.

He topped 40 homers 13 times, including 55 in 1964, a Japanese record, then 51 in 1973 and 50 in 1977 when he broke the record to much fanfare.

When you look at his career stats it's like a thing out of a softball league, or some latter Barry Bonds numbers, with on-base-percentages above .500, slugging percentages above .700, and 100+ base on balls year after year, 16 consecutive to be precise, on his way to 2390 by the time he hung them up.

Just a fun angle for the blog to start designing some cards for legends of other leagues around the world, which I hope to continue in the new year.

Oh's final numbers: a .301 average with 2786 hits, 1967 runs scored, 2170 RBIs, 868 homers in 2831 games and 9250 official at-bats.

Just incredible!

REVISITING "THE MAD HUNGARIAN": 1976 NICKNAME CARD FOR AL HRABOSKY

Let us revisit my 1976 "Nicknames of the 1970s" card for Al Hrabosky, aka "The Mad Hungarian", which was originally posted here in October of 2014:

His antics were entertaining to say the least (though not to opposing players), and I remember him towards the end of his career in the early 1980's, along with guys like Brad Leslie, "Goose" Gossage, etc that made the game a riot!

I used a 1976 template since his best year in the Majors was 1975, leading the league in saves and winning percentage with 22 and .813 respectively.

That performance got him a third-place finish in Cy Young voting, as well as a fifth place finish in Most Valuable Player voting.

Though he never quite found the success of that year again, he did play another seven years in the Big Leagues, ending up with the Atlanta Braves in 1982 before hanging them up.

He finished with a nice 64-35 career record, along with a 3.10 earned run average and 97 saves over 545 games, one of which was a start way back when he came up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970.

REVISITING A "MISSING" 1976 CARD FOR TOM SHOPAY

On the blog today, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for a guy who actually had quite a few missing cards through the 1970's, former outfielder Tom Shopay:

Here's the original write-up for the card from April of 2015. What feels like a lifetime ago:

"Shopay had a few missing cards through the 1970's, and I have already created and posted a 1978 card for him earlier on this blog.

In 1975 Shopay appeared in 40 games, mainly in the outfield and as a pinch hitter, collecting five hits in 31 at-bats, good for a .161 batting average with a double and two runs batted in.

That year was typical for Shopay's entire seven–year career with the Yankees and Orioles, as he never appeared in more than 67 games or had more than 74 at-bats in any season.

Nevertheless, as we've seen with guys like the Red Sox Bob Montgomery, Topps did in fact give guys who stuck around cards year to year, yet after the 1972 set Shopay was shut out until he retired in 1977.

Shopay ended up playing in 253 games during his Major League career, and ended up with a .201 batting average based on his 62 hits over 309 at-bats.

Funny enough he hit a total of three home runs in those seven partial seasons, yet two of the three were hit during his rookie year with the Yankees in 1967 in only eight games. He'd go on to hit only one more in 245 games the rest of the way."

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 ORLANDO RAMIREZ: "1976 PROJECT"

On the blog this fine day, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for Orlando Ramirez, originally created some 10 years ago for my buddy Jim and his "1976 Master Set" project:

In 1975 Ramirez played in 44 games, good for 113 plate appearances, yet he missed out on a card in that awesome set from 1976.

Yet Topps decided that after he appeared in 30 games with 83 plate appearances in 1976, he'd get a card the following year.

Actually, he also had more playing time during the 1974 season, so he's actually "missing" from the 1975 set as well! (future post!).

Those three seasons would actually be the bulk of his major League playing time, with sparse action in both 1977 and 1979 (he didn't play at all in 1978).

He finished his career with a .189 average with 53 hits in 281 at-bats, with five doubles and a triple.

Thanks to "Reader Jim" for the chance at this project, and tackling these players left out!

 

REVISITING: "MISSING IN ACTION" 1976 IVAN DeJESUS

From way back in 2015, today we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for Ivan DeJesus, originally for a project for my buddy Jim, who was creating a master 1976 set, including many players originally left out of the classic set:

Turns out DeJesus played in 63 games for the Dodgers in 1975, good for 99 plate appearances and 87 at-bats.

He hit .184 with a couple of doubles and a triple, with 10 runs scored and two runs batted in.

It really wasn't until 1977, now as a Chicago Cub, that he would become a full-time Major League player. 

By the time he retired as a player after the 1988 season, he played for the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Giants and Tigers over the course of 15 seasons, and finished with a .254 average with 1167 hits and 194 stolen bases.

Between 1977 and 1980 he had some solid seasons for the Cubs, even leading the National League in runs scored in 1978 with 104, and twice topping 40 stolen bases (in 1978 and 1980).

I just always figured he came up with the Cubs. Goes to show you learn something new every day!

REVISITING A "MISSING" 1976 CARD: WAYNE SIMPSON

On the blog today, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for pitcher Wayne Simpson, which was originally created for my buddy Jim for his "1976 Project".

The newest edition to the "1976 Project", as I like to refer to the series I am producing for "Reader Jim", is former pitcher Wayne Simpson, who I will admit played sparingly in 1975 for the Philadelphia Phillies, so Topps' omission of him in their set the following year is understood, but I felt was still a valid card to design.

Check out the card:

Simpson pitched in only seven games for the Phillies, five of them starts, totaling 30.2 innings of work. He posted a 1-0 record with a respectable 3.23 earned run average.

He missed the previous year after playing for the Kansas City Royals in 1973, and would actually miss all of 1976 before making a bit of a "comeback" with the California Angels in 1977 (see my 1978 "Missing in Action" card for him by clicking on his name on the right under "Labels").

Simpson came up with an absolute "BANG" in 1970, going 14-3 with a 3.02 E.R.A., two shutouts and 10 complete games in 24 starts with the Cincinnati Reds, finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.

But arm injuries derailed his career, and he never reached those heights again before leaving the game after posting a 6-12 record for the Angels in 1977.

Normally I would not be designing a card for a guy who only appeared in seven games the previous year, but with "Reader Jim's" completist mission for the 1976 set, which happens to be my all-time favorite, I am always down to design more cards in the 1976 template. It's just a matter of finding the suitable images of the players themselves.

REVISITING A POST FROM 10 YEARS AGO: "MISSING" 1976 JERRY MARTIN

Thought I'd revisit a post from exactly 10 years ago today, my "missing" 1976 card for Jerry Martin, which was part of a fun collection of creations for my buddy Jim's project:

Martin played in 57 games during the 1975 season for the Philadelphia Phillies, hitting .212 with 24 hits in 114 at-bats.
It was his second taste of the big leagues, and he’d go on to play for another nine years before hanging them up after the 1984 season after 51 games with the New York Mets.
In between he suited up for the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals, putting in his best seasons with the Cubs in 1979 and 1980 when he hit a combined 42 home runs with 146 runs batted in.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2013: EXPANDED 1976 TOPPS ALL-TIME ALL-STARS: SECOND BASE

Thought it'd be fun to revisit a post from 2013, this one the second basemen in my 1976 "expanded all-time all-stars" sub-set that I whipped up back then, adding a second player from the other league per position, in this case all-timer Nap Lajoie:

Topps issued all-timer: Hornsby

My pick for A.L. all-timer: Lajoie

The Sporting News selected legend Rogers Hornsby as the All-Time second baseman for their team, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Major Leagues, and I have no problem with that pick!

So for the American League, I went with the great Napoleon Lajoie, someone I don't think people would have a problem with.

Here's the original text I wrote-up back then:

The next installment in my thread regarding the 1976 "All-Time All-Stars" sub-set moves on to second base, where the Sporting News picked Rogers Hornsby as the all-time all-star at the position.

Now what if there was both an N.L. AND A.L. Team picked? Who would have been the American League second baseman?

First off, I can't really argue with the Hornsby pick for the "all-time" team outright, as " the Rajah" was second only to Ty Cobb in career batting average at .358, along with seven batting titles, just under 3000 hits (2930), as well as some feats that may never be seen again, such as his five year stretch where he AVERAGED over .400 between 1921 and 1925!

He TWICE took home a Triple Crown (in 1922 and 1925), and was the first National League player to hit over 40 homers in a season when he smashed 42 in 1922.

He batted over .400 three times, topped by an astounding .424 average in 1924, and just missed out on another when he hit .397 in 1921.

Hornsby was a hitting machine, and his spot on an "all-time" team is A-OK by me!

However, as I mentioned earlier, I always wondered who would have been the American League representative for an all-time team had they picked one, and  I decided that in all probability it would have been early 20th Century SUPER star Napoleon Lajoie.

Already a star for the Philadelphia team of the National league the final few years of the 1890's, Lajoie famously jumped leagues during the tumultuous player-snatching between leagues in the first few years of the new century, and he didn't miss a beat when he suited up for the American League's entry in Philly.

All he did in 1901 was tear the league to shreds, and when the dust settled on the American League's first season, Lajoie was the king of the hill, claiming the Triple Crown as he lead the league in runs, hits, doubles, homers, runs batted in, batting average, on base percentage, slugging and total bases!

His .426 average is STILL the high-water mark for the league and will almost assuredly never be topped.

A five-time batting champ, Lajoie finished his 21-year career with a .338 average to go along with 3243 hits, 1504 runs scored, 657 doubles, 163 triples and just under 1600 runs batted in with 1599.

In 1914 he joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as the only players with 3000+ career hits, and even after his Major League days were over in 1917, while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the ripe old age of 42, he won the International league batting title, hitting a smooth .380!

Like Hornsby, Lajoie was a machine at the plate, and was one of the first Hall of Fame inductees, getting elected as part of the second class in 1937.

As far as picks go for second base, I think Lajoie is a "gimmie" for the A.L. slot, so I've kind of had it easy so far with my picks on this topic.

So take a look at the Sporting News pick that Topps issued, Rogers Hornsby, as well as my design for the American League counterpart, Napoleon Lajoie.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2014: MISSING 1976 ART HOWE

Good day everyone.

Today we revisit a post from 2014, my "missing" 1976 card for Art Howe, part of the "1976 Project" I worked on with my buddy Jim:

Here's the original written post as well:

Here's a "missing" card I created for one of the blog readers here. As a matter of fact I've happily taken on a project for him, creating numerous 1976 cards of players who were either omitted from the set for some reason, or were portrayed on the wrong team.

This also helps ME create more 1976 Topps cards, as it is easily my favorite all-time set! So it's "win-win"!

So moving forward, for this series, which will also appear on this blog as I create these cards, I will add the "1976 Project" in the title, as some of the cards don't necessarily fit into any of my subject-threads.

The future Major League manager actually played in 63 games for the Pirates in 1975, gathering 162 plate appearances, so really he should have had a card.

He hit .171 for the year, with nine doubles and a homer along with 10 runs batted in and 13 runs scored.

His 11-year career as a player would really hit it's stride after joining the Houston Astros, as he'd play pretty much full-time between 1977 and 1982 before a couple of part-time years in St. Louis in 1984 and 1985 (he didn't play Major League ball in 1983).

As you all know, he'd really find his niche on the Major League level as a manager, guiding the Astros, Oakland A's and New York Mets between 1989 and 2004.

His real success was leading the young studs in Oakland in the late-90's/early-00's, winning 100-games in two seasons (2001 and 2002), but never being able to get past the N.Y. Yankees (remember the now-famous "Jeter-Flip"?).

All told, Howe would win 1129 games as a manager in the Big Leagues, finishing 2nd in "Manager of the Year" voting four years in a row from 1999-2002.

 

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1976 WALT ALSTON

Good day all.

On the blog today, we fill in the gap left by Topps regarding "missing" all-star cards for managers, with today's card a 1976 All-Star card for Los Angeles Dodgers legendary manager Walt Alston:

Alston led the National League to a win in the 1975 game, leading the Senior League based off his 1974 pennant which saw the Dodgers lose to the three-peat Oakland A's.

Alston, whose playing career totaled one single at-bat in one game for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936, parlayed his knowledge into a Hall of Fame managerial career that began in 1954 with the (then) Brooklyn Dodgers.

Over the next 23 years he brought home seven pennants, four world championships, and 2040 wins, with 10 90+ win campaigns.

Think about this: the man average 89 wins a season over almost a quarter of a century! Incredible!

Of course, Alston managed legends from Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella to Duke Snider  and Gil Hodges to Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax right through to Steve Garvey and Ron Cey. What a tenure.

1976 would be his last season as manager, handing off to another lifer, Tommy Lasorda for the 1977 season.

In his last season of 1976, Alston won 90 games and had the Dodgers in second place, his 15th season of either a first or second place finish.

In 1983, his stellar career was topped off when he was voted into the Hall of Fame.