"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: BERT CAMPANERIS

Good day all!

On the blog today, my next "Classic Baseball" custom card celebrating the game I have loved for oh so long, this one of Bert Campaneris, aka "Campy", in all his wonderful green and gold:

Just a great photograph of the All-Star infielder early on in his career, which began in 1964 with the (then) Kansas City Athletics.

“Campy” was a consistent spark plug for the Athletics organization since his debut, and making quite a splash by hitting two home runs in his first Big League game off Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim Kaat.
He’d go on to lead the American League in stolen bases six times, while getting named to six All-Star teams along the way.
Of course, he would also be an important member of the three-time World Champion Oakland A’s of the mid-70s along with Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Catfish Hunter just to name a few.
He would end up playing 19 Major League seasons, all the way to 1983, finishing up with 2249 hits, 1181 runs scored and 649 stolen bases over 2328 games.

I was lucky enough to see him play when he closed out his great career with 60 games as a New York Yankee in 1983, when as a 41 year old he hit .322 over 143 at-bats!

Such a solid player!

 

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. SHORTSTOP: BERT CAMPANERIS

Let us move on to my pick for the American League's top shortstop of the 1970s, which is All-Star Bert Campaneris:

For me this was somewhat of an easy pick, with "Campy" putting in a great decade playing for the Oakland A's, Texas Rangers and part of 1979 for the California Angels.

He would be named to five All-Star teams, win three World Championships and get some MVP votes in five different seasons.

A spark plug for the three-peat Oakland A's dynasty, he took home two of his six stolen base crowns between 1970 and 1979, stealing 40+ seven times.

By the time he was done as a Major League player in 1983 at the age of 41, he’d finish with 2249 career hits with 1181 runs scored with six all-star game nods in 19 years.
I fondly remember his time with the New York Yankees in 1983, this last action before retiring. Just seemed like a fun veteran to have around giving tips to youngsters like Don Mattingly.

I do have to admit however, that it was a close race between Camaneris and Baltimore Orioles glove man Mark Belanger, who though was as light-hitting as they got, did take home seven Gold Gloves for his defensive work.

But for me, offense came out on top, and "Campy" is my guy at short for the A.L. All-Decade team.

EXPANDED LEAGUE-LEADERS: 1977 A.L. STOLEN BASES

Up on the blog this fine day, moving on to the American League for their top three stolen base thieves of the 1976 season on an "expanded" 1977 league-leader card:

 

We start off with the Oakland A's Bill North, who took home his second stolen base crown in three years with his 75 steals in 1976.

Prior to the 1976 season he led the league with 54 in 1974, and would top 50 steals only one more time in his career, in 1979 with 58 for the San Francisco Giants.

He'll finish his career with 395 steals between 1971 and 1981, while also hitting .261 with 1016 hits over 3900 at-bats, spread out over 1169 games.

In second place with 58 steals during the 1976 season, Detroit Tigers All-Star outfielder Ron LeFlore, who had his breakout season that year, hitting .316 with 93 runs scored, 172 hits and eight triples.

Over the next three seasons for the Tigers, he'd be incredible, scoring 100+ runs each year, with a league-leading 126 in 1978, top 180+ hits each time, with a high of 212 in 1977, and taking home the first of his two career stolen base crowns, with 68 in 1978.

In 1980 he would lead the National League with 97 steals, before moving on to the Chicago White Sox for the 1981 and 1982 seasons, retiring at the age of 34 with 455 steals between 1974 and 1982.

In third place with 54 steals, a guy who already had six stolen base crowns under his belt, Oakland A's All-Star shortstop Bert Campaneris.

Turns out it was the seventh and final time he would top 50 steals in a season over his career, finishing up with 649 steals over his 19-year Big League career.

Well there you have it, the top three stolen base guys from the American League in 1976.

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- A RE-DO FOR BERT CAMPANERIS AND HIS 1977 CARD

Today on the blog I begin something I have been meaning to do for some time, create proper Oakland A's cards for all the stars that were airbrushed into new uniforms by Topps in the 1977 set, beginning with their All-Star shortstop Bert Campaneris:

And for those not familiar with his original as-issued card, here you go:

 

"Campy" found himself a member of the Texas Rangers before the 1977 season, signing as a Free Agent in November of 1976 as many of his former teammates did (Joe Rudi, Sal Bando, etc), and Topps had the unenviable job of scrambling to try and get them in their new uni's for the upcoming set.

For me however, I'm of the "show them for whom they played last season" type of guy, so here you go.  And I'll also be doing this for the other Oakland Players who left after the 1976 season, so keep an eye out for them!

As for his time with Texas, let's just say it didn't go nearly as well as anyone would have hoped, playing only one full season (1977), leading the league in caught-stealing while swiping 27, but never coming close to the success he had while with Oakland between 1964 and 1976.

But he wasn't finished as a player yet!

By the time he was done as a Major League player in 1983 at the age of 41, he’d finish with 2249 career hits with 1181 runs scored with six all-star game nods in 19 years.
I fondly remember his time with the New York Yankees in 1983, this last action before retiring. Just seemed like a fun veteran to have around giving tips to youngsters like Don Mattingly.

EXPANDED YEARLY LEADER CARDS: 1973 A.L. STOLEN BASES

Rolling along in my on-going "expanded league leaders" card series, we move on to the 1972 American League stolen base leaders:

 

We begging with the top base thief in the Junior Circuit, Oakland A's speedster Bert Campaneris, who led the league with his 52 stolen bases, the sixth and final time during his career he would take that crown.

"Campy" would end his 19-year Big League career with 649 steals, topping 50+ steals seven times, with a high of 62 in both 1968 and 1969.

Next up in the stolen base race, falling just one short of the lead is Dave Nelson of the Texas Rangers, whose 51 steals were easily his career-high.

Nelson played the first full season of his career in 1972, the first in Texas for the relocated Rangers (formerly Washington Senators), and though he'd hit only .226 he made it count, also walking 67 times.

He would steal 43 bases the following season while hitting a career-high .286, making his only All-Star team, but would be out of baseball by 1977 after to abbreviated seasons with the Kansas City Royals.

Speaking of the Royals, the third place finisher in stolen bases that year would be Freddie Patek, who swiped 33 bases after stealing 49 the year before.

Patek would eventually be a league-leader himself in 1977, stealing a career-best 53 to help Kansas City come in first in the West, while finishing up his career with 385 between 1968 and 1981.

There it is folks! The top three stolen base leaders in the American league during the 1972 season, shown in all their glory on an expanded 1973 league-leader card.

Hope you're enjoying this so far!

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1974 BERT CAMPANERIS

Up on the blog today we have my "updated" 1974 Bert Capaneris card, with an added All-Star banner blazing across the front, just the way I would have liked as a kid way back when:

I was, and always will be a fan of base-card all-star designations, and always wished Topps stayed the course past the 1981 set.

For "Campy", it was his second straight All-Star nod, third overall, and he would have three more before he was done.

He was a consistent spark plug for the Athletics organization since he came up in 1964 and making quite a splash by hitting two home runs in his Big League debut off Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim Kaat.
He’d go on to lead the American League in stolen bases six times, while getting named to six All-Star teams along the way.
Of course, he would also be an important member of the three-time World Champion Oakland A’s of the mid-70s along with Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Catfish Hunter just to name a few.
He would end up playing 19 Major League seasons, all the way to 1983, finishing up with 2249 hits, 1181 runs scored and 649 stolen bases over 2328 games.

I fondly remember his time with the New York Yankees in 1983, this last action before retiring. Just seemed like a fun veteran to have around giving tips to youngsters like Don Mattingly.

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S: BERT "CAMPY" CAMPANERIS

Long overdue, it’s time to go and give Bert Campaneris, “Campy” a “Nicknames of the 1970’s” card, in his case a 1976 edition since I’ve always loved the color scheme of the Oakland A’s cards that year:

“Campy” was a consistent spark plug for the Athletics organization since he came up in 1964 and making quite a splash by hitting two home runs in his Big League debut off Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim Kaat.
He’d go on to lead the American League in stolen bases six times, while getting named to six All-Star teams along the way.
Of course, he would also be an important member of the three-time World Champion Oakland A’s of the mid-70s along with Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Catfish Hunter just to name a few.
He would end up playing 19 Major League seasons, all the way to 1983, finishing up with 2249 hits, 1181 runs scored and 649 stolen bases over 2328 games.

1975 IN-ACTION: BERT CAMPANERIS

Next up in my running “1975 In Action” series is perennial all-star shortstop Bert Campaneris of the Oakland A’s, who was in the middle of a very nice run when this card would have seen the light of day:

“Campy” was just coming off of three straight World Championships with the A’s as part of a juggernaut that included Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue and Sal Bando, among others.
Though he didn’t lead the American League in steals in 1974, he did swipe 34 more on his way to a career total of 649, with six league titles between 1965 and 1972.
By the time he was done as a Major League player in 1983 at the age of 41, he’d finish with 2249 career hits with 1181 runs scored with six all-star game nods in 19 years.
I fondly remember his time with the New York Yankees in 1983, this last action before retiring. Just seemed like a fun veteran to have around giving tips to youngsters like Don Mattingly.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- BERT CAMPANERIS HITS 2 HOMERS IN MLB DEBUT

Here’s a card celebrating the awesome Major League debut of former Kansas City/Oakland A’s star Bert Campaneris, who hit two home runs off of Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim Kaat on July 23rd, 1964:

Campy became just the second player in history at the time to accomplish the feat, joining Bob Nieman who accomplished the feat in 1951, and joined since then by three others.
Considering the guy would stick around for 19 years and play another 2327 games before he was through, the fact that he’d only hit another 76 homers makes his debut that much more special.
Of course slugging notwithstanding, Campaneris would go on the become an all-star shortstop in the 1970’s as part of the three-time World Champion Oakland A’s teams that also featured guys like Reggie Jackson, Gene Tenace and Joe Rudi.
I’ve always dug the odd season of 1970 when he slugged 22 homers, the only season in his career that he even hit double-digits, let alone 20+! With his second highest total would be the eight homers he hit in 1972.
By the time he retired after the 1983 season after 60 games with the New York Yankees, he finished with over 2000 hits, 1000 runs scored and 649 stolen bases, leading the American League six times with a high of 62 in 1968 and 1969, and was named to six all-star teams.

"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #34: THE OAKLAND A'S BURN UP THE BASE PATHS IN 1976

I'm STILL amazed all these years later by that 1976 Oakland A's team that absolutely ran wild on the base paths on their way to a (still) American League record of 341 stolen bases!

So I created a 1977 "Highlights" card celebrating the feat. Take a look:

Even though they were still considered a team with "pop" with sluggers Sal Bando, Gene Tenace and Joe Rudi in the line-up, they featured no less than EIGHT players who stole 20 or more bases that year!

As a matter of fact, those 341 stolen bases were almost a MAJOR League record, falling just 6 behind the 1911 New York Giants for most Post-1901.

Bill North (who ended up leading the league with 75), Bert Campaneris and Don Baylor paced the team, combining for 181 steals between them!

In addition to that mighty trio, Claudell Washington, Phil Garner, Larry Lintz, Sal Bando and Matt Alexander joined them with 20 or more steals.

Incredible.

I remember when the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals were stealing bases at a record pace, with rookie Vince Coleman leading the way.

But they fell short of the '76 A's, ending up with 314 steals, though STILL an impressive number to say the least.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #2: 1972 BERT CAMPANERIS

Here's a 1972 Topps "in-action" card of a player that SHOULD have had one, Bert Campaneris of the Oakland A's.

Check it out:

Nice action shot of the Oakland speedster and stolen base whiz.

"Campy" was ALL action, whether it was on the base paths or on the field at shortstop, and the fact that he didn't have an "in action" card in the 1972 set is a joke (again, Bob Barton had one?!)

A six-time stolen base champ, six-time all-star and three-time World Champ in his 19-year career, I was very fortunate to see him play, and even meet him once before a game, when he played for the New York Yankees in 1983.

He even batted .322 for them over 60 games at the age of 41 that year!

Just a true all-star through and through.

AIRBRUSHING THE OAKLAND A'S AWAY IN 1977

The free-agent "boom", and the trades resulting from it, caused a ton of bad airbrushing in the '77 set league-wide. But I was drawn to an unusually large number of former teammates that were part of this group: former Oakland A's.
For any fans of the A's in the mid-70's, it must have been brutal watching the mass exodus of such an awesome three-peating dynasty pretty much all in one fell-swoop, either by trade or free-agency.
After Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson left before the 1975 and 1976 seasons respectively, the true dismantling occurred during the off-season between '76 and '77, when no less than SIX star players were wearing another teams uniform for opening day.
Because of the madness of all this player shuffling, Topps had their hands full with all of these former A's, having to airbrush their cards to stay up to date with the players new team depictions.
Of course, with an already shaky hand at the airbrushing game, the added rush of players to "fix" only added to the mess, and we were presented with some funny cards for the history books.
Check out some of the cards here:

The Rudi card was actually a great job of airbrushing. But just look at that Bando card! Hilarious. Looks like some bad decal of a cap was slapped on top of the original photo, and then colored in with crayon.
Even though he wasn't actually part of the dynasty A's teams, Don Baylor was on the team for the 1976 season, and his card is also a classic, with the Angels' logo not skewed correctly, giving us a twisted perspective only the Twilight Zone could have given us. Awesome!
Looking at all these guys, it truly drives home just how awesome those 1972-1974 A's teams were. Throw in Reggie and Catfish, and consider Vida Blue, Claudell Washington, Ken Holtzman, and even Blue Moon Odom, and you wonder what they could have done if they stayed together a bit longer.
Would have been great seeing this team grind it out against the "Big Red Machine" at THEIR peak just a couple years later in 1975-76.