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.