"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: LEE MAY

The next ballplayer that gets a card in my custom "Classic Baseball" set, the "Big Bopper" Lee May of the Cincinnati Reds:

You have to wonder what could have been with May, since he was already a feared slugger putting together a very nice career before he was traded to the Astros as part of the Joe Morgan trade before the 1972 season opened up.

Would the "Big Red Machine" have happened? If so, would May's legacy on the diamond have been elevated to the point of true stardom?

He put up big seasons with the Reds, the Astros, and then the Orioles before ending his career after two partial seasons with the Royals in 1982.

His total numbers are very good, especially for a guy who played the bulk of his career in the "dead" late-60's/early-70's: 959 runs, 2031 hits, 354 home runs and 1244 runs batted in.

His last year in Cincinnati, 1971, was killer: 39 homers with 98 R.B.I.'s, 85 runs scored and a .278 average to complement the likes of Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench.

Granted the guy struck out a ton, and his final batting average of .267 leaves a lot to be desired, but it's interesting to wonder "what could have been" with both his career and the legend of the Reds teams of the mid-70's.

1970 "IN-GAME ACTION": LEE MAY

On the blog today, we take a closer look at my 1970 "In-Game Action" card for former slugger Lee May, from my first series of the special two-series set released earlier this year:

 

You have to wonder what could have been with May, since he was already a feared slugger putting together a very nice career before he was traded to the Astros as part of the Joe Morgan trade before the 1972 season opened up.

Would the "Big Red Machine" have happened? If so, would May's legacy on the diamond have been elevated to the point of true stardom?

He put up big seasons with the Reds, the Astros, and then the Orioles before ending his career after two partial seasons with the Royals in 1982.

His total numbers are very good, especially for a guy who played the bulk of his career in the "dead" late-60's/early-70's: 959 runs, 2031 hits, 354 home runs and 1244 runs batted in.

His last year in Cincinnati, 1971, was killer: 39 homers with 98 R.B.I.'s, 85 runs scored and a .278 average to complement the likes of Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench.

Granted the guy struck out a ton, and his final batting average of .267 leaves a lot to be desired, but it's interesting to wonder "what could have been" with both his career and the legend of the Reds teams of the mid-70's.

EXPANDED LEAGUE-LEADERS: 1977 A.L. RUNS BATTED IN

Today on the blog, we move on to the American League for their top three RBI men of the 1976 season, in my on-going “expanded league leaders” thread that seems to be a hit with many of you out there:

 

 

We begin with the “Big Bopper” Lee May, Baltimore Orioles slugger who led the A.L. with his 109 RBIs in the Bicentennial season, along with 25 homers and 61 runs scored.

The RBI total was one short of his career-best set back in 1969 while still with the Cincinnati Reds, when he also hit 38 homers, totaled 321 bases and made his first All-Star team.

It would be the third, and last 100-RBI season of his solid 18-year career, finishing up with 1244 over 2071 games and 7609 at-bats during somewhat of a “dead-ball” era in terms of offense.

Right behind him with 105 RBIs was the American League MVP for 1976, the New York Yankee captain Thurman Munson, who guided the team to their first World Series berth since 1964, hitting 17 homers, hitting .302 and even stealing a career-best 14 bases while making his fifth All-Star team.

Munson drove in 100+ runs three seasons in a row between 1975 and 1977, while also topping the .300-mark each time, as well as 180+ hits, anchoring an A.L. powerhouse team that would win-it-all in 1977 and 1978.

In third place with 102 RBIs for the Boston Red Sox, legend Carl Yastrzemski, who had yet another solid season on his way to a Hall of Fame resume by the time he was done with his MLB tenure.

For “Yaz”, his 102 RBIs were paired up with 21 homers, 71 runs scored and 80 walks, along with his 13^th All-Star nod, while putting in time between first base and the outfield.

So there it is for the top RBI men of the American league in 1976, expanded here on a 1977 league-leader card.

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1974 N.L. RUNS BATTED IN

On the blog today, we move ahead in my long-running "expanded league leaders" thread where we celebrate the top 3 men in a particular statistic in years where Topps just had the first place finisher of both leagues on one card.

Today we look at the top 3 N.L. RBI men of 1973 on this 1974 card:

 

 

Starting off, we have the great Willie Stargell, who paced the National League with his 119 run batted in during the 1973 season, the only time he led the league in RBIs over his career.

He also led the league with 43 doubles and 44 homers, as well as slugging percentage, good for a second place finish in the MVP race and a sixth All-Star nod.

In second place with 105 RBIs was the "Big Bopper", Lee May of the Houston Astros, who had what was a typical year for himself with 28 home runs and a .270 batting average in his second season in Houston after coming over from the Cincinnati Reds in the blockbuster Joe Morgan deal.

May was really a forgotten stud from the era, and it is a shame considering his consistency with 20+ homers and 90+ RBIs over a decade.

Tied at third place with 104 RBIs are Johnny Bench and Darrell Evans, who both had great years in 1973.

For Bench, it was "business as usual", as he'd reach 100 RBIs for the third time in four seasons, and something he would do six times in his career.

The man was in his prime and would go on to be considered the greatest catcher the game has ever seen, and justifiably so.

For Evans, 1973 was a breakout year for him, hitting 41 homers and reaching the 100 RBI mark for what turned out to be the only time in his career.

Though he'd never reach 100 RBIs again, he would certainly put in a Hall of Fame worthy career, finishing up with 414 home runs, 2223 hits, 1354 RBIs and 1344 runs scored, as well as a .361 OBP in 21 seasons.

There you have it! The top 3 RBI men in the National League for 1973 on a 1974 "expanded league leader card".

Onto the American League!

1975 IN-ACTION: LEE MAY

Time to add the “Big Bopper” Lee May to my long running 1975 “In-Action” sub-set, celebrating the steady first baseman who put in a very nice 18-year major League career:

You have to wonder what could have been with May, since he was already a feared slugger putting together a very nice career before he was traded to the Astros as part of the Joe Morgan trade before the 1972 season opened up.
Would the "Big Red Machine" have happened? If so, would May's legacy on the diamond have been elevated to the point of true stardom?
He put up big seasons with the Reds, the Astros, and then the Orioles before ending his career after two partial seasons with the Royals in 1982.
His total numbers are very good, especially for a guy who played the bulk of his career in the "dead" late-60's/early-70's: 959 runs, 2031 hits, 354 home runs and 1244 runs batted in.
He was also named to three All-Star teams while getting MVP consideration in six seasons between 1969 and 1976, finishing as high as ninth twice.
His last year in Cincinnati, 1971 was killer: 39 homers with 98 R.B.I.'s, 85 runs scored and a .278 average to compliment the likes of Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench.
Nevertheless, the swap to get Joe Morgan was key to the Cincinnati Reds and their “Big Red Machine” run, while May had nothing to be ashamed of to say the least.

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S: LEE "BIG BOPPER" MAY

Let’s go and give Lee May, aka “Big Bopper” a “Nickname” card in my ongoing series shall we:

I gave him a 1973 template card since he was smack in the middle of a great run between 1968 and 1978 of 20+ homer/80+ RBI seasons between the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros.
Though he missed out on the “Big Red Machine” Reds teams of the mid-70’s with he being traded for Joe Morgan before the 1972 season, May went on to have a great Major League career, slamming over 350 homers along with over 2000 hits and 1200 RBI’s in his 18-year career between 1965 and 1982.
Definitely a great addition to the “Nickname” lineup!

AIRBRUSHING: 1972 LEE MAY

Here’s another of those airbrush jobs that has some quirkiness not only in execution, but of circumstance, the 1972 Lee May Topps card:

As we all know by now, May was traded to the Houston Astros as part of the deal that brought Cincinnati what many consider the final piece to the “Big Red Machine” dynasty of the mid-70’s, Joe Morgan.
Must have been rough for May, being that he was holding his own as a player, was an all-star, but had to watch his former teammates go on to glory while he would never taste the sweetness of a world championship.
I’ve always been irked by the fact that the Houston “H” logo on his cap here was off center! His cap is going one way but the logo goes another.
It’s not the worst airbrush job, but why fall short on the EASY part, the location of the logo?
Anyway, another quirk is the fact that while Lee May’s base card in the 1972 has him with his new team, Morgans base card has him as an Astro player as well.
Yes it all comes down to series-release dates, giving Topps the ability to get May as an Astro, and even Morgan as a Reds player in their “Traded” sub-set later on.
But it does make for an interesting little “aside” regarding this trade nevertheless...

ANOTHER GREAT CARD: 1971 LEE MAY

Here’s another great in-action card from the 1971 Topps set, Lee May:

Nothing fancy. Just a nice in game shot of the big man at first base holding a man close to the bag.
It’s a wonder why Topps screwed up their “In-Action” sub-set the following year when they had so many good action cards in the 1971 set (Munson, McDaniel, etc).
Nevertheless, a classic shot on a classic set right here.
Sadly for May, he was about to find himself in Houston as part of the trade that brought Cincinnati their final piece of the “Big Red Machine” puzzle, Joe Morgan.
While the Reds would go on to arguably be the team of the decade with Morgan as their spark plug, May would play for the Astros and then the Orioles, missing out on all that Reds glory.

TRADED: 1975 LEE MAY

Here's a 1975 "Traded" card for former slugger "Big Bopper" Lee May, who was still shown as a member of the Houston Astros in the 1975 set due to a late trade during the off-season.

Check out my card design:

Traded to the Baltimore Orioles from the Houston Astros on December 3, 1974, it would turn out to be a very nice trade for the O's.

All May would do is go on to put in six solid seasons in Baltimore, consistently hitting around 25 homers a year while driving in approximately 85-90 runs.

In 1976 he led the American League in runs batted in with 109 while clubbing 25 homers, teaming up nicely with Reggie Jackson to help lead the team to a second place finish behind eventual American League champs the New York Yankees.

May would end up retiring with over 2000 hits, 350 homers and 1200 RBI's, while being named to three All-Star teams and having two top-10 MVP finishes (1972 and 1976).

After some playing time with the Kansas City Royals in 1982 he called it a career after 18-years and 2071 games.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #35: 1972 LEE MAY

Today I give the "Big Bopper", Lee May a "missing" in-action card in the 1972 set.

Check it out:

You have to wonder what could have been with May, since he was already a feared slugger putting together a very nice career before he was traded to the Astros as part of the Joe Morgan trade before the 1972 season opened up.

Would the "Big Red Machine" have happened? If so, would May's legacy on the diamond have been elevated to the point of true stardom?

He put up big seasons with the Reds, the Astros, and then the Orioles before ending his career after two partial seasons with the Royals in 1982.

His total numbers are very good, especially for a guy who played the bulk of his career in the "dead" late-60's/early-70's: 959 runs, 2031 hits, 354 home runs and 1244 runs batted in.

His last year in Cincinnati, 1971, was killer: 39 homers with 98 R.B.I.'s, 85 runs scored and a .278 average to complement the likes of Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench.

Granted the guy struck out a ton, and his final batting average of .267 leaves a lot to be desired, but it's interesting to wonder "what could have been" with both his career and the legend of the Reds teams of the mid-70's.

#500 FOR THE BLOG!

So I've reached my 500th post for the blog, and I thank you all for reading so far!

As I've done with 100, 200, 300 and 400, let's go ahead and look at each card numbered 500 throughout the 1970's, shall we?

1970: Hank Aaron

Ugh.

As I profiled (and redesigned) this card months ago, you all know how I feel about it.

What a boring photo of "Hammerin' hank"!

Uninspired and even oddly voyeuristic, like we caught him doing something he's not pleased about. Just odd.

But hey, it's Hank Aaron, and that alone keeps this a classic for the ages.

1971: Jim Perry

I like this card because it catches Perry at the height of his career, coming off a Cy Young Award win in 1970.

The Perry household must have been incredible around this time, with Jim taking home the hardware, and brother Gaylord finishing second over in the National League.

Mom and Dad must have been proud!

And man I do love those 1971 Topps cards. Just a beautiful set.

1972: Joe Torre

Another card catching a player at the peak of his career.

Recent Hall of Famer (and fellow Bensonhurst/Dyker Heights native) Joe Torre smiling up a storm after collecting an M.V.P. Award for his tremendous 1971 season in St. Louis.

Besides his solid playing career (somewhat underrated if you ask me), his LONG managerial career eventually got him to Cooperstown, and I'm sure that smile on his '72 Topps card would truly be ear-to-ear if he knew then where his baseball resume would get him come 2014.

1973: A's team card

Now, my first reaction was, "boring, a freaking team card!".

However, when you really take a look at the photo, it's just a perfect 1970's baseball time capsule!

The shaggy players, the technicolor sports coats, and the fact that it depicts the three-time World Champs with guys like Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, all now members of the Hall of Fame.

It really becomes clear quickly that this is indeed a special card! Love it!

1974: Lee May

Easy to forget how good a player May was throughout his career.

The man was downright thumping the baseball during a weak offensive era in the game's history.

The choice of photo Topps went with is a bit lame, but it does show the dude's quite "substantial" size as one of the games underrated sluggers.

2000 hits, 350+ homers, 1200+ runs batted in…not too shabby for the "Big Bopper"!

1975: Nolan Ryan

Well, what can you say?

Classic card set, classic player, nice photo.

I love this card.

The "Ryan Express" at the height of his career, tearing through line-ups and smashing records.

And who would even imagine that when this card came out, Ryan would STILL pitch for almost another 20 years!

Just incredible.

And every time I see a 1975 or 1976 baseball card, I can STILL get that little tingle of excitement, just like I did so many years before!

1976: Reggie Jackson

Just pure CLASSIC baseball card right there!

One of my all time favorite cards.

Here we have a beautiful card set design, with a fantastic photo of one of the game's most popular players, and that brilliant "All-Star" designation for all to see!

What a card, what a player, what a set!

1976 all the way for me my friends. Easily my favorite set of all time. 

Just perfect…

1977: Dave Kingman

Another one of my all-time favorite cards!

Great photo of "Kong" watching another of his famous blasts leaving the stadium, with all that blue throughout the card, and that "All-Star" banner running across the bottom.

I always thought those Mets cards from the 1976 and 1977 sets looked so good because of the blue color scheme. And you throw in a blue all-star banner along the bottom, and "bam!", just a great card!

1978: George Foster

I wish Topps would have had a better photo of Foster for this card.

The man does NOT look like a guy sitting on top of the baseball world here!

Fresh off his monster 1977 M.V.P. year, Foster should be positively BEAMING after slugging 52 home runs and nearly driving in 150 for the Reds.

It's a shame since the 1978 set is another of my favorite sets, but this card leaves a lot to be desired.

I may have to redesign this card in the near future.

1979: Ron Guidry

Funny story…I remember pulling my first 1979 Ron Guidry card out of a pack back then as a ten year old rabid Yankee fan, and was CRUSHED to see that he didn't have an All-Star banner running across the card!

This was before I learned that Topps didn't just go and pick all-stars based on their seasons, but based on who started the previous all-star game.

So I thought it was a terrible injustice to "Louisiana Lightning". I was already pissed that Guidry was ripped off an M.V.P. (sorry Jim Rice!), so seeing that "all-star" was missing bothered me to no end.

Well, I've calmed down a bit years later (but NOT about the Most Valuable Player Award!), and have come to appreciate the card for what it is.

Not the best action shot of the Yankee ace, but a nice photo nevertheless…

So there you have it...

All cards numbered 500 through that awesome decade of the 1970's!

Hopefully this blog will keep on rolling to all the cards numbered 600, as well as 700!

After that, we'll just get creative and see where we end up…

Thanks for the support so far!

THE MISSING ALL STAR CARDS: 1973 TOPPS: NATIONAL LEAGUE

Here we have the final installment in my series of "missing all star cards" between 1971 and 1973. This time, for the '73 all stars from the National League, I gave them a red stripe running across the bottom, following the design introduced on my American League cards yesterday.
Of note is the fact that Willie Stargell is portrayed as a first baseman, with an action shot of him obviously manning that position. Yet for the second year in a row he was voted in as an outfielder.
One other noteworthy thing to mention is the fact that Roberto Clemente's card was a bit of a "memorial" card, as by the time it was released, he already died in a plane crash while on an aid mission to help victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua in December of 1972.
Well, this wraps up the "missing all stars" thread, and it was definitely fun to work on. I've been contemplating recreating all star cards from 1970 and 1974 where the "all star" designation is on the players' regular issue card instead of an all star sub set. If time allows I'll get that posted up sooner rather than later.