"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: HANK AARON

Today on the blog, I post up the very first card I designed for my upcoming multi-series "Classic Baseball" custom set, which spurred the idea of such an endeavor, my card for perhaps the greatest of them all, Hank Aaron:

When I was playing around with this card design, I wanted to celebrate the "Golden Era" of the sport I love so much, an era that you can't help but be in awe of, with stars like Aaron, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle.

With that in mind, I wanted to use images of them posed rather than in action, with photography that invoked the era, and the publications that used them.

As for Aaron the player?

Let his numbers do all the talking: 2174 runs scored, 3771 hits, 624 doubles, 98 triples, 755 home runs, 2297 runs batted in, a .305 batting average no less than 21 all-star selections!
Just tremendous!
He also had eight top-5 finishes for MVP, including taking home the award in 1957, as well as three Gold Gloves won consecutively between 1958-1960.
It's incredible to look at his 15 years of topping 100 or more runs scored, 11 seasons of 100 or more runs batted in, five more seasons of 90+ RBI's, and TWENTY STRAIGHT years of 20 or more home runs.

Rest in Peace to one of the absolute greats of the game, Mr. Henry Aaron...aka "Hammerin' Hank"!

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" ROGER CONNOR

Up next from my 2018 custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" set to be featured here on the blog, the original Home Run King Roger Connor, who saw his career home run total fall to a guy called Ruth some 15 years later:

In his stellar 18-year career, he slammed 138 homers, which was an impressive total for the dead-ball days of yore.

A big dude (6'3"/225lbs), Connor wasn't only a slugger however, by the time he retired in 1897, he totaled 2467 hits, 1620 runs, 441 doubles, 233 triples and 1323 runs batted in.

He also managed to steal 244 bases as well, though records for some of these stats were loosely kept, I'll admit.

Nevertheless, the man topped 100+ runs scored eight times, 100+ RBI's four times, 10+ homers seven times, and 10+ triples 12 times.

A very worthy player from the 1800's to be elected into the Hall of Fame, which finally happened for him in 1976, sadly some 45 years after his passing.

REVISITING: MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #15: 1972 STEVE CARLTON

Time to revisit another custom "Missing In-Action 1972 In-Action" card, this one of "Lefty" Steve Carlton originally appearing on the blog just about 10 years ago:

"Up next in my "MIA-MIA" thread is Steve Carlton, pictured here as a St. Louis Cardinal pitcher even though by the time this card would have come out he was pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, on his way to a season for the ages.

His last season as a Cardinal was a good one in 1971, as he posted his first 20-win season, going 20-9 with a 3.56 earned run average, four shutouts and 172 strikeouts.

Traded for pitcher Rick Wise, Carlton would then go on to become superstar in Philadelphia, beginning with his very first season there.

In 1972 he was just legendary, posting a 27-10 record with a tiny 1.97 E.R.A., eight shutouts and 310 strikeouts in a whopping 346.1 innings of work!

This "Triple Crown" year was all produced for a last place team, and the guy almost won HALF the teams wins!

Just monster in every sense.

All he did the rest of the way was top 300 wins, 4000 strikeouts, 50 shutouts and 700 starts in his 24 year career!

The first guy to take home four Cy Young Awards, he led his league in wins four times, strikeouts five times, E.R.A. once and was named to ten all-star teams.

Needless to say, by the time he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in on his first try, getting named to 436 of 456 ballots.

Sure we already had "Lefty" Grove, and "Lefty" Gomez, but Carlton was more than worthy of the same nickname for all of his accomplishments.

I'll be sure to create a "Nickname" card for him in the near future."

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 FRED KENDALL

It's been a little while since I posted an OPC/Topps Image Variation card duo, so today we take a look at former catcher Fred Kendall and his two cards from 1977:

OPC version

Topps version

The fine folks at OPC scrambled to airbrush him into a Cleveland Indians cap, while the people at Topps had no time before the presses started rolling, so they went with a nice image of him still with the San Diego Padres.

After playing the first eight years of his Big League career with the Padres, Kendall was shipped to Cleveland along with two other players for George Hendrick, in December of 1976.

He'd appear in 103 games for the Tribe that year, hitting .249 over 346 plate appearances before heading off to Boston for the 1978 season, where he would only play in 20 games, hitting just below the "Mendoza Line" at .195.

He'd find himself back in San Diego for what turned out to be the last two years of his career in 1979 and 1980, playing in a combined 65 games before retiring.

Overall, his final numbers in the Majors were a .234 batting average, with 603 hits in 2576 at-bats in 877 games, with 31 homers and 244 runs batted in over 12 seasons.

But his biggest contribution to the game? He fathered a player I feel is a border-line Hall of Fame catcher, Jason Kendall, who starred on the Big League diamond between 1996 and 2010, hitting .288 with over 2000 hits and almost 200 stolen bases.

Way to go Fred!

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: JOHNNY BENCH

Today on the blog I post the first of what is a "set that never was", a 1972 All-Star Ticket card for 1971 starting N.L. catcher Johnny Bench, which was going to be released some years back before I opted for the standard sized 1972 All-Star set that quickly sold-out:

This was a bookmark-sized set that would have had all nine starters for each league, as well as managers.

The background design is based off the actual ticket design for the historic All-Star game, along with a deckle-edge element that Topps was using at that time.

After designing everything, including the packaging for the set, I then decided to go with the other set simply because I wanted to add those cards into my 1972 set binder. Ha!

Still only 24 years old when this card would have come out, Bench was a Rookie of the Year in 1968, a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner by the end of 1969, and would go on to take home the first of his two MVP Awards at the end of the 1970 season.

All-time best at his position? I'd be hard-pressed to argue this.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: FRANK ROBINSON

Time to add the great, and greatly underappreciated Frank Robinson to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, my way of paying hommage to the great game that has kept me obsessed for 50+ years now:

Frank put in a 21-year Big League career that saw him win Rookie of the Year in 1956 when he smashed a then record-tying 38 home runs as a rookie, win the NL MVP in 1961 when he helped the Cincinnati Reds make it to the World Series, then become the first player to win the award in both leagues when he helped the Baltimore Orioles shock the world by sweeping the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers in 1966.
Oh yeah, he also won the Triple Crown that year, leading the American League in runs, homers, RBIs, batting, on-base-percentage, slugging percentage and total bases.
Just a killer year for a guy that was already established as one of the best players in the game.
Funny thing is that this was arguably NOT even his best season as a big leaguer at that point!
Just look at some of his season’s slugging and hitting his way through the first ten years of his career with the Reds!
Though he won the National League MVP in 1961, I always thought his 1962 season was the best of his career, when he hit .342 while collecting 208 hits, leading the league with 134 runs scored and 51 doubles, hitting 39 home runs and driving in 136, while throwing in 18 stolen bases and leading the league with a .421 OBP and .624 slugging! HUGE!
And to think that was only good for FOURTH in MVP voting that year, behind winner Maury Wills, Willie Mays and Tommy Davis.
Incredible.
But that 1966 season was extra special because it also gave Robinson a World Championship, as the Orioles and their young pitching staff went on to surprise everyone and SWEEP the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Nevertheless, his Big League resume: 586 home runs, 1812 ribbies, just under 3000 hits, Rookie of the Year, and two M.V.P. awards (one in each league). You know his resume, I'm sure.
I was just too young to really be following the papers back then, but I wonder if there was any talk about continuing as a player to get to the 3000 hits. Anyone out there know?
2943 was so enticingly close to the magic hit number, but I'm assuming he really didn't have much left in the tank after only 53 hits his final three seasons.

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 ORLANDO RAMIREZ: "1976 PROJECT"

On the blog this fine day, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for Orlando Ramirez, originally created some 10 years ago for my buddy Jim and his "1976 Master Set" project:

In 1975 Ramirez played in 44 games, good for 113 plate appearances, yet he missed out on a card in that awesome set from 1976.

Yet Topps decided that after he appeared in 30 games with 83 plate appearances in 1976, he'd get a card the following year.

Actually, he also had more playing time during the 1974 season, so he's actually "missing" from the 1975 set as well! (future post!).

Those three seasons would actually be the bulk of his major League playing time, with sparse action in both 1977 and 1979 (he didn't play at all in 1978).

He finished his career with a .189 average with 53 hits in 281 at-bats, with five doubles and a triple.

Thanks to "Reader Jim" for the chance at this project, and tackling these players left out!

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1981 MINNIE MINOSO

On the blog today, we have my "not really missing" 1981 card for Minnie Minoso, from my recent custom "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months ago:

I'm so happy that Minoso is finally a Hall of Famer, and I always felt the stunts in 1976 and 1980 may have even hurt his chances of getting into Cooperstown.
From 1951 to 1961 he had a wonderful Major League career, leading the league in stolen bases three times, triples three times, and hits and doubles once each, while also driving in over 100 runs four times and topping 20 homers four times.
Eight times in that span he would top a .300 batting average, and in 1951 many consider him the true American League Rookie of the Year when he hit .326 split between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, while topping the league in triples with 14 and stolen bases with 31.
Along the way he was named to seven All-Star games, winning three Gold Gloves as well, funny enough finishing fourth in the A.L. MVP race four times.
Of course, 12 years after his last playing days, in 1976, he ended up going 1-for-8 at the plate as a 50 year-old, then coming back in 1980 at the age of 54 and going hitless in two at-bats.
Nevertheless, Minoso finished his career with a .298 average, with 1963 hits over 6579 at-bats, along with 186 homers and 205 stolen bases while also topping 1000 runs scored and RBIs, 1136 & 1023 respectively.

If only he didn't have to wait until his age 27 season to show the ENTIRE country what he could do on a ball field.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" PUD GALVIN

Time to showcase my custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card for the "Little Steam Engine", Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin, from my custom set released in 2018:

Over the course of his spectacular 15 year professional career, Galvin produced 365 wins, with 10 20-win campaigns, which included two straight 46-win campaigns in 1883 and 1884 with the Buffalo Bisons.

In those two seasons, Galvin started 147 games and completed 143 of them. Read that again! 143 complete games in two years, with a total of 1292.2 innings of work! Just astounding.

When he retired after the 1892 season, he was at the top or near top of every pitching mark in baseball's young history, winning 365 games, tossing 57 shutouts, completing 646 while throwing 6003 innings, with a 2.85 earned run average.

Just a powerhouse of a pitcher in the game's early years, with the end result a spot in Cooperstown when he was inducted as a player by the Veterans Committee in 1965.

Of special note for all uber-baseball history geeks out there: it seems that it was recently discovered that he pitched in the National Association before his Major League days, appearing in eight games for St. Louis in 1875 as an 18-year-old, going 4-2 with a league-leading 1.16 ERA, completing all seven of his starts with a save thrown in. I do not recall this at all until seeing it recently, and I promise you I've been a fan of National Association history since the early-80s.

Baseball history STILL evolving with nuggets like this some 150 years later! Fantastic!

DEDICATED ROOKIES: 1962 BOB VEALE

Branching out into the 1960s with my "Dedicated Rookies" theme, this time a 1962 card for flame-thrower Bob Veale of the Pittsburgh Pirates:

Veale would make his MLB debut that season at the age of 26, appearing in elevel games for the Pirates, going 2-2 with a 3.74 earned run average over 45.2 innings.

After a Sophomore season that saw him go 5-1 with a brilliant 1.04 ERA over 34 games in 1963, generally in relief, the lefty put in his first full year in 1964 and had a great year, going 18-12 over 39 games, all but two of them starts, posting an ERA of 2.74 in 279.2 innings with a league-leading 250 strikeouts, the first of what would be four seasons topping 200 K's.

He'd retire after the 1974 season with a tidy 120-95 record, with a 3.07 earned run average and 1703 K's with 20 shutouts.

Between 1964 and 1970 Veale was a very solid Major League starter, averaging 15 wins and 213 strikeouts over those seven years, easily keeping pace with contemporaries like Don Drysdale, Jim Bunning and Jim Maloney.

REVISITING: "MISSING IN ACTION" 1975 JACK AKER

Thought it'd be fun to revisit a post from just about ten years ago featuring my "missing" 1975 card for former reliever Jack Aker, who wrapped up a very nice MLB career in 1974:

For the 1974 season, his last as a Major League player, Aker appeared in 41 games for both the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.

He posted a record of 2-2 with a couple of saves and a 3.57 earned run average, all out of the pen.

As a matter of fact, in his entire 11 year career he never started a single game, appearing in a total of 495 games in relief, posting a (then) very respectable 124 saves, including 32 in 1966 alone when he had his best season in the big leagues for the Kansas City Athletics, going 8-4 with a 1.99 ERA to go along with those league-leading saves.

Between 1964 and 1974 he'd suit up for the Athletics, Pilots, Yankees, Cubs, Braves and Mets, finishing with a 47-45 record with a nice 3.28 ERA and 404 strikeouts over 746 innings of work in 495 appearances.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: VADA PINSON

On the blog today, a beautiful card I hope to have released as part of a multi-series custom set, "Beautiful Baseball", by the end of the year, featuring one of my favorite players, All-Star outfielder Vada Pinson:

Just a beauty of a photo I found to celebrate both the sport I love and the man himself, who 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 the 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, Ted Simmons, Steve Garvey, Dave Parker and Jack Morris 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.

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 TIM RAINES

Today on the blog, we have my "not so missing" 1980 card for Hall of Famer Tim Raines, from my "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months back:

The "four-decade" player made his Big League debut with six games for the Montreal Expos in 1979, all as a pinch-runner, giving him three runs scored and two stolen bases without an official at-bat at the age of only 19.

From there the man was nothing short of elite, leading the league in steals four straight seasons from 1981 through 1984, winning a batting title in 1986 when he led the N.L. with a .334 mark, twice pacing the league in runs scored, and making seven straight All-Star teams from 1981 to 1987.

The National League's counterpart to Rickey Henderson, Raines went on to play 23 seasons in the Majors, including a very nice three year run with the New York Yankees during their Dynasty from 1996 to 1998, giving him two Championships, the only two he'd have.

I loved watching him play, and was especially happy to see him play "live" when he suited up for the Yanks those three seasons, when I was pretty much at almost all Yankee home games.

By the time he retired after the 2002 season, Raines finished with 2605 hits over 8872 at-bats, hitting .294 with 1571 runs scored and 808 stolen bases, collecting 113 triples while striking out only 966 times!

That is an average of only 42 strikeouts a season!

In 2017 he was elected to the Hall of Fame, his place in baseball history cemented for all to appreciate in years to come.

Cheers "Rock" Raines!

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: WILLIE MAYS

Today on the blog, we finally add the greatest of them all, Willie Mays, to my upcoming custom "Classic Baseball" set, celebrating the great game and its impact on my life all these decades:

As for the man himself, what needs to be said about perhaps the greatest player in history?
660 home runs, 3000+ hits, over 2000 runs scored and over 1900 runs batted in, with over 300 stolen bases and a .300+ batting average as well!
He took home the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951, then proceeded to win two Most Valuable Player Awards, the first in 1954 and the second eleven years later in 1965.
Let’s also not forget the 20 all-star nods and 12 Gold Gloves, leaving him in that rarified company of Ruth, Cobb, Aaron and Gehrig as far as accomplishments and legend.
Of course, Hall of Fame voting being what it is, he wasn’t a UNANIMOUS selection because of this silly unspoken rule of “no one gets 100% voting”, something I will NEVER understand.

REVISITING: "MISSING IN ACTION" 1976 IVAN DeJESUS

From way back in 2015, today we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for Ivan DeJesus, originally for a project for my buddy Jim, who was creating a master 1976 set, including many players originally left out of the classic set:

Turns out DeJesus played in 63 games for the Dodgers in 1975, good for 99 plate appearances and 87 at-bats.

He hit .184 with a couple of doubles and a triple, with 10 runs scored and two runs batted in.

It really wasn't until 1977, now as a Chicago Cub, that he would become a full-time Major League player. 

By the time he retired as a player after the 1988 season, he played for the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Giants and Tigers over the course of 15 seasons, and finished with a .254 average with 1167 hits and 194 stolen bases.

Between 1977 and 1980 he had some solid seasons for the Cubs, even leading the National League in runs scored in 1978 with 104, and twice topping 40 stolen bases (in 1978 and 1980).

I just always figured he came up with the Cubs. Goes to show you learn something new every day!

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" PETE BROWNING

On the blog today, we spotlight SHOULD-BE Hall of Famer Pete Browning, from my 2018 custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" set:

How is this man still not in the Hall!?

Over the course of his tumultuous 13-year career, he took home three batting titles, topped .400 in 1887 when he also stole 103 bases, and finished with a .341 career average.

He is also famously the man who put "Louisville Slugger" on the map, with company founder John Andrew "Bud" Hillerich custom-making Browning a bat when he was mired in a slump.

Almost at the level of "quirky" as Rube Waddell, please do yourself a favor and read more about his life here:

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Pete-Browning/

Nevertheless, by the time he retired after the 1894 season, Browning finished with a .341 average, with 1646 hits over 4820 at-bats, with a .403 OBP while stealing 258 bases and scoring 954 runs.

Because so much of his career was in the American Association, playing for Louisville, it seems to have kept him out of the Hall, where I feel he should be.

DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1968 JERRY KOOSMAN

On the blog today, we dip into the 1960s and post up my 1968 "Dedicated Rookie" card for New York Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman, who had himself a wonderful Major League career:

“Kooz” spent the first 12 years of his Major League career as a New York Met, and performed marvelously, posting solid seasons which saw him finish behind Johnny Bench in 1968 for National League Rookie of the Year in 1968, and in second-place for Cy Young in 1976 when he won a career high 21 games to along with a 2.69 earned run average and 200 strikeouts.
But over the following two seasons, and not entirely HIS fault, Koosman posted a combined 11-35 record, even though his ERA was around 3.62 and he struck out 352 batters.
That was enough for the Mets to ship him to Minnesota on December 8th, 1978 for a relief pitcher that would pay off years later, Jesse Orosco.
Koosman immediately made an impact in Minnesota, posting another 20-win season (at the time one of the few to do so in both leagues), while posting a 3.38 ERA and 157 strikeouts.
By the time he retired after the 1985 season he’d win 222 games, while collecting a nice 3.36 ERA with 2556 strikeouts and 33 shutouts over 612 games, 527 of which were starts.
I remember hearing years ago that Koosman loved to tell people how his “rookie card” was worth a lot of money and was the hottest card in the 1968 set, only to follow up and casually mention that “Oh yeah, some guy named Nolan Ryan is on there too.”
Love it...

REVISITING A "MISSING" 1976 CARD: WAYNE SIMPSON

On the blog today, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for pitcher Wayne Simpson, which was originally created for my buddy Jim for his "1976 Project".

The newest edition to the "1976 Project", as I like to refer to the series I am producing for "Reader Jim", is former pitcher Wayne Simpson, who I will admit played sparingly in 1975 for the Philadelphia Phillies, so Topps' omission of him in their set the following year is understood, but I felt was still a valid card to design.

Check out the card:

Simpson pitched in only seven games for the Phillies, five of them starts, totaling 30.2 innings of work. He posted a 1-0 record with a respectable 3.23 earned run average.

He missed the previous year after playing for the Kansas City Royals in 1973, and would actually miss all of 1976 before making a bit of a "comeback" with the California Angels in 1977 (see my 1978 "Missing in Action" card for him by clicking on his name on the right under "Labels").

Simpson came up with an absolute "BANG" in 1970, going 14-3 with a 3.02 E.R.A., two shutouts and 10 complete games in 24 starts with the Cincinnati Reds, finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.

But arm injuries derailed his career, and he never reached those heights again before leaving the game after posting a 6-12 record for the Angels in 1977.

Normally I would not be designing a card for a guy who only appeared in seven games the previous year, but with "Reader Jim's" completist mission for the 1976 set, which happens to be my all-time favorite, I am always down to design more cards in the 1976 template. It's just a matter of finding the suitable images of the players themselves.

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 KIRK GIBSON

On the blog today, from my recent "Whole Nine: Series 2" custom set, my "not so missing" 1980 card for Kirk Gibson, who made his Big League debut in 1979:

Appearing in 12 games for the Detroit Tigers in 1979, Gibson hit .237 with nine hits over 38 at-bats, including a homer, with three runs scored and four RBIs.

From there he would go on to put in 17 seasons of solid baseball, always flirting with 30/30 seasons though never managing to make it, with five straight seasons of 20+ homers and 20+ stolen bases between 1984 and 1988, culminating with his MVP season of 1988 with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he helped the in famous fashion win it all against the Oakland A's.

One of the greatest players to never make an All-Star team, Gibson was also hurt by the collusion debacle of the 1980's when owners conspired to NOT sign Free Agents, forcing them to settle for sub-pay contracts.

Who knows if Gibson could have landed somewhere else, changing the trajectory of his career later on with some other organization.

By the time he retired after the 1995 season, he finished with a career .268 batting average, with 1553 hits, 985 runs scored and 870 RBIs, hitting 255 homers while also stealing 284 bases, winning it all twice: in 1984 with the "wire-to-wire" Detroit Tigers juggernaut, and the Dodgers in 1988.

Not too shabby a career!

 

AVAILABLE NOW! 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS EXTENSION SET

Hello everyone!

Excited to announce the release of my 1954 Wilson's Franks extension set:

 

I went and added 15 baseball stars of that era to the classic and highly sought after oddball set, finally finding a commercial printer who could guarantee the very tight white borders particular to the original set.

I promise you, this took some time to find, as most printers could not guarantee such tight cuts!

Anyway, as you can see in the attached photos, the 15-cards are chock full of greatness, all packaged in a new type of package for WTHBALLS, an acetate box, with the cards wrapped in a color printed 1954 Wilson's Franks package.

The backs are fully printed biographical/statistics backs, giving further authenticity to the original great set.

Though a bit more "limited" than most WTHBALLS sets, there should still be more than enough for the WTHBALLS family!

The set costs $15 each, with the usual $4.50 shipping, no matter how many you buy.

Paypal: slogun23@gmail.com

Thank you so much for the continued interest and support!

Take Care

Gio

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: AL KALINE

On the blog today, we add an incredibly underrated and under-appreciated Hall of Famer, Detroit Tigers great Al Kaline, to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, celebrating the great game and it's "Golden Era":

What a great all-around player the Tigers had for 20 years!

Buried under names like Aaron, Mays, Mantle, etc, he just went about his business year in and year out and paved the way for his eventual induction into Cooperstown's hallowed halls in 1980.

The 1960's saw Kaline make eight All-Star teams, win seven Gold Gloves, and receive solid M.V.P. support seven of ten years, finishing as high as second in 1963.

Though he only led the league in a primary offensive category only once (doubles in 1961) in the 1960s, Kaline's consistency was his strength, as he topped .300 four times, 20 homers five times, and a .500 slugging percentage five times.

The 15-time all-star topped 3000 hits, 1600 runs, 1500 runs batted in and came one home run short of 400 over his stellar career, which also included 10 Gold Gloves for his defensive prowess.
An easy Hall of Fame pick, he was inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1980 with 88.3% of the ballots cast.
“Mr. Tiger” indeed!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 JOHN STROHMAYER

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for former New York Mets pitcher John Strohmayer, who wrapped up a brief Big League career with a single game in 1974:

After about three and a half years with the Montreal Expos, Strohmayer was selected off waivers by the Mets in July of 1973 and appeared in seven games, good for 10 innings before the year was up.

For the year he appeared in 24 games and 44.2 innings between the two organizations, so I went and created a "missing" 1974 card for the blog a while back.

In 1974, he appeared in one game for the Mets, only pitching one inning, never to appear in another Major League game again.

Over those five years between 1970 and 1974, Strohmayer went 11-9 with a 4.47 earned run average in 143 games, 18 of which were starts.

As an aside, here's something I don't get to post everyday: seems Strohmayer was one of 15 employees of the Gateway Unified School District to share a $76 Million lottery jackpot in 2009!

Good for you John! We should all be so lucky!

REVISITING A "MISSING" CARD POST FROM 2014: 1973 JOHN CUMBERLAND

Here's a "missing" 1973 card for pitcher John Cumberland of the St. Louis Cardinals:

After a very nice 1971 season with the San Francisco Giants which saw him post a 9-6 record with a 2.92 E.R.A. and two shutouts in 45 games and 185 innings, Cumberland started the 1972 season 0-4 with a bloated 8.64 E.R.A., finding himself traded to the Cardinals for a minor league player on June 16th.

The change of scenery didn't exactly help, as he went on to a 1-1 record with a 6.65 earned run average over 14 games.

All told he went 1-5 with a 7.71 E.R.A. over 23 games and 46.2 innings of work.

He actually didn't appear in a Major League game in 1973, but came back for 17 appearances in 1974 with the California Angels, fairing a bit better with an 0-1 record and 3.74 E.R.A. over 21.2 innings, his last on the big league level.

For his career, Cumberland went 15-16 with a 3.82 earned run average over 110 appearances, 36 of which were starts.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" MICKEY WELCH

On the blog today, we spotlight my custom card for 300-game winner Mickey Welch, from an early WTHBALLS set released back in 2018 in deluxe packaging:

Once I got my hands on my first Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia as a 10 year old I became obsessed with those early Gods of the mound, like Tim Keefe, Kid Nichols, Pud Galvin, and this guy, fellow Brooklyn native Welch.

All of these pitchers had incredible numbers on their Major League resume, and my eyes would strain to grasp the inning-counts, the complete games, win totals and the earned run averages.

It was mind-blowing to me, and to some extent (even after learning the differences of the game back then), it still is.

Welch put together an uber-solid 13-year career, a career that saw him post nine 20-win seasons, four 30-win seasons and a 40-win season.

All but three of his years as a pro were with the New York Giants, with his first three years playing for the Troy Trojans between 1880-1882, and he went on to become only the third pitcher to amass 300 or more career wins.

He'd finish his career after only one start in 1892, putting up a 307-210 lifetime record, with a 2.71 earned run average, a staggering 525 complete games out of 549 starts, 41 shutouts and 1850 strikeouts.

Sadly, he wouldn't gain entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame until 1973, long after he passed away in 1941, when he was voted in by the Veterans Committee.
But this time the Committee got it right as opposed to some of those other questionable picks in the early-1970's, as Welch found his place with all the other aforementioned 19th-century 300-game winners.

 

REVISIT: 1975 "NICKNAMES OF THE 1970s" SPARKY ANDERSON

Thought it'd be fun to revisit my 1975 "nickname" card for Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, the skipper for the juggernaut "Big Red Machine" Reds of the 1970's:

I used a 1975 template and a fantastic photo of Anderson with his Hall of Fame catcher, Johnny Bench after (what else?), waiting for a relief pitcher!

It would have been too easy to use some portrait shot of him, but this photo just seemed "right", even WITH his back to the camera.

I used the 1975 template since he was at the height of his league domination with the Reds and his juggernaut lineup: Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, George Foster et al. 

But the nickname, of course, comes from the fact that Sparky was really one of the first managers to rely heavily on his bullpen.

When you look at the "Big Red Machine" teams of the mid-70's you find solid Major League starters like Don Gullet, Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, etc.

But there was never a true "ace", which was actually rather abundant in the Majors during the decade.

However, the Reds DID have solid guys out of the pen like Tom Hall, Rawly Eastwick, Pedro Borbon, Clay Carroll and Will McEnaney.

These were guys that could come in at any time during the game and pitch as long as Sparky needed them to.

So while so many other teams during the decade had guys completing 20 or more of their starts every season, the Reds didn't even have one of their starters complete 10 or more in either of their World Champion years.

But how can you argue with success, right?

And Anderson found a lot of success in his 26-year managing career!

Three world titles (the third coming in 1984 with the Tigers), seven first place finishes, two more pennants (1970 and 1972), and 2194 career victories.

He also won two Manager of the Year Awards, in 1984 and 1987 (the award was instituted in 1983, or he almost assuredly would have won a couple with Cincinnati), and guided five All-Star teams (four in the N.L., one in the A.L.).

Just a classic manager who managed some classic teams!

It's amazing to think that when he took over the Reds in 1970, he was only 36 years of age! It's easy to remember him like the grandfatherly figure he was the last part of his career.

Sparky Anderson, "Captain Hook", a Hall of Famer inducted into Cooperstown in 2000 by the Veterans Committee.

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- MISSING IN ACTION: 1968 SPARKY LYLE

Good day all.

On the blog today, from my recent custom "Whole Nine: Series Two" set, not so missing 1968 card for one of the all-time relievers of the game, Sparky Lyle, who made his big league debut on July 4th of 1967 with the eventual American League champion Boston Red Sox:

Lyle appeared in 27 games for the Red Sox that year, going 1-2 with a 2.28 ERA over 43.1 innings, striking out 42 while walking 14.

All he would do from then on is put in what I think is a Hall of Fame career, appearing in 899 games, all in relief, saving 238 games while posting a record of 99-76, with an ERA of 2.88.

He took home a Cy Young Award in 1977, helping the Yankees to their first title in 13 years, and finished in third for A.L. MVP in 1972 after getting traded from Boston in one of the most lopsided trades of all-time, as he saved a league-leading 35 games with a record of 9-5 and a 1.95 ERA.

One of the great characters of the game, his many quips, antics, etc are well documented, especially during his tenure with the "Bronx Zoo" Yankee dynasty through the 1978 season.

Just a great icon of 1970s baseball!

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: BOB GIBSON

Another week, another chance to add to my growing custom "Classic Baseball" set, this time adding "Hoot" Bob Gibson, perhaps the fiercest competitor the game has ever seen:

Bob Gibson has always been one of my favorite all-time players and competitors. Besides the obvious things to love about the guy as far as his stats go, it was the over-the-top drive and no-nonsense play that had me hooked.

The two-time Cy Young winner and 1968 MVP would top 250 wins with 251, finish with 3117 strikeouts along with a 2.91 earned run average and 56 shutouts over his 17-year career.
He’d also collect NINE Gold Gloves and be named to eight all-star teams, all while hurling for the Cardinals, leading them to two World Championships, 1964 and 1967.

Ever hear Tim McCarver tell the story of the first time he saw Gibson after Tim was traded to the Phillies in October of 1969? If not here goes:
Before a game between the Cardinals and the Phillies in 1970, both teams were on the field loosening up and getting ready. Tim, who was a teammate of Gibson for about ten years before being traded, figured he'd go say hello to him. Not only were they teammates for so long, but they came up in the Cardinals system together in the late-50's.
Well as Tim says it, he went up to Gibson near the batter's box, stuck out his hand and went to say "hi", and knew immediately he was done for. Gibson just stared him down and walked away.
First time McCarver was up at the plate, Gibson delivered his first pitch and brushed him back.
Message delivered: they weren't teammates anymore, and while ON the field, they were enemies.
How can you NOT love that!?
The man was a force on the mound, and of course his 1968 season is the stuff of legend. I STILL wonder how on earth he managed to have 9 losses with a season E.R.A. of 1.12!!! Just incredible.
Needless to say, the Hall of Fame was sure to call in 1981 and an obvious choice for induction was granted.

 

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 GOMER HODGE

Today we'll revisit my "missing" 1972 card for Gomer Hodge, whose only taste of the "Big Time" was in 1971 with the Cleveland Indians:

Hodge only saw big league action during the 1971 season with the Tribe, playing in 80 games and collecting 90 plate appearances.

Used generally as a pinch-hitter, he also played first, second and third base for a total of eight times.

He batted .205 for the year, getting 17 hits in 83 official at-bats, with three doubles and a home run with nine runs batted in and three runs scored.

Hodge played all of his 16-year professional ball in the Cleveland organization between 1963 and 1976, playing in over 1000 minor league games before calling it a career at the age of 32.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1974 SONNY SIEBERT

Thought it would be fun to go and re-do the 1974 card for former pitcher Sonny Siebert, who put in a nice Major league career before he hung them up:

My re-done version

Original Topps card

Siebert is one of those pitchers who flies under the radar in my book as far as good, solid hurlers during the 1960's and 1970's.

Between 1964 and 1972, pitching for the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox, Siebert would post five seasons of sub-3.00 ERA's, five seasons of 14 wins or more, all while pitching for sub-par teams.

In 1973 he found himself wrapping up the season as a member of the Texas Rangers, but was shipped off to the St. Louis Cardinals by seasons end, which had Topps create the "looking-up" image you see here, with the non-descript cap.

I figured I'd create a card with him as a Ranger since I'm of the "reflection of previous year" for cards.

He'd go 8-8 for the Cardinals in 1974, with a 3.84 ERA over 28 games and 133.2 innings of work, with three shutouts and five complete games.

He kind of gets grouped in with the Gary Peters, Joel Horlens and such of the world for me.

Anyway, in 1975 he started the season with the San Diego Padres, but found himself off to Oakland where he appeared in the final 17 games of his career, ending up with a 7-6 record with a 3.90 ERA over 23 games before retiring.