MINOR LEAGUE DAYS- MAURY WILLS

On the blog today we add former Los Angeles Dodger MVP Maury Wills to my on-going 1971 "Minor League Days" sub-set:

Wills was just about to come up to the Big Leagues for good in 1959 when this photo was taken, showing him suited up with the Spokane Indians where he played for a couple of seasons.

He would steal 25 bases each season for Spokane, hitting .253 and .313 respectively, giving everyone a sense of what to expect once he hit the Major League base paths.

Of course the pinnacle of his career is the 1962 season where he took home the National League MVP Award after setting the new single-season stolen base record with 104 while collecting 208 hits and 130 runs scored for the Dodgers.
This was right in the middle of a six-year run of leading the league in stolen bases, while also appearing in five all-star games and taking home a couple of Gold Glove Awards.
Overall he retired with a .281 batting average based on 2134 hits in 7588 at-bats with 586 stolen bases and 1067 runs scored in 1942 games.

 

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1970 FRANK HOWARD

Time to add the great Frank Howard to my on-going "On-Card All-Star" thread, celebrating "Hondo's" 1969 start in the Midsummer Classic representing the Washington Senators:

  

Howard was smack dab in the middle of an incredible run, topping 40 homers three straight seasons with a career best in 1969 of 48, while driving in over 100 with a high of 126 in 1970.

Those efforts got him top-10 finishes in the league MVP voting each year, finishing 8th, 4th and 5th respectively between 1968 and 1970.

An absolute beast at the plate, he would be the last Big League player until Jay Buhner (1995-97) to hit 40+ homers three years in a row from 1968-1970, with a high of 48 in 1969, though leading the league in 1968 and 1970 with 44.
He was also one of the early players to join the 30-home runs in each league club, hitting 31 with the Dodgers in 1962 before reaching the plateau again in 1967 when he slammed 36 taters.
All told, he finished his career with 382 homers over 16 seasons, before moving on to a coaching and managerial career, making him somewhat of a baseball lifer.
I loved him when he was with the New York Yankees later in his coaching career! I mean, how often do you get to appreciate a guy who was so nasty as a player that he had TWO great nicknames: “The Capital Punisher”, and “Hondo”!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 MANNY SEOANE

Up on the blog today we have a 1978 "not so missing" card for two-year Big League pitcher Manny Seoane, who made his Big League debut in 1977 as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies:

  

Seoane appeared in two games for the Phils that year, not factoring in a decision while posting an earned run average of 6.00 over six innings of work.

The following season he would find himself on the North Side of Chicago as a member of the Cubs, where he would appear in seven games, finishing with a record of 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 8.1 innings pitched.

Still only 23, he would spend the next three years in the Minors before calling it a career after the 1981 season.

For his brief career, Seoane finished with a record of 1-0, with an ERA of 5.65 over nine games and 14.1 innings between the Phillies and Cubs.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 JOE McINTOSH

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for former San Diego Padres pitcher Joe McIntosh, who made his MLB debut in 1974:

McIntosh appeared in 10 games for the Padres in 1974, going 0-4 with a decent earned run average at 3.62 over 37.1 innings of work.

Half of those appearances were starts, something that would increase the following season when he would make 37 appearances, with 28 of those starts as well.

In that 1975 season, which turned o0ut to be the last of his brief Big League career, McIntosh went 8-15 with an ERA at 3.69 over 183 innings, with four complete games and a shutout.

Following that season he was part of a trade to the Houston Astros that got the Padres Doug Rader, but I can't seem to find any reason why he never played between 1976 and 1978, not even in the Minors.

He did return to professional ball in 1979, still in the Houston organization, appearing in four games for the Gulf Coast League Astros squad and pitching nine innings, but that would be it.

All told, his MLB time resulted in a record of 8-19, with a 3.68 ERA over 47 games and 220.1 innings pitched, with 93 strikeouts and 77 walks in parts of two seasons.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 GIL GARRIDO

Today's blog post has a career-capping "not so missing" 1973 card for former Atlanta Braves infielder Gil Garrido, who finished up a six-year Big League career with 40 games in 1972:

Garrido hit what turned out to be a career-best .267 over those 40 games, with 20 hits in 75 official at-bats, scoring 11 runs and driving in seven himself.

A Brave since 1968, he never played a full season over that time, with a high of 101 appearances in 1970 when he hit .264 with 97 hits over 367 at-bats, all career-highs.

Back in 1964 he made his Big League debut with the San Francisco Giants as a 23-year-old, collecting 2 hits over 25 at-bats, (not so) good for a batting average of .080.

He would spend the three years in the Minors before joining the Braves in 1968, appearing in 18 games.

All told, Garrido played in 334 games during his career, hitting .237 with 207 hits over 872 at-bats, with 81 runs scored and 51 RBIs between 1964 and 1972.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 NINO ESPINOSA

On the blog today, a "not so missing" 1976 card for former New York Mets pitcher Nino Espinosa, who appeared in only two games the year prior, his second taste of the Big Leagfues in as many seasons:

Espinosa was still only 21 years of age when he went 0-1 with an 18.00 earned run average over three innings in those two games, giving up eight hits and six runs.

He would fare much better in 1976, going 4-4 with a respectable 3.67 ERA over 12 appearances, five of them starts, throwing 41.2 innings.

Over the next three years, he would be a solid starter for both the Mets in 1977 and 1978, then the Philadelphia Phillies in 1979 when he'd top 10+ wins each season, with a high of 14 in 1979, tossing over 200 innings each time.

Sadly for him though, 1980 would see him appear in only 12 games for the eventual World Champion Phillies, as he would finish with a record of 3-5 with a 3.77 ERA before splitting what turned out to be his last season in the Big Leagues in 1981.

In that final season, still only 27 years of age, he'd play for both the Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays, appearing in 14 games, going 2-5 with an ERA of 6.15 over 73.2 innings of work, apparently leaving the game for good shortly after.

All told, he finished his Major League career with a record of 44-55 over eight seasons, with an ERA at 4.17 over 140 games and 820.1 innings pitched, with 24 complete games and five shutouts along the way.

 

EXPANSION DO-OVER: TOMMY SMITH

Up on the blog today we have an expansion do-over for Tommy Smith and his 1977 card, originally showing him in an airbrushed Seattle Mariners uni in expectation of the upcoming inaugural season for the new franchise:

Understandably up against the wall, Topps had to scramble for both the Mariners and Toronto Blue Jay players in advance of their first seasons as member of the Major Leagues, which led to some classics as we all know.

Smiths wasn't one of the worst by far, but for those who don't remember the original, here you go:

In November of 1976 he would be drafted by the new Seattle Mariners organization as part of the expansion draft, where he would go on to play the last games of his career, 21 to be exact, where he hit .259 with seven hits in 27 at-bats.

In 1976 he’d see the most playing time of his five Major League seasons, appearing in 55 games for the Cleveland Indians, while hitting .256 with 42 hits in 164 at-bats, driving in 12 runs and scoring 17 himself.

All told, Smith played in 121 games in five seasons, hitting .232 with 63 hits, driving in 21 while scoring 28 over 271 at-bats between Cleveland and Seattle.