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.

 

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.

 

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1979 N.L. BATTING

Good day everyone!

Up on the blog today, we move on to 1979 in my on-going “Expanded League Leaders” thread, showcasing the top three players in each category on a league leader card, beginning with the top three hitters in the National League for 1978:

 

We begin with Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Dave Parker, who took home his second straight batting title with a .334 average, following his .338 number the year before.

Parker was in the prime of his career, also chipping in 30 home runs and 117 runs batted in with 23 stolen bases to take home the league MVP Award.

He would not disappoint in 1979 either, as he would hit .310 with 25 homers and 94 RBIs while collecting 193 hits and scoring 109 runs, helping the team to a World Championship with the fan favorite “We Are Family” club.

This is a Hall of Famer in my book! I will never waiver on this.

In second place with a .316 batting average, another guy who I feel is a Hall of Famer, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey, who put in another “Garvey-esque” season with 202 hits, 89 runs scored, 21 homers and 113 runs batted in.

It was the fourth of his six 200-hit seasons, while also posting his third 20+ homer campaign, as well as third 100+ RBI campaign.

Analytics be damned, there is no way anyone can convince me this guy isn’t a Hall of Famer considering for the better part of a decade he was THE N.L. first baseman, which carries a lot of weight in my eyes.

Just behind Garvey with a .315 batting average in 1978, underrated Houston Astros star Jose Cruz, who put in another great under-the-radar year with 178 hits, 83 runs batted in and 79 runs scored.

A quiet yet steady hitter for over 10 years, Cruz gave the Astros an anchor in the middle of their line-up who could hit for average, show some “pop” in his bat, and drive in runs until the late-80’s.

A great trio of batters here, two of which I believe should have their place in Cooperstown, while all three collected over 2000 hits over their careers.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 JOSE CRUZ

Today on the blog we have a “not so missing” 1971 card for a grossly underrated player, Jose Cruz, who made his MLB debut during the 1970 season with the St. Louis Cardinals:

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.

"WHEN AIRBRUSHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG"- PART VII

Card #514 in the 1975 set is another of those "didn't quite get it" airbrush attempts by Topps artists.
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.
Anyway, when Topps was getting ready to produce the 1975 set, they needed to airbrush Cruz into a Houston uniform, and for some reason things seemed to get out of hand when it came to the Houston logo on his cap. The star is all wrong at the bottom, and the "H" is huge and thick.
For a comparison on what it was supposed to look like, check out Ken Forsch's card from the same set. See the nice, thin "H" inside a smaller black star?
Now go and look at the Cruz cap again.
Hilarious! As if those Houston uniforms from the 1970's needed any help being garish...

An extra special cap logo for Mr. Cruz...

What the logo was supposed to look like.