MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 MIKE FERRARO

What a strange case Mike Ferraro makes as far as early-70’s baseball cards.
Topps went and gave him a card in 1972 even though up to that point he hadn’t played since 1969.
Yet when the 1973 season came around, he was left out of the 1973 set even though he put in almost a full-season of work with the Milwaukee Brewers.
So here’s my “missing” 1973 card:

Ferraro played in 124 games in 1972, batting .255 with 97 hits over 381 at-bats and 406 plate appearances.
I mean, come on, how is this not enough action for a card?
Granted (and here is where it gets even more interesting), Ferraro would never play in another Major League game again!
So besides 10 games with the New York Yankees in 1966, 23 games in 1968,  and a scant 5 games with the Seattle Pilots in 1969, that 1972 season would be the bulk of his big league action.
I get that with a late-series card in the ’72 set it was based on the amount of playing time he was getting that season, but was it a given that he was out of baseball the following year, enough that Topps decided to leave him out?
I love stuff like this: the quirks of Topps’ selection process, where guys with a handful of games the year before get a card, yet a guy with over 100 appearances could get snubbed.

HOW AND WHY? 1972 TOPPS MIKE FERRARO #613

Once again it's time to visit with a card that demands some answers as to why the player depicted copped a slot in a set when he didn't even play in the big league in YEARS.

Today we look at Mike Ferraro and his 1972 card (#613).

 

Four at-bats in 1969, a card in 1972.

 

What gets me is that at the time this card was issued, Ferraro last appeared in the Major Leagues in 1969 with the Seattle Pilots, and ONLY in five games, good for four at-bats and zero hits!

In the years between those at-bats and this card, he was in the Minors playing for Rochester, Triple-A team for the Baltimore Orioles.

I'll admit, he had some solid seasons up there in Rochester, but why did Topps feel the need to give Ferraro a spot on that awesome 1972 set?

Four at-bats three years ago does not warrant a card in my book, unless you're some highly touted prospect/rookie.

Turns out Ferraro played a pretty full season in the Majors in 1972 for the Brewers, but then that was it, career over as far as big league playing time went.

For the season, Ferraro appeared in 124 games, good for 381 at-bats and 97 hits, which translates to a .255 batting average while playing third and short.

Funny enough, after seeing some full-time work in 1972, Topps didn't even go and give him a card in 1973!

So four at-bats in 1969 gets you a card in 1972, but 381 at-bats in 1972 doesn't get you a card in '73?!

Awesome! I love the thought process here…

By the way. For you younger kids out there (and by "kids" I mean those of you in your mid 40's), you'll remember Ferraro from his managerial days in Cleveland in 1983 and in Kansas City in 1986. 

Now it may seem that I'm really slagging Topps for having guys like this on cards, but really I DO love these cards! It's part of what makes card-collecting so fun!

It keeps the likes of the Ferraro's (or Raich's, or Fife's, or Geddes') alive years after their playing days were over, and I'll just never get tired of looking these guys up when I come across their cards.