MISSING IN ACTION: 1981 MIKE MARSHALL

On the blog today, we finally have a "missing" 1981 card for reliever extraordinaire Mike Marshall, who famously refused Topps cards after the 1977 set:

Marshall didn't play much in 1980, appearing in 18 games for the Minnesota Twins and pitching to a 6.12 earned run average over 32.1 innings, collecting a record of 1-3 with a single save.

The previous season saw Marshall have an incredible year that saw him end up fifth for the Cy Young Award when he appeared in a league-high 90 games, going 10-15 with 32 saves, also the league lead, throwing an incredible 142.2innings, almost all out of the bullpen.

Mike Marshall is about as interesting a character in Major League baseball during the 1970's as any other. And considering some of the characters we've looked at in the past, that is saying something.
How else can you describe a guy who seriously considered retiring from the sport so he could focus on his P.H.D. studies before his record setting 1974 season?
If you've ever read Jim Bouton's hilarious and landmark book "Ball Four" you read about Marshall's legendary battles with his then-manager Jim Schultz while both were members of the ill-fated single-season organization Seattle Pilots.
This guy was something else. And his arm was undoubtedly something else as well. In no less than three seasons, Marshall appeared in 90 or more games, including his record-setting mark of 106 in 1974 that still stands today.
And UNLIKE today with specialty pitchers who come in and face a batter or two, when Marshall came into a game, he pitched.
In 1974, purely a relief role, Marshall threw an astounding 208.1 innings, going 15-12 with a 2.42 E.R.A. and a league-leading 21 saves. Amazing by any standard, any era.
This easily got him a Cy Young award that year, beating out fellow teammate Andy Messersmith, while also finishing third in M.V.P. voting as well.
When it came to baseball cards, Marshall was equally as "unique". Rumor has it that he was a bit of a headache for Topps, refusing to "pose" for pictures. Because of this, his cards featured action shots between 1974 through 1977.
Then, after his '77 card, he disappeared altogether. Why I have no idea. But even though Marshall played through the rest of the decade, there were no cards for him in the 1978 and 1979 set.

It must have been frustrating for fans of the Twins, and more specifically Marshall, to rip open packs during the late '70's only to find that one of your best pitchers wasn't even depicted on a card.
Then again, from everything I've read online, he's about as tough an autograph to get as anyone else out there, long refusing to sign his name for fans, so perhaps they weren't really missing him too much after all.

 

REVISIT: 1972 "MISSING IN ACTION" DANNY WALTON

Today on the blog we revisit another 10+ year-old post from the blog, this one my "missing" 1972 card for Danny Walton:

Walton appeared in a combined 35 games in ‘71 between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, the last five with the Yankees on his way to a .193 batting average with 16 hits in 83 at-bats.
It was a bit of a disappointment for a guy who played very well in 1970, batting .257 with 17 home runs and 66 runs batted in over 117 games for the Brewers.
It would turn out to be his only somewhat full-time season in his nine-year career that was spread out between 1968 and 1980, playing for six teams.
Always a “future star” while in the minor leagues, he put up some monster numbers, hitting as many as 42 home runs (with Albuquerque in 1977) and batting as high as .332 (with Oklahoma City in 1969).
He would hit 238 homers in the minors, topping 20 six different years.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1981 VON JOSHUA

On the blog today, we have a career-capping 1981 card for Von Joshua, who had himself a decent 10-year Major League career between 1969 and 1980:

Joshua appeared in 53 games for San Diego in 1980, hitting .238 with 15 hits over 63 official at-bats, collecting seven RBIs while scoring eight.

Originally up with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he'd also play for the San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers, with his finest season easily 1975 when he hit .318 for San Francisco, pretty much setting career highs across the board with runs, hits, average, doubles, triples and stolen bases.

By the time he retired, he finished with a nice .273 career average, with 610 hits in 2234 at-bats over 822 games, hitting 30 homers while driving in 184 runs, scoring 277 himself.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER RUSTY STAUB

Time to put the spotlight on my "missing" 1963 Fleer card for the great Rusty Staub, which was part of my second "extension" set regarding the great set that was forced to halt due to Topps' monopoly on the industry:

He started out as a 19 year old kid in Houston in 1963 and went on to play for Montreal, Detroit, Texas  and the New York Mets for two stints, with whom he retired with after the 1985 season.
And for those last five seasons with the Mets, he became one of the top pinch-hitters in the game and endeared himself to the Met faithful, even opening up a couple of well-liked restaurants in NYC along the way.
A few little "extras" about his career: Staub is one of three players (along with Ty Cobb and Gary Sheffield) to hit home runs as a teenager and as a 40-year old, and he is also the only player to amass 500 hits with four different teams (Astros, Mets, Expos and Tigers).
He was also the first player to play all 162 games in a season strictly as a Designated Hitter, which was for Detroit in 1978.

Lost in the crowd that was Rose, Bench, Jackson, Carew, etc. was this player who built a 23 year career, finishing up with over 2700 hits, 292 homers, 1466 R.B.I.'s, and six all-star appearances.

 

AS REQUESTED: NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1969 DICK KENWORTHY

Fun card to create based off a short discussion on "X" the other day, a 1969 "not so missing" card for Dick Kenworthy, which has a bit of a twist:

You see, Kenworthy put in parts of six seasons in the Major Leagues between 1962 and 1968, yet only got one card in a Topps set, in 1968 shown as a New York Met.

The problem here is that he put in all six of his Big League seasons with the Chicago White Sox!

So here I created a "career-capper" to mark his time as a White Sox player.

To be fair to Topps, Kenworthy was purchased by the Mets in October of 1967, only to be returned to the White Sox in March of 1968, so that's where the confusion came from.

Though he only played in 17 games spread across his first four seasons between 1962 and 1966, he did appear in 50 and 58 games respectively in 1967 and 1968, his final two years as a Big Leaguer.

Overall, he would finish with a .215 batting average over 125 total games, with 54 hits in 251 at-bats, with four home runs and 13 runs batted in, while scoring 12 himself.

Fun little quirk in the Topps baseball card world, fixed here!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: AL KALINE

Next up on the blog, my 1960 "Stars of the Game" custom card for the great Al Kaline, "Mr. Tiger", from my WTHBALLS gelatin set released in 2018:

What a great all-around player the Tigers had for 20 years!

Buried under names like Aaron, Mays, Mantle, etc, he just went about his business year in and year out and paved the way for his eventual induction into Cooperstown's hallowed halls in 1980.

The 1960's saw Kaline make eight All-Star teams, win seven Gold Gloves, and receive solid M.V.P. support seven of ten years, finishing as high as second in 1963.

Though he only led the league in a primary offensive category only once (doubles in 1961) in the 1960s, Kaline's consistency was his strength, as he topped .300 four times, 20 homers five times, and a .500 slugging percentage five times.

The 15-time all-star topped 3000 hits, 1600 runs, 1500 runs batted in and came one home run short of 400 over his stellar career, which also included 10 Gold Gloves for his defensive prowess.
An easy Hall of Fame pick, he was inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1980 with 88.3% of the ballots cast.
“Mr. Tiger” indeed!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1968 BILL "MOOSE" SKOWRON

Up on the blog today, a fun card to create, a 1968 "career-capper" for former New York Yankee slugger Bill "Moose" Skowron, who finished up a nice Major League career in 1967 as a member of the California Angels:

Skowron actually split that 1967 season between the Chicago White Sox and Angels, combining for a .206 batting average over 70 games, with 27 hits, eight runs scored and elevel runs batted in.

Earlier in the decade "Moose" was an All-Star first baseman for the dynastic Yankees, including their monstrous 1961 season, when he hit a career-best 28 homers.

By the time he retired he finished with eight All-Star nods, 211 homers and a nice .282 batting average over 1658 games played, collecting 1566 hits in 5547 at-bats, with 682 runs and 888 RBIs.

A fan favorite in the Bronx, he was a part of five World Championship teams while appearing in eight World Series, total. Incredible run!