FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1985 ROD CAREW

Once again, time to "fix" Topps' All-Star cards for Rod Carew, who was left out for the second year in a row in favor of a non-starter, this time the 1985 set:

Carew was once again selected by fans to start the Midsummer Classic in 1984, yet Topps decided to go with Eddie Murray once again, as they did in the 1984 set.

Carew was STILL an automatic at that slot for years at the time, and was the starter yet again in 1984.

The man was a player for the ages, as he would go on to play in 18 All-Star games, missing only his final season in the Majors in 1985. Just incredible.

The first nine seasons of his career were as an All-Star second baseman, while the last nine were as a first baseman.

The legend topped .300 15 years in a row, with a high of .388 in 1977 on his way to a Most Valuable Player Award and capturing the public’s attention with his .400 chase late in the season.
A clear-cut Hall of Fame player, he was inducted on his first year of eligibility in 1991 when he garnered 90.5% of the vote, which leaves me with the question: who the hell are the 9.5% who DIDN’T vote for him!!!???

3053 hits, a .328 career average, 353 stolen bases and 15 straight seasons of .300+ batting.

The man was a hitting machine, and I'm so glad I got to see him play during his magnificent career!

REVISIT: 1972 MISSING IN ACTION: "IN ACTION"- GENE TENACE

Time again to revisit a 10+ year-old post from the blog, this time my card for All-Star catcher-First Baseman Gene Tenace of the dynastic Oakland A's:

Though he didn’t put in a full season for the A’s in 1972, he was just beginning to become one of the key players in Oakland’s three-peat team that also included Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi and Sal Bando.
Putting in time behind the plate as well as at first base, Tenace went on to hit over 20 homers five times in his career along with six seasons of drawing 100+ walks.
After the 1976 season Tenace, along with many of his star teammates was shipped off by eccentric team owner Charlie Finley, and found himself as a member of the San Diego Padres, where he would play for the next four seasons before moving on to St. Louis for two years and lastly the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, his last in the big leagues.
He would total 15-years in the Major Leagues, winning three championships, an all-star berth in 1975, and hitting 201 home runs while batting .241 along with a very nice .388 on-base-percentage because of his walk totals.
Oh yeah, and he had an awesome full name: Fiore Gino Tennaci!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: VADA PINSON

Good day all!

On the blog today, from my custom "Stars of the Game" 1960 gelatin set, my card for the terribly underrated Vada Pinson:

The man put in season after season as a top-notch player who got lost amid the Mays, Aarons and Clementes reigning the National League when he came up.

Heck, he even got lost on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, trying to share the spotlight with guys like Frank Robinson and Pete Rose!

When you look at Pinson’s career, you should be impressed with what he accomplished between 1958 and 1975.
The man could slug the ball, hitting 256 home runs, while also swipe a base, as his 305 steals show. He collected 200+ hits in a season four times while topping .300 four times with a high of .343 in 1961 for the pennant winning Reds.
He led the N.L. in hits, doubles and triples two times each, while also topping the Senior Circuit in runs in his first full season, 1959, with 131.
By the time he completed his career, he topped 2700 hits, 1300 runs, 1100 runs batted in, 250 homers and 300 stolen bases.
To this day it amazes me that guys like Pinson, Al Oliver, & Steve Garvey get snubbed by both the BBWA at first, then the Veterans Committee, yet Cooperstown has players like Stonewall Jackson, Chick Hafey, Jesse Haines and “High Pockets” Kelly in there.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1983 JOE CHARBONEAU

On the blog today, a fun card to add to the WTHBALLS roster, and part of the next custom set, a 1983 "career-capper" for former Rookie of the Year Joe Charboneau, whose career came to a quick end after the 1982 season:

Charboneau went "from the penthouse to the basement" rather quickly, earning the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1980 after hitting .289 with 23 homers and 87 RBIs for the Cleveland Indians.

He also became somewhat of a media icon at the time, gaining fame and appearing all over media outlets ala Mark Fidrych or Fernando Valenzuela.

However he could not repeat his production at the plate in 1981, hitting .210 with four homers and 18 RBIs over 48 games during the strike season.

1982 didn't fare any better for the young slugger, as it would see him appear in only 22 games, hitting .214 with two homers and nine RBIs, dealing with injuries that brought his career to a quick halt.

He'd play another two seasons in the Minors before calling it a pro career, before making a stunt of a return in the Frontier League as a 45-year-old in 2000 with Canton, collecting a single in his lone at-bat.

Sadly the "Super Joe" legend didn't last enough for the fans in Cleveland, who thought they had a young stud on their hands during that glorious Summer of 1980.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1977 JERRY CRAM

Up on the blog today, a "not so missing" 1977 card for former pitcher Jerry Cram, who suited up for the Kansas City Royals in 1976:

In 1976, he was back where it all began for him in the Big Leagues, Kansas City, where he worked what turned out to be the last four games of his career, not factoring in a decision and posting an ERA of 6.23 over 4.1 innings.
He would go on to pitch in the Kansas City minor league system for another five years, through the 1981 season, before retiring for good, ending up with a record of 0-3, with a final ERA of 2.98 over 23 games and 48.1 innings.

He broke into the Majors in 1969 with the Royals when he appeared in five games as a 21-year-old, going 0-1 over 16.2 innings with a 3.24 earned run average.

He'd spend 1970 through 1973 in the Minors before making it back to the Big Leagues, now a member of the New York Mets, appearing in a combined 14 games between 1974 and 1975, going 0-2.

 

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: FERGIE JENKINS

Today on the blog, another card from my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" set released about a year ago, this one my Fergie Jenkins card:

He'd eventually post six 20-win seasons, six 200-strikeout seasons, five 300+-inning years, four sub-3.00 E.R.A. Years and become the first pitcher in Major League history to finish with 3000+ strikeouts with LESS than 1000 base on balls.

Overall in 19-seasons Jenkins finished with a 284-226 record, with a 3.34 earned run average, 49 shutouts and 3192 strikeouts over 664 games, 594 of which were starts.

In 1991 he capped off his career with an induction into Cooperstown on his third try, just getting the 75% of the vote with 75.4% support.

Such a treat to be able to have seen him pitch in the Big Leagues! The days of strong starters going deep into games.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 EDDIE SOLOMON

On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1976 card for former pitcher Eddie Solomon, who was left out of a few Topps sets early on in his career:

Solomon, who would go on to pitch 10 years in the Major Leagues, appeared in four games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1973, not factoring in a decision with a 7.11 earned run average over 6.1 innings.
He’d appear in just four games the following season as well, but would see much better results, posting an ERA of 1.50 over 6 innings, allowing just one earned run.

In 1975 he'd appear in only six games for the Chicago Cubs, his only season with the organization, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 1.35 ERA over 6.2 innings of work.
He’d spend the rest of his career as an arm that could start or come out of the bullpen, mainly with the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he pitched between 1977 and 1982.
He finished his career with a record of 36-42, along with an ERA of exactly 4.00 over 191 appearances and 718 innings, with 95 of those games as starts.
Sadly, in January of 1986 at the young age of only 34, he died in a car accident in Macon, Georgia.