Sunday, November 3, 2013

"THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL" 1977 TOPPS JIM MASON

Now, this Jim Mason 1977 (#212) card has always bothered me since it came out.
As an eight year old ripping open packs as quick as I could, I remember freezing at the sight of this card and never being able to figure out why this Major League baseball player was CRYING on his card!
Look at it!
What a weird picture of Mason. It's like he's seeing something horrible happening on the field and he's just about to break out in tears!
Then again, perhaps finding himself on the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in 1977 just after appearing in the World Series as a member of the American League New York Yankees in 1976 might make ANYONE cry, wouldn't it?
Maybe Mason realized that there were going to be some LONG days ahead playing for a cellar-dwelling team, especially for a light-hitting utility player like himself.
Well, it turns out he didn't need to worry THAT much, as he was traded to Texas on May 9th (my birthday actually) with pitcher Steve Hargan for Roy Howell.
Nevertheless, what an odd card from my youth...

It's ok Jim, you're moving on to Texas in May!!

Mason was a light hitting, and I mean LIGHT HITTING infielder who is probably best known for hitting a home run in his first World Series at-bat in 1976 for the Yanks against the Reds.
Other than that, he managed to carve out a nine-year career playing for the Senators/Rangers, Yanks, Blue Jays and Expos until he retired after the 1979 season.

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