CAREER-CAPPER: 1981 PAUL BLAIR

As requested a while back, here is the long overdue 1981 "Career-Capper" for defensive outfielder extraordinaire, Paul Blar, who wrapped up a wonderful Major League career in 1980 as a member of the New York Yankees:

Blair appeared in only 12 games for the Yankees in his final Big League season, going 0-for-2 at the plate while putting in time as a defensive replacement in the outfield.

Though a decent hitter in his own right, Blair was a superstar fielding outfielder for the O's, taking home eight Gold Gloves for his excellence in the field, seven consecutively between 1969-1975.

He was known to taunt hitters by playing shallow, then sprinting deep to track down fly balls.

A member of four world champion teams (Orioles in 1966/70; Yankees 1977/78), Blair put together an excellent 17-year career playing between 1964 and 1980 for the Orioles, Yanks and Reds.

He'd finish with a .250 batting average with 1513 hits, 134 homers and 171 stolen bases over 1947 games and 6673 plate appearances.

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: GAYLORD PERRY

The next baseball great to get a card in my long-running "Classic Baseball" WTHBALLS custom set is HOF pitcher Gaylord Perry:

For me growing up in the late-70’s/early-80s, Perry was the stuff of legend since he was the first player I remember reaching 3000 strikeouts, which at the time made him only the THIRD player to do so behind Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson.
He was also (and I remember this vividly) the first pitcher to reach 300 wins since Early Wynn, which was a 20 year gap, the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award in both leagues, which he did with the Indians in 1972 and the Padres in 1978.
That 1978 season saw him take home the award after a fantastic year that saw him go 21-6 with a 2.73 earned run average at the age of 39 after coming over from the Texas Rangers.
People may also forget that for a relatively brief moment he was the all-time strikeout king before a couple of guys by the name of Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton caught up soon after.
He posted five 20-win seasons, finishing with 314 for his career, along with 53 shutouts and 3534 strikeouts over a 22-year Big League career, tossing 300+ innings six times.
Is it safe to say that he’s almost a forgotten all-time great?

WTHBALLS 1950 CUSTOM SET: YOGI BERRA

Today we'll finally put a spotlight on my 1950 WTHBALLS custom set, released back in 2018, celebrating the stars of the game at that time, beginning with Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra:

The set of bookmark sized cards were packaged with a bonus "all-time leaders" six card set, packaged inside a candy bar themes wrap as seen in the image included here.

It was a popular release and sold out quickly, and I thank you all who purchased one!

As for Mr. Berra, 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…

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1969 HAL McRAE

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1969 card for DHing master Hal McRae, who started out his career with the Cincinnati Reds:

McRae appeared in 17 games for the Reds in 1968, hitting .196 with the first ten hits of his very nice Big League career, driving in two while scoring one himself.

McRae didn’t actually play in any Major League games during the 1969 season, but he did make his Big League debut in 1968 with 17 games, hitting .196 with 10 hits over 51 at-bats as a 22-year-old second baseman.
He’d be back in the Majors in 1970, where he would stay for the next 18 seasons putting together an excellent career, becoming one of the first true full-time designated hitters once he was traded to the Kansas City Royals before the 1973 campaign.
All McRae would end up doing once in a Royals uniform is put in a 15-year run where he became one of the best hitters in the league, with three All-Star nods, six .300+ batting average seasons, and MVP consideration four times.
By the time he was done, he retired with a career .290 batting average, with 2091 hits, 484 doubles and 1097 runs batted in over 2084 games and 7218 at-bats, making three All-Star teams and finishing top-5 in MVP voting twice (1976 and 1982).

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1975 IVAN DeJESUS

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1975 card for infielder Ivan DeJesus, who made his Big League debut in 1974 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers:

DeJesus appeared in three games for the National League champs in 1974, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, then played in 63 games for the Dodgers in 1975, good for 99 plate appearances and 87 at-bats.

That translates to a .184 average with a couple of doubles and a triple, with 10 runs scored and two runs batted in.

It really wasn't until 1977, now as a Chicago Cub, that he would become a full-time Major League player. 

By the time he retired as a player after the 1988 season, he played for the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Giants and Tigers over the course of 15 seasons, and finished with a .254 average with 1167 hits and 194 stolen bases.

Between 1977 and 1980 he had some solid seasons for the Cubs, even leading the National League in runs scored in 1978 with 104, and twice topping 40 stolen bases (in 1978 and 1980).

I just always figured he came up with the Cubs. Goes to show you learn something new every day!

 

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION-1979 HENRY CRUZ

Today on the blog we revisit another 10+ year-old post, this one my "missing" 1979 card for former outfielder Henry Cruz:

Cruz played in 53 games for the White Sox in 1978, in what would be his final year in the big leagues, hitting .221 with 17 hits over 77 at-bats with a couple of homers and ten runs batted in.
It would cap off a career that had him with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975 and 1976, then onto the Pale Hose for the final two seasons in 1977 and 1978.
All together he hit .229, collecting 64 hits over 280 at-bats in 171 games, with 32 runs scored and 34 RBI’s.
He’d go on to play in the Mexican League all the way into the 1985 season, making it 14 years in pro ball before hanging them up.

MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER STEVE DALKOWSKI

Super fun card to post today!

From my recent "Missing 1963 Fleer-Second Edition" set, a missing card for Minor League legend Steve Dalkowski, who could never quite reign in that incredible fastball:

Looking at his Minor League numbers between 1957 and 1965, you'd think you were seeing things, as Dalkowski would post not only absurd strikeout numbers, but equally absurd base-on-balls numbers.

For example, in 1960 while pitching for Stockton, the 21-year-old tossed 170 innings, striking out 262 batters, good for a 15.1 K/9 inning number, yet ALSO walked the same amount of batters!

Yet he only allowed 105 hits, which came to a miniscule 5.6 hits-per-nine-innings, putting him in Nolan Ryan country!

In 1958, splitting the season between Knoxville, Wilson and Aberdeen, he tossed 104 innings, striking out 203 batters, while walking 204!

That comes to about a 17 strikeout-per-nine-innings total, with a slightly HIGHER walk total!.

Sadly Dalkowski could never get a handle on that lethal fastball, and by the time 1965 rolled around, though still only 26 years of age, his career came to an end.

Official totals for this nine-year Minor League career came to a record of 46-80 over 236 games, throwing 956 innings and striking out 1324 batters, while walking 1236, giving up only 664 hits.

Just mind-boggling stuff!

Just a shame that not only did his career not work out, but he soon found himself battling addictions, homelessness and a rough post-baseball life.

Luckily with some help he did live to the age of 80, passing away in April of 2020.

A baseball folk-tale figure who lives on through the ages!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1978 JERRY WHITE

On the blog today, a player many of you will remember from the 1970s and 1980s, but was left out of the 1978 Topps set, Jerry White of the Montreal Expos:

White appeared in only 16 games for Montreal during the 1977 season, hitting .190 with four hits in 21 at-bats, with four runs scored and a single RBI.

He would be with the Expos 10 of his 11 seasons in the Majors, playing half a season with the Chicago Cubs in 1978 and finishing up with 25 games as a St. Louis Cardinal in 1986, with some time in the Japanese League in 1984 and 1985.

Never a full-timer, the most action he ever saw in any one season was 114 games in 1976, hitting .245 over 309 plate appearances and 278 official at-bats.

By the time he did retire after those 12 seasons, he finished with a .253 batting average, with 303 hits in 1196 at-bats over 646 games, with 155 runs scored and 109 runs batted in, stealing 57 bases and hitting 21 homers.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1961 JOE TORRE

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1961 card for future Hall of Fame manager (and easily HOF catcher in my book) Joe Torre:

Torre made his MLB debut in 1960, appearing in two games for the Milwaukee Braves as a 19-year-old, going 1-for-2 at the plate.

A five-time all-star during the '60's, Torre had a couple of "monster" years that kind of get lost in history.
In 1964 playing for the Milwaukee Braves, Torre hit .321 with 20 homers and 109 runs batted in. He also chipped in 193 hits and 36 doubles. Not bad!
But in 1966, with the Braves relocated to Atlanta, Torre clubbed 36 home runs to go along with a .315 average and 101 R.B.I.'s.
Later on when he'd switch over to third base he'd win an M.V.P. with the St. Louis Cardinals, and tack on a few more excellent years at the plate, and it's those years that people generally remember Torre as a player.
But his catching days for the Braves organization were very good in their own right. yet easy to overlook.
Later on, as we all know, Torre would be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager in 2014 for his days leading the New York Yankees through their most recent dynasty in the late-90's/early-00's, along with taking the helm of the Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers as well between 1977 and 2010, finishing up with 2326 wins and four championship titles.

 

1981 DRAKE'S BIG PITCHERS: JACK MORRIS

On the blog today, the next custom getting the spotlight from my "1981 Drake's Big Pitchers" set released last year, this one of HOFer Jack Morris:

The man was a true workhorse and winner, putting in 18 seasons as a Major League pitcher, winning 254 games while pitching to a 3.90 earned run average over 549 appearances and 3824 innings.

Along the way he threw 28 shutouts, while striking out 2478 batters, leading the league in wins twice, strikeouts and shutouts once apiece.

He would finish top-5 in Cy Young voting five times, also making the All-Star team five times, while winning the World Series with three different teams: Tigers, Twins and Blue Jays.

I was truly surprised it took so long for him to be elected to the Hall of Fame, which he finally was by the "Modern Baseball Era Committee" in 2018, 24 years after his final MLB season.

I will always remember that 1984 nationally televised Saturday afternoon game when he faced the Chicago White Sox during that magical Tigers' season, no-hitting the reigning American League champions.

Just a stud on the mound.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1980 WILLIE DAVIS

Good day all!

On the blog today, from my next WTHBALLS custom card release, a 1980 "Career-Capper" for underrated player Wille Davis:

Davis came up with the Dodgers as a 20-year old in 1960, just in time to be a part of the organization’s great run which included two world championships in 1963 and 1965, as well as a World Series appearance in 1966.
A speedster who racked up hits and had the occasional power, Davis finished his career with over 2500 hits, 182 home runs and 398 stolen bases, along with a nice .279 batting average in 2429 career games.
Though he played the first 14 years of his career in L.A., Davis would go on to play for five teams over the last four years of his career: Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and the California Angels in 1979 after a two-year absence from MLB ball in 1977 and 1978 when he played in Japan.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: BILL MAZEROSKI

Good day all! On the blog today, we spotlight my card for HOFer Bill Mazeroski, from my 1960 "Stars of the Game" custom gelatin set released back in 2018:

Just a classic era-perfect photo of the Pittsburgh Pirates great, from right about the time he catapulted himself into baseball history with a Game 7 home run in the bottom of the ninth to send the Pirates to a World Championship over the heavily favored New York Yankees.

But it's easy to forget that Mazeroski's homer was in only his fifth full season in the Majors. He went on to star for the Pirates for the next 12 seasons before hanging them up at the end of the 1972 season.
By the time he retired, Mazeroski won two world championships (1960 & 1971), eight Gold Gloves, made seven All-Star teams, topped 2000 hits and made a name for himself as one of the premier fielding second baseman in baseball.
He still hold the all-time record for turning double-plays for second basemen at 1706, and lead the National League in assists nine times between 1958-1968.
While the BBWA failed to vote him into the Hall of Fame withing the 15 years of eligibility, the Veteran's Committee got him in 2001, almost 30 years after retiring, joining such former teammates like Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente.

 

CLASSIC BASEBALL: JIM WYNN

On the blog today, we add the "Toy Cannon" Jim Wynn to my long-running WTHBALLS custom "Classic Baseball" set:

He put up some solid years during his excellent 15-year Big League run between 1963 and 1977.

Eight times he'd top 20 homers, with three of them 30+, while also driving in 100+ runs twice, scoring 100+ runs four times and topping 100 walks six times, two seasons of which he'd lead the National League, with a high of 148 in 1969.

While slugging away, he was also a threat on the base paths, as he'd go on to swipe a total of 225 before retiring, with a high of 43 in 1965.

After those handful of games with the Milwaukee Brewers in the latter half of 1977, he called it a career, finishing with 1100+ runs scored, 1665 hits, 291 homers and 964 runs batted in, with a .250 average thrown in.

Just a solid, overlooked player from the era that deserves a spotlight for his excellent career!

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.