1975 IN-ACTION: BILL BUCKNER

Time to go and add long-time Major Leaguer and former batting champ Bill Buckner to my 1975 “In-Action” sub-set, as “Billy Buck” was just coming off of his 1st excellent Big League season in 1974, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers reach the World Series:

Buckner, who first came up in 1969 as a 19-year-old, hit .314 in 1974, with 182 hits and 31 stolen bases for the National League champs, even getting a little MVP attention when the year was over.
He would go on to have a borderline Hall of Fame 22-year career which included a batting crown in 1980 when he hit .324 while playing for the Chicago Cubs, as well as three 100-RBI seasons, his last two as a member of the Boston Red Sox.
By the time he retired in 1990, becoming one of those rare four-decade players, Buckner finished with a very nice .289 career average, with 2715 hits, 174 homers and a surprising 183 stolen bases over 2517 games and 9397 at-bats.
Extremely underrated career that has been marred by one play, which sadly seems to be the way it goes in professional sports. Sad.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 DENNIS DeBARR

It’s always fun to create 1978 cards for the inaugural Toronto Blue Jays or Seattle Mariners, and today I present just that, a “not so missing” card for one-year Major League pitcher Dennis BeBarr of the Toronto Blue Jays:

DeBarr was picked by Toronto as the 26th overall selection in the Expansion Draft from the Detroit Tigers, who originally drafted him back in 1971.
He would make his Big League debut in May of 1977 and proceed to play in 14 games, going 0-1 with a 5.91 earned run average over 21.1 innings, all out of the bullpen.
Turns out those 14 games would be the only appearances for DeBarr in his Big League tenure, as he would go on to play another two seasons in the Cleveland, Chicago (NL) and Oakland Minor League systems before retiring after 1979.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 SAM BOWEN

Today’s blog post has a “not so missing” 1979 card for former Boston Red Sox outfielder Sam Bowen, he of a brief three-year Big League career between 1977 and 1980:

Bowen, for whom I created a 1978 “not really missing” card some time ago for his MLB 1977 debut of three games and two at-bats, gets the 1979 edition after his six games and seven at-bats in 1978.
I had to get a little creative with the photo, taking him out of the “wrong” time appropriate uni and Photoshopping him into the correct red cap uni of 1978.
Bowen collected his 1st Major league hit in 1978 as he went one-for-seven at the plate, making it a home run while driving in one and scoring three runs.
After playing the 1979 season entirely in the Minor Leagues, he’d make it back to the Big Leagues in 1980, appearing in seven games, the last of his brief career, going 2-for-13 with a stolen base and a couple of base-on-balls.
Over his brief three-year career, he ended up hitting .136 with three hits in 22 at-bats, appearing in 16 games on a Major League field.

1974 SPECIAL- AL KALINE & BROOKS ROBINSON

Sometimes I come across an image and just know it’ll be a card someday, like today’s great shot of two legends, Al Kaline and Brooks Robinson:

Arguably two players who became the faces of their respective organizations in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Kaline and Robinson were winding down their Hall of Fame careers by the time this card would have come out of packs in the Spring of 1974.
Kaline, the youngest batting champ when he took home the title in 1955 at the age of only 20, was also on his way to 3000 hits while leading the Detroit Tigers for 22 seasons, while Brooks Robinson rewrote the record books with his 16 Gold Gloves while helping the Orioles win two championships (1966, 1970) and four American League titles over 23 seasons.
It’s amazing to think that even today, they somehow get lost in the “legend” shuffle even though they are both still with us.
I feel they should be celebrated so much more while they are still alive, NOT after they’re gone, as is usually the case with so many other icons (Buck O’Neill, Bob Feller, Stan Musial).

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 BILL PLUMMER

Today’s blog post has a “not so missing” 1971 card for former catcher Bill Plummer, who sadly had a guy named “Johnny Bench” in front of him while a member of the Cincinnati Reds:

Needless to say, when the Reds already have a guy named “Bench” behind the plate, you’re going to relegated to back-up duties, and that’s exactly what Plummer was from the time he came up in 1968 for a cup-of-coffee and 1977 before he signed with the Seattle Mariners for his last season of 1978.
Plummer appeared in 10 games for the Reds during the 1971 season, going 0-for-19 at the plate while playing four games at catcher with another two at third base.
Between 1972 and 1977 he’d average about 50 games a year along with 150 plate appearances, hitting the “Mendoza Line” while backing up the future Hall-of-Fame Bench.
Nevertheless, the man got to be a part of the “Big Red Machine” teams and even walking away with two championship rings in 1975 and 1976.
After that last season in the Big Leagues with the Seattle Mariners, Plummer finished with a .188 batting average, collecting 168 hits in 892 at-bats over 367 games before moving into coaching, then one season as a Major League manager, with the Seattle Mariners in 1992, where they went 64 and 98, finishing last in the American League West.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 PAT BOURQUE

Today on the blog I offer up a “not so missing” 1972 card for former first baseman Pat Bourque, who made his MLB debut during the 1971 season with the Chicago Cubs:

Bourque appeared in 14 games for the Cubs, hitting .189 with seven hits over 37 at-bats, including the first triple and home run of his brief four-year career.
He’d go on to play for the Cubs, Oakland A’s and Minnesota Twins between 1971 and 1974, hitting .215 with 12 homers and 61 runs batted in over 201 games and 405 at-bats, along with 87 hits and 36 runs scored.
In 1973 he played in the World Series for Oakland against the New York Mets, going 1-for-2 at the plate as the A’s went on to win their second straight championship, surely the high-point of his Big League tenure.
Now I need to find a usable image of him with his short time as a Minnesota Twins player at the end of his career in 1974!

1975 IN-ACTION: GRAIG NETTLES

Next up in my long-running “1975 In-Action” series is New York Yankees All-Star third baseman Graig Nettles, one of my childhood favorites:

Nettles came over to the Yanks from the Cleveland Indians before the 1973 season and did nothing but perform, helping them head straight to three straight American League Pennants and two World Championships by the end of 1978.
Along the way he also led the A.L. with 32 homers in 1976, then following that up with a career-high 37 in 1977, while also taking home two Gold Gloves and getting named to five All-Star teams.
Of course, the man was also known for his stellar glove work, especially in the Fall Classic when he put on a clinic against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 3 in 1978, helping the Yanks win the game and swing the series momentum.
A master a quips as well, I’ll always remember “You went from Cy Young to Sayonara”, which he stated to Cy Young winning reliever Sparky Lyle after the Yankees acquired Rich Gossage, as well as "[w]hen I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join the circus. With the Yankees I have accomplished both”, about his time in the Bronx.
When it was all said and done, Nettles played for 22 seasons, finishing up with 390 homers, 2225 hits, and 1314 runs batted in, with 1193 runs scored and a reputation that still has him considered one of the finest defensive third basemen in history.