MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 WAYNE COMER

Here's a "missing" 1971 card for Wayne Comer, he of five partial Major League seasons between 1967 and 1972:

During the 1970 season Comer played for both the Milwaukee Brewers and the Washington Senators, compiling 171 plate appearances over 90 games.

He hit .212 with 31 hits in 146 at-bats, along with 22 runs scored and nine runs batted in for good measure.

The previous season would be his only substantial playing time, as one of the full-time Seattle Pilots outfielders in their lone season before moving onto  Milwaukee.

He appeared in 147 games with 573 plate appearances, hitting .245 with 15 homers and 54 runs batted in with 88 runs scored while playing five positions, including catcher.

All told, Comer would play in 316 games, with 808 plate appearances, collecting 157 hits in 687 at-bats, good for a .229 average, with 16 homers and 67 runs batted in, before retiring after a short stint with the Detroit Tigers in 1972.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 GATES BROWN: "1976 PROJECT"

Next up on the "1976 Project" hit parade is a "career capper" of sorts for pinch-hitter extraordinaire Gates Brown of the Detroit Tigers.

Take a look:

Brown closed out a wonderful 13-year career in 1975, all for the Tigers, playing in 47 games.

He hit .171 with six hits in 35 at-bats in his final season, but don't let that fool you, he was THE man off the bench for the Tigers, and one of the top pinch-hitters in baseball history.

Between 1963 and 1975 he collected 582 hits, with 107 of them as a pinch-hitter, and of those 107 pinch-hits 16 were home runs.

It's interesting to note that during the "year of the pitcher" in 1968, when Carl Yastrzemski led the American League with a .301 average, and Danny Cater finished second with a .290 average, Brown, in the role of pinch-hitter, finished with an amazing .370 average in just under 100 at-bats.

Certainly not a full season by any means, but he was raking it nevertheless as part of the eventual World Champion team.

If none of you have read up on the man, I suggest you at least Google him to read some of the anecdotes attributed to him, as well as his interesting life story and how he eventually made it to the Major Leagues. 

Definitely one of those great baseball characters that live on forever in my eyes.

THEN AND NOW #39: STAN WILLIAMS 1972

The next "Super Veteran" in my "Then and Now" thread is former pitcher Stan Williams, aka "Big Daddy":

Williams was closing out a nice 14-year career in 1972, actually appearing in three games for the Boston Red Sox, pitching only 4.1 innings.

He was just two years removed from an awesome season for the Minnesota Twins in 1970 when he posted a 10-1 record with a sparkling 1.99 earned run average and 15 saves as a reliever, appearing in 68 games, all in relief.

Williams finished his career with a 109-94 record, with a 3.48 ERA, 11 shutouts and 1305 strikeouts over 482 games and 1764.1 innings of work.

I love his final Topps card, which is in the 1972 set, that has a great night-shot with stadium lights in the background.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #42: 1972 KEN HOLTZMAN

Next up on my ongoing "missing" 1972 In-Action card sub-set is former pitcher Ken Holtzman:

Holtzman was pitching in his first season for the Oakland A's in '72 after coming over from the Chicago Cubs, and he would contribute exceptionally well for the team that would go on to three straight championships in his first three years.

He'd go on to win 19, 21 and 19 wins between 1972 and 1974, posting ERA's of 2.51, 2.97 and 3.07 with 10 shutouts, while never pitching less than 255.1 innings.

Then he'd go on to win 18 in '75 with a 3.14 ERA while topping 250+ innings pitched once again in his last year for the A's before being part of the monster Reggie Jackson trade that sent them to Baltimore in the Spring of '76.

He'd put together a very nice 15-year career, finishing with a 174-150 record, with a 3.49 ERA, 31 shutouts and 1601 strikeouts before retiring after the 1979 season.

What a pitching staff the A's had when you put Holtzman in there with Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue. Not a bad trio, and on top of that you had future Hall of Fame reliever Rollie Fingers out of the 'pen!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 TERRY CORNUTT

Let's go and give former pitcher Terry Cornutt a "missing" 1978 card.

Take a look at the card I whipped up:

Cornutt appeared in 28 games for the Giants in 1977, posting a 1-2 record with 23 strikeouts and a 3.86 earned run average over 44.1 innings of work.

Except for a single solitary appearance in 1978, that would be the entirety of his Major League career.

Curious as to why he never made it back up to the "big show", as he put in a few more decent seasons in the minor leagues until 1980 for the Giants organization out of the 'pen.

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #103 (A REVISIT OF #21)

Let's revisit my quiz from October 24th, 2013.

I'll post the answers tomorrow…

1. You may be surprised by the answer: what reliever had the most saves in a "perfect" season during the decade? That is, no blown saves for the year?

2. What starting pitcher had the lowest season E.R.A. while sporting a losing record during the '70's?

3. Who was the only pitcher to lead a league in E.R.A. for a season without winning 10+ games?

4. What pitcher had the highest strikeout total in a season without leading the league?

5. Who was the only pitcher during the decade to NOT have more wins than losses while leading the league in E.R.A. during the 1970's?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. 1977 Dave Campbell, Atlanta Braves: 13/13.

2. Dave Roberts, San Diego Padres: 2.10 with a 14-17 record.

3. Craig Swan, NY Mets. 1979. 9-6 with a 2.43 E.R.A..

4. Vida Blue, Oakland A's. 1971. 301 K's, second to Mickey Lolich who had 308.

5. Diego Segui, Oakland A's. 1970. 10-10 record with a 2.56 E.R.A..

HALL OF FAME #25: MICKEY MANTLE: CLASS OF 1974

Well today we come to one of the most popular players ever to play ball, and his induction to the Hall of Fame, Mickey Mantle.

Here's the card I came up with:

I think the shot works well with the template, no?

Mantle is one of those guys I really don't think we need to get into as far as his accomplishments on the baseball diamond. It'd be kind of like a joke to start writing about his career since it would take up a book's worth.

But alas, 500+ homers, a bushel of World Championships, three Most Valuable Player Awards, and the hearts of more fans than we can even imagine to this day.

"The Mick" in all his glory, enshrined in his rightful place in Cooperstown, along with his longtime buddy Whitey Ford in the same HOF class.

Not too bad a Hollywood script...