REVISIT: "MISSING IN ACTION" 1974 WAYNE SIMPSON

Revisiting another 10+ year-old post from the blog for the newcomers!

Here’s a “missing” 1974 card for former pitcher Wayne Simpson, who burst on to the Major League scene in 1970 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, but because of injuries never found that initial success later on:

Four years removed from his fantastic rookie year, Simpson found himself in Kansas City, trying to hang on and pitch through injuries that derailed his career, one that saw him go 14-3 with a 3.02 earned run average and league-leading .824 winning percentage as a member of the pennant winning Reds team in 1970.
For the Royals in 1973 he would go 3-4, with a 5.73 ERA over 16 appearances, 10 of which were starts, with a complete game and 29 K’s over 59.2 innings.
Sadly for him, he would only pitch a handful of games in 1975 for the Phillies, then make somewhat of a comeback in 1977 with the California Angels, which saw him go 6-12 with a 5.83 ERA over 27 games, 23 as a starter.
But that would be it for him, and at the age of 28 he would never see Major League action again.
His 1970 season was one of those rookie splashes up there with Von McDaniel, Mark Fidrych and Herb Score, enough so that he would still be a figure baseball magazines would write about years later as far as a young arm making an immediate impact.
Sadly like so many of those other young studs, it was something that they couldn’t maintain through no fault of their own.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER TONY OLIVA

Up on the blog today, from my recent 1963 Fleer "extension" set (round 2), a "missing" 1963 card for hitting great Tony Oliva:

He burst onto the Major League scene in 1964 when he easily won the American League Rookie of the Year award.

In that year, all he did was lead the league in batting, hitting .323, while slamming 32 homers with 94 runs batted in. 

He also lead the league in runs scored with 109, hits with 217, doubles with 43 and total bases with 374!

Those numbers also got him a fourth place finish in M.V.P. voting as well.

The following year there was no sign of a sophomore jinx, as he once again led the lead in batting, this time hitting .321, with 16 homers, 98 R.B.I.'s, 40 doubles and 107 runs scored.

He also led the league in total hits again, this time with 185.

All told in his career, Oliva would win three batting titles (the third coming in 1971 when he hit .337), and would lead the league in hits five times, slugging once (1971), get named to eight straight all-star teams, and have two second-place finishes for M.V.P., in 1965 and 1970.

When you really take a look, he only had 11 full seasons in the Majors, with the half-season in 1976 and three pretty much non-existent years in 1962, 1963 and 1972. 

So his numbers carry a bit more weight in that light.

And wow, what a great hitting combo he and Rod Carew made for the Twins, huh?!

Nice 1-2 punch right there.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: ROLLIE FINGERS

Today on the blog, we have another card added to my long-running custom "Classic Baseball" set, this one of '70s icon and Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers:

Fingers would put together a wonderful 17-year career which would see him win both a Cy Young and MVP Award in 1981 with the Milwaukee Brewers, Lead the league in saves three times, post sub-2.00 ERA's 12 times and finish up with a sparkling 2.90 career ERA over 944 games and 1701.1 innings pitched.

He was named to seven all-star teams, both in the A.L. and N.L., before closing out his career in 1985, finishing with a 114-118 record with 341 saves.

One of the great characters of the decade! But a force out of the 'pen as well.

He was voted into the Hall in 1992, his second year on the ballot, garnering 81.2% of the vote.

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: JIM KAAT

On the blog today, we spotlight my "missing" 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" card for HOFer Jim Kaat, from my custom set released last year:

Kaat came up to the Majors as a 20-year-old in 1959 with the Washington Senators, developing into an All-Star starter when the organization moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
If there were a Cy Young winner for both leagues in place for the 1965 season, he most likely would have taken home the trophy when he posted a league-leading 25 wins to go along with a 2.75 ERA and 205 strikeouts for the American League champs.
After being selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox in 1973, he’d go on to post two straight 20-win seasons in 1974 and 1975, before moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976.
In 1979, at the age of 40, he’d transition to the bullpen, where he would carve out a niche for himself as a reliable reliever, pitching another five seasons, finishing up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, fresh off a World Championship in 1982.
One of the greatest fielding pitchers the game has ever seen, Kaat took home 16 straight Gold Glove Awards between 1962 and 1977. Incredible.
By the time he retired as a player, he appeared in 898 games, posted a record of 283-237 along with a 3.45 ERA and 2461 strikeouts, as well as 31 shutouts and 17 saves.
The man is a walking baseball resource who still shares his knowledge of the game. His time as a New York Yankees announcer was one of my favorites alongside other former players like Ken Singleton and Bill White.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1981 MIKE MARSHALL

On the blog today, we finally have a "missing" 1981 card for reliever extraordinaire Mike Marshall, who famously refused Topps cards after the 1977 set:

Marshall didn't play much in 1980, appearing in 18 games for the Minnesota Twins and pitching to a 6.12 earned run average over 32.1 innings, collecting a record of 1-3 with a single save.

The previous season saw Marshall have an incredible year that saw him end up fifth for the Cy Young Award when he appeared in a league-high 90 games, going 10-15 with 32 saves, also the league lead, throwing an incredible 142.2innings, almost all out of the bullpen.

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.

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.

 

REVISIT: 1972 "MISSING IN ACTION" DANNY WALTON

Today on the blog we revisit another 10+ year-old post from the blog, this one my "missing" 1972 card for Danny Walton:

Walton appeared in a combined 35 games in ‘71 between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, the last five with the Yankees on his way to a .193 batting average with 16 hits in 83 at-bats.
It was a bit of a disappointment for a guy who played very well in 1970, batting .257 with 17 home runs and 66 runs batted in over 117 games for the Brewers.
It would turn out to be his only somewhat full-time season in his nine-year career that was spread out between 1968 and 1980, playing for six teams.
Always a “future star” while in the minor leagues, he put up some monster numbers, hitting as many as 42 home runs (with Albuquerque in 1977) and batting as high as .332 (with Oklahoma City in 1969).
He would hit 238 homers in the minors, topping 20 six different years.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1981 VON JOSHUA

On the blog today, we have a career-capping 1981 card for Von Joshua, who had himself a decent 10-year Major League career between 1969 and 1980:

Joshua appeared in 53 games for San Diego in 1980, hitting .238 with 15 hits over 63 official at-bats, collecting seven RBIs while scoring eight.

Originally up with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he'd also play for the San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers, with his finest season easily 1975 when he hit .318 for San Francisco, pretty much setting career highs across the board with runs, hits, average, doubles, triples and stolen bases.

By the time he retired, he finished with a nice .273 career average, with 610 hits in 2234 at-bats over 822 games, hitting 30 homers while driving in 184 runs, scoring 277 himself.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER RUSTY STAUB

Time to put the spotlight on my "missing" 1963 Fleer card for the great Rusty Staub, which was part of my second "extension" set regarding the great set that was forced to halt due to Topps' monopoly on the industry:

He started out as a 19 year old kid in Houston in 1963 and went on to play for Montreal, Detroit, Texas  and the New York Mets for two stints, with whom he retired with after the 1985 season.
And for those last five seasons with the Mets, he became one of the top pinch-hitters in the game and endeared himself to the Met faithful, even opening up a couple of well-liked restaurants in NYC along the way.
A few little "extras" about his career: Staub is one of three players (along with Ty Cobb and Gary Sheffield) to hit home runs as a teenager and as a 40-year old, and he is also the only player to amass 500 hits with four different teams (Astros, Mets, Expos and Tigers).
He was also the first player to play all 162 games in a season strictly as a Designated Hitter, which was for Detroit in 1978.

Lost in the crowd that was Rose, Bench, Jackson, Carew, etc. was this player who built a 23 year career, finishing up with over 2700 hits, 292 homers, 1466 R.B.I.'s, and six all-star appearances.

 

AS REQUESTED: NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1969 DICK KENWORTHY

Fun card to create based off a short discussion on "X" the other day, a 1969 "not so missing" card for Dick Kenworthy, which has a bit of a twist:

You see, Kenworthy put in parts of six seasons in the Major Leagues between 1962 and 1968, yet only got one card in a Topps set, in 1968 shown as a New York Met.

The problem here is that he put in all six of his Big League seasons with the Chicago White Sox!

So here I created a "career-capper" to mark his time as a White Sox player.

To be fair to Topps, Kenworthy was purchased by the Mets in October of 1967, only to be returned to the White Sox in March of 1968, so that's where the confusion came from.

Though he only played in 17 games spread across his first four seasons between 1962 and 1966, he did appear in 50 and 58 games respectively in 1967 and 1968, his final two years as a Big Leaguer.

Overall, he would finish with a .215 batting average over 125 total games, with 54 hits in 251 at-bats, with four home runs and 13 runs batted in, while scoring 12 himself.

Fun little quirk in the Topps baseball card world, fixed here!

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: AL KALINE

Next up on the blog, my 1960 "Stars of the Game" custom card for the great Al Kaline, "Mr. Tiger", from my WTHBALLS gelatin set released in 2018:

What a great all-around player the Tigers had for 20 years!

Buried under names like Aaron, Mays, Mantle, etc, he just went about his business year in and year out and paved the way for his eventual induction into Cooperstown's hallowed halls in 1980.

The 1960's saw Kaline make eight All-Star teams, win seven Gold Gloves, and receive solid M.V.P. support seven of ten years, finishing as high as second in 1963.

Though he only led the league in a primary offensive category only once (doubles in 1961) in the 1960s, Kaline's consistency was his strength, as he topped .300 four times, 20 homers five times, and a .500 slugging percentage five times.

The 15-time all-star topped 3000 hits, 1600 runs, 1500 runs batted in and came one home run short of 400 over his stellar career, which also included 10 Gold Gloves for his defensive prowess.
An easy Hall of Fame pick, he was inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1980 with 88.3% of the ballots cast.
“Mr. Tiger” indeed!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1968 BILL "MOOSE" SKOWRON

Up on the blog today, a fun card to create, a 1968 "career-capper" for former New York Yankee slugger Bill "Moose" Skowron, who finished up a nice Major League career in 1967 as a member of the California Angels:

Skowron actually split that 1967 season between the Chicago White Sox and Angels, combining for a .206 batting average over 70 games, with 27 hits, eight runs scored and elevel runs batted in.

Earlier in the decade "Moose" was an All-Star first baseman for the dynastic Yankees, including their monstrous 1961 season, when he hit a career-best 28 homers.

By the time he retired he finished with eight All-Star nods, 211 homers and a nice .282 batting average over 1658 games played, collecting 1566 hits in 5547 at-bats, with 682 runs and 888 RBIs.

A fan favorite in the Bronx, he was a part of five World Championship teams while appearing in eight World Series, total. Incredible run!

 

FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1984 DAVE STIEB

On the blog today, "fixing" an All-Star snub for a guy who was snubbed more than once by the fine people at Topps, Dave Stieb, who started the 1983 Midsummer Classic for the American League but didn't get an All-Star card the following year:

Stieb was such a work-horse in the 1980s!

He was also the starter the following year for the A.L. and again, Topps didn't give him an All-Star card in the 1985 set!

Stieb would lead the A.L. in WAR three seasons in a row from 1982-1984, and would make seven All-Star teams, while getting Cy Young attention four times.

He would post 15+ wins six times, with a high of 18 in 1990, when he finally spun a no-hitter after a few near-misses.

By the time he retired he finished with a record of 176-137 over 443 games, with 30 shutouts and 1669 strikeouts, completing 103 of this starts.

I dreaded any time Stieb was starting against the Yankees, as he seemed to have their number every single time.

Such a great pitcher any team would have been lucky to have on their roster!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1987 PAUL O'NEILL

Time to post up a "missing" 1987 card for one of my all-time favorite players, Paul O'Neill, who wouldn't get a Topps card until the 1988 set came around:

O'Neill actually made his Big League debut with five appearances in 1985 before coming back for three games in 1986, with Topps leaving him out of their sets in 1986 and 1987.

It wasn't until the 1987 season that P'Neill would get some significant playing time, hitting .256 with 41 hits in 160 at-bats in 84 games.

During his time in Cincinnati, the Reds insisted on him trying to be a "slugger", something that caused some friction between player and management.

Of course, as we all know, as fate would have it, the Reds would trade him to the New York Yankees for Roberto Kelly before the 1993 season, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Once in the Bronx, O'Neill became a perennial All-Star and .300 hitter, leading what would become a four-time World Champion dynasty as he would be their #3 hitter, even winning a batting title during the strike-shortened 1994 season.

I absolutely loved this guy during his Yankee tenure, getting to see him play hundreds of times before he'd retire after the 2001 season.

About as solid a player as they came, he even would go out with style, collecting his FIRST 20-home run/20-stolen base season in his last year at the age of 38.

The man was a battler.

His numbers upon retirement: 2105 hits, 281 homers, 1269 RBIs and a .288 batting average, while also swiping 141 bases.

Look out for my 1986 "missing" card for him here on the blog soon!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 LUIS ALCARAZ

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1970 card for former infielder Luis Alcaraz, one of the "original" Kansas City Royals from their inaugural 1969 season:

Alcaraz, who played his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1967 and 1968 in a part-time role, was purchased by the new Royals franchise just before their first season of operation.

In that initial season with K.C., Alcaraz appeared in only 22 games, hitting .253 with 20 hits in 79 at-bats with 15 runs scored and seven runs batted in.

He'd be back in 1970 with the Royals, playing in 35 games and hitting .167, collecting 20 hits over 120 at-bats, which would end up being the last Big League action of his brief four-year career.

He'd put in two years in the Minors before playing the final eight years of his professional career South of the border in Mexico, playing up until the age of 40 in 1981.

For his Major League career, he hit .192 over 115 games, with 70 hits in 365 at-bats, scoring 30 while driving in 29.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1982 ED FIGUEROA

Here's a card I've been meaning to create for some time, a 1982 "Career-Capper" for Ed Figueroa, one-time Yankee ace who wrapped up his career with the Oakland A's:

Figueroa appeared in only two games for the A's in 1981, the final two of his nice eight-year Big League career.

Over those two games he pitched to a 5.40 earned run average, not factoring in a decision while giving up six walks against one strikeout.

While he came up with the California Angels in 1974 and had a solid 1975 season with them when he won 16 games with a 2.91 ERA over 32 starts, his best seasons were in Yankee pinstripes, when he posted three seasons that saw him post win totals of 19, 16 and a career-high 20 between 1976 and 1978. 

A solid arm in the bullpen for the Championship Yankees, he quietly teamed up with Yankee aces Catfish Hunter and Ron Guidry to help bring championship baseball back to the Bronx.

Injuries hurt his career after that brilliant 1978 season, as Figueroa would win only seven games over the final three years of his career.

By the time he retired, he finished with a record of 80-67 over 200 games, with a 3.51 ERA in 1309.2 innings, with 12 shutouts and 571 strikeouts.

 

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: JIM PALMER

Today on the blog we spotlight my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" card for Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, part of my custom set released in 2025:

Palmer’s road to Cooperstown was a bit rocky at first, with a couple of jumps and starts because of injuries between 1964 and 1968.
As a matter of fact we’d probably be looking at a 300-game winner if not for over a season of missed time between 1967 and 1968.
Though he had a great first professional season in 1964 as an 18-year-old, going a combined 15-5 in the O’s system, he found himself on a Major League mound in 1966, still a teen, going 5-4.
In 1966 he’d improve to a record of 15-10 for the surprising eventual World Champs, shocking everyone with a sweep of the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with Palmer contributing a complete game shutout.
But injuries derailed him until 1969 when he hit his stride, going 16-4 with a 2.34 ERA and six shutouts, completing 11 of 23 starts.
From there, all the man did was top 20-wins in eight of the next nine seasons, winning three Cy Young Awards, the first American League pitcher to do so, helping the Orioles to another championship in 1970, eventually finishing with a career 268-152 record along with a brilliant 2.86 ERA and 53 shutouts before he was done in 1984.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: WILLIE McCOVEY

Going ahead and adding "Stretch", Willie McCovey to my long-running WTHBALLS set, "Classic Baseball", using a nice image of him during his days as a San Diego Padre:

When he got called up to the Big Leagues in 1959, all he did was tear the seams off the ball by hitting .354 with 13 homers and 38 runs batted in along with 32 runs scored in only 52 games, copping a Rookie of the Year Award and setting the tone for his 22-year career.

In 1969 he had his finest season, as he made his fifth All-Star team, on his way to taking home the league MVP Award after a year that saw him lead the league with 45 homers, 126 RBIs, a .453 OBP and a .656 slugging percentage, as well as a whopping 45 intentional base on balls.

The man put it ALL together that year!

By the time he retired in 1980, he crushed 521 home runs, collected over 2000 hits, drove in over 1500, and left his mark as one of the most feared sluggers of his generation.

In 1986, his first year of eligibility, he was voted into the Hall of Fame with 81.4% of the ballots cast.

Man, what a threesome McCovey, Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda made back in the 1960's for San Francisco, huh?

Just incredible.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 CY ACOSTA

Up on the blog today, we have a 1976 "not so missing" card for pitcher Cy Acosta, who played what turned out to be the last of his Big League games in 1975 as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies:

Acosta appeared in six games for the Phillies, not factoring in a decision while pitching to a 6.23 earned run average.

He made his MLB debut in 1972 with the Chicago White Sox, for whom he played the entirety of his career aside from that 1975 season.

He had a great 1973 season when he went 10-6 with a 2.23 ERA with 18 saves over 48 games, striking out 60 over 97 innings.

Always a reliever, by the time he retired, he appeared in 107 games, saving 27 games and finishing with a record of 13-9 with a very nice 2.66 ERA in 186 innings.

He would go on to play in the Mexican League all the way through the 1984 season, winning over 90+ games before he hung them up for good.

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1985 OLYMPIC B.J. SURHOFF

Super fun card to add to the WTHBALLS checklist, a "missing" 1985 Olympic sub-set card for B.J. Surhoff, who was also the 1985 #1 overall draft pick:

The University of North Carolina star went #1 overall in 1985, picked by the Milwaukee Brewers after a stellar collegiate career, and it was a great pick!

All Surhoff went on to do in the Major Leagues was put in 19 years under the Big League sun, hitting .282 over 2313 games and 8258 at-bats, collecting 2326 hits.

Hewould be a consistent threat at the plate, hitting 188 homers along with 440 doubles, 42 triples and 1153 runs batted in, scoring 1062 runs himself.

Beginning his career as a catcher, he would become incredibly versatile, playing both the infield and outfield later on, putting in significant time at five different positions.

Would have been great to have had a Surhoff card in that landmark 1985 Olympic sub-set!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1982 JESSE OROSCO

Really fun card to add to the blog today, a "not so missing" 1982 card for (in my opinion) legend Jesse Orosco, who played almost a quarter of a century in the Major Leagues:

Orosco made his Big League debut in 1979 with the New York Mets, appearing in 18 games as a 22-year-old, going 1-2 with a 4.89 earned run average.

After spending all of 1980 in the Minors, Orosco was here to stay in 1981, appearing in eight games, posting a very nice 1.56 ERA over 17.1 innings while picking up his first save.

From there on the man was a fixture on the MLB mound, going on to appear in a Major League record 1252 games as a pitcher, finishing with a record of 87-80 with a 3.16 ERA and 144 saves.

He would join the rare club of "four-decade" players, whose career spanned the 1970s-2000s, winning it all with the Mets in 1986 while reaching the post season with the Mets, Dodgers and Orioles.

I was always a fan of the man, and even got to see him pitch with the Yankees when he appeared in 15 games in 2003, one of three teams he suited up for in his last season.

Great baseball career!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1968 JOE RUDI

Up on the blog today, from my recent custom "1960s Special" set, a "not so missing" 1968 card for Joe Rudi, who was just starting his brilliant Major League career:

Though he didn't get a Topps card until 1969, he did make his MLB debut in 1967, appearing in 19 games for the Kansas City Athletics, hitting .186 over 43 at-bats.

It wasn't until 1970 that he'd get some significant playing time, hitting .309 over 350 at-bats with eleven homers and 42 runs batted in.

The outfielder/first baseman was twice the runner-up for an A.L. MVP, in 1972 and in 1974, helping the juggernaut Oakland A's to three straight World Series crowns.

He led the league with 181 hits and nine triples in 1972 along with doubles (39) and total bases (287) in 1974 while also giving the A’s a flexible fielder that could play all three outfield positions as well as first base.
Such a solid player, he teamed up with the likes of Sal Bando and Gene Tenace that made the A’s much more than just superstars like Reggie Jackson and Jim “Catfish” Hunter.

Sadly however, as with the other Oakland players who signed elsewhere before the 1977 season, he didn't continue his star status with his new team, suffering injuries and playing only one full season out of his three with California, moving on to the Boston Red Sox in 1981 and back to Oakland for one last hurrah in 1982.

By the time Rudi retired, he finished up with a career .264 average, with 179 homers and 810 RBIs over 1547 games and 5556 at-bats playing for the A’s, California Angels and Boston Red Sox between 1967 and 1982.

 

REVISIT: 1978 MISSING IN ACTION STEVE HARGAN

Time to revisit another post from 10 years ago, this time my "missing" 1978 card for former pitcher Steve Hargan who put together a decent 12-year career between 1965 and 1977:

Hargan played for no less than three teams during the 1977 season: Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves, appearing in 28 games and pitching 78.1 innings with a 2-6 record and a 6.55 earned run average.
The first eight years of his career were with the Cleveland Indians, where he put in some solid seasons, posting three sub-3.00 ERA campaigns while even leading the American League in shutouts with six in 1967, his only all-star nod.
Overall Hargan ended up with a 87 and 107 career record with a 3.92 ERA and 891 strikeouts accumulated over 354 appearances, 215 of which were starts, with 17 shutouts and 56 complete games.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 JIM LYTTLE

Today on the blog we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for Jim Lyttle, a subject of other missing cards here on the blog over the years:

Lyttle appeared in 25 games for the Montreal Expos during the 1974 season, hitting .333 based on three hits over 33 at-bats, with two RBIs and a run scored.

He carved out an eight-year career for himself, playing for the Yankees, White Sox, Expos and Dodgers between 1969 and 1976.

In that time he compiled a .248 batting average, 176 hits, 71 runs and 70 runs batted in with nine homers.

Looking further into his career I saw that he played seven seasons in Japan after his Major League career, putting up some solid numbers for Hiroshima.

In both 1978 and 1981 he hit 33 homers and drove in 100+ runs, and closed out his Japanese career with 166 taters with 529 R.B.I.'s. after retiring in 1983.

When you look at his playing career against his card appearances, it turns out he's also "missing" from a few other sets: 1973, 1975 and 1977.

Needless to say, I'll be tackling those in the future as well.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: JOE ADCOCK

Up on the blog today, putting the spotlight on my 1960 custom "Stars of the Game" card for slugger Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves:

Adcock put in 17 years in the Big Leagues, slugging his way to 336 home runs, including four in one monster game in 1954 when he went 5-for-5 at the plate with four dingers and a double, setting the Major League record of 18 total bases in a single game.

By the time he hung up the cleats after the 1966 season, Adcock finished with a .277 career average, with 1832 hits over 6606 at-bats in 1959 games, driving in 1122 runs while scoring 823 himself, making two All-Star teams.

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER LOU BROCK

Up on the blog today, we have another "missing" 1963 Fleer card from my recent "extension third series" custom set, that of the great Lou Brock:

About as quiet and reserved a Hall of Famer as they come, Brock put together quite the Major League career.

Brock really was an under-appreciated player in my book, having to get what little spotlight he could playing the outfield in the National League when you had guys like Mays, Aaron and Clemente there as well.
Nevertheless, the man made six All-Star squads, finished second in the MVP race for the National League in 1974, and would go on to a Hall of Fame induction thanks to 3000+ hits, an MLB record 938 stolen bases, and 1610 runs scored.
Did you realize that between 1964 and 1974 the LEAST amount of hits he collected in any one season was 182!?
As a matter of fact in those eleven seasons he collected over 190 hits eight times, while scoring less than 90 only once.
Just an amazing 19-year career!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1981 MANNY MOTA

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1981 card for pinch-hitting legend Manny Mota, who was at the tail-end of a very nice Major league career:

Mota only appeared in seven games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980, going 3-for-7 at the plate as a 42-year-old pinch hitter.

The man was born to hit!

He would collect just one more at-bat in his career two years later in 1982, but he certainly already made his mark in the Big Leagues, hitting a career .304 over 1536 games dating back to his debut in 1962 with the San Francisco Giants.

He would top the .300 mark in eleven of his 20 seasons, hitting as high as .332 in 1966, then with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Once he landed in Los Angeles with the Dodgers in 1969, he became a fixture, both on and off the field, a beloved figure in Dodger-land.

Overall, he finished with 1149 hits over 3779 at-bats, making one All-Star team (1973), before moving on to coaching, which encompassed an amazing tenure that spanned 1980 through 2013.

A true baseball "lifer"!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1980 DAMASO GARCIA

Fun card to add to the blog today,a "not so missing" 1980 card for All-Star infielder Damaso Garcia, who got his start in the Majors as a member of the New York Yankees:

Garcia appeared in 18 games with the eventual World Champions in 1978, hitting .195 with eight hits over 41 at-bats, playing both shortstop and second base.

He'd play in eleven games with the Bronx Bombers in 1979 before finding himself traded to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Chris Chambliss and Paul Mirabella on November 1st of 1979 for Rick Cerone, Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn, a trade that helped his career with the given opportunity to play everyday.

With that chance he would not disappoint, finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year race in 1980, hitting .278 with 151 hits, 30 doubles and 13 stolen bases.

He would go on to make two All-Star teams while also taking home a Silver Slugger Award in 1982 when he collected a career-best 185 hits, 80 runs scored and 54 stolen bases.

While a consistent contributor to the Blue jays through the 1986 season, his relationship with manager Jimy Williams went South, leading to a trade to the Atlanta Braves before the 1987 season, with him spending the entire season in the Minors.

He'd make it back to the Majors in 1988, but for only 21 games, hitting .117 before finding himself with the Montreal Expos in 1989, for what turned out to be the last 80 games of his career, hitting .271.

Sadly, shortly after his playing days were over, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, with subsequent surgery saving his life but leading to physical impairments that would stay with him the rest of his days.

Happily, he would live until the age of 63, eventually passing away due to cancer in April of 2020.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: THURMAN MUNSON

Today on the blog we add the great Thurman Munson to my long-running WTHBALLS "Classic Baseball" custom set, celebrating the great game:

Such a great career cut short by tragedy, though as I recall, Munson was seriously considering retirement by the end of the decade because of nagging injuries and missing his family because of the grind of a full-season.
Nevertheless, a Rookie of the Year in 1970, an MVP in 1976, and two straight championships in 1977 and 1978. A wonderful career for the New York Yankees legend.

Munson, who came out of Kent State in his native Ohio, became an instant Yankee favorite in 1970 while becoming the leader of the organization in transition on the field.
By 1976 he was a legitimate star, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award while leading the Yanks to their first World Series since 1964, followed by consecutive championships in 1977 and 1978.
Of course, this was all shattered when he died while piloting a small plane in August of 1979, shocking everyone, including myself as a 10-year old Yankee fan who idolized the catcher on a team filled with big personalities, like Reggie Jackson, Rich Gossage and Sparky Lyle.

Such a loss.

 

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: J.R. RICHARD

On the blog today, we spotlight another card from my 1981 "Drake's Big Pitchers" custom set from last year, this one the card for Houston Astros pitching great J.R. Richard:

It would take a few years, but he'd become the power-arm all-star by the 1975 season, and would go on to post two 300+ strikeout campaigns, four straight 200+ K years, four straight seasons of 18+ wins (1976-1979), and an E.R.A. crown in 1979 before tragically having his career cut short in 1980 by a stroke.

His final numbers are indicative of what we could have expected well into the 1980's had he not been cut down at the age of 30: a 107-71 record with 1493 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA in 238 games and 1606 innings.

It really would have been something to see Richard and Nolan Ryan team up to rack-up incredible numbers together.

One of the ultimate "what could have been" stories in baseball during my childhood for sure…

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER RED SCHOENDIENST

Up on the blog today, from my recent 1963 "Fleer Series Extension #2" custom set, a "missing" card for Hall of Fame baseball lifer Red Schoendienst:

What really needs to be said about the man!?
Schoendienst first put together a 19-year Hall of Fame career between 1945 and 1963, winning a championship with the Cards as well as the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, before coaching and then managing St. Louis from 1965 to 1976, winning yet another championship in 1967, with a spot managing gig in 1980 and then 1990 all while coaching the team in between, including the 1982 season, giving him a FIFTH championship in his illustrious career.
He put in 2216 games as a player, then went on to manage 1999 games, winning 1041 of them for a .522 winning percentage, while coaching at LEAST another couple thousand games on top of that!
A baseball treasure!
Rest in Peace Red: 1923-2018

 

OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 PHIL NIEKRO

Here's a really odd OPC to Topps "image variation" set for you all, the slight, and I mean really slight image change for Phil Niekro and his 1977 cards:

OPC version

Topps version

I have no idea why the change between the two companies and their cards, as you can see that all OPC did was slightly zoom in a touch, and place the facsimile autograph a little higher on the card. Very strange.

Also seems to be a little brightness added to the OPC card as well.

As for Niekro, incredibly, though getting a bit of a "late-start" in his career, the man would end up putting in 24 years in the Majors, pitching his knuckler until the age of 48 in 1987.

It is astonishing to think Niekro didn’t have a full season on Big League duty until 1967 at the age of 28, yet still went on to pitch those 24 seasons, winning 318 games with a very nice 3.35 ERA along with 45 shutouts and 3342 strikeouts before he was done at the age of 48!
I always thought it amazing that at the age of 44 in 1983, he took home the last of his five Gold Gloves, ALL of which were garnered beginning his age 39 season in 1978.

Just an amazing talent!

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 RICK JOSEPH

Today on the blog, we revisit another 10-year-old post, this one my 1971 "missing" card for former infielder/outfielder Rick Joseph of the Philadelphia Phillies, who already wrapped up a five-year Big League career in 1970:

Joseph finished-off his career batting .227 with 27 hits over 119 at-bats in 71 games in the City of Brotherly Love, giving him a .243 career average with 154 hits in 633 at-bats, with 13 homers and 65 runs batted in along with 69 runs scored.
All but four of his pro seasons had him playing for the Phillies, with his rookie year of 1964 seeing him suit up for the Kansas City Athletics.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1969 TONY LARUSSA

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1969 card for future Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa:

As we all know, Tony LaRussa the "manager" is one of the all-time greats.

Between 1979 and 2011, a span of 33 years, he managed three teams (White Sox, A's and Cardinals) to 2728 victories, six pennants, three world championships, and 12 first place finishes.

You can easily make an argument for LaRussa as the best modern era manager in baseball.

Now, Tony LaRussa the "player". Well…

Let's just say that he never really fulfilled the promise on THAT end of his career.

He came up in 1963 for a brief cup of coffee with the Kansas City Athletics, but wouldn't make it back up to the big leagues again until 1968, when he appeared in only five games, good for three at-bats.

In 1968 he only appeared in five games, going 1-for-3 at the plate, never appearing on the field for defense. 

Actually, in his six year playing career, he never really got a chunk of playing time in any one season.

Topps didn't have a LaRussa card in their 1969 set, even though he WAS included in their sets in 1964, 1968 and 1972.

Even though his playing days left a lot to be desired, he was well on his way to the Hall of Fame once he got the hold of managing a squad in 1979.