NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 JIM LYTTLE

Today on the blog we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for Jim Lyttle, a subject of other missing cards here on the blog over the years:

Lyttle appeared in 25 games for the Montreal Expos during the 1974 season, hitting .333 based on three hits over 33 at-bats, with two RBIs and a run scored.

He carved out an eight-year career for himself, playing for the Yankees, White Sox, Expos and Dodgers between 1969 and 1976.

In that time he compiled a .248 batting average, 176 hits, 71 runs and 70 runs batted in with nine homers.

Looking further into his career I saw that he played seven seasons in Japan after his Major League career, putting up some solid numbers for Hiroshima.

In both 1978 and 1981 he hit 33 homers and drove in 100+ runs, and closed out his Japanese career with 166 taters with 529 R.B.I.'s. after retiring in 1983.

When you look at his playing career against his card appearances, it turns out he's also "missing" from a few other sets: 1973, 1975 and 1977.

Needless to say, I'll be tackling those in the future as well.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: JOE ADCOCK

Up on the blog today, putting the spotlight on my 1960 custom "Stars of the Game" card for slugger Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves:

Adcock put in 17 years in the Big Leagues, slugging his way to 336 home runs, including four in one monster game in 1954 when he went 5-for-5 at the plate with four dingers and a double, setting the Major League record of 18 total bases in a single game.

By the time he hung up the cleats after the 1966 season, Adcock finished with a .277 career average, with 1832 hits over 6606 at-bats in 1959 games, driving in 1122 runs while scoring 823 himself, making two All-Star teams.

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER LOU BROCK

Up on the blog today, we have another "missing" 1963 Fleer card from my recent "extension third series" custom set, that of the great Lou Brock:

About as quiet and reserved a Hall of Famer as they come, Brock put together quite the Major League career.

Brock really was an under-appreciated player in my book, having to get what little spotlight he could playing the outfield in the National League when you had guys like Mays, Aaron and Clemente there as well.
Nevertheless, the man made six All-Star squads, finished second in the MVP race for the National League in 1974, and would go on to a Hall of Fame induction thanks to 3000+ hits, an MLB record 938 stolen bases, and 1610 runs scored.
Did you realize that between 1964 and 1974 the LEAST amount of hits he collected in any one season was 182!?
As a matter of fact in those eleven seasons he collected over 190 hits eight times, while scoring less than 90 only once.
Just an amazing 19-year career!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1981 MANNY MOTA

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1981 card for pinch-hitting legend Manny Mota, who was at the tail-end of a very nice Major league career:

Mota only appeared in seven games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980, going 3-for-7 at the plate as a 42-year-old pinch hitter.

The man was born to hit!

He would collect just one more at-bat in his career two years later in 1982, but he certainly already made his mark in the Big Leagues, hitting a career .304 over 1536 games dating back to his debut in 1962 with the San Francisco Giants.

He would top the .300 mark in eleven of his 20 seasons, hitting as high as .332 in 1966, then with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Once he landed in Los Angeles with the Dodgers in 1969, he became a fixture, both on and off the field, a beloved figure in Dodger-land.

Overall, he finished with 1149 hits over 3779 at-bats, making one All-Star team (1973), before moving on to coaching, which encompassed an amazing tenure that spanned 1980 through 2013.

A true baseball "lifer"!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 DAMASO GARCIA

Fun card to add to the blog today,a "not so missing" 1980 card for All-Star infielder Damaso Garcia, who got his start in the Majors as a member of the New York Yankees:

Garcia appeared in 18 games with the eventual World Champions in 1978, hitting .195 with eight hits over 41 at-bats, playing both shortstop and second base.

He'd play in eleven games with the Bronx Bombers in 1979 before finding himself traded to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Chris Chambliss and Paul Mirabella on November 1st of 1979 for Rick Cerone, Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn, a trade that helped his career with the given opportunity to play everyday.

With that chance he would not disappoint, finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year race in 1980, hitting .278 with 151 hits, 30 doubles and 13 stolen bases.

He would go on to make two All-Star teams while also taking home a Silver Slugger Award in 1982 when he collected a career-best 185 hits, 80 runs scored and 54 stolen bases.

While a consistent contributor to the Blue jays through the 1986 season, his relationship with manager Jimy Williams went South, leading to a trade to the Atlanta Braves before the 1987 season, with him spending the entire season in the Minors.

He'd make it back to the Majors in 1988, but for only 21 games, hitting .117 before finding himself with the Montreal Expos in 1989, for what turned out to be the last 80 games of his career, hitting .271.

Sadly, shortly after his playing days were over, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, with subsequent surgery saving his life but leading to physical impairments that would stay with him the rest of his days.

Happily, he would live until the age of 63, eventually passing away due to cancer in April of 2020.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: THURMAN MUNSON

Today on the blog we add the great Thurman Munson to my long-running WTHBALLS "Classic Baseball" custom set, celebrating the great game:

Such a great career cut short by tragedy, though as I recall, Munson was seriously considering retirement by the end of the decade because of nagging injuries and missing his family because of the grind of a full-season.
Nevertheless, a Rookie of the Year in 1970, an MVP in 1976, and two straight championships in 1977 and 1978. A wonderful career for the New York Yankees legend.

Munson, who came out of Kent State in his native Ohio, became an instant Yankee favorite in 1970 while becoming the leader of the organization in transition on the field.
By 1976 he was a legitimate star, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award while leading the Yanks to their first World Series since 1964, followed by consecutive championships in 1977 and 1978.
Of course, this was all shattered when he died while piloting a small plane in August of 1979, shocking everyone, including myself as a 10-year old Yankee fan who idolized the catcher on a team filled with big personalities, like Reggie Jackson, Rich Gossage and Sparky Lyle.

Such a loss.

 

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: J.R. RICHARD

On the blog today, we spotlight another card from my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" custom set from last year, this one the card for Houston Astros pitching great J.R. Richard:

It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout campaigns, four straight 200+ K years, four straight seasons of 18+ wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…