Let's have some fun today and revisit my ten-year-old 1972 "Then and Now" card for Jim "Mudcat" Grant, one of Baseball's "Black Aces":
Friday, August 22, 2025
REVISITING MY "THEN & NOW" 1972 CARD FOR MUDCAT GRANT
Though he did have a card in the 1972 Topps set, he was already
done with his Major League days, finishing up with the Oakland A's at
the end of the 1971 season after starting it with the Pittsburgh
Pirates.
Between 1958 and 1966 he was primarily a starter, putting in his
finest big league season in 1965 while a member of the American League
champion Minnesota Twins, going 21-7 with a 3.30 earned run average, six
shutouts and 142 strikeouts over 270.1 innings
and 41 games, 39 of which were starts.
By the time he retired, Grant posted a 145-119 record with a 3.63
ERA, 18 shutouts and 54 saves over 571 games and 2442 innings playing
for the Indians, Twins, Dodgers, Expos, Cardinals, A's and Pirates.
Labels:
1972,
A's,
Indians,
Jim Mudcat Grant,
Revisit,
Then & Now
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1968 GRAIG NETTLES
Good
day all! On the blog today, a fun card to add to the WTHBALLS
checklist, a "not so missing" 1968 card for all-star third baseman Graig
Nettles, who made his Major League debut in 1967 with the Minnesota
Twins:
Nettles appeared in only three games for the Twins that year, going 1-for-3 at the plate, that hit being a double.
He'd
appear in 22 games the following season, hitting .224 with 17 hits over
76 at-bats, including the first five home runs of his career along with
eight RBIs.
It wasn’t until he got some full-time action with the Cleveland
Indians in 1970 that he put up some nice numbers, 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.
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.
Labels:
1968,
Graig Nettles,
Not Really,
Twins
Monday, August 18, 2025
A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: SPARKY ANDERSON
We move onto the Managers for the two teams in that classic of all Midsummer Classics, the 1971 All-Star game played in the "Motor City", Detroit, Michigan, and today it's the National League skipper Sparky Anderson:
Arguably
leading the team of the decade, the Cincinnati Reds, Anderson was at
the helm of a team that featured many of the top players of the era.
In 1975 the Reds were arguably one of the
best teams in baseball history, steamrolling to 108 victories before
eventually beating the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.
In 1976, more of the same as the team would win 102 games before sweeping the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Throw
in the fact that they were also in the World Series in both 1970 and
1972, and it really looked like the team, stacked with guys like Johnny
Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and George Foster, would be keeping our
attention for quite some time.
But alas, according to Sparky,
it was the trading of one of their OTHER stars, Tony Perez, that took
the heart and soul out of the team, and shockingly the "Big Red Machine"
would not bring home another championship, and the franchise would have
to wait until 1990 before experiencing it again.
For Anderson
however, the man would go down as one of the greatest managers in Major
League history, moving on to the Detroit Tigers in 1979, where he would
go on to manage 17 years, giving him a combined 26 years of Big League
managing, even taking home another title with that great 1984 Tiger team
that was in first "wire-to-wire", winning 104 games before beating the
San Diego Padres in the World Series.
All told the man won
2194 games as a manager, finishing with a .545 winning percentage, three
titles, 5 pennants, and of course a Hall of Fame induction in 2000.
Legend, and perpetually looking like an "old man" even when he was in his 30's!
Labels:
1971,
1971 All-Star Tix,
Reds,
Sparky Anderson
Saturday, August 16, 2025
1988 CAREER-CAPPER: STEVE GARVEY
On the blog today, a 1988
"Career-Capper" for a man I will always state should be in the Hall of
Fame, Steve Garvey, "new-fangled analytics" be damned:
Garvey
appeared in only 27 games for the San Diego Padres in 1987, hitting
.211 with 16 hits in 76 at-bats with a homer and nine RBIs.
Garvey made his Major League debut in 1969 as a 20-year-old, appearing in three games, going 1-for-3 at the plate.
Of
course, we all know that the man would go on to be a perennial All-Star
first baseman, and for ME, a lock for the Hall of Fame.
The fact that
he was the premier first baseman in the National League from the
mid-70’s through the mid-80’s, an All-Star year in and year out doesn't seem to matter to most however.
Modern metrics be damned, the man topped 200-hits six times, took home the NL MVP in 1974, won four Gold Gloves and strung together a run of 1207 consecutive games played, which is still the NL record.
The anchor of the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers teams of the era, they took over from Cincinnati as the preeminent team in the Senior Circuit in the late-70s, reaching the World Series three times over five seasons between 1977 and 1981, winning it all that final year, beating the New York Yankees and exacting some sweet revenge for their two losses in 77/78.
I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a few hundred times: the fact that this man is NOT in the Hall of Fame, representing his era of Major League baseball, is a joke. Flat out nonsense. Beyond the numbers, the personality, the leader of a team that was shattering attendance records, helping popularize the game further, the man was an All-Star year in-year out.
In my book, seeing that the most support he ever received was 42.6%, which was in his second-year of eligibility in 1994, is nothing short of a mark on what the Hall of Fame is.
Modern metrics be damned, the man topped 200-hits six times, took home the NL MVP in 1974, won four Gold Gloves and strung together a run of 1207 consecutive games played, which is still the NL record.
The anchor of the powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers teams of the era, they took over from Cincinnati as the preeminent team in the Senior Circuit in the late-70s, reaching the World Series three times over five seasons between 1977 and 1981, winning it all that final year, beating the New York Yankees and exacting some sweet revenge for their two losses in 77/78.
I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a few hundred times: the fact that this man is NOT in the Hall of Fame, representing his era of Major League baseball, is a joke. Flat out nonsense. Beyond the numbers, the personality, the leader of a team that was shattering attendance records, helping popularize the game further, the man was an All-Star year in-year out.
In my book, seeing that the most support he ever received was 42.6%, which was in his second-year of eligibility in 1994, is nothing short of a mark on what the Hall of Fame is.
Labels:
1988,
Career Capper,
Custom Cards,
Padres,
Steve Garvey
Friday, August 15, 2025
MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 EDDIE BANE
Good day everyone.
Thought it'd be fun to go back 10
years this week and revisit my "missing in action" card for former
pitching phenom Eddie Bane of the Minnesota Twins:
Bane didn't play much during the 1975 season, but this being my friend Jim's project I created the card at his request.
For the '75 season Bane appeared in four games, all starts, and
posted a 3-1 record with a 2.86 earned run average and 14 strikeouts in
28.1 innings of work.
As we all know, Bane, who starred on his college team at Arizona
State was named to the All-America team, was drafted 11th overall in
the 1973 amateur draft and went right to the Majors without any Minor
League time.
It didn't help much, as the young arm posted a 0-5 record with a 4.92 ERA over 23 games, six of which were starts.
After playing in the Minors the entire 1974 season, he made those
aforementioned four starts in 1975 before putting in the most time in
any one season in 1976, appearing in 17 games, 15 of which were starts,
logging 79.1 innings pitched.
He'd finish the year at 4-7 with a 5.11 ERA, but it would mark the
last action he'd see on a Major League mound, as he'd go on to pitch in
the Minor Leagues another four years before retiring as a player for
good in 1980.
All told, Bane finished his Big League career with a 7-13 record,
with a 4.66 ERA and 80 strikeouts over 44 games and 168 innings pitched.
Labels:
1976,
Eddie Bane,
Missing in Action,
Revisit,
Twins
Thursday, August 14, 2025
MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 MIKE MARSHALL
Good day all!
At
long last! After 12 years of creating cards for this blog, I have
finally found an image good "enough" to create a "missing" 1978 card for
reliever extraordinaire Mike Marshall:
Granted,
it took a ton of work to make this card actually usable for this card,
but dammit, it has been way too long and I wanted to put this card
behind me.
Marshall
split the 1977 season between the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers,
where he went a combined 3-2 over 16 games, four of them starts, picking
up a save and pitching to an ERA of 4.75.
But the man was FAR from finished in the Big Leagues, as evidenced by his comeback 1978 campaign with the Minnesota Twins.
He'd
finish that season with a record of 10-12 over 54 games, all out of the
bullpen, saving 21 games while posting a very nice 2.45 ERA over 99
innings.
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.
The 1979 season 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.
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.
The 1979 season 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.
Labels:
1978,
Mike Marshall,
Missing in Action,
Rangers
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
BY SPECIAL REQUEST: "GIMMIE A DO-OVER" 1978 TERRY FORSTER
A special request has come in to the blog to re-do
Terry Forster's 1978 card, which originally had him airbrushed into a
Los Angeles Dodgers uni after signing with them as a Free Agent in
November of 1977.
Here, I have created a 1978 card showing him as a Pittsburgh Pirate, for whom he suited up in 1977 in his lone season there:
Forster
was already a proven Big League reliever after six seasons with the
Chicago White Sox, even leading the league with 24 save in 1974.
In December 1976 he was traded to the Pirates along with Rich Gossage (ouch!), for Richie Zisk and Silvio Martinez.
Forster
did well as a set-up man, appearing in 33 games, with six of those
games starts, collecting one save and going 6-4 with a 4.43 ERA in 87.1
innings.
He would go on to play five years with the Dodgers,
helping them to two World Series, winning it all in 1981, before moving
on to the Atlanta Braves between 1983 and 1985, then one final year in
1986 as a member of the California Angels.
All told, he
appeared in 614 games between 1971 and 1986, picking up 127 saves to go
along with a record of 54-65, with a nnice 3.23 ERA over 1105.2 innings.
Not too shabby!
Labels:
1978,
Gimmie a Do-over,
Pirates,
Terry Forster
Sunday, August 10, 2025
NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 TIM STODDARD
On the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1979 card for former reliever Tim Stoddard of the Baltimore Orioles:
Stoddard
appeared in only eight games for the Orioles in 1978, going 0-1 with a
6.00 earned run average over 18 innings, his first action on a Big
League mound other than one singular inning for the Chicago White Sox in
1975.
In 1979 he would have himself a very good year for the
eventual American league champs, appearing in 29 games, saving three and
pitching to a stellar 1.71 ERA over 58 innings.
He would go
on to put in 13 seasons under the Major League sun, appearing in 485
games and compiling a final record of 41-35 with a 3.95 ERA in 729.2
innings of work.
I remember his time with the New York Yankees
in the late-80s, where he performed well, going 6-5 with eleven saves
in 85 games in 1987-1988.
Look for a "not so missing" 1975 card for him in the near future here on the blog!
Labels:
1979,
Not Really,
Orioles,
Tim Stoddard
Friday, August 8, 2025
"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: BILL FREEHAN
Quick: name a Major League catcher you feel should be a member of the Hall of Fame. For me, I go with Bill Freehan of the Detroit Tigers, who was the best backstop in the Junior Circuit through the 1960s until guys like Munson and Fisk came along.
With that being said, here is my card for the all-star catcher from my "Classic Baseball" custom WTHBALLS set:
With all the superstars on the filed during the decade of the '60s, it's easy to
forget that Freehan was an eleven-time all-star, five-time Gold Glover,
and finished in the top-ten in M.V.P. voting three times, with a second
place finish in 1968 behind teammate Denny McLain.
1964, his first full year in the Majors, was arguably his finest season, as he hit .300 for the only time in his career along with 18 homers and 80 R.B.I.'s.
But for the rest of the decade Freehan put up comparable numbers year after year, while taking are of a Detroit pitching staff that featured guys like McLain, Mickey Lolich and Earl Wilson.
He really was ahead of the rest of the pack as far as A.L. catchers during the decade.
1964, his first full year in the Majors, was arguably his finest season, as he hit .300 for the only time in his career along with 18 homers and 80 R.B.I.'s.
But for the rest of the decade Freehan put up comparable numbers year after year, while taking are of a Detroit pitching staff that featured guys like McLain, Mickey Lolich and Earl Wilson.
He really was ahead of the rest of the pack as far as A.L. catchers during the decade.
A solid player through and through, he'd retire after the 1976
season with a .262 lifetime average, 200 homers and 758 runs batted in
over 1774 games and 6073 at-bats.
Labels:
Bill Freehan,
Classic Baseball,
Custom Cards,
Tigers
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 BOBBY JONES
Today
on the blog, we gibe former outfielder Bob Jones another "not so
missing" card to go with his 1978 edition, this time a 1976 card after
playing in a handful of games with the Texas Rangers in 1975:
Jones
appeared in only nine games in 1975, putting in time at all three
outfield spots while collecting one hit over 11 at-bats, for an .091
average for those wondering.
He'd have somewhat of a break-through season in 1976 when he
appeared in 78 games, collecting 187 plate-appearances, even if he hit
only .211 with 35 hits over 166 official at-bats for the Angels.
In 1978 he had an excellent season in the Minor Leagues, hitting .307 with 14 homers and 102 RBIs, but never got a call up to the Big leagues, prompting him to go to Japan where he played for the Chunichi Dragons before coming back and suiting up for the Texas Rangers in 1981 when he played in 10 games.
He’d spend all of 1982 in the Minor Leagues again, but in 1983 made it back, where he’d play out his career through the 1986 seasons.
By the time he left the Majors in 1986, he finished with a career .221 batting average, with 133 hits over 603 at-bats in 314 games, with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs.
After his playing days, he pretty much made himself a baseball lifer, becoming a coach and Minor League manager in the Texas organization, eventually becoming the franchise’s all-time winning Minor League manager with 1285 career wins.
In 1978 he had an excellent season in the Minor Leagues, hitting .307 with 14 homers and 102 RBIs, but never got a call up to the Big leagues, prompting him to go to Japan where he played for the Chunichi Dragons before coming back and suiting up for the Texas Rangers in 1981 when he played in 10 games.
He’d spend all of 1982 in the Minor Leagues again, but in 1983 made it back, where he’d play out his career through the 1986 seasons.
By the time he left the Majors in 1986, he finished with a career .221 batting average, with 133 hits over 603 at-bats in 314 games, with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs.
After his playing days, he pretty much made himself a baseball lifer, becoming a coach and Minor League manager in the Texas organization, eventually becoming the franchise’s all-time winning Minor League manager with 1285 career wins.
Labels:
1976,
Bobby Jones,
Not Really,
Rangers
Monday, August 4, 2025
WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: RON HANSEN
The
next custom card from my 2018 "1960 Stars of the Game" set to get the
spotlight is my card for A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1960, Ron Hansen of
the Baltimore Orioles:
In 1960 he was
Rookie of the Year after hitting 22 homers while driving in 86 runs for
the Baltimore Orioles, also finishing fifth in the MVP race at season's
end.
He was a solid shortstop, getting some MVP
attention in 1964, 1965 and 1967 while playing with the Chicago White
Sox, but never having a season again like he did in 1960.
All
told, by the time he retired, Hansen finished with a career .234
average, with 1007 hits and 106 homers over 1384 games and 4311 at-bats,
getting named to one All-Star team.
Labels:
1960,
1960 Custom Set,
Custom Cards,
Orioles,
Ron Hansen
Saturday, August 2, 2025
GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1973 GRAIG NETTLES
On
the blog today, I recently spoke about having to re-do the 1973 card
for Graig Nettles since I always hated the airbrush job, and wanted a
version that showed him with the Cleveland Indians since that's who he
suited up for in 1972, so here you are:
Luckily
there are some good images out there of "Puff" during his tenure with
the Indians, so I was able to find this nice posed shot of the third
baseman.
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.
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.
Labels:
1973,
Gimmie a Do-over,
Graig Nettles,
Indians
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Everything baseball: cards, events, history and more.
Everything baseball: cards, events, history and more.