"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: ROD CAREW

Time to go and give legend Rod Carew a card in my future custom mega-set, "Classic Baseball", which will be a deluxe multi-series WTHBALLS set in the near future:

The man was a player for the ages, as he would go on to play in 18 All-Star games, missing only his final season in the Majors in 1985. Just incredible.

The first nine seasons of his career were as an All-Star second baseman, while the last nine were as a first baseman.

The man topped .300 15 years in a row, with a high of .388 in 1977 on his way to a Most Valuable Player Award and capturing the public’s attention with his .400 chase late in the season.
A clear-cut Hall of Fame player, he was inducted on his first year of eligibility in 1991 when he garnered 90.5% of the vote, which leaves me with the question: who the hell are the 9.5% who DIDN’T vote for him!!!???

3053 hits, a .328 career average, 353 stolen bases and 15 straight seasons of .300+ batting.

The man was a hitting machine, and I'm so glad I got to see him play during his magnificent career!

 

"DEDICATED ROOKIE"- 1964 TONY OLIVA

Let's dip into the 1960's for another sweet "dedicated rookie" card, this one for Hall of Fame hitter Tony Oliva and a 1964 edition:

Now, interestingly, Oliva's actual FIRST Topps card was on a 1963 multi-player rookie card, before appearing on a 1964 multi-player card again, so for now I chose to create a '64 version with a '63 coming soon.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 
He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!
Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.
The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again led the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.
He also led the league in total hits again, this time with 185.
All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.
I wouldn't say his final numbers "definitely" warranted a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with, and come 2022 he would be selected for a spot in Cooperstown, which is just fine with me!
When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 
So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.
And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!
Nice 1-2 punch right there.

 

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: BERT BLYLEVEN

Hello all!

Time to go ahead and take a look at my mini card for the great Bert Blyleven, Hall of Fame pitcher and longtime broadcaster, from my "Gum Pack" special custom set released in 2022 if memory serves:

Nice shot of the man from the first stretch of his Major league career with the Minnesota Twins.

Born in Zeist, Holland (now the Netherlands), Blyleven started his 22-year career in 1970 with the Twins and quickly established himself among the best pitchers in baseball.
During his great MLB run, he posted 17 seasons of 10+ victories, with a high of 20 in 1973, along with eight 200+ strikeout campaigns and nine with a 2.99 ERA or lower.
By the time the prankster retired after the 1992 season, he finished with 287 wins, a 3.31 ERA, 60 career shutouts and 3701 strikeouts over 692 games and 4970 innings pitched.
After having to wait 14 years, the BBWA finally voted him into the Hall of Fame in 2011, finally claiming a spot which he rightfully deserved.

Great baseball lifer on the field and in the broadcast booth!

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2015: MISSING IN ACTION "IN-ACTION" 1972 BERT BLYLEVEN

Today we'll revisit a post from 2015, my "missing" 1972 In-Action card for Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, part of a fun thread I hope to have printed up as a stand-alone set in the future:

Here's the original post from way back when:

Blyleven just put in his first true full season in 1971 after a solid rookie year the season before, posting a 16-15 record with a 2.81 earned run average and 224 strikeouts.

Turns out it would be the first of six consecutive 200+ strikeout seasons, as well as eight consecutive years of a sub-3.03 E.R.A.

By the time he retired after the 1992 season, he stood at 287-250, with a 3.31 E.R.A., 60 shutouts and 3701 strikeouts over 692 games, 685 of which were starts.

Often overshadowed during the pitching-rich 1970's by guys like Seaver, Carlton and Palmer, Blyleven would have to wait until his 14th year of Cooperstown eligibility before being voted in by the BBWA in 2011.

I just always loved the guy for his pranks, his outspoken personality and the fact that when I was a kid I was mesmerized by the fact that he was born in Holland, something which was unique on the back of a baseball card.

 

REVISITING A TEN-YEAR-OLD POST: 1975 CY YOUNG SUB-SET: 1965 WINNERS

Fun card/post to revisit today: from April of 2014, my 1975 Cy Young winners for 1965 sub-set, imagining if Topps also created a Cy Young set to go along with their wildly popular MVP set in that beautiful, colorful set from just under 50 years ago:

Here's the original write-up for the post from eons ago:

"We're up to 1965 on my Cy Young sub-set for the 1975 set, and once again we are visited by Mr. Sandy Koufax, who would have won his third such award in a row had there been voting for both leagues back then.

Koufax is joined by Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who was selected by the people at SABR as the probable winner in the American League.

For Koufax it was business as usual, as he posted another monster season on the hill, going 26-8 with a 2.04 earned run average and a then Major League record 382 strikeouts.

He also threw eight shutouts among his league-leading 27 complete games, and threw in two saves for good measure.

He also finished second behind Willie Mays for the National League Most Valuable Player award, receiving six first-place votes to Mays' nine.

After 30 some-odd years of looking at his stats I'm still blown away by them! 

What a freaking run of domination.

Over in the American League, Jim Grant came out of nowhere to post what is easily his best year as a Major League pitcher, going 21-7 with a 3.30 E.R.A., a league-leading six shutouts and 142 strikeouts.

Up until the 1965 season, Grant's top win total his previous seven seasons in the bigs was 15 in 1961 for the Cleveland Indians.

For HIS efforts in 1965 he finished sixth in M.V.P. voting, behind teammate Zoilo Versalles in Minnesota's improbable run to the World Series, where they lost to, (who else?), Sandy Koufax and his Los Angeles Dodgers.

Next up, 1966, where the Twins and Dodgers are represented once again, this time with Koufax being joined by Twins' pitcher Jim Kaat."

 

1970 "IN-GAME ACTION"- JIM KAAT

Up on the blog today, a card I almost forgot to post on the blog after it was created and included for my "1970 In-Game Action: Series 2" set a couple years back, my card for new Hall of Famer Jim Kaat:

Kaat came up to the Majors as a 20-year-old in 1959 with the Washington Senators, developing into an All-Star starter when the organization moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
If there were a Cy Young winner for both leagues in place for the 1965 season, he most likely would have taken home the trophy when he posted a league-leading 25 wins to go along with a 2.75 ERA and 205 strikeouts for the American League champs.
After being selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox in 1973, he’d go on to post two straight 20-win seasons in 1974 and 1975, before moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976.
In 1979, at the age of 40, he’d transition to the bullpen, where he would carve out a niche for himself as a reliable reliever, pitching another five seasons, finishing up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, fresh off a World Championship in 1982.
One of the greatest fielding pitchers the game has ever seen, Kaat took home 16 straight Gold Glove Awards between 1962 and 1977. Incredible.
By the time he retired as a player, he appeared in 898 games, posted a record of 283-237 along with a 3.45 ERA and 2461 strikeouts, as well as 31 shutouts and 17 saves.
The man is a walking baseball resource who still shares his knowledge of the game. His time as a New York Yankees announcer was one of my favorites alongside other former players like Ken Singleton and Bill White.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: TONY OLIVA

The next baseball superstar to get added to my future custom "Classic Baseball" set is three-time American League batting champ Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins:

Just a nice portrait shot of the man who was born to hit a baseball.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 
He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!
Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.
The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again led the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.
He also led the league in total hits again, this time with 185.
All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.
I wouldn't say his final numbers "definitely" warranted a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with, and come 2022 he would be selected for a spot in Cooperstown, which is just fine with me!
When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 
So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.
And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!
Nice 1-2 punch right there.

 

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. LEFT-HANDED PITCHER: JIM KAAT

On the blog today, my pick for the American League's left-handed pitcher of the 1960s, and I went with Minnesota Twins ace Jim Kaat:

You may be surprised by my pick of Kaat as the American League's lefty of the decade. But really, as far as a FULL decade goes, he didn't have much stiff competition. Whitey Ford is the guy who jumps into everyone's mind, but he really had half a decade before his career went South.

As for Kaat, all the guy did was win eight Gold Glove awards, a pennant in 1965 with the Twins, post 142 wins and have five seasons of 15 or more wins, with a high of 25 in 1966, a year he easily would have won the Cy Young had there been one selected for each league at the time.

In the case of the American League, it really was about consistency in this case over anyone with dominant numbers, there just weren't any.

Kaat ended up with a very nice career, moving into the bullpen after a lengthy 20 years as a starter in 1979.

He ended up pitching effectively another five years out of the pen before retiring after the 1983 season with the Cardinals, finishing up with 283 wins, 31 shutouts and 2461 strikeouts in 898 games, 625 of them starting.

He also famously won 16 Gold Gloves total in his career, something only Greg Maddux can relate to (with 18 such awards).

One of my favorite baseball-figures, as a player, a coach, and a broadcaster. The man is a true baseball lifer.

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER: DEAN CHANCE

Our blog post today, my selection for the Right-handed American League pitcher of the 1960's, and I went with Cy Young Award winner Dean Chance:

First off, my kingdom for a nice portrait photo of the ace pitcher during his time pitching for the Los Angeles Angels!

I just could not find such a photo for this card, and hope to before I come to printing this set up later this year.

Anyway, I went with Dean Chance based on his two 20-win seasons, his sick 1964 Cy Young winning year, 11 shutouts in 1964, and five sub-3.00 E.R.A. campaigns by the time the '60's were in everyone's rear-view mirrors.

In 1962, his first full-year in the Majors, he finished third for Rookie of the Year, going 14-10 with a 2.96 E.R.A.

Throughout the rest of the decade it was more of the same, as he posted solid numbers year in and year out.

But it was his 1964 season that was far and away his best year in the Majors, as he finished with a 20-9 record with a sparkling 1.65 earned run average, 11 shutouts and 207 strikeouts, leading to a Cy Young win and a fifth-place finish in M.V.P. voting for the Los Angeles Angels.

He'd post another 20-win season in 1967, now as a member of the Minnesota Twins, going 20-14 with a 2.73 E.R.A., five shutouts and 220 strikeouts, and followed up in 1968 with a career high of 234 K's along with a 2.53 E.R.A., six shutouts and a mediocre 16-16 record.

Sadly for Chance this would be his last full season in the Majors, even though he was still only 27 years old.

1969 would see Chance make only 15 starts, going 5-4 with a 2.95 E.R.A. and 50 K's in only 88.1 innings before scraping together two more years playing for the Indians, Mets and Tigers.

He would be out of baseball for good by 1972, only 30 years old, but his solid seven years between 1962-1968 still makes him my pick as the righty pitcher on my A.L. All-Decade team for my 1970 sub-set.

 

1969 "DO-OVER" CUSTOM SET: JIM KAAT

Good day all!

On the blog today, my do-over for Hall of Famer Jim Kaat and his 1969 card, from my custom "1969 Gimmie A Do-Over" set released towards the end of last year:

While Topps reused an image for Kaat on their 1969 card, I went ahead and found another one to give it a bit of a refresh.

Kaat came up to the Majors as a 20-year-old in 1959 with the Washington Senators, developing into an All-Star starter when the organization moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
If there were a Cy Young winner for both leagues in place for the 1965 season, he most likely would have taken home the trophy when he posted a league-leading 25 wins to go along with a 2.75 ERA and 205 strikeouts for the American League champs.
After being selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox in 1973, he’d go on to post two straight 20-win seasons in 1974 and 1975, before moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976.
In 1979, at the age of 40, he’d transition to the bullpen, where he would carve out a niche for himself as a reliable reliever, pitching another five seasons, finishing up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, fresh off a World Championship in 1982.
One of the greatest fielding pitchers the game has ever seen, Kaat took home 16 straight Gold Glove Awards between 1962 and 1977. Incredible.
By the time he retired as a player, he appeared in 898 games, posted a record of 283-237 along with a 3.45 ERA and 2461 strikeouts, as well as 31 shutouts and 17 saves.
The man is a walking baseball resource who still shares his knowledge of the game. His time as a New York Yankees announcer was one of my favorites alongside other former players like Ken Singleton and Bill White.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1970 LUIS TIANT

About time I go and give "El Tiante", Luis Tiant a do-over with his 1970 card, from a boring close up cap-less portrait shot to a better posed image in full uni:

For those that don't remember the original card Topps had out there way back when, here you go:

Obviously, Topps was up against it, trying to have Tiant shown with his new team, the Minnesota twins, as his career was taking a severe turn for the worse just two years after his incredible 1968 campaign that saw him post a minuscule 1.60 earned run average while tossing nine shutouts, with 21 wins and 264 strikeouts for the Cleveland Indians.

With my card, I just showed him with the Indians one last time, as he was coming off a 1969 season that saw him lead the league with 20 losses, 129 base on balls and 37 home runs allowed, while pitching to a 3.71 ERA over 249.2 innings of work.

Incredibly, with his career seemingly done in 1970/71, Tiant found himself in Boston in 1972 and immediately was back in form, leading the American League in earned run average with a sterling 1.91 in 1972 along with six shutouts in only 19 starts.

In three of the next four seasons he'd top 20 wins, and was on his way to a solid, if not arguably Hall-worthy 19-year career, retiring after the 1982 season after pitching in six games with the California Angels.

By that time he fashioned a 229-172 record, with a 3.30 E.R.A., 49 shutouts and 2416 strikeouts, with two seasons of sub-2.00 E.R.A., four 20-win campaigns as well as three 200+ strikeout years.

As a kid in Brooklyn, New York in the late 70's I remember him with the Yankees, and always thought he looked like some cool granpa who was always cracking jokes. In other words, I loved him!

After getting 30.9% support in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1988, he never got close again to those numbers, topping out at 18.0% in his final year of eligibility in 2002.

But it's easy to say that "El Tiante" definitely left his mark on the game during his time on the mound!

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. FIRST BASEMAN HARMON KILLEBREW

Up on the blog today, my pick for the American League first baseman of the 1960s, Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew, powerhouse slugger who would homer his way to the Hall of Fame:

First off, I will state right now that I do realize that he didn't play solely first base throughout the decade of the 1960's.

Killebrew also had periods where he played in the outfield and third base regularly. But I felt that of the guys who DID play solely first base in 1960's, Killebrew STILL had a better run during his stint at first base.

What a monster he was during the '60's!

In the 10-years from 1960 and 1969, he posted eight seasons of 30+ home runs, with SIX of those years over 40!

He capped off the decade with an M.V.P. in 1969, with another four seasons where he finished in the top-5 in voting.

All told, he was an all-star eight out of ten years in the 1960's, and led the American League in homers five times, runs batted in twice, and walks three times.

Playing for Washington, Minnesota and a final season in Kansas City between 1954 and 1975, Killebrew mashed 573 home runs to go along with 1584 R.B.I.'s, winning an M.V.P. award along the way in 1969 while finishing in the top five in voting five other seasons.
In 1984 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame, capping off a stellar career that sometimes gets lost among the Mantles, Mays, Clementes and Aarons that were garnering all the attention in the same era.

 

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: ROD CAREW

Good day all.

On the blog today, for fun, my mini "Gum Pack" custom of Rod Carew, from my recent custom set released a few months back:

 

Just a fun little set to create and get out there in the collecting world!

I just took the uber-stars of the game in that era and put together a specially packaged set to add to the WTHBALLS roster, akin to the original sets I created back in 2018-2019.

As for Carew, the man was a player for the ages, as he would go on to play in 18 All-Star games, missing only his final season in the Majors in 1985. Just incredible.

The first nine seasons of his career were as an All-Star second baseman, while the last nine were as a first baseman.

The man topped .300 15 years in a row, with a high of .388 in 1977 on his way to a Most Valuable Player Award and capturing the public’s attention with his .400 chase late in the season.
A clear-cut Hall of Fame player, he was inducted on his first year of eligibility in 1991 when he garnered 90.5% of the vote, which leaves me with the question: who the hell are the 9.5% who DIDN’T vote for him!!!???

3053 hits, a .328 career average, 353 stolen bases and 15 straight seasons of .300+ batting.

The man was a hitting machine, and I'm so glad I got to see him play during his magnificent career!

 

1960's IN-ACTION SPECIAL: 1968 HARMON KILLEBREW

The next "1960s In-Action" card from my recent custom set to get the spotlight here on the blog is my 1968 edition for all-time slugger Harmon Killebrew:

Just a fun in-game action shot of the Hall of Famer doing what he did best, launching baseball over outfield fences, to the tune of 573 such "jacks" before he was done.
I remember the first time I saw Harmon Killebrew's statistics when my cousin gave me a 1973 card of him when I was about 11 years old in 1980.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All the home runs, all the R.B.I.'s from a player I never knew about. To count out EIGHT 40+ home run seasons blew me away.
This was right before I got my first Macmillan Encyclopedia, so baseball cards really were the only place back then to see stats of players who were around before you were a fan. I just kept rereading those power stats again and again, amazed every time as if I was seeing them for the first time.
Throw in the fact that the 1973 card of Killebrew is pretty damn cool, I was hooked on "Killer" ever since.
Over the years I was able to meet him on more than one occasion and just listen to him tell some stories, not just about baseball but some golf thrown in for good measure. He was an amazing person who was friendly, patient and always seemed to have a smile on his face.
Playing for Washington, Minnesota and a final season in Kansas City between 1954 and 1975, Killebrew mashed 573 home runs to go along with 1584 R.B.I.'s, winning an M.V.P. award along the way in 1969 while finishing in the top five in voting five other seasons.
In 1984 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame, capping off a stellar career that sometimes gets lost among the Mantles, Mays, Clementes and Aarons that were garnering all the attention in the same era.

1969 "DO-OVER" SET: ROD CAREW

The next card from my recent "1969 Gimmie A Do-Over" custom set to get the spotlight, my Rod Carew card, giving his 1969 slab a refresh with an image other than the one already used in 1968:

For Carew, having his first TWO dedicated cards of his career have the same image sucks (like Tom Seaver), and it always irked me, so giving his 1969 card a new photo was long overdue in my eyes.

The man was a player for the ages, as he would go on to play in 18 All-Star games, missing only his final season in the Majors in 1985. Just incredible.

The first nine seasons of his career were as an All-Star second baseman, while the last nine were as a first baseman.

The man topped .300 15 years in a row, with a high of .388 in 1977 on his way to a Most Valuable Player Award and capturing the public’s attention with his .400 chase late in the season.
A clear-cut Hall of Fame player, he was inducted on his first year of eligibility in 1991 when he garnered 90.5% of the vote, which leaves me with the question: who the hell are the 9.5% who DIDN’T vote for him!!!???

3053 hits, a .328 career average, 353 stolen bases and 15 straight seasons of .300+ batting.

The man was a hitting machine, and I'm so glad I got to see him play during his magnificent career!

CAREER-CAPPER: 1971 BOB ALLISON

Up on the blog today, we have a career-capper for former Minnesota twins bopper Bob Allison, who closed out a nice Major League career in 1970:

In his final season of 1970, Allison appeared in 47 games, hitting .208 with 15 hits over 72 at-bats, scoring 15 while driving in seven, with the last home run of his career.

Playing his entire career with the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins franchise, he originally came up in 1958 when he appeared in eleven games, getting his first taste of Big League ball and hitting .200 in that brief time.

The following year, he mashed his way to a Rookie of the Year Award when he hit 30 homers, driving in 85 while also leading the American League with nine triples.

Over the next dozen years or so, he would top20 homers seven more times, with 30+ two more times, with a high of 35 in 1963, making the All-Star team three times with some MVP attention three times as well.

Over 1541 games between 1958 and 1970, he hit 256 homers, with 796 RBIs and 811 runs scored, with a .255 batting average and 1281 hits.

1971 "BASEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS": CESAR TOVAR

Today on the blog we add Cesar Tovar to the 1971 Topps "Baseball's Greatest Moments" set, one of the greatest oddball sets ever made, celebrating his unique game where he played all nine positions:

On September 22nd of 1968, Tovar became the second Major League player ever (after Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics) to play all nine positions in one Big League game, doing so against the Oakland A's, ironically enough starting the game as a pitcher and facing Campaneris, who was the lead-off batter!

As a matter of fact, in his one-inning stint as a pitcher, Tovar even fanned Reggie Jackson, before moving on to the other eight positions as the game wore on.

Since then, Campaneris and Tovar have been joined in the "all-nine-position" club by Scott Sheldon (2000), Shane Halter (2000) and Andrew Romine (2017), still a very exclusive club considering the game's long and illustrious history!

As for Tovar and his career, over his 12-year career he batted a very respectable .278 considering the “modern-dead ball era” he played in, with 1546 hits over 5569 at-bats in 1488 games, with 834 runs scored and 435 RBI’s and 226 stolen bases.

With guys like Tony Oliva, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew in the same line-up, it made for some good offense in their prime.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2013: MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 TOM KELLY

Good day everyone!

Thought it'd be fun to revisit a blog post from over 10 years ago, this one my "missing" 1976 card for future World Series winning manager Tom Kelly:

Here's the original post write-up for the card:

While trolling around online recently, I came across an old photo of former Twins manager Tom Kelly as a player from 1975.
I've always known that he didn't have much of a Major League playing career, but never realized that he saw enough action in his only year, 1975, to warrant a card being issued for him in the 1976 set.
In his only season up in the big leagues, Kelly played in 49 games for 147 plate appearances, hitting a not-so-impressive .181 while playing first base and some outfield. Not much, but enough in my eyes for Topps to give him a card.
Nevertheless, after that brief time in the "bigs" he bounced around the Minors until 1980, suiting up for the Twins and Orioles.
He did have some pretty decent seasons, showing some "pop" to go along with some solid averages, and he even got to pitch in a few games, going 1-0 with a 1.88 E.R.A. in 24 innings, yet for some reason he never got the call back up.
Well as we all know, Kelly found his way to leading teams on the field, starting out as skipper for Visalia in A-Ball at the ripe old age of 26 in 1977 as a player-manager.
By the time 1986 rolled around, he was managing the Minnesota Twins, and it was a position he'd hold onto for 16 years, even leading the team to two world championships in 1987 and 1991.
Some of the players he managed were stars like Kirby Puckett, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield and Jack Morris.
He finally retired after the 2001 season, getting himself a bunch of baseball card appearances of the managerial variety along the way.
But today, I post a 1976 player card I designed for the former Twins leader reflecting his cup-of-coffee back in 1975.
Seems the Twins didn't have a card of a first baseman in the 1976 set. I had to "cut out" the player icon in the lower left from a George Scott card and recolor the border for the Kelly card shown below. Go figure...

CAREER-CAPPER: 1970 AL WORTHINGTON

Good day all. On the blog today we have a 1970 "career-capper" for long-time reliever Al Worthington, who wrapped up a nice 14-year Major League career in 1969:

Worthington appeared in 46 games for the Minnesota Twins that year, a season that saw them finish first in the newly configured West Division, before losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the first ever American League Playoffs.

The 40-year-old posted a record of 4-1 over those games, with a 4.57 earned run average in 61 innings, saving three and striking out 51 batters.

The year prior he led the A.L. with 18 saves while posting a very nice 2.71 ERA over 54 games, striking out 57 in 76.1 innings of work.

Originally up in 1953 with the New York Giants, he was generally used as a man out of the bullpen, appearing in 602 games in his career, with only 69 of them starts.

By the time he retired, he ended up with a record of 75-82 with 111 saves and a very respectable 3.39 ERA over 1246.2 innings.

His finest season would have to be 1965 when he helped the Twins make the World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he finished the year 10-7 with a 2.13 ERA over 62 games, saving a career-high 21 games.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 "FIREMEN LEAGUE LEADER" CARD

On the blog today, an interesting "missing" card to create, the "missing" 1980 Firemen League Leader card that was conspicuously missing as we ripped open packs that year:

Now, I'm not 100% sure, but I'm assuming the reason Topps didn't create this card was because one of the American League guys, Mike Marshall, would not allow them to use his image for cards at that time, with his last card in the 1977 set, so you could see how that would be an issue here.

Nevertheless, I went and whipped one up all these years later!

In the National League, we have all-world reliever in 1979 Bruce Sutter, who would take home the N.L. Cy Young Award for his monster 1979 campaign.

Ironically, though his 1977 year was better, his 1979 season was also great enough to bring him the hardware, as he'd post a record of 6-6 over 62 appearances, with a league-leading 37 saves, striking out 110 batters over 101.1 innings while pitching to a 2.22 earned run average.

Of course, we all know that he would also go on to lead the league in saves four of the next five years, including his record 45 saves in 1984 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the American League, it was a tie with Mike Marshall of the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers closer Jim Kern, both having excellent years.

For Marshall, he would appear in a league-leading 90 games, going 10-15 with a 2.65 ERA over 142.2 innings, with an A.L. high 32 saves.

It was the third time he reached the 90-game mark in his career, the first time since his Cy Young winning 1974 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he set the STILL standing record of 106 appearances.

As for Kern, I would say he had a serious case for the A.L. Cy Young in 1979, having an incredible year for the Texas Rangers, going 13-5 with a microscopic 1.57 ERA over 71 games and 143 innings, with 136 strikeouts.

Absolute beast!

Sadly for him it would easily be the high point of his career, though he would pitch until the 1986 season, getting in 13 seasons under the Big League sun.

Well, there you have it, filling in a blank in the 1980 set 43 years later!

Hope you enjoyed this one!