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.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: ROLLIE FINGERS

Today on the blog, we have another card added to my long-running custom "Classic Baseball" set, this one of '70s icon and Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers:

Fingers would put together a wonderful 17-year career which would see him win both a Cy Young and MVP Award in 1981 with the Milwaukee Brewers, Lead the league in saves three times, post sub-2.00 ERA's 12 times and finish up with a sparkling 2.90 career ERA over 944 games and 1701.1 innings pitched.

He was named to seven all-star teams, both in the A.L. and N.L., before closing out his career in 1985, finishing with a 114-118 record with 341 saves.

One of the great characters of the decade! But a force out of the 'pen as well.

He was voted into the Hall in 1992, his second year on the ballot, garnering 81.2% of the vote.

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: JIM KAAT

On the blog today, we spotlight my "missing" 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" card for HOFer Jim Kaat, from my custom set released last year:

Kaat came up to the Majors as a 20-year-old in 1959 with the Washington Senators, developing into an All-Star starter when the organization moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
If there were a Cy Young winner for both leagues in place for the 1965 season, he most likely would have taken home the trophy when he posted a league-leading 25 wins to go along with a 2.75 ERA and 205 strikeouts for the American League champs.
After being selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox in 1973, he’d go on to post two straight 20-win seasons in 1974 and 1975, before moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976.
In 1979, at the age of 40, he’d transition to the bullpen, where he would carve out a niche for himself as a reliable reliever, pitching another five seasons, finishing up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, fresh off a World Championship in 1982.
One of the greatest fielding pitchers the game has ever seen, Kaat took home 16 straight Gold Glove Awards between 1962 and 1977. Incredible.
By the time he retired as a player, he appeared in 898 games, posted a record of 283-237 along with a 3.45 ERA and 2461 strikeouts, as well as 31 shutouts and 17 saves.
The man is a walking baseball resource who still shares his knowledge of the game. His time as a New York Yankees announcer was one of my favorites alongside other former players like Ken Singleton and Bill White.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1981 MIKE MARSHALL

On the blog today, we finally have a "missing" 1981 card for reliever extraordinaire Mike Marshall, who famously refused Topps cards after the 1977 set:

Marshall didn't play much in 1980, appearing in 18 games for the Minnesota Twins and pitching to a 6.12 earned run average over 32.1 innings, collecting a record of 1-3 with a single save.

The previous season saw Marshall have an incredible year that saw him end up fifth for the Cy Young Award when he appeared in a league-high 90 games, going 10-15 with 32 saves, also the league lead, throwing an incredible 142.2innings, almost all out of the bullpen.

Mike Marshall is about as interesting a character in Major League baseball during the 1970's as any other. And considering some of the characters we've looked at in the past, that is saying something.
How else can you describe a guy who seriously considered retiring from the sport so he could focus on his P.H.D. studies before his record setting 1974 season?
If you've ever read Jim Bouton's hilarious and landmark book "Ball Four" you read about Marshall's legendary battles with his then-manager Jim Schultz while both were members of the ill-fated single-season organization Seattle Pilots.
This guy was something else. And his arm was undoubtedly something else as well. In no less than three seasons, Marshall appeared in 90 or more games, including his record-setting mark of 106 in 1974 that still stands today.
And UNLIKE today with specialty pitchers who come in and face a batter or two, when Marshall came into a game, he pitched.
In 1974, purely a relief role, Marshall threw an astounding 208.1 innings, going 15-12 with a 2.42 E.R.A. and a league-leading 21 saves. Amazing by any standard, any era.
This easily got him a Cy Young award that year, beating out fellow teammate Andy Messersmith, while also finishing third in M.V.P. voting as well.
When it came to baseball cards, Marshall was equally as "unique". Rumor has it that he was a bit of a headache for Topps, refusing to "pose" for pictures. Because of this, his cards featured action shots between 1974 through 1977.
Then, after his '77 card, he disappeared altogether. Why I have no idea. But even though Marshall played through the rest of the decade, there were no cards for him in the 1978 and 1979 set.

It must have been frustrating for fans of the Twins, and more specifically Marshall, to rip open packs during the late '70's only to find that one of your best pitchers wasn't even depicted on a card.
Then again, from everything I've read online, he's about as tough an autograph to get as anyone else out there, long refusing to sign his name for fans, so perhaps they weren't really missing him too much after all.

 

REVISIT: 1972 "MISSING IN ACTION" DANNY WALTON

Today on the blog we revisit another 10+ year-old post from the blog, this one my "missing" 1972 card for Danny Walton:

Walton appeared in a combined 35 games in ‘71 between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, the last five with the Yankees on his way to a .193 batting average with 16 hits in 83 at-bats.
It was a bit of a disappointment for a guy who played very well in 1970, batting .257 with 17 home runs and 66 runs batted in over 117 games for the Brewers.
It would turn out to be his only somewhat full-time season in his nine-year career that was spread out between 1968 and 1980, playing for six teams.
Always a “future star” while in the minor leagues, he put up some monster numbers, hitting as many as 42 home runs (with Albuquerque in 1977) and batting as high as .332 (with Oklahoma City in 1969).
He would hit 238 homers in the minors, topping 20 six different years.