WTHBALLS 1950 CUSTOM SET: YOGI BERRA

Today we'll finally put a spotlight on my 1950 WTHBALLS custom set, released back in 2018, celebrating the stars of the game at that time, beginning with Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra:

The set of bookmark sized cards were packaged with a bonus "all-time leaders" six card set, packaged inside a candy bar themes wrap as seen in the image included here.

It was a popular release and sold out quickly, and I thank you all who purchased one!

As for Mr. Berra, let's see, the man was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, a FIFTEEN-TIME all-star, and received Most Valuable Player votes every single year between 1947 and 1961. As a matter of fact, between 1950 and 1956 he never finished lower than fourth for the MVP, with three wins, and two second place finishes!

That's seven top-4 finishes in seven years! Just awesome.

Oh yeah, let's not forget the fact that he was a member of TEN world championship teams! Amazing!

Except for four scant games in 1965 with the New York Mets, Berra played the rest of his 19-year career with the Bronx Bombers, amassing 358 homers, 1430 runs batted in and a .285 average.

One other note about his amazing career: the man only struck out 414 times over 8359 at-bats!

YOGI!!! I loved that man!

A true baseball treasure…

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1969 HAL McRAE

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1969 card for DHing master Hal McRae, who started out his career with the Cincinnati Reds:

McRae appeared in 17 games for the Reds in 1968, hitting .196 with the first ten hits of his very nice Big League career, driving in two while scoring one himself.

McRae didn’t actually play in any Major League games during the 1969 season, but he did make his Big League debut in 1968 with 17 games, hitting .196 with 10 hits over 51 at-bats as a 22-year-old second baseman.
He’d be back in the Majors in 1970, where he would stay for the next 18 seasons putting together an excellent career, becoming one of the first true full-time designated hitters once he was traded to the Kansas City Royals before the 1973 campaign.
All McRae would end up doing once in a Royals uniform is put in a 15-year run where he became one of the best hitters in the league, with three All-Star nods, six .300+ batting average seasons, and MVP consideration four times.
By the time he was done, he retired with a career .290 batting average, with 2091 hits, 484 doubles and 1097 runs batted in over 2084 games and 7218 at-bats, making three All-Star teams and finishing top-5 in MVP voting twice (1976 and 1982).

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 IVAN DeJESUS

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for infielder Ivan DeJesus, who made his Big League debut in 1974 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers:

DeJesus appeared in three games for the National League champs in 1974, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, then played in 63 games for the Dodgers in 1975, good for 99 plate appearances and 87 at-bats.

That translates to a .184 average with a couple of doubles and a triple, with 10 runs scored and two runs batted in.

It really wasn't until 1977, now as a Chicago Cub, that he would become a full-time Major League player. 

By the time he retired as a player after the 1988 season, he played for the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Giants and Tigers over the course of 15 seasons, and finished with a .254 average with 1167 hits and 194 stolen bases.

Between 1977 and 1980 he had some solid seasons for the Cubs, even leading the National League in runs scored in 1978 with 104, and twice topping 40 stolen bases (in 1978 and 1980).

I just always figured he came up with the Cubs. Goes to show you learn something new every day!

 

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION-1979 HENRY CRUZ

Today on the blog we revisit another 10+ year-old post, this one my "missing" 1979 card for former outfielder Henry Cruz:

Cruz played in 53 games for the White Sox in 1978, in what would be his final year in the big leagues, hitting .221 with 17 hits over 77 at-bats with a couple of homers and ten runs batted in.
It would cap off a career that had him with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975 and 1976, then onto the Pale Hose for the final two seasons in 1977 and 1978.
All together he hit .229, collecting 64 hits over 280 at-bats in 171 games, with 32 runs scored and 34 RBI’s.
He’d go on to play in the Mexican League all the way into the 1985 season, making it 14 years in pro ball before hanging them up.

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER STEVE DALKOWSKI

Super fun card to post today!

From my recent "Missing 1963 Fleer-Second Edition" set, a missing card for Minor League legend Steve Dalkowski, who could never quite reign in that incredible fastball:

Looking at his Minor League numbers between 1957 and 1965, you'd think you were seeing things, as Dalkowski would post not only absurd strikeout numbers, but equally absurd base-on-balls numbers.

For example, in 1960 while pitching for Stockton, the 21-year-old tossed 170 innings, striking out 262 batters, good for a 15.1 K/9 inning number, yet ALSO walked the same amount of batters!

Yet he only allowed 105 hits, which came to a miniscule 5.6 hits-per-nine-innings, putting him in Nolan Ryan country!

In 1958, splitting the season between Knoxville, Wilson and Aberdeen, he tossed 104 innings, striking out 203 batters, while walking 204!

That comes to about a 17 strikeout-per-nine-innings total, with a slightly HIGHER walk total!.

Sadly Dalkowski could never get a handle on that lethal fastball, and by the time 1965 rolled around, though still only 26 years of age, his career came to an end.

Official totals for this nine-year Minor League career came to a record of 46-80 over 236 games, throwing 956 innings and striking out 1324 batters, while walking 1236, giving up only 664 hits.

Just mind-boggling stuff!

Just a shame that not only did his career not work out, but he soon found himself battling addictions, homelessness and a rough post-baseball life.

Luckily with some help he did live to the age of 80, passing away in April of 2020.

A baseball folk-tale figure who lives on through the ages!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1978 JERRY WHITE

On the blog today, a player many of you will remember from the 1970s and 1980s, but was left out of the 1978 Topps set, Jerry White of the Montreal Expos:

White appeared in only 16 games for Montreal during the 1977 season, hitting .190 with four hits in 21 at-bats, with four runs scored and a single RBI.

He would be with the Expos 10 of his 11 seasons in the Majors, playing half a season with the Chicago Cubs in 1978 and finishing up with 25 games as a St. Louis Cardinal in 1986, with some time in the Japanese League in 1984 and 1985.

Never a full-timer, the most action he ever saw in any one season was 114 games in 1976, hitting .245 over 309 plate appearances and 278 official at-bats.

By the time he did retire after those 12 seasons, he finished with a .253 batting average, with 303 hits in 1196 at-bats over 646 games, with 155 runs scored and 109 runs batted in, stealing 57 bases and hitting 21 homers.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1961 JOE TORRE

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1961 card for future Hall of Fame manager (and easily HOF catcher in my book) Joe Torre:

Torre made his MLB debut in 1960, appearing in two games for the Milwaukee Braves as a 19-year-old, going 1-for-2 at the plate.

A five-time all-star during the '60's, Torre had a couple of "monster" years that kind of get lost in history.
In 1964 playing for the Milwaukee Braves, Torre hit .321 with 20 homers and 109 runs batted in. He also chipped in 193 hits and 36 doubles. Not bad!
But in 1966, with the Braves relocated to Atlanta, Torre clubbed 36 home runs to go along with a .315 average and 101 R.B.I.'s.
Later on when he'd switch over to third base he'd win an M.V.P. with the St. Louis Cardinals, and tack on a few more excellent years at the plate, and it's those years that people generally remember Torre as a player.
But his catching days for the Braves organization were very good in their own right. yet easy to overlook.
Later on, as we all know, Torre would be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager in 2014 for his days leading the New York Yankees through their most recent dynasty in the late-90's/early-00's, along with taking the helm of the Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers as well between 1977 and 2010, finishing up with 2326 wins and four championship titles.