WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: CARL YASTRZEMSKI

Today on the blog, we have my mini custom card for Boston Red Sox legend Carl yastrzemski, from my "Gum Pack" custom set released a few months back:

Really fun set to create!

The man was at his height at the time this card would have seen the light of day in the mid to late 1970s, already a three-time batting champion, Triple Crown winner in 1967, and five-time Gold Glove winner.

As someone who grew up in New York City during the second half of his career, it's really easy to forget that Yastrzemski was a Long Island, New York boy before he went on to become a New England legend.

And how could he NOT become a legend, what with 23 years of Major League ball, all with the Red Sox, turning in three batting titles, a Triple Crown in 1967 along with an MVP Award, seven Gold Gloves, 18 all-star nods, and 25 league-leads in primary offensive categories.

By the time he did the retirement tour in 1983, he scored 1816 runs, collected 3419 hits, 646 doubles, 452 homers, 1844 runs batted in along with a .285 batting average.

He was just plain awesome…

1970 "IN-GAME ACTION": LUIS APARICIO

On the blog today, a card I created a while back that I never profiled here on the blog to my surprise, my 1970 "In-Game Action" card for "Little Louie" Aparicio, from me Series 2 set released a couple years back:

Just a nice action shot of the perennial All-Star shortstop, who was well on his way to a Hall of Fame selection when it was all said and done.

From the moment he made it to the Majors in 1956 with the Chicago White Sox, Aparicio was a star.

He took home the A.L. Rookie of the Year that season, and proceeded to be an all-star player for most of his 18-year career.

Between 1956 and 1964, nine consecutive years, he led the American League in stolen bases every single season!

As a member of the "Go-Go" 1959 Chicago White Sox he finished second to teammate Nellie Fox for Most Valuable Player, and he'd go on to win nine Gold Glove Awards before hanging up the spikes.

All told he suited up for the White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Boston Red Sox for the final three years of his illustrious career.

By the time he retired the numbers were solid: 2677 hits, 1335 runs scored, 506 stolen bases and over 10000 at-bats!

It took a few years on the ballot, but he was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: MISSING 1971 TONY HORTON

Up on the blog today, time to revisit a 10-year-old post, this one my "missing" 1971 card for slugger Tony Horton, a bit of an enigma both to his missing Topps cards and to his issues with mental health:

Here's the original write-up I had here way back when:

" Yesterday I presented my design for the "missing" 1970 Topps card for Indians player Tony Horton, explaining that he never had an "official" Topps card in his seven-year career.

Today I present what would have been his last card after his sudden and sad retirement from the game during the 1970 season.

I still don't know why Topps never produced a card for the young slugger, but it makes the Tony Horton story that much more mysterious and begs a few more answers to some tough questions.

For the 1970 season, Horton was hitting .269 with 17 homers and 59 runs batted in by August, certainly good numbers for that era.

But as I stated yesterday, Horton was battling serious issues and walked away from the game, literally, during a doubleheader, leading to a suicide attempt that very night.

Luckily for him, he sought treatment and was helped with his problems.

However he never did return to professional ball, and went on to live a private life, refusing to talk to media post-retirement.

If anyone knows why Topps never had Horton under contract I'd love to hear it. Was it Horton's decision? Was it Topps?"

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: ROBERTO CLEMENTE

Up on the blog today, a spotlight on my "Classic Baseball" custom card for "The Great One", Roberto Clemente, all-time great and true hero in a time when the term gets thrown around a bit too freely:

On the field Clemente's numbers were incredible: four batting titles, five seasons batting over .340, four 200 hit seasons, 12 all-star nods, 12 Gold Gloves and a Most Valuable Player Award in 1966.

And a prime example of Clemente's importance to the game was his immediate induction into Cooperstown by special committee in 1973, waiving the standard five-year wait before a player joins the Hall ballot, as well as the establishment of the "Roberto Clemente Award", given every year to the player that exemplified "outstanding baseball playing skills who is personally involved in community work."

The man was truly something else, and I'm not even thinking of his baseball prowess.

Just special...

As we all know, after the 1972 season, a season which saw him attain his 3000th career hit on the last at-bat of the regular season, Clemente was was killed on December 31, when the plane he was a passenger on crashed on it's way to deliver relief packages to victims of a massive earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua.

A tragic end to one of the game's greatest players of the post-war era.

It's even more tragic when you read that the only reason Clemente was on the plane in the first place was to ensure the supplies would reach their intended target, since the previous three planes full of supplies were diverted by corrupt politicians.

MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 RUSTY TORRES

Good day folks.

On the blog today we have a missing 1975 card for Rusty Torres, who appeared in 109 games for the Cleveland Indians during the 1974 season yet was left out of the 1975 set by Topps:

Torres hit .187 over 150 at-bats that year, collecting 28 hits with 19 runs scored and 12 runs batted in for the Tribe, playing all three outfield positions while also putting in some time as a designated hitter.

His career began in 1971 as a member of the New York Yankees, for whom he played parts of two seasons before heading to Cleveland as part of the trade that got the Yanks Graig Nettles in November of 1972.

He'd spend all of 1975 in the Minors before making it back to the Big Leagues in 1976, now a member of the California Angels, where he'd play in 1976 and 1977, before putting in two years with the Chicago White Sox, and one final year as a Kansas City Royal in 1980.

All told, he'd hit .212 over 655 career games between 1971 and 1980, scoring 159 runs and driving in 126, with 35 homers, finishing his pro career with one season in the Mexican League in 1982 for Monterrey.

Sadly, his life outside of baseball was marked with serious criminal charges, including sexual abuse of a minor in 2012, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison.

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. THIRD BASEMAN RON SANTO

Up on the blog today, my pick for the National League's top third baseman of the 1960s, and I went with Chicago Cubs legend Ron Santo:

Ron Santo was no slouch at the hot corner: nine All-Star games, five Gold Gloves, 342 lifetime homers and 1331 runs batted in in a somewhat short 15-year career, mainly for the North Side Chicago Cubs (he played his last year for the South Side Chicago White Sox) in 1974.

Just take a look at his career, and see the solid numbers year after year, about as consistent a player you could ever ask for.

Between 1963 and 1973 Santo was selected for nine All-Star games, received five Gold Gloves for his defensive work, and four-time finished Top-10 in the National League MVP race, with a high of fourth in 1967.
Post-playing career, Santo moved on to broadcasting, where he was a beloved color commentator over the years, working with guys like Harry Caray, Thom Brennaman and Steve Stone.

He was about as beloved a Cub as there ever was, and finally made it into the Hall of Fame in 2012 as a Veteran's Committee selection, even though tragically it was two years after he passed away.

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION- CHARLIE GEHRINGER

Today on the blog we add the "Mechanical man" Charlie Gehringer, one of the most overlooked all-time greats of the game, to my "Minor League Days: Legends Edition" thread:

I have him shown here as a member of his first minor league team, the London Tecumsehs, for whom he suited up in 1924 at the age of 21.

During his time there he hit .292 before a late-season call-up to the Majors for a five-game stint where he hit a blistering .462 with six hits in 13 at-bats.

The following year he began the season with Toronto in the International league, where all he did was collect over 200 hits while on his way to a .325 average before yet another Big League call-up, the last of its kind since he was a Major leaguer for good from here on out.

Gehringer would go on to one of the greatest careers an infielder would have in the Major Leagues, all with the Detroit Tigers, where he would take home the MVP Award in 1937, with another nine top-10 MVP finishes thrown in.

Along the way the man collected seven seasons of 200+ hits, seven 100+ RBI campaigns, 12 100+ runs scored, seven 40+ doubles with a high of 60 in 1936, while making the first six All-Star games between 1933 and 1938.

By the time he retired after the 1942 season, he racked up 2839 hits and a .320 average over 2323 games, with 1775 runs scored and 1427 RBIs, walking 1186 times with only 372 strikeouts!

Remember, this guy was a second baseman!

It is criminal how overlooked he is when the discussion for greatest second baseman of all-time comes up.