NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1987 PAUL O'NEILL

Time to post up a "missing" 1987 card for one of my all-time favorite players, Paul O'Neill, who wouldn't get a Topps card until the 1988 set came around:

O'Neill actually made his Big League debut with five appearances in 1985 before coming back for three games in 1986, with Topps leaving him out of their sets in 1986 and 1987.

It wasn't until the 1987 season that P'Neill would get some significant playing time, hitting .256 with 41 hits in 160 at-bats in 84 games.

During his time in Cincinnati, the Reds insisted on him trying to be a "slugger", something that caused some friction between player and management.

Of course, as we all know, as fate would have it, the Reds would trade him to the New York Yankees for Roberto Kelly before the 1993 season, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Once in the Bronx, O'Neill became a perennial All-Star and .300 hitter, leading what would become a four-time World Champion dynasty as he would be their #3 hitter, even winning a batting title during the strike-shortened 1994 season.

I absolutely loved this guy during his Yankee tenure, getting to see him play hundreds of times before he'd retire after the 2001 season.

About as solid a player as they came, he even would go out with style, collecting his FIRST 20-home run/20-stolen base season in his last year at the age of 38.

The man was a battler.

His numbers upon retirement: 2105 hits, 281 homers, 1269 RBIs and a .288 batting average, while also swiping 141 bases.

Look out for my 1986 "missing" card for him here on the blog soon!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 LUIS ALCARAZ

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1970 card for former infielder Luis Alcaraz, one of the "original" Kansas City Royals from their inaugural 1969 season:

Alcaraz, who played his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1967 and 1968 in a part-time role, was purchased by the new Royals franchise just before their first season of operation.

In that initial season with K.C., Alcaraz appeared in only 22 games, hitting .253 with 20 hits in 79 at-bats with 15 runs scored and seven runs batted in.

He'd be back in 1970 with the Royals, playing in 35 games and hitting .167, collecting 20 hits over 120 at-bats, which would end up being the last Big League action of his brief four-year career.

He'd put in two years in the Minors before playing the final eight years of his professional career South of the border in Mexico, playing up until the age of 40 in 1981.

For his Major League career, he hit .192 over 115 games, with 70 hits in 365 at-bats, scoring 30 while driving in 29.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1982 ED FIGUEROA

Here's a card I've been meaning to create for some time, a 1982 "Career-Capper" for Ed Figueroa, one-time Yankee ace who wrapped up his career with the Oakland A's:

Figueroa appeared in only two games for the A's in 1981, the final two of his nice eight-year Big League career.

Over those two games he pitched to a 5.40 earned run average, not factoring in a decision while giving up six walks against one strikeout.

While he came up with the California Angels in 1974 and had a solid 1975 season with them when he won 16 games with a 2.91 ERA over 32 starts, his best seasons were in Yankee pinstripes, when he posted three seasons that saw him post win totals of 19, 16 and a career-high 20 between 1976 and 1978. 

A solid arm in the bullpen for the Championship Yankees, he quietly teamed up with Yankee aces Catfish Hunter and Ron Guidry to help bring championship baseball back to the Bronx.

Injuries hurt his career after that brilliant 1978 season, as Figueroa would win only seven games over the final three years of his career.

By the time he retired, he finished with a record of 80-67 over 200 games, with a 3.51 ERA in 1309.2 innings, with 12 shutouts and 571 strikeouts.

 

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: JIM PALMER

Today on the blog we spotlight my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" card for Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, part of my custom set released in 2025:

Palmer’s road to Cooperstown was a bit rocky at first, with a couple of jumps and starts because of injuries between 1964 and 1968.
As a matter of fact we’d probably be looking at a 300-game winner if not for over a season of missed time between 1967 and 1968.
Though he had a great first professional season in 1964 as an 18-year-old, going a combined 15-5 in the O’s system, he found himself on a Major League mound in 1966, still a teen, going 5-4.
In 1966 he’d improve to a record of 15-10 for the surprising eventual World Champs, shocking everyone with a sweep of the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with Palmer contributing a complete game shutout.
But injuries derailed him until 1969 when he hit his stride, going 16-4 with a 2.34 ERA and six shutouts, completing 11 of 23 starts.
From there, all the man did was top 20-wins in eight of the next nine seasons, winning three Cy Young Awards, the first American League pitcher to do so, helping the Orioles to another championship in 1970, eventually finishing with a career 268-152 record along with a brilliant 2.86 ERA and 53 shutouts before he was done in 1984.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: WILLIE McCOVEY

Going ahead and adding "Stretch", Willie McCovey to my long-running WTHBALLS set, "Classic Baseball", using a nice image of him during his days as a San Diego Padre:

When he got called up to the Big Leagues in 1959, all he did was tear the seams off the ball by hitting .354 with 13 homers and 38 runs batted in along with 32 runs scored in only 52 games, copping a Rookie of the Year Award and setting the tone for his 22-year career.

In 1969 he had his finest season, as he made his fifth All-Star team, on his way to taking home the league MVP Award after a year that saw him lead the league with 45 homers, 126 RBIs, a .453 OBP and a .656 slugging percentage, as well as a whopping 45 intentional base on balls.

The man put it ALL together that year!

By the time he retired in 1980, he crushed 521 home runs, collected over 2000 hits, drove in over 1500, and left his mark as one of the most feared sluggers of his generation.

In 1986, his first year of eligibility, he was voted into the Hall of Fame with 81.4% of the ballots cast.

Man, what a threesome McCovey, Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda made back in the 1960's for San Francisco, huh?

Just incredible.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 CY ACOSTA

Up on the blog today, we have a 1976 "not so missing" card for pitcher Cy Acosta, who played what turned out to be the last of his Big League games in 1975 as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies:

Acosta appeared in six games for the Phillies, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 6.23 earned run average.

He made his MLB debut in 1972 with the Chicago White Sox, for whom he played the entirety of his career aside from that 1975 season.

He had a great 1973 season when he went 10-6 with a 2.23 ERA with 18 saves over 48 games, striking out 60 over 97 innings.

Always a reliever, by the time he retired, he appeared in 107 games, saving 27 games and finishing with a record of 13-9 with a very nice 2.66 ERA in 186 innings.

He would go on to play in the Mexican League all the way through the 1984 season, winning over 90+ games before he hung them up for good.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1985 OLYMPIC B.J. SURHOFF

Super fun card to add to the WTHBALLS checklist, a "missing" 1985 Olympic sub-set card for B.J. Surhoff, who was also the 1985 #1 overall draft pick:

The University of North Carolina star went #1 overall in 1985, picked by the Milwaukee Brewers after a stellar collegiate career, and it was a great pick!

All Surhoff went on to do in the Major Leagues was put in 19 years under the Big League sun, hitting .282 over 2313 games and 8258 at-bats, collecting 2326 hits.

Hewould be a consistent threat at the plate, hitting 188 homers along with 440 doubles, 42 triples and 1153 runs batted in, scoring 1062 runs himself.

Beginning his career as a catcher, he would become incredibly versatile, playing both the infield and outfield later on, putting in significant time at five different positions.

Would have been great to have had a Surhoff card in that landmark 1985 Olympic sub-set!