Here's a card that really serves two purposes: a 1976 "dedicated
rookie card" for my favorite second baseman growing up, Willie Randolph,
which also serves as part of my "traded" series.
Take a look:
I was initially going to design a Randolph card with him as a
Pittsburgh Pirate, but thought a card for him as a Yankee, with a
"traded" notation along the bottom to add to my traded series would be
cool. (I was never a fan of the 1976 "traded" sub-set).
Randolph was on his way to a very nice 18-year career, primarily manning second base with the Yanks between 1976 and 1988.
By the time he retired after the 1992 season, he collected over
2000 hits, scored over 1200 runs, stole 271 bases, and was a six-time
all-star with a Silver Slugger Award thrown in for good measure in 1980.
For me, Randolph came in right when I became a baseball "nut", and
left the Yankees via free agency right when I was "distracted" from the
game for a few years in my late-teens. So really, there was NO other
second baseman in my young life.
A solid player who went about his business quietly, yet very effectively.
