WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: HARMON KILLEBREW

On the blog today, correcting an erroneous post from a couple months back, my 1960 "Stars of the Game" card for HOF slugger Harmon Killebrew, from my custom set released in 2018:

I remember the first time I saw Harmon Killebrew's statistics when my cousin gave me a 1973 card of him when I was about 11 years old in 1980.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All the home runs, all the R.B.I.'s from a player I never knew about. To count out EIGHT 40+ home run seasons blew me away.
This was right before I got my first Macmillan Encyclopedia, so baseball cards really were the only place back then to see stats of players who were around before you were a fan. I just kept rereading those power stats again and again, amazed every time as if I was seeing them for the first time.
Throw in the fact that the 1973 card of Killebrew is pretty damn cool, I was hooked on "Killer" ever since.
Over the years I was able to meet him on more than one occasion and just listen to him tell some stories, not just about baseball but some golf thrown in for good measure. He was an amazing person who was friendly, patient and always seemed to have a smile on his face.
Playing for Washington, Minnesota and a final season in Kansas City between 1954 and 1975, Killebrew mashed 573 home runs to go along with 1584 R.B.I.'s, winning an M.V.P. award along the way in 1969 while finishing in the top five in voting five other seasons.
In 1984 he was inducted in the Hall of Fame, capping off a stellar career that sometimes gets lost among the Mantles, Mays, Clementes and Aarons that were garnering all the attention in the same era.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1964 JOHN PACIOREK

At long last, I have finally gotten around to creating a "missing" 1964 card for the ultimate "one-game wonder", John Paciorek of the Houston Colt .45s:

As we all know Paciorek, the older brother of both Tom and Jim Paciorek, appeared in one solitary game at the end of the 1963 season for Houston, putting in perhaps the greatest one-game career the sport has ever seen.

On September 29th against the New York Mets, John, making his Major League debut, started out in right field and proceeded to go 3-for-3 at the plate with four runs scored and three runs batted in along with two walks, helping the "Colts" win 13-4 on the last game of the season.

With that game in the books, Paciorek went home to wait until the next season, batting a cool 1.000 for his bright career.

As a Spring Training invitee in 1964, his performance was just not enough to make the team, so off to the Minors he went.

Sadly, during the year he injured his spine, leading to spinal fusion surgery, causing him to miss the latter part of the 1964 season and all of 1965.

Though he did manage to return to the Minors in 1966, he just couldn't get back into the groove of things, hitting .193 combined with the Batavia Trojans and Salisbury Astros.

In 1967 things didn't fare much better, as he hit a combined .104 over 32 games with Asheville and Cocoa, collecting only seven hits over 67 at-bats, leading to a release at the end of the year.

He did bounce back some in 1968, signing with the Cleveland Indians organizations and splitting the year between Reno and Rock Hill.

Over 95 games that year he hit .268 with 20 homers and 73 RBIs, giving his new club some hopes for the future.

However, after hitting only .213 over 29 games with Waterbury, he was released, never to play pro ball again.

Nevertheless, no one can take away the fact that in his one day as a Major League ballplayer at the tender young age of only 18, he was perfect!

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: AMOS OTIS

Good day all!

Time to add underrated All-Star outfielder Amos Otis to my long-running "Classic Baseball" custom set, celebrating the game's rich history:

Otis could very well be THE most overlooked player of the 1970's as he was nothing but steady through the entire decade, going on to be the American League's top run scorer with 861, while also driving in 90+ three times and stealing 30+ bases five times.

By the time he retired after the 1984 season after one year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he ended up with 193 homers, 341 stolen bases, 1092 runs scored and 2020 hits along with a batting average of .277 and 1007 runs batted in.
Considering the “dead ball” era of the early-70’s in the American League, his numbers are up there with the best of them, and it’s sad he gets lost among his contemporaries when looking back at that time in Major League baseball.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1970 TOM HUTTON

Up on the blog today, how about a "not so missing" 1970 card for infielder/outfielder Tom Hutton, who started his career as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Hutton originally made his MLB debut during the 1966 season as a 20-year-old, appearing in three games for the eventual National league champs, hitless in two at-bats.

After spending all 1967 and 1968 in the Minors, he was back in the Big Leagues in 1969 with 16 games, hitting .271  with two runs scored and four runs batted in.

Sadly for him he'd be back in the Minors until 1972, when he made it back to the Majors for good, now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.

He'd play through the 1981 season, suiting up for the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos as well as the previous two teams, appearing in 952 games overall, hitting .248 with 410 hits in 1655 at-bats, playing both the outfield spots and first base over his career.

 

FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1985 ROD CAREW

Once again, time to "fix" Topps' All-Star cards for Rod Carew, who was left out for the second year in a row in favor of a non-starter, this time the 1985 set:

Carew was once again selected by fans to start the Midsummer Classic in 1984, yet Topps decided to go with Eddie Murray once again, as they did in the 1984 set.

Carew was STILL an automatic at that slot for years at the time, and was the starter yet again in 1984.

The man was a player for the ages, as he would go on to play in 18 All-Star games, missing only his final season in the Majors in 1985. Just incredible.

The first nine seasons of his career were as an All-Star second baseman, while the last nine were as a first baseman.

The legend topped .300 15 years in a row, with a high of .388 in 1977 on his way to a Most Valuable Player Award and capturing the public’s attention with his .400 chase late in the season.
A clear-cut Hall of Fame player, he was inducted on his first year of eligibility in 1991 when he garnered 90.5% of the vote, which leaves me with the question: who the hell are the 9.5% who DIDN’T vote for him!!!???

3053 hits, a .328 career average, 353 stolen bases and 15 straight seasons of .300+ batting.

The man was a hitting machine, and I'm so glad I got to see him play during his magnificent career!

REVISIT: 1972 MISSING IN ACTION: "IN ACTION"- GENE TENACE

Time again to revisit a 10+ year-old post from the blog, this time my card for All-Star catcher-First Baseman Gene Tenace of the dynastic Oakland A's:

Though he didn’t put in a full season for the A’s in 1972, he was just beginning to become one of the key players in Oakland’s three-peat team that also included Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Sal Bando.
Putting in time behind the plate as well as at first base, Tenace went on to hit over 20 homers five times in his career along with six seasons of drawing 100+ walks.
After the 1976 season Tenace, along with many of his star teammates was shipped off by eccentric team owner Charlie Finley, and found himself as a member of the San Diego Padres, where he would play for the next four seasons before moving on to St. Louis for two years and lastly the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, his last in the big leagues.
He would total 15-years in the Major Leagues, winning three championships, an all-star berth in 1975, and hitting 201 home runs while batting .241 along with a very nice .388 on-base-percentage because of his walk totals.
Oh yeah, and he had an awesome full name: Fiore Gino Tennaci!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: VADA PINSON

Good day all!

On the blog today, from my custom "Stars of the Game" 1960 gelatin set, my card for the terribly underrated Vada Pinson:

The man put in season after season as a top-notch player who got lost amid the Mays, Aarons and Clementes reigning the National League when he came up.

Heck, he even got lost on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, trying to share the spotlight with guys like Frank Robinson and Pete Rose!

When you look at Pinson’s career, you should be impressed with what he accomplished between 1958 and 1975.
The man could slug the ball, hitting 256 home runs, while also swipe a base, as his 305 steals show. He collected 200+ hits in a season four times while topping .300 four times with a high of .343 in 1961 for the pennant winning Reds.
He led the N.L. in hits, doubles and triples two times each, while also topping the Senior Circuit in runs in his first full season, 1959, with 131.
By the time he completed his career, he topped 2700 hits, 1300 runs, 1100 runs batted in, 250 homers and 300 stolen bases.
To this day it amazes me that guys like Pinson, Al Oliver, & Steve Garvey get snubbed by both the BBWA at first, then the Veterans Committee, yet Cooperstown has players like Stonewall Jackson, Chick Hafey, Jesse Haines and “High Pockets” Kelly in there.