NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 TOMMY MOORE

Here’s a “not so missing” 1974 card for former pitcher Tommy Moore of the New York Mets, who appeared in three games for the eventual National League champs:

Moore had his second MLB tour during the ‘73 season, posting a record of 0-1 with a 10.80 earned run average in those three games and 3.1 innings pitched.
In 1972, he had his first taste of the “big show”, also appearing in three games, not figuring in a decision with a much nicer 2.92 E.R.A.
After spending the 1974 season in the minors, he’d make it back in 1975, splitting the season with the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers, appearing in 22 games, going 0-2 with a 6.13 E.R.A. over 39.2 innings, the most action he’d see in any of his 4 seasons as a big-leaguer.
After yet another season in the minor leagues in 1976, he would play the final 14 games of his career as a member of the inaugural Seattle Mariners team in 1977, winning two games against one loss with a 4.91 E.R.A., finishing his career with a 2-4 record over 42 games and 88.1 innings.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: 1969- THE "MIRACLE METS"

Next in my “Turn Back the Clock” running thread is the wonderful “Miracle Mets” season of 1969, just about as amazing (pun intended) a turnaround for a franchise as you could imagine:

After a ninth-place finish in 1968 with a record of 73-89, the Mets shocked the sports world in 1969 when they marched to a record of 100-62, led by a pitching staff that would make most envious with the likes of Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan and Gary Gentry.
Of course the road wasn’t easy, as they had the Chicago Cubs to deal with, and with the newly placed play-off format that did not ensure a pennant for coming in first, they had to go on to play the Atlanta Braves in the first National League Championship playoffs.
But again, the Mets were here to shock us all, as they swept the Braves and were to face the American League juggernaut Baltimore Orioles, who put together one of the most dominant team seasons of the modern era when they stormed to a record of 109-53, then sweeping the American League West champ Minnesota Twins 3-0 in the playoffs.
However, 1969 was all about the Mets, as they proceeded to take the series, and the World Championship 4 games to 1, giving New York an unlikely championship that was also paired with the New York Jets Super Bowl III win and the New York Knicks NBA championship, a brilliant sports trifecta the Big Apple could boast about until this very day.

THEN AND NOW- SANDY ALOMAR

Haven’t done a “Then and Now” card in a while, so today I post up a 1979 edition for Alomar patriarch Sandy Alomar Senior, who put together a nice 15-year career before retiring after the 1978 season:

Alomar came up with the Milwaukee Braves back in 1964, but didn’t get to play full-time until he joined the California Angels in 1969, where he would play until he was purchased by the New York Yankees in July of 1974.
He’d play the last two seasons of his career with the Texas Rangers, retiring after the 1978 season before moving on to coaching for various organizations.
Of course, he also had a couple of sons who became pretty good baseball players themselves, 1990 American Rookie of the Year Sandy Alomar Jr, and future Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar.
Not a bad baseball family tree!

CY YOUNG AWARD- 1972 SUB-SET

We move on to the 1972 and imagine what an awards sub-set (other than the joke of one they had in there) would look like had I been running the show.
Here’s my take on a “Cy Young Award” card reflecting the 1971 winners:

Fergie Jenkins was posting 20-win seasons like they were going out of style by the time he finally took home the award in 1971, going 24-13 with a 2.77 earned run average and 263 strikeouts, completing 30 of his 39 starts!
Monster year for “Fly”, as he’d march his way to the Hall of Fame with 284 wins and 3192 strikeouts, becoming the 1st pitcher in history to rack up 3000+ K’s while walking under 1000 batters.
Over in the American League we had what was the story of the year in baseball, Oakland A’s 21-year-old stud Vida Blue, who not only took home the Cy Young Award but the MVP as well.
All Blue did that year was post a record of 24-8 with a league-leading 1.82 earned run average and 301 strikeouts along with eight shutouts as he completed 24 of his 39 starts for the burgeoning baseball dynasty that would take home three straight world championships between 1972 and 1974.
It was one of those seasons a player has that grabs the attention of baseball and NON-baseball fans alike. Incredible year for the young lefty.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 HAL HAYDEL

Here’s a 1971 card that truly is “not missing in action” since not only did the player barely play the previous season, but he appeared on a multi-player rookie card in the 1971 set, Minnesota Twins pitcher Hal Haydel:

Haydel appeared in four games for the Twins in 1970, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.00 earned run average over nine innings pitched as a September call-up.
The following season he’d appear in another 31 games, going 4-2 with a 4.28 E.R.A. and a save in 40 innings, but those would be the last of his big league appearances.
After playing for the Twins’ minor league AAA affiliate Tacoma Twins in 1972, having a rough season that saw him go 2-8 with a 7.14 E.R.A., he retired from pro ball, finishing his MLB career with a 6-2 record along with a 4.04 E.R.A. in 35 appearances and 49 innings pitched.

NEGRO BASEBALL LEGENDS- "CYCLONE" JOE WILLIAMS

The next Negro Baseball League legend we spotlight in my long-running series is “Cyclone” Joe Williams, one of the greatest pitchers to take a mound in the first third of the 20th Century:

Pitching an incredible 27-years, he starred in the Negro Leagues as well as the Mexican and Caribbean Leagues between 1907 and 1932.
According to some sources, some of his pro seasons included records of 28-4, 20-2 and 32-8 playing for teams such as the Chicago Leland Giants and Homestead Grays.
While the great Satchel Paige gets much of the attention of baseball fans and historians, there is a frequent debate as to whether Williams is in fact the greatest pitcher to toe the rubber in Negro League history, even being recognized as such in a 1952 poll held by the Pittsburgh Courier.
Even noted Baseball historian Bill James named Williams the 52nd greatest player (and 12th greatest pitcher) in baseball history when he released his “100 Greatest Players in Baseball History” some 20-years ago.
In 1999, Cooperstown gave Williams his rightful place in their hallowed halls, electing him for enshrinement by the Veteran’s Committee.

FUTURE STARS: SAL BANDO

Next up in the “Future Stars” thread is all-star third baseman Sal Bando, yet another former star at Arizona State who went on to Major League fame:

Bando was coming off of three championships as part of the Oakland A’s dynasty, anchoring their infield with three top-4 finishes in the American League MVP voting before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers during the great “purge” of Oakland after the 1976 season.
He’d play the final five years of his big league career with Milwaukee before retiring after the 1981 season, but never really put together the numbers he had while out West.
Nevertheless, he’d finish with 242 homers with 1039 runs batted in and 982 runs scored in his 16-year career, with six 20+ homer seasons along with two 100+ RBI campaigns.