SPECIAL REQUEST: 1987 CAREER-CAPPER FOR JACK PERCONTE

By special request, here's a 1987 career-capper for former infielder Jack Perconte, one of the more interesting that had one excellent year in the Big Leagues, surrounded by partial years in their career:

Originally up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980 for only 14 games, Perconte would play parts of five years between 1980 and 1986, surrounding two seasons in 1984 and 1985 where he was a full-timer with the Seattle Mariners.

His 1984 season was very solid for the light-hitting middle infielder, when he set career bests across the board, scoring 93 runs, collecting 180 hits, hitting .294 over 689 plate appearances for Seattle.

He never came close to those numbers again, though the following year he did appear in 125 games for the Mariners, hitting .264 with 128 hits and 60 runs scored, and a career best 31 stolen bases.

By the time he wrapped up his career with 24 games as a Chicago White Sox in 1986, he finished with a very decent .270 career batting average, with 389 hits in 1441 at-bats, with 191 runs scored and 78 stolen bases.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1968 GRAIG NETTLES

Good day all! On the blog today, a fun card to add to the WTHBALLS checklist, a "not so missing" 1968 card for all-star third baseman Graig Nettles, who made his Major League debut in 1967 with the Minnesota Twins:

Nettles appeared in only three games for the Twins that year, going 1-for-3 at the plate, that hit being a double.

He'd appear in 22 games the following season, hitting .224 with 17 hits over 76 at-bats, including the first five home runs of his career along with eight RBIs.

It wasn’t until he got some full-time action with the Cleveland Indians in 1970 that he put up some nice numbers, becoming a productive third baseman for three years before finding himself in the Bronx after a six-player trade that left the Indians organization scratching their heads.
All Nettles would do is go on to slug 20+ homers seven straight years, leading the American League with 32 in 1976, and then topping that with 37 the following season while being an integral part of the “Bronx Zoo” championship teams of 1977 and 1978.
His incredible defensive work during the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers put him in exclusive company as a Fall Classic icon alongside the likes of Brooks Robinson and HIS defensive work in the 1970 classic against the Cincinnati Reds.
By the time Nettles was done after 22-years in the big leagues, he finished with 390 home runs, 2225 hits and 1314 runs batted in, with six all-star game nods and two Gold Gloves.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 TIM STODDARD

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1979 card for former reliever Tim Stoddard of the Baltimore Orioles:

Stoddard appeared in only eight games for the Orioles in 1978, going 0-1 with a 6.00 earned run average over 18 innings, his first action on a Big League mound other than one singular inning for the Chicago White Sox in 1975.

In 1979 he would have himself a very good year for the eventual American league champs, appearing in 29 games, saving three and pitching to a stellar 1.71 ERA over 58 innings.

He would go on to put in 13 seasons under the Major League sun, appearing in 485 games and compiling a final record of 41-35 with a 3.95 ERA in 729.2 innings of work.

I remember his time with the New York Yankees in the late-80s, where he performed well, going 6-5 with eleven saves in 85 games in 1987-1988.

Look for a "not so missing" 1975 card for him in the near future here on the blog!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 BOBBY JONES

Today on the blog, we gibe former outfielder Bob Jones another "not so missing" card to go with his 1978 edition, this time a 1976 card after playing in a handful of games with the Texas Rangers in 1975:

 

Jones appeared in only nine games in 1975, putting in time at all three outfield spots while collecting one hit over 11 at-bats, for an .091 average for those wondering.

He'd have somewhat of a break-through season in 1976 when he appeared in 78 games, collecting 187 plate-appearances, even if he hit only .211 with 35 hits over 166 official at-bats for the Angels.
In 1978 he had an excellent season in the Minor Leagues, hitting .307 with 14 homers and 102 RBIs, but never got a call up to the Big leagues, prompting him to go to Japan where he played for the Chunichi Dragons before coming back and suiting up for the Texas Rangers in 1981 when he played in 10 games.
He’d spend all of 1982 in the Minor Leagues again, but in 1983 made it back, where he’d play out his career through the 1986 seasons.
By the time he left the Majors in 1986, he finished with a career .221 batting average, with 133 hits over 603 at-bats in 314 games, with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs.
After his playing days, he pretty much made himself a baseball lifer, becoming a coach and Minor League manager in the Texas organization, eventually becoming the franchise’s all-time winning Minor League manager with 1285 career wins.

 

REVISITING MY "NOT REALLY MISSING" 1971 RAY OYLER FROM 10 YEARS AGO

Good day all!

On the blog today, revisiting a post from 10 years ago, my "not really missing" 1971 card for Ray Oyler of the California Angels:

I recently came across this nice usable image for former shortstop Ray Oyler as a California Angel, and since he didn't have a card in the 1971 set I figured I'd whip one up, even though it's a bit of a stretch considering the minimal time he played in 1970.

The 1970 would end up being the last in Oyler's six-year career.

It wasn't much of a showing, as he collected two scant hits over 24 at-bats, good for a .083 batting average in the 24 games he got into that season.

But when you look at his career, Oyler was all glove and no bat, almost literally.

By the time he hung up his cleats after 1970, he retired with a .175 batting average, based on his 221 hits over 1265 at-bats.

Between 1965 and 1970, he topped .200 once, when he hit .207 in 1967 for the Detroit Tigers.

However, on a positive note, during the Tiger's World Series run in 1968 Oyler played in 111 games for the champs, arguably the high point of his career before being selected by the expansion Seattle Pilots for the 1969 season.

Quite a few teammates reflected on Oyler's defensive prowess, some even stating that no matter what the batting average was, having Oyler as their shortstop helped their team.

Talk about the epitome of "good field, no hit"!

 

FANTASY CARD: 1980 TIM RAINES ROOKIE CARD

Finally getting around to a fantasy card I've wanted to create for a while now, a 1980 multi-player Montreal Expos rookie card for Hall of Famer Tim Raines:

The "four-decade" player made his Big League debut with six games for the Montreal Expos in 1979, all as a pinch-runner, giving him three runs scored and two stolen bases without an official at-bat at the age of only 19.

From there the man was nothing short of elite, leading the league in steals four straight seasons from 1981 through 1984, winning a batting title in 1986 when he led the N.L. with a .334 mark, twice pacing the league in runs scored, and making seven straight All-Star teams from 1981 to 1987.

The National League's counterpart to Rickey Henderson, Raines went on to play 23 seasons in the Majors, including a very nice three year run with the New York Yankees during their Dynasty from 1996 to 1998, giving him two Championships, the only two he'd have.

I loved watching him play, and was especially happy to see him play "live" when he suited up for the Yanks those three seasons, when I was pretty much at almost all Yankee home games.

By the time he retired after the 2002 season, Raines finished with 2605 hits over 8872 at-bats, hitting .294 with 1571 runs scored and 808 stolen bases, collecting 113 triples while striking out only 966 times!

That is an average of only 42 strikeouts a season!

In 2017 he was elected to the Hall of Fame, his place in baseball history cemented for all to appreciate in years to come.

Cheers "Rock" Raines!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1973 JR RICHARD

OK. So on the blog today, I finally break down and reuse the image I originally used for JR Richard and his 1972 "dedicated rookie" here on the blog years ago, for his "not so missing" 1973 edition:

I have been looking high and low for a nice time-sesitive image of Richard to no success, then one of you suggested I do what Topps was doing a lot of back then, reusing images, sometimes cropped differently, so here we are!

Richard appeared in his first four games during the 1971 season, and blew the MLB world wide-open when he struck out 15 batters in his first start.

In 1972 he would again appear in four games, going 1-0 with a 13.50 ERA over six innings, striking out eight while also walking eight.

It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout campaigns, four straight 200+ K years,  four straight seasons of 18+ wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 DAVE RIGHETTI

Fun card to add to the WTHBALLS stable today, a "not so missing" 1980 card for Dave Righetti, a New York Yankee mainstay through the 1980s, but someone who actually made his Big League debut in 1979:

Righetti appeared in three games, all starts, for the Yankees, tossing 17.1 innings and going 0-1 with a 3.63 ERA at the age of 20.

He'd be back with a bang the next season, as he posted a record of 8-4 over 15 starts, just missing the ERA crown by falling short of innings required by 1.2 innings! Yep, someone on the Yankees dropped the ball on this and didn't get Righetti some mop-up role at the end of the year to bring home the ERA crown, as his 2.05 mark was far better than the guy who did win the ERA title, Oakland A's pitcher Steve McCatty, who finished with a 2.33 ERA over 185.2 innings.

Nevertheless, Righetti became a cog of the Yankees through the 1980's as a starter and reliever, posting a few solid seasons as a starter between 1981 and 1983 including the classic July 4th no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox in '83, before converting to a relief role the rest of his very nice 16 year career, including his 1986 campaign that saw him establish the (then) MLB record 46 saves, earning him a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young race.

By the time he retired after the 1995 season, he finished with a record of 82-79 over 718 games, with a 3.46 ERA in 1403 innings, with 252 saves.

REVISITING MY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 ART GARDNER

Let's go and revisit my post from July of 2015 featuring my "missing in action" card for Art Gardner of the Houston Astros shall we:

Gardner appeared in 66 games for the Astros in 1977, hitting .154 with 10 hits over 65 at-bats.

He debuted in the Majors in 1975, playing in 13 games for Houston with equal luck at the plate, before playing the entire 1976 season in the Minor leagues.

In 1978 he'd play in only seven games with the Giants, before playing out his professional career in the Minor Leagues and the Japanese league in the early 1980's before retiring for good.

His total in the Big leagues: a .162 average with 16 hits (all singles) in 99 official at-bats, with 12 runs scored and five runs batted in. 

And though he was a speedster in the Minors (196 steals in his Minor League career), he tallied one single stolen base while up in the Majors, coming in his rookie year of '75.

 

SPECIAL REQUEST: 1986 "NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION" JOE SAMBITO

Well, here's a special request that came out of nowhere!

For my buddy Rich, I post up my "not so missing" 1986 card for former pitcher NJoe Sambito, who funny enough would actually have a card in the year-end 1986 Topps Traded set, but NOT the base set:

After appearing in only eight games for the Mets in 1985, Topps didn't feel the need to include him in the base set that year, especially when you consider his 12.66 earned run average over 10.2 innings over those eight games.

But after finding himself with the Boston Red Sox for the 1986 campaign, and rediscovering his form somewhat, to where he became an important part of the American League champions' bullpen to the tune of a 2-0 record with a 4.84 ERA over 44.2 innings, with 12 saves, Topps did go ahead and include him in the traded set.

Between 1976 and 1984 Sambito was an excellent relief pitcher with the Houston Astros, especially his 1979 season that saw him make his only All-Star team when he went 8-7 with a brilliant 1.77 ERA over 63 games, with 22 saves and 83 strikeouts in 91.1 innings of work.

Two years later he'd post a 1.84 ERA over 49 games, followed by a 1982 season that saw him post a 0.71 ERA, albeit over only nine games due to injury.

All told, Sambito would play 11 years, going 37-38 over 461 games, with a very nice 3.03 ERA and 84 saves in 629 innings pitched.

 

THE WHOLE NINE:SERIES 2-NOT REALLY MISSING: 1983 DON MATTINGLY

On the blog today, at long last, the first entry after 11-plus years in the blog's existence, a card for my favorite player growing up, Don Mattingly, who gets a "not so missing" 1983 card that was part of my "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months back:

Mattingly made his Big League debut with the New York Yankees in 1982, when he appeared in seven games for the second-to-last-place team in a disappointing year after a World Series berth the year prior.

He went 2-for-12 at the plate, which comes to a .167 batting average, while playing both outfield corners and first base.

1983 would fare much better for the young man, as he hit .283 over 91 games, even putting together a small batting streak that was actually busted up by the famous "Pine Tar Game" as I remember it way back when.

From then on, until serious back problems cut his career short at the age of only 34 in 1995, Mattingly became a New York "God", winning a batting title in 1984, an MVP the following year when he drove in 145 runs while hitting .324 with 35 homers, a season that also saw him take home the first of his nine Gold Glove Awards for his defensive excellence.

I still feel he was robbed of an MVP Award in 1986 when pitcher Roger Clemens took home the Award, but hey, 38 years later some things will never go away for me.

As stated earlier, just when you thought he was paving a clear path to the Hall of Fame, back issues took so much out of his whip-like swing, that his power was taken away, and the final six years of his 14 year career were solid, but certainly not what fans saw the first half of his tenure.

When he retired, sadly one season before the Yanks made it to the World Series and winning it all, thus starting a dynasty that would last through 2003, Mattingly finished with a .307 lifetime average, with 2153 hits and 1099 RBIs over 1785 games, hitting 222 homers, 442 doubles and scoring 1007 runs.

When I tell you I idolized the man as a teen in Brooklyn during his career, I cannot overstate it, as he was without question one of two true idols I had, the other being singer Robert Smith of The Cure.

Just an amazing player that was sadly taken down by unjury.

"Donnie Baseball", "The Hit Man", however you remember him way back when, he was the best!

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 TIM RAINES

Today on the blog, we have my "not so missing" 1980 card for Hall of Famer Tim Raines, from my "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months back:

The "four-decade" player made his Big League debut with six games for the Montreal Expos in 1979, all as a pinch-runner, giving him three runs scored and two stolen bases without an official at-bat at the age of only 19.

From there the man was nothing short of elite, leading the league in steals four straight seasons from 1981 through 1984, winning a batting title in 1986 when he led the N.L. with a .334 mark, twice pacing the league in runs scored, and making seven straight All-Star teams from 1981 to 1987.

The National League's counterpart to Rickey Henderson, Raines went on to play 23 seasons in the Majors, including a very nice three year run with the New York Yankees during their Dynasty from 1996 to 1998, giving him two Championships, the only two he'd have.

I loved watching him play, and was especially happy to see him play "live" when he suited up for the Yanks those three seasons, when I was pretty much at almost all Yankee home games.

By the time he retired after the 2002 season, Raines finished with 2605 hits over 8872 at-bats, hitting .294 with 1571 runs scored and 808 stolen bases, collecting 113 triples while striking out only 966 times!

That is an average of only 42 strikeouts a season!

In 2017 he was elected to the Hall of Fame, his place in baseball history cemented for all to appreciate in years to come.

Cheers "Rock" Raines!

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 KIRK GIBSON

On the blog today, from my recent "Whole Nine: Series 2" custom set, my "not so missing" 1980 card for Kirk Gibson, who made his Big League debut in 1979:

Appearing in 12 games for the Detroit Tigers in 1979, Gibson hit .237 with nine hits over 38 at-bats, including a homer, with three runs scored and four RBIs.

From there he would go on to put in 17 seasons of solid baseball, always flirting with 30/30 seasons though never managing to make it, with five straight seasons of 20+ homers and 20+ stolen bases between 1984 and 1988, culminating with his MVP season of 1988 with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he helped the in famous fashion win it all against the Oakland A's.

One of the greatest players to never make an All-Star team, Gibson was also hurt by the collusion debacle of the 1980's when owners conspired to NOT sign Free Agents, forcing them to settle for sub-pay contracts.

Who knows if Gibson could have landed somewhere else, changing the trajectory of his career later on with some other organization.

By the time he retired after the 1995 season, he finished with a career .268 batting average, with 1553 hits, 985 runs scored and 870 RBIs, hitting 255 homers while also stealing 284 bases, winning it all twice: in 1984 with the "wire-to-wire" Detroit Tigers juggernaut, and the Dodgers in 1988.

Not too shabby a career!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 JOHN STROHMAYER

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for former New York Mets pitcher John Strohmayer, who wrapped up a brief Big League career with a single game in 1974:

After about three and a half years with the Montreal Expos, Strohmayer was selected off waivers by the Mets in July of 1973 and appeared in seven games, good for 10 innings before the year was up.

For the year he appeared in 24 games and 44.2 innings between the two organizations, so I went and created a "missing" 1974 card for the blog a while back.

In 1974, he appeared in one game for the Mets, only pitching one inning, never to appear in another Major League game again.

Over those five years between 1970 and 1974, Strohmayer went 11-9 with a 4.47 earned run average in 143 games, 18 of which were starts.

As an aside, here's something I don't get to post everyday: seems Strohmayer was one of 15 employees of the Gateway Unified School District to share a $76 Million lottery jackpot in 2009!

Good for you John! We should all be so lucky!

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1968 SPARKY LYLE

Good day all.

On the blog today, from my recent custom "Whole Nine: Series Two" set, not so missing 1968 card for one of the all-time relievers of the game, Sparky Lyle, who made his big league debut on July 4th of 1967 with the eventual American League champion Boston Red Sox:

Lyle appeared in 27 games for the Red Sox that year, going 1-2 with a 2.28 ERA over 43.1 innings, striking out 42 while walking 14.

All he would do from then on is put in what I think is a Hall of Fame career, appearing in 899 games, all in relief, saving 238 games while posting a record of 99-76, with an ERA of 2.88.

He took home a Cy Young Award in 1977, helping the Yankees to their first title in 13 years, and finished in third for A.L. MVP in 1972 after getting traded from Boston in one of the most lopsided trades of all-time, as he saved a league-leading 35 games with a record of 9-5 and a 1.95 ERA.

One of the great characters of the game, his many quips, antics, etc are well documented, especially during his tenure with the "Bronx Zoo" Yankee dynasty through the 1978 season.

Just a great icon of 1970s baseball!

 

FOR FUN: 1977 "NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION" PETE VARNEY

Found this great image of former catcher Pete Varney, and figured I'd create a "not so missing" 1977 card, even though he did finish the 1976 season as a member of the Atlanta Braves after starting the season on the South Side of Chicago:

The Harvard educated young man appeared in 14 games for the White Sox, hitting .244 before getting traded to Atlanta for "Blue Moon" Odom on June 15th, 1976.

He'd only appear in five games for the Braves the rest of the way, the last five games of his brief four-year career, hitting .100 for them with a single hit over ten at-bats.

In 1975 he’d see the most action in any one season, playing in 36 games for the White Sox, batting .271 with 29 hits in 107 official at-bats, including 12 runs scored and eight runs batted in.

He’d play all of 1977 in the Minors for Atlanta before retiring as a player, finishing up with a career .247 average, with 47 hits over 190 at-bats, with 18 runs scored and 15 RBIs.

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1964 JOE MORGAN

Today's blog post has my "not really missing" 1964 card for all-time second baseman Joe Morgan, who made his Major League debut for the Houston Colt .45's in 1963:

Morgan appeared in eight games for the Colt .45's that season, hitting .240 with the first six hits of his illustrious career over 25 at-bats, also stealing a base and scoring five runs.

For Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, still with his original team before eventually helping to build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine" when he was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1972 season in a blockbuster trade.

Those Reds teams would win two straight World Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.

By the time he retired after the 1984 season at the age of 40, he finished with two MVP Awards, 10 All-Star nods, five Gold Gloves, 2517 hits, 1650 runs scored, 268 homers and a cool 689 stolen bases with 1865 walks.
One of the all-timers right there at second base!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 ART HOWE

On the blog today, we have a 1975 "not so missing" card for Art Howe, his third such card created for the blog over the years:

Howe made his Big League debut in 1974, with 29 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates that saw him hit .243 with 18 hits over 74 at-bats, with a homer and five runs batted in.

The future Major League manager actually played in 63 games for the Pirates in 1975, gathering 162 plate appearances, so really he should have had a card.

He hit .171 for the year, with nine doubles and a homer along with 10 runs batted in and 13 runs scored.

His 11-year career as a player would really hit it's stride after joining the Houston Astros, as he'd play pretty much full-time between 1977 and 1982 before a couple of part-time years in St. Louis in 1984 and 1985 (he didn't play Major League ball in 1983).

As you all know, he'd really find his niche on the Major League level as a manager, guiding the Astros, Oakland A's and New York Mets between 1989 and 2004.

His real success was leading the young studs in Oakland in the late-90's/early-00's, winning 100-games in two seasons (2001 and 2002), but never being able to get past the N.Y. Yankees (remember the now-famous "Jeter-Flip"?).

All told, Howe would win 1129 games as a manager in the Big Leagues, finishing 2nd in "Manager of the Year" voting four years in a row from 1999-2002.

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- 1962 BILL FREEHAN

Today on the blog, from my custom "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months back, my 1962 "missing" card for SHOULD-BE Hall of Fame catcher Bill Freehan:

This man was THE top catcher in the American League for the 1960's, taking up the position after guys like Yogi Berra and Elston Howard retired, and before young studs like Carlton Fisk and Thurman Munson came along.

With all the superstars on the field during the 1960s, it's easy to forget that Freehan was an eleven-time all-star, five-time Gold Glover, and finished in the top-ten in M.V.P. voting three times, with a second place finish in 1968 behind teammate Denny McLain.

He made his Big League debut in 1961 at the age of 19 with four appearances, hitting .400 with four hits over 10 at-bats, with four RBIs and a run scored.

1964, his first full year in the Majors, was arguably his finest season, as he hit .300 for the only time in his career along with 18 homers and 80 R.B.I.'s.
But for the rest of the decade Freehan put up comparable numbers year after year, while taking care of a Detroit pitching staff that featured guys like McLain, Mickey Lolich and Earl Wilson.
He really was ahead of the rest of the pack as far as A.L. catchers during the decade.

A solid player through and through, he'd retire after the 1976 season with a .262 lifetime average, 200 homers and 758 runs batted in over 1774 games and 6073 at-bats.

 

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: "MISSING IN ACTION" 1978 DON COLLINS

On the blog today, we revisit a post from 10 years ago, my "missing" 1978 card for pitcher Don Collins, who made his MLB debut with the Atlanta Braves during the 1977 season and really should have had a card in the 1978 set:

Collins appeared in 40 games during that season, and posted a 3-9 record with a 5.09 earned run average and a couple of saves thrown in.

In his 70.2 innings of work he fanned 27 batters but walked 41, not the best thing to do as a guy coming out of the bullpen.

Nevertheless, 70+ innings and 40 games deserves a card, especially considering some of the other players who got on in the '78 set that played a lot less than him.

Besides the 1977 season Collins would pitch in four games for the Cleveland Indians in 1980, marking the only other season he'd make it to the top before closing out his career.