The
next nickname up in my long-running “Nicknames of the 1970’s” is “The
Bee”, Al Bumbry, Baltimore Orioles spark-plug, who gets a 1978 card:
Bumbry was coming off of his best Major League season to date in 1977,
hitting .317 with 19 stolen bases and 31 doubles, well on his way to a
very nice 14-year career, all but his last (1985 with San Diego) with
the Orioles.
Over those 14 seasons he would be the 1973 American League Rookie of the
Year, would hit over .300 three times, lead the league in triples once
and top 200 hits when he collected 205 in1980, the first Baltimore
player to do so up to that point.
He would steal 254 bases over his career, twice topping 40 with 42 in
1976 and 44 in 1980, while scoring over 100 once when he scored 118
during the 1980 season.
By the time he retired after the 1985 season, he finished with a career
average of .281 with 1422 hits over 5053 at-bats in 1496 games, scoring
778 runs while driving in 402, and was a member of the 1983 world
champion Oriole club that defeated the Philadelphia Phillies (“The Wheez
Kids”).
Next
up in the “Awards” thread I’ve been running for a while is a 1974
“Rookie of the Year” card for the 1973 winners, Gary Mathews and Al
Bumbry, two guys who’d go on to have long productive careers in the
Major Leagues:
In the National League, Mathews would have a really solid year for the
San Francisco Giants, batting an even .300 with 22 doubles, 10 triples
and 12 home runs with 74 runs scored and 58 runs batted in.
He played in 148 games and collected 162 hits over 540 at-bats, and even
had 17 stolen bases thrown into the mix. Very nice first full season
that led to an award.
He would go on to play 16 seasons in the Majors, retiring after 1987
with over 2000 hits with a very nice .281 batting average and 234 home
runs
Over in the American League, Alonzo (Al) Bumbry only played in 110 games
for the Baltimore Orioles, but he made the most of the opportunity as
he led the American League with 11 triples while batting a hefty .337
with 120 hits over 356 at-bats.
He would go on to have a very nice 14-year career in the Big Leagues,
all but his final season (with the San Diego Padres) spent in Baltimore,
even becoming the first Orioles player to collect 200 or more hits in a
season during the 1980 campaign when he collected 205 hits on his way
to his only All-Star game nod.
By the time he hung them up after the 1985 season, he too retired with a
batting average of .281, with 1422 hits over 5053 at-bats along with
254 stolen bases and 778 runs scored.
Two very good players who definitely left their mark on the game.
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