CAREER-CAPPER: 1989 GRAIG NETTLES

Fun card to post up today, a 1989 "Career-Capper" for third baseman extraordinaire Graig Nettles, who wrapped up a borderline Hall of Fame career as a Montreal Expo in 1988:

The card was part of my latest custom set, "1980s Career-Cappers", which was a big success! Thank you all who ordered one!

Nettles originally came up with the Minnesota Twins in the late-60’s, but it wasn’t until he got some full-time action with the Cleveland Indians did he put up some nice numbers in 1970, becoming a productive third baseman for three years before finding himself in the Bronx after a six-player trade that left the Indians organization scratching their heads.
All Nettles would do is go on to slug 20+ homers seven straight years, leading the American League with 32 in 1976, and then topping that with 37 the following season while being an integral part of the “Bronx Zoo” championship teams of 1977 and 1978.
His incredible defensive work during the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers put him in exclusive company as a Fall Classic icon alongside the likes of Brooks Robinson and HIS defensive work in the 1970 classic against the Cincinnati Reds.
By the time Nettles was done after 22-years in the big leagues, he finished with 390 home runs, 2225 hits and 1314 runs batted in, with six all-star game nods and two Gold Gloves.

 

OPC VARIATIONS (OF A SORT): 1977 DOUG HOWARD

On the blog today, an OPC "variation" of a different sort, a spotlight on Doug Howard's 1977 OPC card, even though he never got a Topps card that year:

OPC card

Actually he never got a Topps card at all for his brief career, something I remedied a FEW times on the blog over the years, including my own 1977 Indians Topps version, seen here originally posted 10 years ago:

WTHBALLS creation

Funny enough he never ended up playing a game for the Blue Jays 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. 

Turns out it was the last Major League action he'd see in his five-year career.

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.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: STAN MUSIAL

Today on the blog we have my 1960 "Stars of the Game" card for "The Man", Stan Musial, from my 2018 custom set packaged in gelatin WTHBALLS box with gelatin packet:

His MLB numbers are just absurd: seven batting titles, two R.B.I. titles, five triples titles and eight doubles titles, with career numbers of 475 home runs, 1951 runs batted in and a .331 career average.

Throw in his 725 doubles, 177 triples and 3630 hits along with 1949 runs scored and the numbers are staggering. 

And don't forget that Musial also lost a year to military duty, easily putting him over 500 homers, close to 3900 hits and around 2100 runs batted in if he played in 1945.

Along with the great Frank Robinson I always felt Stan Musial was often overlooked in the decades since his playing days ended.

When talk of "Greatest Living Player" came up it was always Williams, DiMaggio, Mays or even Aaron that would come up. But Stan Musial would always kind of be that after-thought.

Criminal.

Three Most Valuable Player Awards, FOUR second-place finishes, including three in a row between 1949-1951, and twenty consecutive all-star appearances, Musial definitely is a member of that rarified stratosphere of baseball royalty along with the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Mays and Wagner, among others.

 

1960S IN-ACTION: 1966 JOE MORGAN

On the blog today, spotlighting my 1966 "In-Action" card for Joe Morgan, from my recent set released a few months ago:

 

For Mr. Morgan, the man was just beginning a run that would send him straight to the Hall of Fame, while helping eventually build a juggernaut of a team forever known as the "Big Red Machine" when he was dealt to to Cincinnati before the 1972 season.

Those Reds teams would win two straight World Series in 1975 and 1976, and field teams with the likes of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr.

By the time he retired after the 1984 season at the age of 40, he finished with two MVP Awards, 10 All-Star nods, five Gold Gloves, 2517 hits, 1650 runs scored, 268 homers and a cool 689 stolen bases with 1865 walks.
One of the all-timers right there at second base!

 

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: 1976 CAPPER FOR SAM McDOWELL

On the blog today we revisit another 10-year-old post, this my 1976 "Career-Capper" for "Sudden Sam" McDowell, who finished up a nice Major League Career in 1975 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates:

McDowell really should have had a card in the 1975 set, that is a no-brainer. But a 1976 edition would be more of a "Career Capper", closing out a brilliant, if not tumultuous, 15-year career that saw him  lead the American League in strikeouts five times, while also pacing the league in walks issued in equal amounts.

He'd finish with 141 career wins along with a 3.17 earned run average and 2453 strikeouts, with two 300+ seasons under his belt.

In 1970 he posted his only 20-win season, and in 1965 he led the A.L. with a 2.18 ERA, but it was those strikeouts, as in 325 in 1965, 304 in 1970, 283 in 1968 and 279 in 1969 that made him stand out of the pitching crowd.

A six-time all-star, his career was sadly derailed when he hit 30 years  of age, pitching for the Giants, Yankees and Pirates, never topping more than six wins in any season.
Who knows "what could have been" had he been able to stay healthy...

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: ROGER MARIS

On the blog today, we spotlight my "1960 Stars of the Game" custom card of Roger Maris, from my custom set released in 2018:

Of course his Yankee tenure resulted in that historic 1961 season that saw him hit "61 in '61", setting a new Major League record with 61 home runs, leading to what was his second straight MVP Award after a wonderful 1960 season that saw him 39 homers and a league-leading 112 RBIs.

He spent the last two years of his career with the Cardinals after his historic tenure with the New York Yankees.

Talk about "right place at the right time", Maris came to the Cardinals just as they put together a World Championship in 1967, and a return to the World Series in 1968, though that resulted in a loss to the Detroit Tigers.

By the time he hung them up in 1968, he hit 275 homers with 850 RBIs and 826 runs scored, hitting .260 over 1463 games between 1957 and 1968.

It's easy to forget that he retired very young, at only 33 years of age.

Would have been cool if he got to play into the mid-70's, just as I was getting into baseball...

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: NOLAN RYAN

Time to finally add the "Ryan Express", Nolan Ryan to my long-running WTHBALLS "Classic Baseball" set, celebrating the great game and it's rich history:

What really needs to be said about a guy who has become more myth than baseball legend?

300+ wins, 5700+ strikeouts, 60+ shutouts, and oh yeah SEVEN no-hitters, two of which came when he was well into his 40’s while with the Texas Rangers!

I love thinking about the fact that he did most of his damage in the American League with the designated hitter. Now imagine how many strikeouts he could have had in his prime pitching in the National League where the pitcher batted?!

Would it be safe to say you could add 20-30 strikeouts a season to his total? More?

Hey, you never know…

Nevertheless, the man became a baseball God, eventually finding his place in the Hall of Fame upon his first year of eligibility as an absolute no-brainer.

I just thank the skies above that I got to see him pitch in-person!

 

NEWEST WTHBALLS SET AVAILABLE: "1980 CAREER-CAPPERS"

Good day everyone! Hope all of you are well, and here's to a happy and healthy Summer! Happy to announce that the newest WTHBALLS set, "1980s Career-Cappers", is now available for purchase:

My first custom set dedicated to the 1980s, I've had this one in the works for some time, and I'm really happy with how they came out.

Packaged in clear plastic case with full-color wrap, this set contains 21 cards, including bonus 1981 capper for Japanese all-time great Sadaharu Oh.

Among the Major League stars in the set: Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski and Willie Stargell. See images attached for cards and packaging.

Sets are $15 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

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: VIDA BLUE

Today on the blog we move on to the starting pitcher for the American League in that historic 1971 All-Star game in my custom 1971 "Ticket" set, all-world lefty Vida Blue:

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.

 

CAREER CAPPERS: 1987 CESAR CEDENO

Good day all!

On the blog today, from my upcoming custom "1980s Career-Cappers" set, a 1987 capper for Cesar Cedeno, who finished up a wonderful Major League career in 1986 with the Los Angeles Dodgers:

In that last season in the Big Leagues, Cedeno appeared in 37 games for L.A., hitting .231 over 78 at-bats, with 18 hits, five runs scored and six RBIs.

Cedeno had the speed, the power, and the talent to put together a five-year stretch where he brought home 5 straight Gold Gloves, get named to four all-star teams while topping the 20/50 mark three years in a row between 1972 and 1976.
In 1974 he had a monster season that saw him hit a career-high 26 homers AND steal a career-high 57 stolen bases along with, you guessed it, a career-high 102 runs batted in.
I would love to know the numbers he could have put up had he not played in the cavernous Astrodome for the first 12 years of his career!

By the time he was done after the 1986 season, he retired with 199 homers and 550 stolen bases, along with a very nice .285 batting average and 2087 hits.
An excellent player who was easily overshadowed by contemporaries of the era.

 

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: MISSING 1976 GATES BROWN

Hello all.

Today on the blog we revisit a post from 10 years ago here on the blog, my "missing" 1976 card for Detroit Tigers star Gates Brown, who finished up a very nice Major League career in 1975:

Brown closed out a wonderful 13-year career in 1975, all for the Tigers, playing in 47 games.

He hit .171 with six hits in 35 at-bats in his final season, but don't let that fool you, he was THE man off the bench for the Tigers, and one of the top pinch-hitters in baseball history.

Between 1963 and 1975 he collected 582 hits, with 107 of them as a pinch-hitter, and of those 107 pinch-hits 16 were home runs.

It's interesting to note that during the "year of the pitcher" in 1968, when Carl Yastrzemski led the American League with a .301 average, and Danny Cater finished second with a .290 average, Brown, in the role of pinch-hitter, finished with an amazing .370 average in just under 100 at-bats.

Certainly not a full season by any means, but he was raking it nevertheless as part of the eventual World Champion team.

If none of you have read up on the man, I suggest you at least Google him to read some of the anecdotes attributed to him, as well as his interesting life story and how he eventually made it to the Major Leagues. 

Definitely one of those great baseball characters that live on forever in my eyes.

 

1960s "IN-ACTION": 1965 WILLIE STARGELL

Up on the blog today, we have my 1965 "In-Action" card for Pittsburgh Pirates legend Willie Stargell, from my recent "Series 3" set released a few months ago:

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.