A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: BOBBY MURCER

Up on the blog today, we move into the outfield of the American League in my "set that never was", a 1971 All-Star game special custom set, featuring the players that actually started that classic Midsummer game:

Bobby Murcer actually started the game in place of the injured Tony Oliva, who was selected by fans.

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.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: JACKIE ROBINSON

On the blog today, we return to my custom WTHBALLS "Classic Baseball" card set and add the great Jackie Robinson:

To much hoopla, both good and sadly bad, Robinson was set to make his Major League debut as the first African-American player since the late 19th Century.

And so on Opening Day, April 15th, 1947, Jackie was penciled in at first base against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, and history was made, though I wish there was NO history that needed to be made in the first place.

Jackie went 0-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, as the Brooklyn Dodgers would go on to win the game 5-3.

I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty in that alone, yet still managed to put in 10 great years as a Major League all-star second baseman, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947, league MVP in 1949, six all-star nods, and a batting title in 1949 when he hit .342.

Before he made baseball history in 1947, he suited up with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945 while he was still in college.

He played in only 47 games, but excelled, hitting .387 with 5 home runs and 13 stolen bases, even appearing in the East-West All Star Game.

At this point talking about statistics seems trivial in relation to the sheer impact he had to the sport and American culture.

It still crushes me when I remember that the man was still only 53 years of age when he passed away, imagining if he would have lived another 20, 30 years and gracing us into the 21st Century.

An American Legend.

REVISITING MY "MISSING" 1978 VIC BERNAL CARD

Good day all!

On the blog today, we revisit another 10-year-old post, this time it's my 1978 "missing in action" card for San Diego Padres pitcher Vic Bernal:

Bernal appeared in 15 games during the 1977 for the San Diego Padres, the only games he'd ever suit up for on the Major League level.

He pitched 20.1 innings and posted a 1-1 record with a 5.31 earned run average and six strikeouts, all in relief.

After his Major League career, he'd go on to coach high school ball for many years in his home state of California.

Sadly, he would pass away at the young age of 52 in September of 2006.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: YOGI BERRA

Time to spotlight my custom "1960s Stars of the Game" card of Yogi Berra here on the blog, from my custom set released back in 2018 in WTHBALLS gelatin box with other goodies inside:

Let's see, the man was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, a FIFTEEN-TIME all-star, and received Most Valuable Player votes every single year between 1947 and 1961. As a matter of fact, between 1950 and 1956 he never finished lower than fourth for the MVP, with three wins, and two second place finishes!

That's seven top-4 finishes in seven years! Just awesome.

Oh yeah, let's not forget the fact that he was a member of TEN world championship teams! Amazing!

Except for four scant games in 1965 with the New York Mets, Berra played the rest of his 19-year career with the Bronx Bombers, amassing 358 homers, 1430 runs batted in and a .285 average.

One other note about his amazing career: the man only struck out 414 times over 8359 at-bats!

YOGI!!! I loved that man!

A true baseball treasure…

 

1983 CAREER-CAPPER: WILLIE STARGELL

Super-fun card for me to create today: a 1983 "career-capper" for "Pops" Willie Stargell, as I start creating more cards for the 1980's, the decade I was collecting like a lunatic as I navigated my teen years:

The 1983 set is my absolute favorite set of the decade, with it's beautiful design with eye-popping colors.

So it would have been great to have a final Stargell card in that edition.

Over 21 seasons, Stargell would lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to two world championships, take home an MVP Award in 1979 (shared with the Cardinals Keith Hernandez), and get named to seven All-Star teams.

He would also have a great three-year run between 1971 and 1973 that saw him finish second, third and second respectively in MVP voting, winning two home run titles, an RBI title and even lead the league with 43 doubles (1973).

Luckily, I got to see him towards the end of his career in the late-70's/early-80s before he retired after the 1982 season.

His final numbers? Hall of Fame worthy as he'd finish with 475 home runs, 1540 RBIs, a surprisingly high .282 batting average and 2232 hits over 2360 games and 7927 at-bats.

Think about those numbers in UNDER 8000 at-bats!

Of course when eligible for the Hall of Fame, he was in, with 82.4% of the vote in 1988.

So sad that he would pass away at only 61 years of age in 2001.

One of baseball's beloved players, especially among his fan-base, he left such a lasting legacy that resonates to this day.

 

1963 FLEER EXTENSION SET: NORM CASH

Time to go and add former Detroit Tigers great Norm Cash to my "1963 Fleer Extension" set, adding the slugger to what may become my second series in the set:

Cash really did put together a solid 17-year career that stands out even more when you consider the modern "dead-ball" era he played in.

By the time he retired after the 1974 season he slammed 377 homers and drove in 1103 runs while collecting 1820 hits.

Not a bad compliment in the line-up to guys like Al Kaline and Willie Horton!

Of course, his monster season happened to be the same year of Mantle and Maris and their pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record, 1961.

That year Cash tore it up, as he led the league in batting with a .361 average (the only time he batted .300 or better in a season oddly enough), while also slamming 41 home runs and driving in 132 runs.

Even with a league-leading .487 on-base-percentage and 193 hits, all it got him was a fourth place finish for MVP behind Maris, Mantle and Orioles slugger Jim Gentile.

Timing, as they say, is everything…

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: 1977 DOUG HOWARD MISSING IN ACTION

Revisiting a post from over 10 years ago here on the blog today, my "missing in action" 1977 card for infielder Doug Howard, who got quite a few "missing" cards from me here over the years:

The reason it's somewhat different than the others is because even though Howard was left out of the Topps set, he actually appeared in the 1977 OPC set, as an "original" Toronto Blue Jay.

Funny enough he never ended up playing a game for them on the Major League level, so I went and designed a card with him shown as a Cleveland Indian, for whom he suited up in 1976.

He appeared in 39 games for the Tribe, and batted .211 with 19 hits in 99 official at-bats.

It was the most time he saw in any of his five seasons in the big league, and his only season as an Indian. 

He came up with the California Angels in 1972 and played for them three years before moving on to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975, but he never did appear in a Topps set, even with his 97 career games and 233 at-bats.

Would have been a nice hole filled in as far as the more obscure players from the decade, especially when you think of some guys that DID get a card in the 1977 set who saw far less action in '76 like Jim Holt, Larry Cox or Jack Kucek.

 

1960s IN-ACTION: 1961 MINNIE MINOSO

Up on the blog today, we have a 1961 "In-Action" card for HOFer Minnie Minoso, from my upcoming Series 3 of the series available soon:

Nice shot of the "Cuban Comet" from the early part of the 1960s, doing what he did best.

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.

 

1960s "IN-ACTION" SERIES 3 AVAILABLE NOW!

Hello Everyone!

Hope all is well!

I am happy to announce the next WTHBALLS custom set: "1960s In-Action Stars: Series 3" set, an 11-card set featuring 1960s cards with action photography, imagining if Topps would have issued such action gems before the 1971 set, following on the heels of my first two series from a year ago:

As with the first two series in this theme, this set has one Topps In-Action card from each year of the 1960s, plus a bonus card, this time a 1960 Leaf card featuring Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm.

This set is packed with superstars(see attached image): Yogi Berra, Al Kaline, Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan and more!

Sets are $12 each plus a one-time $4.50 shipping charge, no matter how many sets you purchase.

Usual Paypal address: slogun23@gmail.com

Again, thank you all so much for the interest and support!

Take Care

Gio/wthballs

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: EDDIE MATHEWS

The next WTHBALLS custom card from my 2018 Gelatin "1960 Stars of the Game" set is the great Eddie Mathews, Braves legend and Hall of Famer:

Mathews was a beast at the plate, hitting 30 or more homers in a season ten times during his career, with four of those seasons totaling over 40.
He’d also drive in over 100 runs five times and score over 100 eight times while topping a .300 batting average on three occasions while leading the National League in walks four times, homers twice, and getting named to nine all-star teams.
Twice a runner-up in Most Valuable Player voting, he played for the Braves from Boston, to Milwaukee and their inaugural season in Atlanta in 1966, the only player to do so.
By the time he finished his stellar career Mathews collected 512 homers, 1453 runs batted in, 1509 runs scored and a .271 average along 1444 walks and a .509 slugging average.
Until a guy by the name of Mike Schmidt came along, he was THE power-hitting third baseman in the game's long history.

Incredibly overlooked these days!

REVISITING A POST FROM 10 YEARS AGO: MISSING 1976 KEN FRAILING

Good day all!

Revisiting a post from 10 years ago this week, my "missing" 1976 card for pitcher Ken Frailing, part of a "1976 Project" worked on for my buddy Jim:

Frailing squeezed 53 innings out of those 41 games, all in relief, posting a 2-5 record with a 5.43 earned run average and a single save.

The previous year he put in 125.1 innings over 55 games, 16 of which were starts, going 6-9 with a 3.88 E.R.A., a save and 71 strikeouts.

Those two seasons would be the bulk of his five-year career, the first two of which were as a Chicago White Sox player in 1972 and 1973.

The 1976 season would turn out to be his last, as he appeared in six games, going 1-2 with a 2.41 E.R.A., with three starts.

He'd play in the minors until 1978 before leaving the game for good, with his final Major League numbers: a 10-16 record with a 3.96 E.R.A., two saves and 136 strikeouts over 116 games, 19 of which were starts.

On a side note: I'm not too familiar with the Topps Vault and that whole "scene", but one thing that I wonder about is the fact that all of the photos are posed shots, and I wonder why there are no "action" shots in the Vault considering so many of the actual cards that came out in the mid-70's on up were awesome "in game" pictures (think Johnny Bench, Willie Horton, etc in the 1976 set for example).

So are all the "action" photos taken by someone other than Topps, which Topps then licensed from the photographer?

Just curious....I thank anyone in advance for any clarification!

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: BROOKS ROBINSON

Time we moved on to third base and my 1971 All-Star Game ticket card for the great Brooks Robinson, about as loved a player for the Baltimore Orioles:

Of course Robinson pretty much had the third base position on lock-down for some 15 years in the A.L., and 1971 was no different.

It was the man's 12th straight All-Star nod at third base for the Junior Circuit, and it would also be his 12th straight Gold Glove, on his way to 16 before he was through.

In 1958 he’d play his first full season in the Big Leagues, and it was all cruise control from there, as the great third baseman would go on to grab those 16 Gold Gloves, an MVP Award in 1964, appear in 15 All-Star games, and help guide the Baltimore Orioles to two Championships and four A.L. Pennants.
By the time he hung up that golden glove after the 1977 season, he finished with 2848 hits, 1357 runs batted in, 268 home runs and 1232 runs scored in 2896 games.
Needless to say, by the time Cooperstown came calling, he was voted in on his first try, receiving 92% support in 1983.

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 RICK CERONE

Up on the blog today we move on to an unusual OPC image variation, that of former catcher Rick Cerone, who had a multi-player rookie card debut with Topps in 1977, though as a member of the Cleveland Indians, whereas with OPC he got a dedicated card as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays:

OPC version

Topps version

Cerone, who would soon be part of the inaugural Toronto Blue Jays team of 1977, began his 18-year Major League career with the Cleveland Indians with seven games in 1975, batting .250 with three hits over 12 at-bats while getting his first taste behind the plate.
He would go on to play through the 1992 season, with 1980 easily his best season as he surprised everyone, especially us kids here in NYC when he hit .277 with 14 homers and 85 runs batted in after taking over as the first full-time catcher after the tragic death of Thurman Munson the year before.
His efforts that year got him a seventh-place finish in American League MVP voting, yet ironically he’d never get to play full-time in any season the rest of the way.
Nevertheless, he retired with 1329 games under his belt, with three tours in the Bronx, batting .245 based on 998 hits in 4069 at-bats along with 436 runs batted in and 393 runs scored.

 

SPECIAL REQUEST: 1969 DEDICATED ROOKIE FOR AMOS OTIS

By special request today, a fun 1969 "dedicated rookie" for one of my favorite underrated players of the era, Amos Otis, who began his wonderful Major League career as a member of the New York Mets:

He came up with the New York Mets and played in 48 games for the World Champs that year, while making his Big League debut in 1967 with 19 games as a 20-year-old (watch for my "missing 1968 card soon!).

Topps had him as an inaugural member of the Kansas City Royals for his actual multi-player rookie card in the 1969 set.

Otis could very well be THE most overlooked player of the 1970's as he was nothing but steady through the entire decade, going on to be the American League's top run scorer with 861. driving in 90+ three times while stealing 30+ bases five times.

By the time he retired after the 1984 season after one year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he ended up with 193 homers, 341 stolen bases, 1092 runs scored and 2020 hits along with a batting average of .277 and 1007 runs batted in.
Considering the “dead ball” era of the early-70’s in the American League, his numbers are up there with the best of them, and it’s sad he gets lost among his contemporaries when looking back at that time in Major League baseball.

 

1963 FLEER EXTENSION SET: CURT FLOOD

Today on the blog we go and give SHOULD_BE Hall of Famer Curt Flood a card in my 1963 Fleer "extension" set, a set I hope to print up in a second series in the near future:

Flood pretty much sacrificed his career by the early-70’s , fighting MLB for their handling of players “as cattle” in regards to trades, releases, eventually opening the doors for Free Agency and allowing players some control over their own careers.
You have to understand how HUGE this was, as it was something players have been trying to do since the late-1800’s (think of the failed Players League of 1890).
Sadly for Flood, while it did end up helping ballplayers soon after he left the game, his own playing career was over by the age of 33, really 31.
Beginning in 1962 Flood strung together eight fantastic seasons starring for the St. Louis Cardinals, consistently batting over .300, two 200-hit seasons, and seven straight Gold Glove Awards, right up to the 1969 campaign.
Then it all began with a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies along with others including Tim McCarver for superstar slugger Dick (Richie) Allen and a couple of other players.
Flood refused to report to his new team, eventually forcing the Cardinals to send prospect Willie Montanez to complete the deal, essentially ending his career as a player while he fought to have control over his own career, fighting the “reserve clause”.
After sitting out the season in 1970, the Phillies eventually sent him to the Washington Senators, where Flood played the last 13 games of his career before leaving the team within the first month, abruptly closing out a great career that could have been Hall of Fame worthy had he played longer.
If you’re not familiar with Flood’s case, and his teaming up with Players’ Union head Marvin Miller, you MUST read up on this to understand the state of the game today.
I just touched upon some brief points here, but the case and Flood’s decision to pursue this cause is incredible.
Every single player today has much to thank Flood and his sacrifice, allowing the Free Agent boom of the mid-70’s to change the game forever, leading to the salaries and benefits even the average players have today.

 

REVISITING MY "MISSING" 1977 CARD FOR MIKE EASLER

Today on the blog we revisit my "missing" 1977 card for the "hit Man" Mike Easler, who was still to find his place as an everyday player in the Majors:

Though Easler would have his rookie card in the 1978 set on one of those multi-player jobs, he could have easily gotten a card in the '77 set based on his action in the 1976 season with the California Angels.

In the bicentennial year, Easler played in 21 games with 59 plate appearances, with 13 hits in 53 at-bats, good for a .241 batting average.

He also collected a double, triple and four runs batted in along with six runs scored, all as a designated hitter.

It wasn't until 1980 that he saw full-time work, and he came in with a bang, hitting a robust .338 with 21 homers and 74 RBI's in only 393 at-bats for the reigning champion Pirates.

Six years later I remember him joining the Yankees and he performed well, hitting .302 with 14 homers and 78 RBI's, before playing out his final year in the Majors in 1987, split between the Yanks and Phillies.

By the time he closed out his 14-year career, he finished with a very nice .293 average with 118 homers, 522 runs batted in and 465 runs scored.

 

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: LUIS APARICIO

Next up in my "set that never was" 1971 All-Star ticket custom set, the American League shortstop in that legendary game, Luis Aparicio of the Boston Red Sox:

From the moment he made it to the Majors in 1956 with the Chicago White Sox, Aparicio was a star.

He took home the A.L. Rookie of the Year that season, and proceeded to be an all-star player for most of his 18-year career.

Between 1956 and 1964, nine consecutive years, he led the American League in stolen bases every single season!

As a member of the "Go-Go" 1959 Chicago White Sox he finished second to teammate Nellie Fox for Most Valuable Player, and he'd go on to win nine Gold Glove Awards before hanging up the spikes.

All told he suited up for the White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Boston Red Sox for the final three years of his illustrious career.

By the time he retired the numbers were solid: 2677 hits, 1335 runs scored, 506 stolen bases and over 10000 at-bats!

It took a few years on the ballot, but he was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.