MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1972 SPARKY ANDERSON

Up on the blog today, something we'll see a lot of through the 1970s, Cincinnati reds manager Sparky Anderson leading the National League in the All-Star game over their American League rivals, with this one a "missing" 1972 All-Star card:

Again, being a fan of base-card All-Star designations a la 1975-1981, I went and created "missing" versions from 1970-1974, including cards for the managers.

Arguably leading the team of the decade, the Cincinnati Reds, Anderson was at the helm of a team that featured many of the top players of the era.

In 1975 the Reds were arguably one of the best teams in baseball history, steamrolling to 108 victories before eventually beating the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

In 1976, more of the same as the team would win 102 games before sweeping the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Throw in the fact that they were also in the World Series in both 1970 and 1972, and it really looked like the team, stacked with guys like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and George Foster, would be keeping our attention for quite some time.

But alas, according to Sparky, it was the trading of one of their OTHER stars, Tony Perez, that took the heart and soul out of the team, and shockingly the "Big Red Machine" would not bring home another championship, and the franchise would have to wait until 1990 before experiencing it again.

For Anderson however, the man would go down as one of the greatest managers in Major League history, moving on to the Detroit Tigers in 1979, where he would go on to manage 17 years, giving him a combined 26 years of Big League managing, even taking home another title with that great 1984 Tiger team that was in first "wire-to-wire", winning 104 games before beating the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

All told the man won 2194 games as a manager, finishing with a .545 winning percentage, three titles, 5 pennants, and of course a Hall of Fame induction in 2000.

Legend, and perpetually looking like an "old man" even when he was in his 30's!

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2014: MISSING 1972 ZOILO VERSALLES

Good day all!

On the blog today, we revisit a ten-year-old post, this time my "missing" 1972 card for former MVP Zoilo Versalles, who was wrapping up a nice Major League career by the time this card would have seen the light of day:

Here's the original write-up from that post:

You think a former Most Valuable Player would get a little more love from Topps than 1965 winner Zoilo Versalles got in 1972.

After appearing in 66 games for the Atlanta Braves, hitting .191 in 194 at-bats, Versalles was still a member of the organization by the time the 1972 set was being printed, yet he wasn't given a slot on the checklist while quite a few "no-names" with even less action did.

Not the best picture out there, but believe me when I tell you I looked far and wide for a better one of him in an Atlanta uniform. Couldn't find one.

Now, I'll admit that Versalles really was one of those "who?" M.V.P. names when you go through the awards history.

Sure he had a nice season in 1965 as part of the pennant winning Minnesota Twins.

However that team was loaded with "co-stars", from Tony Oliva, to Harmon Killebrew, to Mudcat Grant and Jim Kaat on the mound.

Nevertheless, Versalles ended up leading the American League in at-bats, runs, doubles, triples and total bases, and even pulled in a Gold Glove.

So when voting time came around, he outdistanced teammate Oliva 275 to 174 in points.

It's interesting to note that to reinforce the fact that Versalles had quite a co-starring cast helping him out, no less than six Twins finished in the top-15 in M.V.P. voting that year: Versalles, Oliva, Grant (6th), Earl Battey (10th), Jimmie Hall (13th) and Killebrew (15th).

Not too bad, even IF they ended up losing to the Dodgers in the World Series.

For Versalles, he'd never again come close to those type of numbers, finishing up his career in 1971 after a few mediocre years with the Dodgers, Indians, Senators and Braves.

I guess you could consider this a "career-capper" card as well for what it's worth. However I really left that thread to retired Hall of Famers.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: TONY CONIGLIARO

On the blog today, we have my "Classic Baseball" custom card for Boston Red Sox young slugger Tony Conigliaro, who was on his way to a wonderful career before his tragic beaning in 1967:

Just a beautiful photograph of the promising right-fielder, who was already a home run champ by the age of 21, two years before a Jack Hamilton pitch to the face derailed his career.

We all know the story by now: "Tony C" was a budding star in the big leagues, leading the league in homers at the young age of 20 in 1965 and building on a career that was making the homegrown player a Boston darling.

But in 1967 he was hit in the face by a Jack Hamilton pitch that permanently derailed his career, eventually playing a single year for the Angels in 1971 before leaving the game for three years before making a dramatic "comeback" in 1975.

That season he appeared in only 21 games, good for 69 plate appearances. But it was an emotional return of sorts for Conigliaro, even if it would be the last games of his career, forcing him to retire at the age of 30.

Since he actually appeared in those final games during the 1975 season, I figured a 1976 card for him was more appropriate.

It is easy to forget that after his beaning in 1967, and missing all of 1968, Conigliaro came back and posted a remarkable return season in 1969, hitting 20 homers, driving in 82, and taking home the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award.

1970 was even more incredible, as he swatted a career high 36 home runs, while driving in 100+ for the only time in his career (116)!

Sadly because of the beaning he suffered eye-troubles and was never the same again, and he was traded to the California Angels with pitcher Ray Jarvis and catcher Jerry Moses for Doug Griffin, Jarvis Tatum and Ken Tatum.

As if that wasn't enough for the poor guy, the true tragedy of the Tony Conigliaro story would be in 1982, when he was about to interview for a broadcasting job in Boston and suffered a catastrophic stroke, leaving him in a vegetative state until his death eight years later in 1990.

Really a sad story that leaves you with the "what if's" of the sports world…

CUSTOM SPECIAL INSERT: 1971 TOPPS ROOKIE ALL-STARS THURMAN MUNSON REDO

Hello everyone!

On the blog today, my special insert card for my "Series 16" set, a redo of the never-released Topps 1971 Rookie All-Stars card of Thurman Munson:

Profiled here on the blog a while back, Topps had a prototype set made of the 1970 Rookie All-Stars, with Munson as the key player.

It was just a paste-up 5x7 set on card-stock that never ended up getting released, but that set did make it out there into the collecting world, thus creating the "unicorn" status for uber-collectors.

I wanted to create something special as far as an insert for my Series 16 set, so I just recreated the Munson card with the original template, with a new image of the future Yankees captain.

I guess you can say the future Yankee dynasty of the late 1970's started right here with this guy when he came up and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970.

Soon after he was joined by the likes of Graig Nettles, Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, on their way to back-to-back titles as well as an American League pennant in 1976.

Not only did he take home the Rookie of the Year in 1970, but he'd go on to win the Most Valuable Player award six years later, to go along with seven all-star berths as well as three Gold Gloves.

For three consecutive seasons he drove in 100+ runs with LESS than 20 homers, topping out at 18 in 1977, while hitting over .300 each and every time.

I particularly love his M.V.P. year, where he had 665 plate appearances yet only struck out 38 times while collecting 186 hits over 616 at-bats. Pretty amazing stuff. He even stole 14 bases as well!

What an age for catchers huh? You had Munson, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Ted Simmons all putting in all-star seasons after all-star seasons.

Sadly we all know how Munson's story played out. I remember that day like it was yesterday and will never forget it.

 

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: JIM "CATFISH" HUNTER

Today on the blog, my "Catfish Hunter" mini special from my custom "Gum Pack" set released a few months back just for the fun of it:

Love creating ad issuing off-sized oddball cards, and this set fit the bill perfectly in deluxe gum-pack packaging.

Over his 15-year career, which wrapped up in 1979 due to arm troubles, Hunter racked up 224 wins, a 3.26 earned run average, 42 shutouts and 2012 strikeouts.

He took home the Cy Young Award in 1974 in his last season with the A's, came in second for the award the following year in his first year as a landmark Free-Agent with the Yankees, and threw a perfect game back in 1968 at the young age of 22.

A big-game pitcher, Hunter was a member of no less than five World Champion teams: 1972-74 Oakland A's, and the "Bronx Zoo" Yankee teams of 1977-78.

Did you know that Hunter is the last pitcher in the Major Leagues to complete 30 or more games in a season? 

In 1975 he completed 30 of his 39 starts, on his way to a 23-14 record with seven shutouts and a 2.58 E.R.A.

Between 1971 and 1975 he won 20 or more games each year, a great five year run which saw him win 111 games.

As a matter of fact, Hunter was the first pitcher since the all-time great Walter Johnson to win 200 games before the age of 31! And the only other guys at that time to also do it? Christy Mathewson and Cy Young. Incredible.

Sadly arm troubles and diabetes started to affect his career, forcing him to retire in 1979 at the age of only 33.

The final feather in his baseball cap would be a Hall of Fame induction in 1987 along with Chicago Cubs great Billy Williams, giving him a solid place in baseball history, if he didn't have one already...

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1972 EARL WEAVER

On the blog today we once again go and give former Baltimore Orioles skipper Earl Weaver the "All-Star" treatment with a "missing" all-star card, this time a 1972 edition celebrating his 1971 position as the manager for the A.L. in the now legendary Midsummer Classic:

Weaver's road to skipper in the 1971 All-Star game was all thanks to his incredible 1970 season when he guided the juggernaut Baltimore Orioles to what ended up being his only title over his Hall of Famer managerial career, seeing the Birds beat the up-and-coming Cincinnati Reds after steam-rolling through the regular season to the tune of a 108-54 record, this after a monster 1969 season that saw the team win 109 games. Incredible.

I loved Earl Weaver as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin: fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480 wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with four Pennants and a World Championship in 1970, posting a winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he finished 73-89.

In 1996 he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. OUTFIELDER MICKEY MANTLE

Today on the blog, my second American league outfielder on my 1960's All-Decade team, and it was an easy pick with Mickey Mantle, even if he put time in at first base as well towards the end of his legendary career:

Mantle is one of those guys I really don't think we need to get into as far as his accomplishments on the baseball diamond. It'd be kind of like a joke to start writing about his career since it would take up a book's worth.

But alas, 500+ homers, a bushel of World Championships, three Most Valuable Player Awards, a Triple Crown season in 1956 and the hearts of more fans than we can even imagine to this day.

"The Mick" in all his glory, enshrined in his rightful place in Cooperstown, along with his longtime buddy Whitey Ford in the same HOF class.

Though his true glory days were during the 1950s, Mantle would still take home one of his MVP trophies in the 1960s (1962), with three runner-up seasons, his only Gold Glove (1962), eight All-Star nods, and a home run title (1962).

The man became an American icon, idol for millions, and easily one of the most recognizable celebrities over the past 100 years before sadly leaving us way too soon at the age of 63 in 1995.

Not too bad a Hollywood script...

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 JACKIE BROWN

Up on the blog today we take a closer look at the image variations between former pitcher Jackie Brown's 1977 OPC and Topps cards:

OPC version

Topps version

After two seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Brown found himself North of the border with the Montreal Expos, and the fine folks at OPC tried their best to show him with his new team, giving us the airbrushed beauty you see here.

As for Topps, since they hit the presses earlier than OPC, we're given the nice posed shot of the righty in all that maroon Cleveland glory, which is fine by me!

Brown pitched for seven years in the Majors, originally coming up in 1970 with the Washington Senators, for whom he'd pitch the first four and a half years of his career.

As mentioned earlier he'd put in two years with the Indians before one season in Montreal, where he'd go 9-12 over 42 appearances, tossing 185.2 innings with six complete games and a couple of shutouts, finishing with an ERA of 4.51.

For his playing career he would go 47-53 over 214 games, with a 4.18 ERA in 892.2 innings of work, with eight shutouts and three saves along the way.

After his playing days he would go into coaching, where he would put in time with the Texas Rangers (1979-82), Chicago White Sox (1992-95), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2002), while also holding the title of Minor League Pitching Coordinator for various organizations before passing away at the age of 73 in 2017.

A baseball lifer through and through.

 

REVISITING A POST FROM 2014: 1970 VAN KELLY MISSING IN ACTION

Fun card and post to revisit today on the blog, my 1970 "missing in action" card for former infielder Van Kelly, who got the spotlight here on April 5th of 2014 as one of the earlier "missing in action" creations by yours truly:

Here's the original write-up for the blog post way back when:

Kelly really should have had a card in the 1970 Topps set after playing almost half of San Diego's inaugural season the previous year, manning both third and second base.

Kelly didn't leave much of a mark in the Majors, playing in 73 games in 1969 and only 38 games the next.

But I'd like to think that 222 plate appearances in '69 would be enough to warrant a card, especially for a 23 year old who seemed to be on the verge of a "career", no?

All told, Kelly would play in 111 games in his career, finishing with a .221 batting average, 66 hits, four homers, 25 runs scored and 24 runs batted in during his short career.

But thanks to the world of baseball card geeks like me, his name lives on!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 JOHN DONALDSON

Today on the blog, a rarity these days, a "not so missing" card, this time for infielder John Donaldson, who played the last games of his six-year career in 1974, now with the Oakland A's:

Donaldson appeared in ten games for the eventual three-peat world champs in 1974 after spending the 1971-1973 seasons in the Minors.

Over those ten games he hit .133 with two hits over 15 at-bats, scoring a run while also putting some time in at second and third base.

Previous to this his last action on a Big League diamond was 1970 when he appeared in 41 games for the A's. for whom he played the entirety of his career outside of 95 games as a Seattle Pilot in 1969.

All told, Donaldson's career lasted 6-years, playing in 405 games, with a .238 lifetime batting average, 96 runs scored, 292 hits and 86 RBI's over 1225 at-bats and 1380 plate appearances.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: "MR. CUB" ERNIE BANKS

Up on the blog today we add the great Ernie banks to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, which is due for production later this year in multiple series:

This will be a really fun set to issue, celebrating the sport I have loved so much for the past 50 years or so.

What needs to be said about the man?

The most beloved baseball player in the North Side of Chicago, two-time Most Valuable Player (1958 and 1959), 500+ home runs, 2500+ hits, 11-time all-star and all-around great guy.

Oh, I may as well throw in the 1300+ runs scored, 1600+ runs batted in, 400+ doubles and 90 triples he chipped in as well, setting him on a straight path to the Baseball Hall of Fame with his 1977 induction, a no-brainer in anyone's book!

"Mr. Cub", wish there were more like him!

1960S "IN-ACTION": 1963 FLEER ROBIN ROBERTS

Good day all.

On the blog today, we have my 1963 Fleer "In-Action" card for the great, and under-appreciated Hall of Famer Robin Roberts, from my custom set released a few months back:

Just a nice shot of the righty ace towards the end of his stellar career during his tenure with the Baltimore Orioles:

Roberts resurrected his career somewhat in 1962, his first season with the Baltimore Orioles, posting a very nice 2.78 earned run average over 27 appearances, going 10-9 with six complete games.

This was after a disastrous 1961 season that saw him go 1-10 over 26 appearances, with a bloated 5.85 ERA in his last year with the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he came up to the Major Leagues back in 1948.

Roberts was a freaking machine during the 1950’s pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, posting six 20-win seasons with  a 19 and 17 win season thrown in as well.
He led the league in wins four times with a high of 28 in 1952, while also leading the National league in strikeouts twice, complete games five times, innings pitched five times and shutouts once.
By the time he retired after the 1966 season, he finished with 286 wins and a 3.41 earned run average, with 45 shutouts and 2357 strikeouts over 676 games and 4688.2 innings pitched.
Between 1950 and 1956 he was named to the all-star team each year, while also garnering MVP attention every season.
To be honest how he didn’t win the MVP in 1952 is beyond me, as the award went to Chicago Cubs slugger Hank Sauer.
Granted the Phillies finished in fourth place with an 87-67 record, 9.5 games behind the Dodgers.
But the Cubs finished in fifth place, with a 77-77 record.
So what went on there is something worth looking into considering all Roberts did was go 28-7 with a 2.59 ERA, three shutouts, 148 strikeouts and 30 complete games out of his 37 starts!

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: N.L. OUTFIELDER WILLIE MAYS

Today we have my pick for the second outfielder on my national League team of the 1960s, and about as easy as it gets as I go with the Sporting News Player of the 1960s, all-time great Willie Mays:

The man flat-out raked during the decade of the '60's!

All the man did was finish in the top-10 in M.V.P. voting seven times, taking home the award in 1965 (with many remarking that HE should have won in 1962 over Maury Wills), top 30-homers six times, 40 homers four times, and 50 in 1965 (being the last to reach that mark until George Foster hit 52 in 1977).

Throw in seven 100+ R.B.I. seasons, six 100+ runs seasons, five .300+ years, nine Gold Gloves and all-star appearances every single year, and you see why it was so easy to choose the "Say Hey Kid" as the player of the decade.

Is it me, or is being voted "Player of the Decade" pretty freakin' big?!

I think such an honor speaks volumes historically, and it's a shame it goes so unnoticed through the years.

Anyway, so far an outfield of Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays both in their prime is ridiculously elite! And with the addition of my third outfielder on the N.L. team, which I'm sure you can all guess, it would easily be the greatest outfield the game would ever see if they had the chance to play together.

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1971 GIL HODGES

Today we add former New York Mets manager to my "missing All-Star manager" cards I've recently created for the blog, joining my Earl Weaver 1971 card from last week, to celebrate the managers that led their respective leagues in the "Midsummer Classic" during the 1970s:

Because of his World Championship season of 1969, when he led the improbable "Miracle Mets" team to a shocking win over the juggernaut Baltimore Orioles, Hodges was tabbed as the skipper of the N.L. for the 1970 All-Star game.

Played at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, the National League would pull-out the win in the 12th inning, remembered as the Pete Rose run when he barrelled into young Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse for the game winning run.

Excelling on the field for the Dodgers as well as in the dugout for the Mets, Gil Hodges became a legend in the New York area, and his name still has recognition around here thanks to the top-notch little league that kids flock to every year (of which I also took part in as a kid 40-45 years ago).
After his Hall-worthy playing career Hodges was the first successful manager of the New York Mets, and was depicted on Topps cards in the late-60's and early-70's.

After a ninth place finish his first year as manager of the Mets (just one game above the last place Houston Astros), Hodges and the Mets did the unthinkable in 1969.
Led by a young corps of talented guns like Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and a yet "unknown" Nolan Ryan, they managed a historic 27-game turnaround, good for first place in the new N.L. East with a record of 100-62.
Once into the postseason, they stunned the baseball world by sweeping the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs, then defeating the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in the World Series four games to one, claiming about as unexpected a championship as anybody could have dreamed of.

Hodges, who finally made the Hall of Fame recently, should have been in decades ago based on his playing and managing career.

Gone far too soon after dying at the age of only 47 just before the 1972 season from a heart attack.

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: JOE MORGAN

On the blog today, a spotlight on my Joe Morgan mini, from my "Gum Pack" custom set in special packaging released last year:

Just a fun set to whip up and get out there to add to the WTHBALLS checklist!

Morgan was "all-world" by the time he had a few seasons with the Cincinnati reds under his belt!

What else could Morgan have accomplished by the end of the 1970s?! The two-time MVP led his “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds to two straight World Series wins in 1975 & 1976, took home his third straight Gold Glove Award, was RIPPED OFF a Rookie of the Year Award back in 1965 (look it up), and was well on his way to the Hall of Fame.
His 1976 season was the stuff of legend at the time: a .320 batting average, 27 homers, 111 runs batted in, 113 runs scored and 114 base on balls, leading his league in On-Base-Percentage and Slugging while claiming a spot on his seventh National League All-Star team.

He created a modern standard for a middle infielder, a standard that rarely has been matched since.

One of the all-time greats of the game.

 

WTHBALLS "SERIES 17" CUSTOM SET NOW AVAILABLE!

It's that time again!

The newest WTHBALLS custom set is here, and it's the "SERIES 17" set!

 

SPOILER ALERT! See photos attached for the cards in this set.

 

 

As usual, this features 15 cards plus a bonus, which will be the fifth WTHBALLS membership card, this one in the 1971 format featuring Vida Blue.

As usual, the sets come wrapped inside a "WTHBALLS" wrapper like the other "Series" set packs from the past.

The new "packs" are $13 each plus $4.50 postage, and as usual, if you buy more than one set, postage always stays the same at $4.50.

My paypal is the usual: slogun23@gmail.com
Thank you all for the continued support and interest!
Be well and safe!
Gio/wthballs

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 PHIL GARNER

Today on the blog we take a look at Phil garner, aka "Scrap Iron", and the image variation between his 1977 Topps and OPC cards, with some hilarious results:

OPC version

Topps version

After coming up with the Oakland A's in 1973 and playing for them for four years, Garner was part of a blockbuster trade that saw him go to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Tommy Helms and Chris Batton for Tony Armas, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Rick Langford, Doc Medich and Mitchell Page.

To say that the Oakland A's made out like BANDITS on this deal would be an understatement!

Anyway, while Topps didn't catch the trade in time and used a nice shot of Garner in action, OPC did and created this absolutely fantastic airbrushed job in all it's mustard glory! Wow!

Nevertheless, Garner would go on to a very nice 16-year career as a player, along with another eight as a manager during the 1990’s and 2000’s, even guiding the Houston Astros to a National League Pennant in 2005 when they eventually lost to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.
As a player, he was a part of the 1979 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates team, as well as a member of the 1973 and 1974 World Champ Oakland A’s, though not a cog or even a regular by any means.
By the time he retired as a player after the 1988 season, the three-time All-Star finished with a career .260 average, with 1594 hits over 6136 at-bats and 1860 games.

Not a bad Big League resume!

REVISITING A BLOG POST FROM 2015: ALLIE REYNOLD'S TWO NO-HITTERS

On the blog today, we revisit a blog post from November of 2015 celebrating Allie Reynolds and his two no-hitters of 1951 on a 1971 "Turn back the Clock" card:

Here's the original write-up for the post as it appeared back then:

Today we celebrate Allie Reynolds and his two no-hitters in 1951, which he threw against the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox, in my “Turn Back The Clock” series.

The “Super Chief” had it going on in 1951, winning 17 games and leading the league with seven shutouts.
On July 12th of that year he faced his old team, the Indians, and beat them 1-0 thanks to a solo home run by Gene Woodling. He retired the last 17 batters he faced, and his rival pitcher, Bob Feller, pitched a no-hitter himself just eleven days earlier!
On September 28th, he faced Boston and easily beat them 8-0, which allowed the Yankees at least a tie for first in the American League.
Reynolds struck out nine and walked four, and of course we all know that the final batter he faced was none other than Ted Williams, arguably the greatest all-around hitter in baseball history.
All Reynolds had to do was, in a sense, retire him TWICE, as Yogi Berra dropped a foul pop-up for the final out, before catching the very next one, as Williams popped out to end the game.
Only six pitchers have thrown two no-hitters in one season, with Roy Halladay (2010) and Max Scherzer (2015) being the most recent to the exclusive club.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: BILL MADLOCK

Today on the blog we add four-time batting champ Bill Madlock to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, which will be a fun higher-end custom release later this year spread out over a few series:

Just a nice portrait shot of the man during his time with the Chicago Cubs, for whom he took home two of his batting titles.

"Mad Dog" was coming off of TWO straight National League batting titles in 1977 when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in a multi-player deal, with Chicago landing Bobby Murcer among others.
Madlock didn’t disappoint, as he’d put in two solid seasons of .300+ averages with some pop before he was shipped off to Pittsburgh in the middle of the 1979 season.
He would go on to put together a very nice 15-year career between 1973 and 1987, but apparently not quite Hall material, finishing with a .305 average with 2008 hits, 920 runs scored and 860 runs batted in with 163 homers and 174 stolen bases.
Just one of those historical quirks that has him as a four-time batting champ, but not really one of the all-time greats.

As a matter of fact, I believe he is still the only eligible four-time (or more) batting champ NOT in the Hall of Fame.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1973 ADRIAN GARRETT

Up on the blog today, we have a rarity nowadays on the blog, a "not really missing" card, once a staple here until the players/images began drying up after ten years.

Today's player that gets a "missing" card is Adrian Garrett of the Oakland A's:

Garrett appeared in only 14 games for the repeating World Champions, going 0-11 at the plate while putting in some time out in leftfield.

It was a typical season for the catcher-outfielder, as he would never have even close to a full season of action over his career which began in 1966 with four games as an Atlanta Brave.

This is the fourth such card I've created for Garrett over the years, joining my 1972, 1975 and 1977 creations.

He would play for four organizations: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Oakland A’s and California Angels, ending up with a .185 batting average with 51 hits in 276 at-bats in 163 games, with 30 runs scored, 11 homers and 37 runs batted in.

 

WTHBALLS "BASEBALL ICONS" SPECIAL SET: HANK AARON

Good day all!

On the blog today, the first card from my special WTHBALLS "Baseball Icons" set, that I hope to get printed up this year and released in special packaging that should be a special treat for the WTHBALLS checklist crowd, this of the great Hank Aaron:

Each card is designed with a home stadium image in the background while the player is outlined in the fore-front, in a square 4x4 template that is suited for the packaging I came up with, which is special to say the least!

Generally elite players from the 1960s and 1970s, I wanted to create a more "artistic" set to have some fun with designing in an almost painterly setting.

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"!

Look for the other players included in this fun custom set in the coming weeks!

1960S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. OUTFIELDER CARL YASTRZEMSKI

On the blog today, my pick for one of the three outfield slots in my 1960s American League All-Star team, and I went with Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski:

Easy to pick the legend for this squad, as he had his best decade of his lengthy career in the 1960s, marked by three batting titles, an MVP monster year in 1967 when he took the red Sox on his shoulders and helped them reach the World Series, 

The man was at his height of his game at the time this photo was taken, 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…

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1971 EARL WEAVER

On the blog today, a fun little "tweak" to Earl Weaver's 1971 card, this an All-Star designation as the American League's skipper in the 1970 Midsummer Classic, something I did with the starting nine for both leagues almost ten years ago:

Weaver had the honors of leading the A.L. in the 1970 All-Star game based off his pennant winning season of 1969, when the Orioles were stunned in the World Series by the "Miracle Mets".

It was Weaver's first full season as a Major League manager, taking over at mid-season the year before for Baltimore and leading them to a second place finish before his run of three first place finishes between 1969 and 1971.

I loved Earl Weaver as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin: fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.

By the time he retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480 wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with four Pennants and a World Championship in 1970, posting a winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he finished 73-89.

In 1996 he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!

 

WTHBALLS GUM PACK CUSTOM SET: DICK ALLEN

Up on the blog this fine day, my Dick (Richie) Allen mini  card, from my custom "Gum Pack" set released a few months back:

As many of you know by now, any time I can create a new custom card of Dick Allen here on the blog, I'll do it!

This time I had a chance at a St. Louis Cardinals edition for the slugger, marking his brief time with the club.

He would find himself part of a blockbuster trade on October 7th of 1969 when he was shipped off to the St. Louis Cardinals with Jerry Johnson and Cookie Rojas for Byron Brown, Joe Hoerner and Curt Flood.

Allen would fare well for the Cardinals in 1970, hitting 34 homers while driving in 101 runs in only 122 games, yet would be on the move again, this time being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he'd suit up in 1971, driving in 90 while hitting 23 homers, hitting .295 over on the West Coast.

The man was a beast at the plate, putting up numbers that were consistently up in the league-leaders year after year.

Needless to say, he took home the Rookie of the Year in 1964, and in 1972 would take home the MVP trophy while with the White Sox when he paced the American League with 37 homers and 113 RBI's, while just missing out on the Triple Crown, batting .308, just ten points off the league-leading mark by perennial winner Rod Carew.

By the time he left the game at the age of 35, Allen hit over 350 homers, batted .292 and scored 1099 runs with 1119 RBI's.

The seven-time all-star also led his league in triples once, walks once, on-base-percentage twice and slugging three times.

I'm not saying the man is a lock-tight Hall of Fame candidate, but I do think in light of some of the guys already in, HE should also be in there.

The fact that the most support he got was an 18.9% showing in 1996 seems like a joke to me.

What do you all think?

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 BOBBY MURCER

Today on the blog we take a look at Bobby Murcer and the image variations between his 1977 Topps and OPC cards:

OPC version

Topps version

Reflecting the mega-trade that saw Murcer head to Chicago for reigning National League batting king Bill Madlock, OPC scrambled to get Murcer airbrushed into a Cubs uni, while Topps had an in-game shot of him at the plate.

Murcer really did have a very nice career, especially those seasons between 1969 and 1977 when he drove in over 80 runs eight times, while topping 90 five of those seasons.
He hit as high as .331 (1971) while hitting as many as 33 homers (1972), while also leading the league in runs scored with 102 in 1972, OBP with a .427 mark in 1971 and total bases with 314 again in 1972.
He made five straight All-Star teams from 1971 through 1975, and was in the top-10 in MVP voting three straight years: 1971-1973.
Much more importantly, the man was one of the nicest human beings on the planet, as I can attest to, meeting him on more than a few occasions.
He was just as “real” as it got.
Rest in Peace Bobby. You are truly missed.

REVISITING A 10-YEAR OLD POST: 1972 CARLTON FISK DEDICATED ROOKIE

Thought it'd be fun to revisit an old post today, this one my 1972 "dedicated rookie" for all-time great Carlton Fisk:

Here's the original write-up as it appeared way back when:

While Carlton Fisk's 1972 rookie card (#79) is one of the nicer rookie cards of the decade in my book, both for design AND the fact that one of my favorite players from my childhood is also on it, Cecil Cooper, it still would have been nice to have a "dedicated" rookie card of "Pudge" instead of a three-player card as seen below:

Today I post up what could be the last "dedicated rookie" subject in the thread, since Fisk is the last of future Hall of Fame players who had a shared rookie card during the 70's.

(Jack Morris may make the Hall, but he DID have a nice 1978 Burger King card that would qualify as a dedicated rookie.)

I may branch out to other stars of the game during the era, like Thurman Munson and Dale Murphy, but time will tell.

But for now, allow me to present my design of a 1972 Carlton Fisk "dedicated" rookie card, using a great 1972 photo from Sports Illustrated as the card image.

Enjoy…

 

On a side note, Cecil Cooper really was one of my favorite players growing up, and I feel he is often a forgotten star of the late 1970's-early 1980's with the Milwaukee Brewers.

I'll have to find something to profile him with later on…

 

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION- GEORGE SISLER

Today on the blog we have all-time great George Sisler added to my long-running 1971 "Minor League Days: Legends Edition" thread, in this case a baseball legend who put time in the Minors at the end of his career rather than the beginning:

Here we see Sisler during his year with the Rochester Red Wings in 1931, one year removed from his last Major League season.

In that year at Rochester, Sisler just continued doing what he did best, hit, to the tune of a .309 average with 186 hits over 613 at-bats at the age of 38.

The man was a hitting machine, twice topping .400 and finishing up his 15-year career with a .340 average, with 2812 hits in 8267 at-bats.

Somewhat forgotten was that the man also possessed some speed on the base-paths, as evidenced by his 375 career steals, leading the league four times with a high of 51 in 1922, the year he took home league MVP honors when he collected 246 hits and a batting titles, one of two, hitting an incredible .420 while scoring 134 runs and driving in 105.

Incredibly, at the height of his career, he lost an entire season (1923) due to vision problems, something that definitely kept him from reaching 3000 hits.

But he did return in 1924 and kept on hitting, reaching 200+ hits three more times, six such seasons total, and reaching .300+ six of his final seven seasons.

About as easy a Hall of Fame pick as they came, he was selected for the Hall in 1939, one of the all-time greatest hitters the game has ever seen.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: AL ROSEN

Up on the blog today, we add former Cleveland Indians slugger Al Rosen to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, celebrating the sport I have loved for close to 50 years now:

Rosen had somewhat of a meteoric Major League career, with superstar seasons between 1950 and 1955 before a pedestrian 1956 season, then retirement. Just like that.

One of the heavy hitters of the Indian teams blessed with uber-pitching (Feller, Garcia, Lemon, Wynn), Rosen had his peak season in 1953 when he just missed a Triple Crown, though taking home the American League MVP Award when he led the league with 43 homers and 145 RBIs to go along with 201 hits and a .336 batting average.

His rookie season of 1950 would have normally gotten someone the Rookie of the Year Award, when he led the league with 37 homers, while driving in 116 runs and scoring 100.

But it happened to fall in the same season as Walt Dropo, who put in one of the greatest rookie seasons of all-time, easily taking home the award over the Cleveland third baseman.

Sadly for him, though still only 32 years of age by 1956, he retired from baseball due to back and leg injuries, thus ending an amazing Big League career just like that, to which he then moved into the world of stock brokerage, which he held for the next two decades before returning to baseball as a Front Office figure.

As a Front Office man, Rosen also saw success, guiding the New York Yankees during their return to greatness during the "Bronx Zoo" days before moving on to the Houston Astros and then the San Francisco Giants through the 1980's.

The man was as tough as they came, and because of his Jewish ancestry, would challenge those who hurled ethnic slurs at him throughout his career, usually with the person backing down.

A very interesting personality in baseball's rich history!

Nevertheless, over his shortened 10 year career, of which there were only seven full seasons, Rosen retired with a .285 average, with 192 homers and 717 RBIs, making four All-Star teams and taking home the aforementioned MVP in 1953.

Not too shabby!