A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: CARL YASTRZEMSKI

Today on the blog we come to the third starting outfielder in my 1971 "All-Star Ticket" set, celebrating perhaps the greatest Midsummer Classic of the all, Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski:

The man was at his height of his game at the time this photo was taken, already a three-time batting champion, Triple Crown winner in 1967, and five-time Gold Glove winner.

As someone who grew up in New York City during the second half of his career, it's really easy to forget that Yastrzemski was a Long Island, New York boy before he went on to become a New England legend.

And how could he NOT become a legend, what with 23 years of Major League ball, all with the Red Sox, turning in three batting titles, a Triple Crown in 1967 along with an MVP Award, seven Gold Gloves, 18 all-star nods, and 25 league-leads in primary offensive categories.

By the time he did the retirement tour in 1983, he scored 1816 runs, collected 3419 hits, 646 doubles, 452 homers, 1844 runs batted in along with a .285 batting average.

He was just plain awesome…

 

1963 FLEER EXTENSION SET: DUKE SNIDER

On the blog this fine day, we add Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider to my 1963 "Fleer Extension" set, adding to the custom set I produced a couple years back, with ideas of adding a second WTHBALLS series in the near future:

Came across this nice shot of the Duke at the end of his Dodger run, perfect for the set, so I figured "why not"?

Snider really was incredibly underrated over his career, which sadly (for him) coincided with the careers of men like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Nevertheless, all he would do in the Majors was hit, finishing his career in 1964, capping off a great 18-year Major League career that saw him make eight All-Star teams while posting six seasons where he finished in the top-10 for N.L. MVP.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

A HUGE cog in the Brooklyn Dodger machine of the 1950s, he was also part of the "Holy Trinity of New York center-fielders of the era, along with Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees.

What a time it must have been to be a young baseball fan!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: WHITEY FORD

Good day all! 

On the blog today, we come to my custom "1960s Stars of the Game" card for the great Whitey Ford, from my set released back in 2018:

Super fun set to create, which included custom WTHBALLS gelatin box with actual gelatin packet inside.

What needs to be said about quite possibly the greatest Yankee pitcher of them all?

Cy Young winner in 1961, winner of 236 games against only 106 losses (a nifty .690 winning percentage), a 2.75 career earned run average, and a member of six world championship clubs.

He led the league in wins three times, winning percentage three times, ERA twice, shutouts twice, and was named to eight all-star teams during his 16-year career.

His 10 World Series wins (along with his eight losses) are Major League high marks to this day, and who knows how much more he could have padded all of his numbers had he not lost two seasons to the military in 1951 and 1952!

When the Hall of Fame came calling he was inducted on his first try, getting named to 284 of 365 ballots in 1974.

Obviously there's so much more to get into with Whitey, but I could end up writing a book here if I did, so I'll leave it up to the Wikipedia's out there to fill anyone in who wants to learn more.

I only wish Ford didn't try to hang on those last couple of years in 1966 and 1967, when he went a combined 4-9, thus eliminating the chance of him being only the second pitcher to this day to retire with 200+ wins and LESS than 100 losses (the other being 19th-century pitcher Bob Caruthers, who finished at 218-99 between 1884-1893).

Oh well, I know I'm nitpicking here…It's the nerd in me I guess.

REVISITING A POST FROM 10 YEARS AGO: MISSING 1976 WINSTON LLENAS

From ten years ago on the blog, today we revisit a "missing" 1976 card for former California Angels infielder Winston Llenas, part of the "1976 Project" I worked on for my buddy Jim:

Llenas appeared in 56 games for the Halos, hitting .186 with 21 hits over 113 at-bats while playing five different positions plus some DH-ing.

The action he saw in 1975 would be the last of his career, all spent with the Angels since he came up in 1968.

He didn't play in 1970 or 1971, so over the six seasons he did see action in the Majors, he hit .230 with 122 hits over 531 official at-bats, spread over 300 big league games.

In 1973 he led the American League with 16 pinch-hits and 56 pich-hit at-bats, while seeing the most action in any season he played, 78 games.

He then went on to play a year in Japan, for the Taiheiyo Club in 1976, hitting .227 before going to to play, coach and manage in the Dominican Republic for years, eventually getting inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: GEORGE BRETT

On the blog today, we celebrate Kansas City Royals legend George Brett with his inclusion in my long-running WTHBALLS custom "Classic Baseball" set, appreciating the great game's long and rich history:

Brett made his Big League debut in 1973 with 13 games for the Kansas City Royals, the only team he'd suit up for over his magnificent 21 year career.

In that initial showing he hit .125 with five hits in 40 at-bats, including two doubles and two runs scored.

The following season he'd be here to stay, finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year race in 1974, hitting .282 with 129 hits, 49 runs scored and 47 runs batted in over 133 games for the Kansas City Royals.
He’d have his breakout season quickly, leading the league with 195 hits as well as 13 triples in 1975 before winning his first batting title a year later when he hit .333 with a league-leading 215 hits and 14 triples.

His 1979 season is just not appreciated enough!

That season Brett led the league with 212 hits and 20 triples, while also collecting 42 doubles, 23 homers, 107 runs batted in and 119 runs scored, hitting .329 and also stealing 17 bases!

This was arguably his best season overall for his career, and remember, he hit .390 the following year!

The man was born to hit, and would finish his career with 3154 hits, a .305 average, 317 homers and let’s not forget the 201 stolen bases and 137 triples!
The 13-time all-star was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1993, getting named to 98.2% of the ballot, while taking home the MVP in 1980 after his magical .390 hitting season, while finishing second twice and third once.
Legend!

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 MIKE WILLIS

Today on the blog, a rarity these days, a first post for a player after 12 years of doing this, this time pitcher Mike Willis and the differences between his 1977 cards by OPC and Topps:

OPC version

Topps version

Of course, being that he was on the inaugural 1977 Toronto Blue Jays team, this was big stuff for OPC, so they went and gave him his own card in the 1977 set, as opposed to Topps who had him on one of the multi-player rookie cards.

In 1977, his first taste of the Majors, Willis appeared in 43 games, throwing 107.1 innings, with three starts thrown in, going 2-6 with a decent 3.94 E.R.A., striking out 59 batters.

He would end up pitching five years in the Big Leagues, all with Toronto, going 7-21 over 144 games, pitching to a 4.59 earned run average in 296 innings.

He would start six games, even tossing a complete game in 1978, while also collecting 15 saves while striking out 149 batters.

 

1980s CAREER-CAPPERS: 1984 GAYLORD PERRY

On the blog today, a card from my next WTHBALLS custom produced set, "1980s Career-Capers", a 1984 card for Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry:

For me growing up in the late-70’s/early-80s, Perry was the stuff of legend since he was the first player I remember reaching 3000 strikeouts, which at the time made him only the THIRD player to do so behind Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson.
He was also (and I remember this vividly) the first pitcher to reach 300 wins since Early Wynn, which was a 20 year gap, the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award in both leagues, which he did with the Indians in 1972 and the Padres in 1978.
That 1978 season saw him take home the award after a fantastic year that saw him go 21-6 with a 2.73 earned run average at the age of 39 after coming over from the Texas Rangers.
People may also forget that for a relatively brief moment he was the all-time strikeout king before a couple of guys by the name of Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton caught up soon after.
He posted 5 20-win seasons, finished with 314 for his career, along with 53 shutouts and 3534 strikeouts over a 22-year Big League career, tossing 300+ innings six times.
Is it safe to say that he’s almost a forgotten all-time great?