"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: JIM PALMER

Let's go an add the great Jim Palmer to my future custom WTHBALLS "Classic Baseball" set, shall we?

Palmer’s road to Cooperstown was a bit rocky at first, with a couple of jumps and starts because of injuries between 1964 and 1968.
As a matter of fact we’d probably be looking at a 300-game winner if not for over a season of missed time between 1967 and 1968.
Though he had a great first professional season in 1964 as an 18-year-old, going a combined 15-5 in the O’s system, he found himself on a Major League mound in 1966, still a teen, going 5-4.
In 1966 he’d improve to a record of 15-10 for the surprising eventual World Champs, shocking everyone with a sweep of the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with Palmer contributing a complete game shutout.
But injuries derailed him until 1969 when he hit his stride, going 16-4 with a 2.34 ERA and six shutouts, completing 11 of 23 starts.
From there, all the man did was top 20-wins in eight of the next nine seasons, winning three Cy Young Awards, the first American League pitcher to do so, helping the Orioles to another championship in 1970, eventually finishing with a career 268-152 record along with a brilliant 2.86 ERA and 53 shutouts before he was done in 1984.

 

REVISITING A "MISSING" 1978 CARD FOR PAUL SIEBERT

Time to go and revisit a "missing" 1978 card for former New York Mets pitcher Paul Siebert, originally on the blog in October of 2015:

Siebert appeared in 25 games with the Mets after coming over from the San Diego Padres during the season.
He posted a 2-1 record (all with the Mets), with a 3.69 earned run average over 29 games and 31.2 innings of work.
In his short five-year career he went on to post a 3-8 record with a 3.77 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 129 innings and 87 appearances.
Keep an eye out for his “missing” 1979 card in the near future as well!

 

THE WHOLE NINE:SERIES 2-NOT REALLY MISSING: 1983 DON MATTINGLY

On the blog today, at long last, the first entry after 11-plus years in the blog's existence, a card for my favorite player growing up, Don Mattingly, who gets a "not so missing" 1983 card that was part of my "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months back:

Mattingly made his Big League debut with the New York Yankees in 1982, when he appeared in seven games for the second-to-last-place team in a disappointing year after a World Series berth the year prior.

He went 2-for-12 at the plate, which comes to a .167 batting average, while playing both outfield corners and first base.

1983 would fare much better for the young man, as he hit .283 over 91 games, even putting together a small batting streak that was actually busted up by the famous "Pine Tar Game" as I remember it way back when.

From then on, until serious back problems cut his career short at the age of only 34 in 1995, Mattingly became a New York "God", winning a batting title in 1984, an MVP the following year when he drove in 145 runs while hitting .324 with 35 homers, a season that also saw him take home the first of his nine Gold Glove Awards for his defensive excellence.

I still feel he was robbed of an MVP Award in 1986 when pitcher Roger Clemens took home the Award, but hey, 38 years later some things will never go away for me.

As stated earlier, just when you thought he was paving a clear path to the Hall of Fame, back issues took so much out of his whip-like swing, that his power was taken away, and the final six years of his 14 year career were solid, but certainly not what fans saw the first half of his tenure.

When he retired, sadly one season before the Yanks made it to the World Series and winning it all, thus starting a dynasty that would last through 2003, Mattingly finished with a .307 lifetime average, with 2153 hits and 1099 RBIs over 1785 games, hitting 222 homers, 442 doubles and scoring 1007 runs.

When I tell you I idolized the man as a teen in Brooklyn during his career, I cannot overstate it, as he was without question one of two true idols I had, the other being singer Robert Smith of The Cure.

Just an amazing player that was sadly taken down by unjury.

"Donnie Baseball", "The Hit Man", however you remember him way back when, he was the best!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" TIM KEEFE

Next custom "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card to get the spotlight here on the blog years after its release in 2018 by yours truly? That would be the one of Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe:

Over his illustrious 14 year career between 1880 and 1893, the man posted 342 wins along with a 2.63 earned run average, with 39 shutouts, completing 554 of 594 starts.

Breaking in with Troy in 1880, the 23-year-old completed all twelve of his starts, and led the league with a microscopic 0.86 ERA in 105 innings of work, going 6-6 along the way.

Two seasons later, in 1883, he'd post one of the greatest seasons a pitcher ever had, going 41-27 over 68 games, completing ALL 68, for 619 innings pitched, striking out 359 batters and posting a 2.41 ERA.

Though I am not one for modern analytics, etc, according to the "new math", this gave Keefe a WAR of 19.9, and it seems that my friends, is absurd!

He would post six 30+ win seasons, topping 40 twice, while leading the league in wins twice, ERA three times and strikeouts two times, mainly for the New York Giants.

In 1964 the Veterans Committee selected him for Hall enshrinement, joining contemporaries Pud Galvin, Kid Nichols, etc representing the creme-de-la-creme of 19th Century pitching.

 

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: JOE TORRE

On the blog today, the next "card that never was" from my never-released 1971 All-Star Game ticket set, the starting third baseman for the National League in that historic game, Joe Torre of the St. Louis Cardinals:

Of course, we all know that Torre had the season of his career in 1971, leading the N.L. in both batting average, hitting at a .363 clip, while also pacing the league with his 230 hits and 137 runs batted in.

The man was just converting over to full time third base work after coming up as a catcher with the Milwaukee Braves in 1960 at the age of 19, before shifting to first base later on when the team moved to Atlanta in 1968.

The Brooklyn-native really did put together a career that gives him a second look as a Hall of Fame player.
It’s easy to forget how he came up as a catcher and had some monster years for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves between 1961 and 1968 before being traded to St. Louis for Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda right before the 1969 season opened.
Five times he would top 100 runs batted in, while topping 200 hits twice, 20 home runs six times and a .300+ batting average five times on his way to career numbers of 1185 RBIs, 2342 hits, 252 homers and a very nice .297 MLB average.
He finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year race in 1961 behind future Hall of Famer Billy Williams, and was named to nine all-star teams over the course of his career.
Of course, once he moved on to managing, particularly when he took over duties with the New York Yankees in 1996, his path to Cooperstown was laid out in front of him, leading the Bronx Bombers to World Series wins four times, including three in a row between 1998-2000, with the ‘98 team considered one of the best teams of all-time, winning 114 regular season games along with 11 more, steam-rolling through the San Diego Padres for a world championship.
Over 29 seasons as a manager, Torre finished with 2326 wins along with a nifty .538 winning percentage. Looking at his Yankee tenure, he finished an incredible 1173 and 767, good for a sparkling .605 percentage, averaging just under 100 wins a season!
So of course, in 2014 he made it into the Hall, being selected by the Veteran’s Committee after a combined 47 years in Major League ball as a player or manager.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: VIDA BLUE

Today on the blog we add the great Vida Blue to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, to be released in multiple series in the near future, a special project that celebrates the sport that has been a positive thread throughout my life:

Of course, we all know that Vida Blue absolutely exploded onto the Major League scene in 1971, on his way to capturing both the Cy Young and MVP awards by season's end.

All he did in this epic season was post a record of 24-8, with a league-leading 1.82 earned run average, striking out 301 batters and tossing eight shutouts.

Oh yeah, he was only 21 years of age!

His WHIP of 0.952 and strikeouts-per-nine-innings of 8.7 also led the league, and he completed 24 of his 39 starts, putting in 312 innings of work for the upstart Oakland A's, who were about to go on the three-peat championship run between 1972 and 1974.

Blue would go on to post 209 career victories in the Majors, having some successful seasons with the San Francisco Giants, even starting the 1978 All-Star game for the National League, while finishing up his 17-year career in 1986.
It’s amazing for me to remember that when Blue started that NL All-Star game in 1978, he wasn’t even 30 years old, yet to me he already seemed to be an aging veteran by then.

 

REVISITING MY 1971 HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CARD FOR SATCHEL PAIGE

Thought it would be fun to revisit another 10-year-old post here on the blog today, this one of my 1971 "Hall of Fame Induction" card of the great Satchel Paige, beginning what was FINALLY some recognition by the powers that be in Cooperstown for the Negro League greats that deserved their place in the Hall:

Paige was inducted into the Hall by special committee, the Negro League Committee, and was an obvious choice.

The stories of Paige in his prime are endless, and while most are embellished beyond any scope of reality, the man was an incredible pitcher that many Major League stars who opposed him during his prime went out of their way to say so.

On the Major League level, Paige made his debut in 1948 with Cleveland at the ripe old age of 41, going 6-1 with a 2.48 earned run average over 21 games, seven of which were starts.

The following season he went 4-7 with a 3.04 E.R.A., but ended up missing all of 1950 before coming back to pitch three more years with the St. Louis Browns, going a combined 18-23 with a couple of shutouts and 26 saves over 126 games, 13 of which were starts.

We're talking about a man who was 46 years old at the end of that run!

Move ahead twelve years, in 1965, and Paige took the mound at the age of 58 as a promotional stunt with the Kansas City A's, yet still managed to pitch three innings, giving up a sole hit with no walks, with a strikeout thrown in for good measure! Hilarious!

In those six truncated seasons in the Majors, Paige went a combined 28-31 with a 3.29 earned run average, 288 strikeouts and two shutouts over 179 games and 476 innings.

But it was his legendary status in the Negro Leagues that made him a baseball immortal within the halls of Cooperstown.

 

"DEDICATED ROOKIE"- 1964 TONY OLIVA

Let's dip into the 1960's for another sweet "dedicated rookie" card, this one for Hall of Fame hitter Tony Oliva and a 1964 edition:

Now, interestingly, Oliva's actual FIRST Topps card was on a 1963 multi-player rookie card, before appearing on a 1964 multi-player card again, so for now I chose to create a '64 version with a '63 coming soon.

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 
He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!
Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.
The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again led the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.
He also led the league in total hits again, this time with 185.
All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.
I wouldn't say his final numbers "definitely" warranted a Hall of Fame spot for Oliva. But I'll admit that you can argue a good point for it with the career he left us with, and come 2022 he would be selected for a spot in Cooperstown, which is just fine with me!
When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 
So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.
And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!
Nice 1-2 punch right there.

 

THE WHOLE NINE: SERIES 2- CAREER-CAPPER: 1982 MIKE MARSHALL

On the blog today, from my custom "Whole Nine: Series 2" set, my 1982 career-capper for reliever extraordinaire Mike Marshall, who famously refused to be in Topps baseball card sets through the 1970's into the 80's:

Marshall appeared in 20 games for the New York Mets in 1981, putting in 31 innings and pitching to a 3-2 record with a nice 2.61 earned run average.

Thus would close out quite a unique Big League career that began in 1967 with the Detroit Tigers.

Mike Marshall is about as interesting a character in Major league baseball during the 1970's as any other. And considering some of the characters we've looked at in the past, that is saying something.
How else can you describe a guy who seriously considered retiring from the sport so he could focus on his P.H.D. studies before his record setting 1974 season?
If you've ever read Jim Bouton's hilarious and landmark book "Ball Four" you read about Marshall's legendary battles with his then-manager Jim Schultz while both were members of the ill-fated single-season organization Seattle Pilots.
This guy was something else. And his arm was undoubtedly something else as well. In no less than three seasons, Marshall appeared in 90 or more games, including his record-setting mark of 106 in 1974 that still stands today.
And UNLIKE today with specialty pitchers who come in and face a batter or two, when Marshall came into a game, he pitched.
In 1974, purely a relief role, Marshall threw an astounding 208.1 innings, going 15-12 with a 2.42 E.R.A. and a league-leading 21 saves. Amazing by any standard, any era.
This easily got him a Cy Young award that year, beating out fellow teammate Andy Messersmith, while also finishing third in M.V.P. voting as well.
When it came to baseball cards, Marshall was equally as "unique". Rumor has it that he was a bit of a headache for Topps, refusing to "pose" for pictures. Because of this, his cards featured action shots between 1974 through 1977.
Then, after his '77 card, he disappeared altogether. Why I have no idea. But even though Marshall played through the rest of the decade, there were no cards for him in the 1978 and 1979 set.
I'll come back to his missing 1978 card at a later date since I have to do some extensive Photoshopping to have him in a Texas Ranger uniform (I can't find a good shot of him while pitching for Texas).
But for today, I'll go ahead with a "gimmie" and design a 1979 card for him.
1979 was another amazing year for Marshall. He appeared in an A.L. record 90 games, closing out 84 of them, good enough for a 10-15 record with a league-leading 32 saves. Those numbers got him a fifth-place finish in the Cy Young voting that year, which marked the fifth time he was in the running for the award in his career.
He even finished in 11th place for M.V.P. as well, which was the fourth time he garnered serious attention as "Most Valuable Player" during his playing days.
But because of what I understand as "problems" between Topps and Marshall, he was not included in the set that year, leaving a gaping hole for a guy who was as good as any coming into a game as a reliever.
It must have been frustrating for fans of the Twins, and more specifically Marshall, to rip open packs during the late '70's only to find that one of your best pitchers wasn't even depicted on a card.
Then again, from everything I've read online, he's about as tough an autograph to get as anyone else out there, long refusing to sign his name for fans, so perhaps they weren't really missing him too much after all.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" SAM THOMPSON

On the blog today, we profile my card for Hall of Famer and RBI-machine Sam Thompson, from my 2018 "19th Century Base Ball Champions" set:

Thompson was a "slugger" by his day's standards, slamming 126 home runs with two homer titles during his 15-year career between 1885 and 1906.

If you take a look at his career you'll be looking at some hardcore numbers!

In ten full seasons (the other five being partial at best), Thompson drove in over 100 runs eight times, with highs of 166, 165 and 147.

In 1894, he drove in those 147 runs in only 102 games! He also hit .415 with 114 runs scored to team up with fellow future Hall of Fame members Ed Delahanty (.404) and Billy Hamilton (.403) to form the only .400-hitting outfield in baseball history.

To top it off, there was a FOURTH outfielder on the team, Tuck Turner, who hit .418 in 382 plate appearances!

Back to Thompson, he collected over 200 hits in a season three times, collected 10+ homers six times, 20+ triples three times and scored 100+ runs all ten seasons of full-time play.

By the time he retired for good after a brief return to Major League ball in 1906 with the Detroit Tigers after an eight-year absence, he finished with 1261 runs scored, 1988 hits, 343 doubles, 161 triples, 126 home runs and 1305 runs batted in with a wonderful .331 batting average.

In that time he also led his league in a primary offensive category 17 times. Certainly a Hall of Fame resume if worthy of induction by the Veteran's Committee in 1974.

OPC IMAGE VARIATIONS: 1977 DOC MEDICH

On the blog today, the next cards spotlighted in the fun OPC/Topps image variation thread are the 1977 cards for former pitcher Doc Medich:

OPC Version

Topps Version

Funny OPC edition, as they tried getting him "suited up" with his upcoming team for the 1977 season.

After a solid full season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1976, Medich found himself sent off to the Oakland A's along with five others (including Tony Armas) in a massive trade that fetched the Pirates Chris Bratton, Phil Garner and Tommy Helms.

Incredibly one-sided for the A's when you also account for Rick Langford, Doug Bair and Mitchell Page as part of the deal heading West!

Medich opened the 1977 season with Oakland, pitching well by going 10-6 for them over 26 appearances, all but one of those starts.

He was then sent to the Seattle Mariners where he appeared in only three games before finding himself out East with the Mets, where he appeared in one single game, throwing seven innings, closing out an active if not eventful year.

A solid starter over his 11 year career, he came up with the New York Yankees, winning as many as 19 games in 1974 before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Willie Randolph deal, then the three 1977 clubs mentioned above, then the Texas Rangers where he pitched between 1978 and 1982, finally closing out his career with 10 starts at the end of '82 with the Milwaukee Brewers.

By the time he hung them up, he finished with a record of 124-105 over 312 appearances, with a 3.78 ERA and 16 shutouts in 1996.2 innings, with 955 strikeouts against 624 walks.

JAPAN SPECIAL: 1976 SADAHARU OH

It's about that time to go and create another 1970's "Japan Special" card celebrating a legend from the "Land of the Rising Sun", and I thought a 1976 edition for the great Sadaharu Oh would fit nicely:

As I've stated earlier here on the blog, I just love creating cards for Japanese Hall of Famers onto Topps templates!

Sadaharu Oh is a GOD in Japan, and rightfully so, topping 100 runs batted in 14 times, 100 runs scored 10 times and 30+ homers 19 times, which he did consecutively including his last year in 1980.

He topped 40 homers 13 times, including 55 in 1964, a Japanese record, then 51 in 1973 and 50 in 1977 when he broke the record to much fanfare.

When you look at his career stats it's like a thing out of a softball league, or some latter Barry Bonds numbers, with on-base-percentages above .500, slugging percentages above .700, and 100+ base on balls year after year, 16 consecutive to be precise, on his way to 2390 by the time he hung them up.

Just a fun angle for the blog to start designing some cards for legends of other leagues around the world, which I hope to continue in the new year.

Oh's final numbers: a .301 average with 2786 hits, 1967 runs scored, 2170 RBIs, 868 homers in 2831 games and 9250 official at-bats.

Just incredible!

REVISITING A 1973 "MISSING IN ACTION" CARD FOR JOE HORLEN

On the blog today, we revisit a 10-year-old post with a "missing" 1973 card I created way back when for pitcher Joe Horlen:

Horlen capped off a very nice 12-year career when he retired after the 1972 season, posting 32 appearances with the Oakland A’s after playing all eleven of his previous Major League seasons with the Chicago White Sox, for whom he had some really good seasons.
In 1972 he posted a 3-4 record with a 3.00 earned run average, with six starts and a save scattered among his 84 innings of work.
While with the White Sox Horlen had some all-star seasons, particularly his 1967 season when he went 19-7 with a league-leading 2.07 ERA and six shutouts.
Those numbers would be good enough for a second place finish in the Cy Young race, as well as a fourth place finish in MVP voting.
Of his 12 years on a big league mound, Horlen posted five sub-3.00 ERA campaigns, all consecutive (between 1964 and 1968), with a low of 1.88 in 1964.
By the time he retired he finished with a 116-117 record with a nice 3.11 earned run average and 18 shutouts over 361 games, 290 of which were starts, and 2002 innings.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: MICKEY MANTLE

Today on the blog, it's high-time we add the "Commerce Comet", New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle to my on-going custom "Classic Baseball" set, due for a multi-series release in the near future:

Just a nice clean "classic" image for the Hall of Famer and American Icon.

As I have stated before here on the blog many times, Mantle is one of those guys I really don't think we need to get into as far as his tenure on the baseball diamond. It'd be kind of 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, 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.

One of the great icons of the sport over its 150+ year history.

Not too bad a Hollywood script...

I just wished I would have gotten to see him play!

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: GLENN BECKERT

The next card from my custom "card set that never was", a dedicated 1971 All-Star game commemorative set, if that of the National League's starting second baseman Glenn Beckert of the Chicago Cubs:

Though only in the Big Leagues for eleven seasons, Beckert had a very nice career, getting four All-Star nods, a Gold Glove, and giving the Cubs a solid second baseman alongside guys like Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Ernie Banks.

The 1971 season was perhaps the best in Beckert's career, as he would go on to hit a career-high .342 while collecting 181 hits, with 80 runs scored and 42 runs batted in.

Between 1966 and 1971 he never hit below .280, and in 1968 he led the National league with 98 runs scored during the "year of the pitcher."

By the time he retired after the 1975 season, he finished with a very nice .283 batting average, with 1473 hits over 5208 at-bats and 1320 games.

CAREER-CAPPERS: 1981 WILLIE HORTON

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we break out of the 1970's and create a 1981 "career-capper" for slugger Willie Horton, who closed out a wonderful Major League career in 1980 while a member of the Seattle Mariners:

Appearing in 97 games for Seattle that season, Horton hit .221 with eight homers and 36 RBIs in the last playing action of his 18-year career.

It's easy to forget how good a career Horton put together between 1963 and 1979 with all of his contemporaries stealing the spotlight, but a quick look at what he accomplished on the baseball diamond is nothing short of impressive.

In 18 years as a big league outfielder and designated hitter, Horton slammed 325 homers with 873 runs scored and 1163 runs batted in, with a .273 batting average and just under 2000 hits (1993).

14 of his 18 seasons in the sun were spent in the Motor City, where he was an important member of their world championship team of 1968, hitting a career high 36 home runs while driving in 85 and batting .285 (in a season where Carl Yastrzemski won the batting title with a .301 average).

He topped 20 homers seven times in his career with three 100+ RBI campaigns, on his way to four all-star selections and two top-10 MVP finishes (1965 & 1968).

He finished up his career as a designated hitter, and in 1979 had a comeback year at the age of 36 that saw him hit 29 home runs with 106 RBI's while collecting a career high 180 hits with the Seattle Mariners.

After a partial 1980 season that saw him play in only 97 games, he was released by Seattle just before opening day in 1981, and though he did sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates soon afterwards, he never played a Major League game again, closing out a nice career after 2028 games and 7298 at-bats.

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1890 "BASEBALL CHAMPIONS" TONY MULLANE

The next "19th Century Base Ball Champions" card to get the spotlight here on the blog, showcasing my early custom set from 2018, is my card for Tony Mullane, "The Apollo of the Box" and quite honestly, a guy who should be in the Hall of Fame:

Over the course of his 13-year Major League career he would finish with 284 wins, and would have easily been an early member of the 300-win circle had he not missed the 1885 season, which was sandwiched between five 30-win campaigns.

He would post eight 20-win seasons, toss 30 shutouts and pick up 15 saves in an era when saves were not a common thing, as evidenced by his five seasons of leading the league in that stat, none higher than five.

Regardless, he was also a two-way player, though from the offense-side of the game he did not show the same success, hitting .243 over 2720 at-bats.

Nevertheless, the Ireland-born righty who would also sometimes pitch left-handed did rack up those 284 wins, with a nice 3.05 ERA over 555 games and 4531.1 innings, certainly enough for a vote from me for the Hall.

Sadly, I hold no such vote, so "sorry Tony!"

REVISITING "THE MAD HUNGARIAN": 1976 NICKNAME CARD FOR AL HRABOSKY

Let us revisit my 1976 "Nicknames of the 1970s" card for Al Hrabosky, aka "The Mad Hungarian", which was originally posted here in October of 2014:

His antics were entertaining to say the least (though not to opposing players), and I remember him towards the end of his career in the early 1980's, along with guys like Brad Leslie, "Goose" Gossage, etc that made the game a riot!

I used a 1976 template since his best year in the Majors was 1975, leading the league in saves and winning percentage with 22 and .813 respectively.

That performance got him a third-place finish in Cy Young voting, as well as a fifth place finish in Most Valuable Player voting.

Though he never quite found the success of that year again, he did play another seven years in the Big Leagues, ending up with the Atlanta Braves in 1982 before hanging them up.

He finished with a nice 64-35 career record, along with a 3.10 earned run average and 97 saves over 545 games, one of which was a start way back when he came up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970.

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 GEORGE HENDRICK

Today on the blog, we take a look at the image variation between OPC and Topps for George Hendrick's 1977 cards, which include some really funny airbrushing going on for his Canadian cardboard:

OPC version

Topps version

Seems this San Diego Padres job was somewhat half-assed, though you can clearly notice the cool Cleveland Indians wind-breaker he's wearing.

After a couple of very productive seasons with the Indians, Hendrick found himself out West again, putting in a very nice 1977 year that saw him hit 23 homers with 81 ribbies, hitting .311 for San Diego.

Not bad for a trade that only cost the Padres Hector Torres, Johnny Grubb and Fred Kendall.

The following year he'd end up getting traded to the St. Louis Cardinals however, for pitcher Eric Rasmussen, a trade the Padres most assuredly would love to take back.

Hendrick would go on to play through the 1988 campaign, finishing up with 267 homers, 1111 RBIs, a .278 batting average and 1980 hits in 2048 games and 7129 at-bats.

He was an important cog in the Cardinals '80s machine that would net a World Championship in 1982, while taking home two Silver Slugger Awards and making two All-Star teams.

Apparently his nickname was “Silent George”, though I do not remember that, but perhaps I need to whip up a “nickname of the 1970’s” card for him as well!

SPECIAL REQUEST: 1981 UPDATE DAVE RIGHETTI

By special request for my cousin, today on the blog I post up what should have been a 1981 "Update/Traded" card for the eventual 1981 American Rookie of the Year Dave Righetti of the New York Yankees:

It is strange that Righetti didn't get a card in the very first update/traded set later that year considering he was helping the New York Yankees march towards a World Series berth as did his Los Angeles Dodger contemporary Fernado Valenzuela.

And like the phenom Fernando, Righetti took home the Freshman hardware by the time Awards season came along at the end of the year.

Righetti posted a record of 8-4 over 15 starts, just missing the ERA crown by falling short of innings required by 1.2 innings! Yep, someone on the Yankees dropped the ball on this and didn't get Righetti some mop-up role at the end of the year to bring home the ERA crown, as his 2.05 mark was far better than the guy who did win the ERA title, Oakland A's pitcher Steve McCatty, who finished with a 2.33 ERA over 185.2 innings.

Nevertheless, Righetti became a mainstay of the Yankees through the 1980's, posting a few solid seasons as a starter between 1981 and 1983 including the classic July 4th no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox in '83, before converting to a relief role the rest of his very nice 16 year career, including his 1986 campaign that saw him establish the (then) MLB record 46 saves, earning him a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young race.

By the time he retired after the 1995 season, he finished with a record of 82-79 over 718 games, with a 3.46 ERA in 1403 innings, with 252 saves.

 

REVISITING A "MISSING" 1976 CARD FOR TOM SHOPAY

On the blog today, we revisit my "missing" 1976 card for a guy who actually had quite a few missing cards through the 1970's, former outfielder Tom Shopay:

Here's the original write-up for the card from April of 2015. What feels like a lifetime ago:

"Shopay had a few missing cards through the 1970's, and I have already created and posted a 1978 card for him earlier on this blog.

In 1975 Shopay appeared in 40 games, mainly in the outfield and as a pinch hitter, collecting five hits in 31 at-bats, good for a .161 batting average with a double and two runs batted in.

That year was typical for Shopay's entire seven–year career with the Yankees and Orioles, as he never appeared in more than 67 games or had more than 74 at-bats in any season.

Nevertheless, as we've seen with guys like the Red Sox Bob Montgomery, Topps did in fact give guys who stuck around cards year to year, yet after the 1972 set Shopay was shut out until he retired in 1977.

Shopay ended up playing in 253 games during his Major League career, and ended up with a .201 batting average based on his 62 hits over 309 at-bats.

Funny enough he hit a total of three home runs in those seven partial seasons, yet two of the three were hit during his rookie year with the Yankees in 1967 in only eight games. He'd go on to hit only one more in 245 games the rest of the way."

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: WILLIE McCOVEY

The second WTHBALLS "card that never was" from my never-released 1972 "All-Star Ticket" bookmark set celebrating the classic 1971 Midsummer Classic is that of Willie McCovey, starting first baseman for the National League:

Just a fun set I thought of producing a few years back before finally deciding on the All-Star set I eventually released, which sold-out quickly funny enough.

What needs to be said about the man at this point here on the blog?

When he got called up to the Big Leagues in 1959, all he did was tear the seams off the ball by hitting .354 with 13 homers and 38 runs batted in along with 32 runs scored in only 52 games, copping a Rookie of the Year Award and setting the tone for his 22-year career.

In 1969 he had his finest season, as he made his fifth All-Star team, on his way to taking home the league MVP Award after a year that saw him lead the league with 45 homers, 126 RBIs, a .453 OBP and a .656 slugging percentage, as well as a whopping 45 intentional base on balls.

The man put it ALL together that year!

By the time he retired in 1980, he crushed 521 home runs, collected over 2000 hits, drove in over 1500, and left his mark as one of the most feared sluggers of his generation.

In 1986, his first year of eligibility, he was voted into the Hall of Fame with 81.4% of the ballots cast.

Man, what a threesome McCovey, Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda made back in the 1960's for San Francisco, huh?

Just incredible.

 

"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!