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.

 

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: JACK MORRIS

On the blog today, the next custom getting the spotlight from my "1981 Drake's Big Pitchers" set released last year, this one of HOFer Jack Morris:

The man was a true workhorse and winner, putting in 18 seasons as a Major League pitcher, winning 254 games while pitching to a 3.90 earned run average over 549 appearances and 3824 innings.

Along the way he threw 28 shutouts, while striking out 2478 batters, leading the league in wins twice, strikeouts and shutouts once apiece.

He would finish top-5 in Cy Young voting five times, also making the All-Star team five times, while winning the World Series with three different teams: Tigers, Twins and Blue Jays.

I was truly surprised it took so long for him to be elected to the Hall of Fame, which he finally was by the "Modern Baseball Era Committee" in 2018, 24 years after his final MLB season.

I will always remember that 1984 nationally televised Saturday afternoon game when he faced the Chicago White Sox during that magical Tigers' season, no-hitting the reigning American League champions.

Just a stud on the mound.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1980 WILLIE DAVIS

Good day all!

On the blog today, from my next WTHBALLS custom card release, a 1980 "Career-Capper" for underrated player Wille Davis:

Davis came up with the Dodgers as a 20-year old in 1960, just in time to be a part of the organization’s great run which included two world championships in 1963 and 1965, as well as a World Series appearance in 1966.
A speedster who racked up hits and had the occasional power, Davis finished his career with over 2500 hits, 182 home runs and 398 stolen bases, along with a nice .279 batting average in 2429 career games.
Though he played the first 14 years of his career in L.A., Davis would go on to play for five teams over the last four years of his career: Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and the California Angels in 1979 after a two-year absence from MLB ball in 1977 and 1978 when he played in Japan.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: BILL MAZEROSKI

Good day all! On the blog today, we spotlight my card for HOFer Bill Mazeroski, from my 1960 "Stars of the Game" custom gelatin set released back in 2018:

Just a classic era-perfect photo of the Pittsburgh Pirates great, from right about the time he catapulted himself into baseball history with a Game 7 home run in the bottom of the ninth to send the Pirates to a World Championship over the heavily favored New York Yankees.

But it's easy to forget that Mazeroski's homer was in only his fifth full season in the Majors. He went on to star for the Pirates for the next 12 seasons before hanging them up at the end of the 1972 season.
By the time he retired, Mazeroski won two world championships (1960 & 1971), eight Gold Gloves, made seven All-Star teams, topped 2000 hits and made a name for himself as one of the premier fielding second baseman in baseball.
He still hold the all-time record for turning double-plays for second basemen at 1706, and lead the National League in assists nine times between 1958-1968.
While the BBWA failed to vote him into the Hall of Fame withing the 15 years of eligibility, the Veteran's Committee got him in 2001, almost 30 years after retiring, joining such former teammates like Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente.

 

CLASSIC BASEBALL: JIM WYNN

On the blog today, we add the "Toy Cannon" Jim Wynn to my long-running WTHBALLS custom "Classic Baseball" set:

He put up some solid years during his excellent 15-year Big League run between 1963 and 1977.

Eight times he'd top 20 homers, with three of them 30+, while also driving in 100+ runs twice, scoring 100+ runs four times and topping 100 walks six times, two seasons of which he'd lead the National League, with a high of 148 in 1969.

While slugging away, he was also a threat on the base paths, as he'd go on to swipe a total of 225 before retiring, with a high of 43 in 1965.

After those handful of games with the Milwaukee Brewers in the latter half of 1977, he called it a career, finishing with 1100+ runs scored, 1665 hits, 291 homers and 964 runs batted in, with a .250 average thrown in.

Just a solid, overlooked player from the era that deserves a spotlight for his excellent career!

REVISIT: "MISSING IN ACTION" 1974 WAYNE SIMPSON

Revisiting another 10+ year-old post from the blog for the newcomers!

Here’s a “missing” 1974 card for former pitcher Wayne Simpson, who burst on to the Major League scene in 1970 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, but because of injuries never found that initial success later on:

Four years removed from his fantastic rookie year, Simpson found himself in Kansas City, trying to hang on and pitch through injuries that derailed his career, one that saw him go 14-3 with a 3.02 earned run average and league-leading .824 winning percentage as a member of the pennant winning Reds team in 1970.
For the Royals in 1973 he would go 3-4, with a 5.73 ERA over 16 appearances, 10 of which were starts, with a complete game and 29 K’s over 59.2 innings.
Sadly for him, he would only pitch a handful of games in 1975 for the Phillies, then make somewhat of a comeback in 1977 with the California Angels, which saw him go 6-12 with a 5.83 ERA over 27 games, 23 as a starter.
But that would be it for him, and at the age of 28 he would never see Major League action again.
His 1970 season was one of those rookie splashes up there with Von McDaniel, Mark Fidrych and Herb Score, enough so that he would still be a figure baseball magazines would write about years later as far as a young arm making an immediate impact.
Sadly like so many of those other young studs, it was something that they couldn’t maintain through no fault of their own.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER TONY OLIVA

Up on the blog today, from my recent 1963 Fleer "extension" set (round 2), a "missing" 1963 card for hitting great Tony Oliva:

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.

In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 

He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!

Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.

The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again led the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.

He also led the league in total hits again, this time with 185.

All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.

When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 

So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.

And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!

Nice 1-2 punch right there.