NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S: "GROOVE" DON BAYLOR

“Groove”, what an awesome nickname, and that’s the moniker given to one of my favorite Yanks during my high school years, former slugger and good-guy Don Baylor:

Of course, by the time he came to the Bronx he was already an established star of the game, even taking home the American League MVP in 1979 after a monster year where he led the league with both 120 runs scored and 139 runs batted in.
Heck, the guy even stole as many as 52 bases one season, back in 1976 in his only year with the Oakland A’s after getting sent there from Baltimore as part of the blockbuster Reggie Jackson deal.
I just always loved his quiet way about things, especially during the insane George Steinbrenner years!
I hated that the Yanks traded him to Boston (of all places) straight up for Mike Easler. Not knocking Easler by any means! But Baylor was well-liked by a ton of us kids in NYC back then.
Anyway, I chose the 1979 format for his nickname card to celebrate his MVP year.
While looking over his career I was shocked, and STILL am, that he was named to only ONE all-star team over his excellent 19-year career! Can you believe that?
Only during his 1979 season was Baylor on the all-star team, which to be seems unbelievable since he was consistently a very good hitter, and well-liked around the league.
How he was never even a reserve over the years baffles me.
The late, great Don Baylor, who sadly passed away this past year at the age of only 68. Here’s to you “Groove”!
R.I.P.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 FRED STANLEY

Here’s a card that I actually created a while ago, as well as a card subject many others have done before, the “missing” 1973 Fred Stanley card:

Stanley, aka “Chicken”, originally came up with the Seattle Pilots in their lone 1969 season, moving with them to Milwaukee in 1970 before playing for the Cleveland Indians in 1971,
He’d start the year with the Indians, but get shipped off to San Diego after only nine games, appearing in another 39 games for the mustard and brown clad Padres where he’d bat an even .200 with 17 hits over 85 at-bats.
Of course, by the time the new season started in 1973 he found himself as a member of the New York Yankees, where he would go on to play the next eight years, including two championship seasons in 1977 and 1978.
He’d finish off his 14-year career with two seasons in Oakland, playing through the 1982 campaign before retiring with a career .216 batting average, along with 356 hits over 1650 at-bats while generally playing short and second with some third base work thrown in through the years.

A LOOK AT THE 1978 HOSTESS DAVE KINGMAN PHOTO/CARD

Hey, I know I’m straying a bit here, but thought it’d be fun to look at the 1978 image that was used on the Dave Kingman Hostess card, showing the paint job executed to have him suited up as a Chicago Cub, his new team after an insane 1977 season that saw him suit up for four OTHER teams:

Actually not really a bad job I have to say. I like the lighting/shadowing done on the batting helmet! Great work there.
“Kong”, the enigma. After slugging for the Mets, Padres, Angels and Yankees in 1977 he found somewhat of a home on the North Side of Chicago where he’d play for three years before returning to Queens in 1981.
The poster child for “all or nothing”, he’d finish his career with 442 homers, including a whopping 35 in his final MLB season in 1986, along with 1816 strikeouts in only 6677 at-bats, which paired up with his .236 career average tells you where his game was at!
But I loved the guy. Really an odd bird as far as players are concerned, and I’m all for that!
Seems today’s game could use some “Dave Kingmans” sprinkled throughout the league.
I’ll be covering some other Hostess cards from the 1970’s, as they had some whoppers of paint-jobs on the images used. Just too good to pass up!

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S- "HOOT" BOB GIBSON

Why not go and give former Hall of Fame pitcher Bob “Hoot” Gibson a nickname card? After all, any chance to create another card for the fire-balling right-hander is more than welcomed!
So here’s my 1971 “Nickname” card:

Gibson just posted his second Cy Young winning season in 1970, posting a career-high 23 wins along with 274 strikeouts and a 3.12 earned run average.
It was his fifth 20-win season in six years, eventually settling for 251 wins as a Big League ace, along with 3117 strikeouts (only the second pitcher ever to reach that mark), 56 shutouts and a brilliant 2.91 E.R.A.
Let’s not forget that the man could field as well, as seen by his nine Gold Gloves, along with the fact that he could hit too, with 24 homers and 144 runs batted in over his 17-year career!
A legend of the game, he was a “gimmie” for the Hall of Fame once eligible in 1981, getting named on 337 of 401 ballots cast.
Stories of Gibson’s fierce competitive streak are legendary, and I love each and every one of them!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 KEN FRAILING

Always love adding to the 1977 set, and today we have another, a card for former Cubs pitcher Ken Frailing, who pitched the last games of his five-year career in 1976:

Over six appearances, three of them starts, Frailing posted a record of 1-2 with a nice 2.41 earned run average in 18.2 innings.
That would give him a career 10-16 record on a Big League mound, all played in Chicago, with the White Sox in 1972 & 1973, then the Cubs the rest of the way, spread out over 116 appearances, 19 of which were starts.

A CAREER-CAPPING "NOT SO MISSING" 1975 CARD FOR MIKE EPSTEIN

Let’s cap-off the nice nine-year career of Mike Epstein with a “missing” 1975 card for the last 18 games of his MLB tenure, for which he played for the California Angels in 1974:

Epstein, slapped with what I am assuming was a time-appropriate nom-de-plume “Superjew”, batted .161 in his last taste of Major League action, with four homers among his 10 hits over 18 games.
He had a very nice year in 1969 when he slammed 30 homers for the Washington Senators, driving in 85 runs with a .278 batting average, even getting some MVP attention for his efforts.
The same would happen in 1972, now playing with the World Champ A’s, when he hit 26 homers with 70 RBIs along with a .270 batting average, easily his second best season in the Big Leagues.

1975 IN-ACTION: NOLAN RYAN

Don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get this guy in my 1975 “In-Action” series, but here you go, the great Nolan Ryan in the thick of his prime:

The man just reeled off his third 300+ strikeout season in 1974 with a monster 367 K total to go along with a career-high 22 wins for the California Angels, finishing third in the American League Cy Young race.
Incredibly enough it was his second straight 20-win season, and the only such seasons of his legendary 27-year Major League career, yet still ending up with 324 wins.
“The Ryan Express” also happened to walk a whopping 202 walks in 1974, a total he would actually top in 1977 when he issued 204.
Then, unbelievably in his MID-30’s, he harnessed that control to the point that when he struck out 301 batters in 1989 at the age of freakin’ 42, he “only” walked 98.
The man just wasn’t of this earth.
Legend!