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!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1982 JESSE OROSCO

Really fun card to add to the blog today, a "not so missing" 1982 card for (in my opinion) legend Jesse Orosco, who played almost a quarter of a century in the Major Leagues:

Orosco made his Big League debut in 1979 with the New York Mets, appearing in 18 games as a 22-year-old, going 1-2 with a 4.89 earned run average.

After spending all of 1980 in the Minors, Orosco was here to stay in 1981, appearing in eight games, posting a very nice 1.56 ERA over 17.1 innings while picking up his first save.

From there on the man was a fixture on the MLB mound, going on to appear in a Major League record 1252 games as a pitcher, finishing with a record of 87-80 with a 3.16 ERA and 144 saves.

He would join the rare club of "four-decade" players, whose career spanned the 1970s-2000s, winning it all with the Mets in 1986 while reaching the post season with the Mets, Dodgers and Orioles.

I was always a fan of the man, and even got to see him pitch with the Yankees when he appeared in 15 games in 2003, one of three teams he suited up for in his last season.

Great baseball career!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1968 JOE RUDI

Up on the blog today, from my recent custom "1960s Special" set, a "not so missing" 1968 card for Joe Rudi, who was just starting his brilliant Major League career:

Though he didn't get a Topps card until 1969, he did make his MLB debut in 1967, appearing in 19 games for the Kansas City Athletics, hitting .186 over 43 at-bats.

It wasn't until 1970 that he'd get some significant playing time, hitting .309 over 350 at-bats with eleven homers and 42 runs batted in.

The outfielder/first baseman was twice the runner-up for an A.L. MVP, in 1972 and in 1974, helping the juggernaut Oakland A's to three straight World Series crowns.

He led the league with 181 hits and nine triples in 1972 along with doubles (39) and total bases (287) in 1974 while also giving the A’s a flexible fielder that could play all three outfield positions as well as first base.
Such a solid player, he teamed up with the likes of Sal Bando and Gene Tenace that made the A’s much more than just superstars like Reggie Jackson and Jim “Catfish” Hunter.

Sadly however, as with the other Oakland players who signed elsewhere before the 1977 season, he didn't continue his star status with his new team, suffering injuries and playing only one full season out of his three with California, moving on to the Boston Red Sox in 1981 and back to Oakland for one last hurrah in 1982.

By the time Rudi retired, he finished up with a career .264 average, with 179 homers and 810 RBIs over 1547 games and 5556 at-bats playing for the A’s, California Angels and Boston Red Sox between 1967 and 1982.

 

REVISIT: 1978 MISSING IN ACTION STEVE HARGAN

Time to revisit another post from 10 years ago, this time my "missing" 1978 card for former pitcher Steve Hargan who put together a decent 12-year career between 1965 and 1977:

Hargan played for no less than three teams during the 1977 season: Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves, appearing in 28 games and pitching 78.1 innings with a 2-6 record and a 6.55 earned run average.
The first eight years of his career were with the Cleveland Indians, where he put in some solid seasons, posting three sub-3.00 ERA campaigns while even leading the American League in shutouts with six in 1967, his only all-star nod.
Overall Hargan ended up with a 87 and 107 career record with a 3.92 ERA and 891 strikeouts accumulated over 354 appearances, 215 of which were starts, with 17 shutouts and 56 complete games.

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.