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.
