NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 HERB WASHINGTON

“ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE!”
Someone suggested to me that I should try my hand at a 1976 Herb Washington “Career-Capping” card, particularly with regards to the position player at bottom left.
Well this is what I came up with:

I took the base-runner from the shortstop illustration, took out the fielder, and filled-in the base runner, and here you go, a “designated runner” card for the man who stole 31 career bases, scored 33 runs, yet never played an out in the field nor had a Major League plate appearance.
Something you will never see again!
All told, Washington appeared in 105 MLB games between 1974 and 1975, stealing 31 bases out of 48 tries, while scoring those aforementioned 33 runs for the powerhouse Oakland A’s team.
A unique experiment that only those wild-70’s could have given us!

21 STOLEN BASES WITHOUT GETTING A HIT? LARRY LINTZ AND THE GO-GO OAKLAND A'S

Back in the beginning of June I profiled Topps' 1975 card for Herb Washington, "Designated Runner" for the Oakland A's.
The card offered a never before (or since) seen set of statistics on the back that listed: Games, Runs, Stolen Bases and Caught Stealing. That's it. No at-bats, no hits, no average.
That experiment lasted a couple years, as Washington was out of baseball by the end of '75.
However, there was another player who was used primarily as a pinch runner even though he garnered a few at-bats before his career was done: Larry Lintz.
Check out the stats on the back of his 1977 card (#323):

Lintz probably wondering when he'll finally be allowed to bat.

1 single at-bat with 21 runs scored. Love it.

You just have to love the odd stat line that shows one official at-bat with 21 runs scored! His highlight text at the bottom then states that he had 31 stolen bases as well.
Not bad for aa player who never even got a hit that year!
Unlike Washington however, Lintz did see some playing time as a batter before he got to Oakland.
In 1974 with the Montreal Expos he did manage to get 319 at-bats and 76 hits while stealing a career high 50 bases, good for fifth in the N.L. that year.
But by the time his 1977 card was issued, he only had 30 at-bats left in his career, all of which came during the '77 season.
In 1978 he got into three games for the Cleveland Indians, but no official at-bats and a run scored. Kind of odd since "Baseball-Reference.com" has him in a game as a "designated hitter", yet he didn't have an official plate appearance. (???)
I like looking at Lintz's final career stats and taking them as only ONE full season based on his total career at-bats.
What a sick season that would make:
616 at-bats, 137 runs scored, 140 hits, 27 R.B.I.'s and 128 stolen bases with a .277 batting average.
Another bit of Charlie Finley's influence on the crazy-1970's baseball scene...

"HAVE LEGS FOR HIRE"- HERB WASHINGTON: DESIGNATED RUNNER

OK. I also know THIS card has been written about by many people, but I could not resist having an entry on this blog about one of the most unique and interesting cards of all-time.

In the history of baseball cards, you will not find another that has "Pinch Run." listed as the position of the player depicted. On top of that, you will also never see another card back that has "Major League Base Running Record" for the stat line. Classic: "Games; Runs; Stolen Bases; Caught Stealing". And nothing else! Especially funny when you consider Topps didn't even have a stolen base column for "regular" cards.

By now we all know the story behind Herb Washington. A world-class sprinter who was tapped by A's flamboyant owner Charlie Finley to be the teams "Designated Runner". Not entirely a horrible idea when you think about it. But alas, the experiment failed about a third of the way into the 1975 season, and Washington was let go. But, lucky for us,  NOT before having his very own baseball card! Great move on Topps' part!

Just look at this masterpiece of 1970's design: Purple and Pink borders framing a player who happens to be wearing a yellow and green uniform! Brilliant! And upon further review, look at that photo. Classic "posed" picture of a player deep into the "action" with the empty stadium in the background. Fantastic.

By the way, on a side note: notice the slightly mis-cut/tilt of the card. Notorious for the 1975 set. I remember going through four badly cut Bob Gibson's before finally getting a properly cut one back then!

I've included a scan of the card back as well for everyone to see how unique it was.