"GIMME A DO-OVER"- PART XXXV: 1974 #250 WILLIE McCOVEY (AND A PHOTO-BOMB TOO!)

Here's a fun card to redesign, mainly do to the fact I found an awesome image to use that allowed me to also create my first "photo-bombing" card at the same time! A do-over of the 1974 Topps Willie McCovey card.

And for all of you "completists" out there, I created one for BOTH the Padres AND the "Nationals" versions.

Take a look:

 

Original Topps "San Diego" version

Original Topps "Washington" version

Look at "Winnie" in the background!

A "Washington" version for the completists out there

 

First off, as we all know, the airbrushed image Topps used for "Stretch" just plain-ole stinks! So THAT needed addressing on this blog to begin with. 

So when I was trolling for a nice image of McCovey to use circa 1974, I came across this great shot of him posed with none other than a young Dave Winfield in the background! 

Very cool!

Of McCovey's 22 years in the Major Leagues, three were spent outside San Francisco, from 1974 to 1976 with the Padres and Oakland A's for a brief 11 games at the tail end of the '76 season.

He was a Rookie of the Year in 1959, an M.V.P. in 1969, and eventually a Hall of Fame member when he was inducted in 1986.

"Stretch", "Big Mac", whatever. The man was a monster at the plate, slamming 521 homers before calling it a career in 1980.

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #72

Today's trivia deals with some rough "low-water" pitching marks for the decade of the 1970's.

Take a stab and see what you can get.

Answers posted tomorrow…

1. For qualifying pitchers (at least 162 innings), who posted the fewest wins in a season?
2. Who posted the highest earned run average in a season among qualifying pitchers during the decade?
3. Four pitchers tied for suffering the most losses in a season (22) during the 1970's. However only one of them posted less than 10 wins in their tough year. Who was it?
4. Who yielded the highest Batting Average Against during a season in the '70's among qualifiers?
5. This pitcher managed to win only three games in a season where he pitched over 200 innings. Adding to this, he would go on to win 20 games the very next year! Who was he?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. Matt Keough, A's. He had only 2 wins against 17 losses in 1979.
2. Phil Huffman, Blue Jays. He finished with a 5.77 E.R.A. in 1979.
3. Randy Jones, Padres. He went 8-22 in 1974.
4. Matt Keough, A's, who had a .315 B.A.A. in 1979.
5. Jerry Koosman, who went 3-15 for the Mets in 1978, then 20-13 for the Twins in 1979.      

THEN AND NOW #21: LOU BROCK 1979

Man! Here's a guy who is often overlooked in baseball history, and funny enough I almost forgot all about him for my "Then and Now" series: Lou Brock.

Take a look:

I just had to use a picture of him with that Cardinals cap on! Just takes me back…

By the end of the 1979 season Brock was closing out his Hall of Fame career, nailing down his 3000th hit to go along with his 938 stolen bases, 1610 runs scored and .293 lifetime average.

Even at the age of 40 he was doing well, batting over .300 (.304) with 21 stolen bases!

An eight-time stolen base champ, he also collected 200 hits in a season four times, with another four seasons of over 190, and he also scored 100+ runs in a season seven times.

Incredibly enough, in Brock's 19-year career, he made the All-Star team only six times! 

The price you pay for coming up during the years of Mays, Aaron, and Clemente! 

Tough luck indeed!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 JOHN CUMBERLAND

Here's a "missing" 1973 card for pitcher John Cumberland of the St. Louis Cardinals:

After a very nice 1971 season with the San Francisco Giants which saw him post a 9-6 record with a 2.92 E.R.A. and two shutouts in 45 games and 185 innings, Cumberland started the 1972 season 0-4 with a bloated 8.64 E.R.A., finding himself  traded to the Cardinals for a minor league player on June 16th.

The change of scenery didn't exactly help, as he went on to a 1-1 record with a 6.65 earned run average over 14 games.

All told he went 1-5 with a 7.71 E.R.A. over 23 games and 46.2 innings of work.

He actually didn't appear in a Major League game in 1973, but came back for 17 appearances in 1974 with the California Angels, fairing a bit better with an 0-1 record and 3.74 E.R.A. over 21.2 innings, his last on the big league level.

For his career, Cumberland went 15-16 with a 3.82 earned run average over 110 appearances, 36 of which were starts.

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #11: "THE MAD HUNGARIAN" AL HRABOSKY

"The Mad Hungarian"…

What an awesome nickname for a about as symbolic a character of 1970's baseball as Al Hrabosky, and the next subject of my "Nicknames of the '70's" series.

Take a look at my card design:

His antics were entertaining to say the least (though not to opposing players), and I remember him towards the end of his career in the early 1980's, along with guys like Brad Leslie, "Goose" Gossage, etc that made the game a riot!

I used a 1976 template since his best year in the Majors was 1975, leading the league in saves and winning percentage with 22 and .813 respectively.

That performance got him a third-place finish in Cy Young voting, as well as a fifth place finish in Most Valuable Player voting.

Though he never quite found the success of that year again, he did play another seven years in the Big Leagues, ending up with the Atlanta Braves in 1982 before hanging them up.

He finished with a nice 64-35 career record, along with a 3.10 earned run average and 97 saves over 545 games, one of which was a start way back when he came up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970.

1974 TOPPS BILLY WILLIAMS: BLINDED BY YELLOW

I have always wondered why Topps messed around with the photo used on the 1974 Billy Williams card.

Take a look:

What on earth is with ALL that yellow?!

Would love to know where the image is from, and why Topps felt the need to mess with the background like that.

So strange, no?

Anyone have any ideas?

They over saturated the background, and you can even see where the batter's box is divided between the over-saturated side and the "untouched" side (Williams' side).

It's a nice action photo, but sadly ruined with the "effect" going on…

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #11: 1972 TONY PEREZ

Today we go ahead and give the "Big Dog", Tony Perez, an "In Action" card in the 1972 set.

Take a look:

One of the anchors of the "Big Red Machine", Perez was an R.B.I. machine, topping 90 or more eight of ten seasons during the 1970's.

2700+ hits, 375+ homers, 1600+ runs batted in, and over 500 doubles over the course of 23 seasons in the Major Leagues.

Enough said for the future Hall of Famer, finally getting welcomed into the doors of Cooperstown in 2000.