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.

 

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!

 

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.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1989 JOSE CRUZ

Super fun card to add to the WTHBALLS roster today, that a 1989 "Career-Capper" for Jose Cruz, who closed out a brilliant Major League career in 1988:

Playing in his 19th Big League season, Cruz suited up for 38 games with the New York Yankees, and I was happy to have witnessed some of them in person!

The man hit an even .200 over 80 at-bats with the Yankees, hitting a homer and driving in seven with nine runs scored and eight walks.

Cruz, who would go on to find fame and fortune with his 13 seasons playing for the Houston Astros between 1975 and 1987, appeared in six games for St. Louis in his first taste of the Big Leagues in 1970, hitting a robust .353 with six hits over 17 at-bats.
He’d never find his true hitting stroke over the parts of five seasons he spent in St. Louis, but after being purchased by the Astros in December of 1974, he would go on to become an All-Star outfielder.
He would be named to two All-Star teams, win two Silver Slugger Awards, and three times finish in the top-10 for N.L. MVP, even leading the league in hits with 189 in 1983.
By the time he finished with one season as a New York Yankee in 1988 at the age of 40, he retired with 2251 hits, a .284 batting average, 165 homers and 317 stolen bases.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1973 JIM ROLAND

Up on the blog today we have a 1973 "career-capper" for pitcher Jim Roland, who put in ten seasons on a Big League mound:

Roland appeared in 23 games during the 1972 season, split between three teams: the New York Yankees, Oakland A's and Chicago White Sox.

Over those appearances he finished with a record of 0-1 with a 5.28 earned run average in 30.2 innings, striking out 17 while walking 18 (ouch!).

Originally up as a 19-year-old with the Minnesota Twins in 1962, he'd generally be used out of the bullpen as a middle reliever, moving on to the Oakland A's in 1969 until that final 1972 season.

Overall, he'd finish with a record of 19-17 over 216 games, with a nice 3.22 ERA in 450.1 innings, saving nine while tossing a complete game back in 1963.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1965 PETE RUNNELS

Up on the blog today, let's delve into the 1960s and give two-time batting champ Pete Runnels a 1965 "Career-Capper" shall we?

Here you go:

Runnels put in what turned out to be the last Major League action of his career in 1964, as a member of the Houston Colt .45s, or Astros as they were making that transition at that time.

Just two years removed from his second batting title in 1962, he hit .196 over 22 games for Houston, with 10 hits over 51 at-bats with three RBIs.

Runnels took home the American League batting title in 1960 and 1962 as a member of the Boston Red Sox, hitting .320 and .326 respectively, topping the .300 mark all of his five years with Boston.

His first seven years in the Big Leagues were with the Washington Senators between 1951 and 1957, where he average about .280 while playing both the infield and outfield, even getting some MVP votes in both 1952 and 1956.

Overall, by the time he retired, he finished with a .291 batting average, with 1854 hits in 6373 at-bats over 1799 games, getting named to five All-Star teams along the way.

Not too shabby a career!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1973 PHIL REGAN

Today on the blog we'll go ahead and give former reliever Phil Regan a 1973 "career-capper" to celebrate a nice 13-year Big League tenure:

Regan split the 1972 season with the Chicago Cubs and crosstown Chicago White Sox, appearing in 15 games and going 0-2 with a 3.63 earned run average in 17.1 innings.

He would have a couple of incredible seasons on a Big League mound, particularly his 1966 campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he posted a record of 14-1 with a sparkling 1.62 ERA over 116.2 innings, leading the National League with 21 saves, helping L.A. go to the World Series.

Two years later, splitting the year with the Dodgers and Cubs, he'd post a record of 12-5 with a 2.27 ERA over 134.2 innings, leading the league once again in saves, this time with 25.

By the time he retired, he appeared in 551 games between 1960 and 1972, finishing with a record of 96-81, with a 3.84 ERA over 1372.2 innings, saving 92 games.

Not too shabby!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1975 BOB VEALE

Today on the blog we have my 1975 "career-capper" for former flame-thrower Bob Veale, who wrapped up a nice Major League career as a member of the Boston Red Sox:

Veale appeared in 18 games for the Sox that season, posting a record of 0-1 with a bloated 5.54 ERA over thirteen innings, striking out 16 while walking four.

Veale was one of those power arms that the National League was blessed with in the 1960's, even topping the Senior League with 250 K's in 1964.

A year later he'd strike out 276 batters, and would have another two season with 200+ strikeouts while throwing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the only other team he'd pitch for in his 13-year career.

He'd retire with a tidy 120-95 record, with a 3.07 earned run average and 1703 K's with 20 shutouts.

Between 1964 and 1970 Veale was a very solid Major League starter, averaging 15 wins and 213 strikeouts over those seven years, easily keeping pace with contemporaries like Don Drysdale, Jim Bunning and Jim Maloney.

 

REVISIT: 1978 CAREER-CAPPER FOR COOKIE ROJAS

Good day all!

On the blog today, thought it'd be fun to revisit another 10-year-old post, this one my 1978 "career-capper" for Cookie Rojas, long-time Major League infielder:

Rojas appeared in 64 games for the Western Division champ Royals in 1977, hitting an even .250 with 39 hits over 156 at-bats.
A five-time all-star, Rojas slapped his way through the Majors, collecting 1660 lifetime hits over 1822 games, with only 333 of those hits going for extra bases.
Of his 16 years in the Major Leagues, he played eight with the Royals and seven with the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he first made a name for himself between 1963 and 1969.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1988 JOHNNIE LEMASTER

Good day all!

On the blog today we cap-off Johnnie LeMaster's career with a 1988 card showing him as a member of the Oakland A's, with whom he suited up in 1987:

Lemaster made it back to the Majors in 1987 after a year in the Minors, appearing in 20 games for Oakland and hitting a low .083 with two hits over 24 at-bats.

He previously split the 1985 season with three teams, the San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates, appearing in a combined 45 games and hitting .128.

Pretty much spending his entire career in San Francisco, LeMaster originally came up in 1975 and played through the 1984 season with the Giants, generally a light bat, good fielding shortstop.

His finest season would arguably be the 1983 campaign when he set personal bests in games, at-bats, runs (81), hits (128) and stolen bases (39) while hitting .240 over 132 games.

The typical 1970s middle infielder, though his average hovered around the .220-.240 mark, he always had a job.

By the time he retired he finished with a .222 career average, with 709 hits over 3191 at-bats in 1039 games, scoring 320 runs while driving in 229.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1989 TED SIMMONS

Here's a card I missed for my recent "1980s Career-Cappers" set a few months back, a 1989 card for Hall of Fame catcher Ted Simmons:

Simmons capped off a brilliant 21-year career with 78 games for the Atlanta Braves in 1988, hitting .196 with 21 hits in 107 official at-bats.

Look at this guys career!
Simmons went on to post a Big League resume that included eight All-Star nods, six seasons of 20+ homers, eight 90+ RBI campaigns and seven years of a .300 or better average.
By the time he retired after the 1988 season, he finished with 2472 hits, 248 homers, 1389 RBIs and a .285 average.
At the same time, playing in the era of the free-swinging 70’s and 80’s, he struck out only 694 times in 9685 plate appearances while twice leading his league in Intentional Base on Balls.
I have always been stunned at the fact that “Simba” garnered a meager 3.7% vote in his first chance at the Hall of Fame, thus becoming a ridiculous “one and done” candidate.SO happy that they finally made this right and vote him in for his rightful place in Cooperstown!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1972 JAKE GIBBS

On the blog today, we cap-off the career of catcher Jake Gibbs with a 1972 card, as Gibbs played the last of his ten Big League seasons in 1971, all with the New York Yankees:

Gibbs appeared in 70 games for the Yanks in 1971, hitting .218 with 45 hits in 206 at-bats while filling in for a young Thurman Munson.

Though he only appeared in nine total games between 1962 and 1964, Gibbs spent his entire career in the Bronx, with 1967 and 1968 as the only full years during his Major League career.

Overall, Gibbs finished with a .233 batting average, with 382 hits over 1639 at-bats, with 157 runs scored, 25 homers and 146 runs batted in.

Along with others like Mel Stottlemyre and Horace Clarke, Gibbs was one of those players that "lived" through the Yankee dark era of the latter-half of the 1960s.

SPECIAL REQUEST: 1978 DAVE GIUSTI CAPPER (A'S)

On the blog today, a special request for a 1978 career-capper for Dave Giusti, who recently passed away at the age of 86:

Technically Giusti finished his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1977 after starting the season with the Oakland A's.

With the Cubs he went 0-2 with a 6.04 ERA over 20 games and 25.1 innings pitched, while it was a completely different outcome with the A's when he appeared in 40 games, going 3-3 with a very nice 2.98 ERA over 60.1 innings of work.

Giusti originally came up with the Houston Colt .45’s as a 22-year old starter out of Syracuse University in 1962, their inaugural season in the National League.
He appeared in 22 games and posted a 2-3 record with a bloated 5.62 earned run average before spending the entire 1963 season in the Minor Leagues.
After some brief MLB action in 1964, Giusti was a big leaguer for good in 1965, going 8-7 with a 4.32 E.R.A. Along with a shutout as well as three saves for the newly tabbed “Astros”.
After a few more decent seasons as a starter, he found himself in St. Louis for the 1969 season, and thus began his transition to the bullpen, where he’d become a very effective reliever for another eight years, seven of which were with the Pirates.
Between 1970 and 1973 he topped 20 saves each year and posted solid E.R.A.’s, including a career-low of 1.93 in 1972 over 54 appearances and 74.2 innings pitched.
By the time he retired after the 1977 season he appeared in 668 games, 133 of them starts, finishing with a 100-93 record and 3.60 E.R.A., along with the aforementioned 145 saves.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1985 MIKE TORREZ

I have finally gotten around to creating a 1985 "Career-Capper" for long-time Major League pitcher Mike Torrez, about as solid a guy you could throw out there on the mound during the 1970s, as he wrapped up a very nice career in 1984:

I’ve always been fascinated by Torrez’s run between 1974 and 1978 when he posted 15+ wins each and every year, playing for a different team each and every season!
In 1974 he won 15 for the Montreal Expos, then 20 for the Baltimore Orioles in 1975, then 16 for the Oakland A’s, then the aforementioned 17 combined wins with the Yanks and A’s in 1977, then finally 16 for the Boston Red Sox in 1978.
Toss in his 16 wins for the Expos in 1972 and then another 16 for the Red Sox in 1979, and we are talking a solid eight-year run of dependability that gets overlooked.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season, Torrez fashioned himself a solid 18-year career that saw him go 185-160, with a 3.96 E.R.A., 1404 strikeouts and 15 shutouts over 494 games, 458 of which were starts.
He also won two games in the 1977 World Series against the Dodgers, pitching a complete game in both starts, yielding a 2.50 E.R.A. with 15 strikeouts. Not bad at all…

 

CAREER-CAPPERS: 1981 SADAHARU OH SPECIAL

Today on the blog we spotlight my bonus card from my recent custom "1980s Career-Cappers" set, the 1981 Sadaharu Oh capper:

Super fun card to add to the wildly popular set, and a perfect fit to the WTHBALLS checklist.

As I've stated earlier here on the blog, I just love creating cards for Japanese Hall of Famers onto Topps templates!

Sadaharu Oh is a GOD in Japan, and rightfully so, topping 100 runs batted in 14 times, 100 runs scored 10 times and 30+ homers 19 times, which he did consecutively including his last year in 1980.

He topped 40 homers 13 times, including 55 in 1964, a Japanese record, then 51 in 1973 and 50 in 1977 when he broke the record to much fanfare.

When you look at his career stats it's like a thing out of a softball league, or some latter Barry Bonds numbers, with on-base-percentages above .500, slugging percentages above .700, and 100+ base on balls year after year, 16 consecutive to be precise, on his way to 2390 by the time he hung them up.

Just a fun angle for the blog to start designing some cards for legends of other leagues around the world, which I hope to continue in the new year.

Oh's final numbers: a .301 average with 2786 hits, 1967 runs scored, 2170 RBIs, 868 homers in 2831 games and 9250 official at-bats.

Just incredible!

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1975 CURT MOTTON

On the blog today, we post up a 1975 "Career-Capper" for Curt Motton of the Baltimore Orioles, who wrapped up an eight-year Major League career with seven scane games in 1974:

Motton went 0-8 at the plate over those seven games, this after going two-for-six at the plate the previous season when he appeared in five games for the O's.

Over his eight-year MLB tenure, he hit .213 with 121 hits in 567 at-bats, but most importantly was a member of the juggernaut Oriole teams between 1969 and 1971, with a World Championship in 1970.

Of his eight MLB seasons, seven were with the Orioles, while he split the 1972 season between the Milwaukee Brewers and California Angels.

1980S CAREER-CAPPERS: 1989 DON SUTTON

Today on the blog, we take a look at my 1989 "Career-Capper" for Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, from my recent custom set released a couple months back:

Everything Sutton did led him to Cooperstown, where he can proudly display his 324 wins, 58 shutouts and 3574 strikeouts over 774 games, 756 of which were starts.

Over his 23 years as a Major League pitcher, he was a part of six Pennant winners, and a minor part of a World Championship team during his final year in 1988 with the team he spent most of his career with, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There are those that say Sutton, like a few other players who racked up big numbers, was a product of "tenure over domination", that is, that the numbers he garnered in the bigs was more about the amount of years he played over a bunch of dominating seasons.

I don't find that as a problem actually.

Being that there are just as few guys who played a long time while staying very productive as those legends who dominated for a somewhat brief time during their careers, I like to see the Don Suttons, Phil Niekros, Eddie Murrays and Tony Perez' get their due.

Almost a quarter-century of productivity on a Major League mound, leading to numbers like Sutton put up are definitely worth a plaque in Cooperstown, no?

Hope you all agree…

 

REVISIT: CAREER-CAPPER: 1974 JOHNNY CALLISON

On the blog today, we revisit another 10-year-old post from the WTHBALLS vault, this time my 1974 "career-capper" for Johnny Callison:

Callison played in his final 45 games during the 1973 in the Bronx, hitting .176 with 24 hits over 136 at-bats, including the last of his 226 career taters.
His career spanned 16-years between 1958 and 1973, where he collected 1757 hits with 926 runs scored, 840 runs batted in and the aforementioned 226 homers with a .264 average.
A three-time all-star, he was also the National league runner-up in MVP voting in 1964, certainly a victim to the colossal collapse of the Philadelphia Phillies to the St. Louis Cardinals, which propelled third baseman Ken Boyer to capture the award.
In both ‘64 and 1965 Callison topped 30+ homers, 25+ doubles and 10+ triples, while driving in over 100 both seasons as well.
After the Phillies he played with the Chicago Cubs for two years in 1970 and 1971 before moving on to the Yankees for the 1972 and 1973 campaigns, thus closing the books on a very respectable career in the big leagues.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1987 GEORGE FOSTER

Up on the blog today, we have my 1987 "Career-Capper" for former N.L. MVP George Foster, who wrapped up an excellent Major League career in 1986:

Foster split his final year in the Big Leagues between the New York Mets and Chicago White Sox, unfortunately for him missing out on the eventual World Championship at season's end.

Overall he hit .225 over 87 games, with 14 homers and 42 RBIs on 284 at-bats.

Back in 1969 Foster appeared in nine games for the San Francisco Giants, hitting a robust .400 with two hits in five at-bats, with both a run scored and an RBI.

It was his first taste of the Majors, and he would again appear in nine games during the 1970 season, hitting .316 with six hits over 19 at-bats, including his first double, triple and home run.

The 1971 season would bring him incredible fortune when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert, part of the building process that would eventually lead to the juggernaut "Big Red Machine" two-time champion Reds teams of the mid-70s.

As for Foster’s career, all he would go on to do is give the Reds another big time bat along with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez, with Joe Morgan soon joining them in 1972, forming one of the all-time great line-ups the game has ever seen.
Between, Foster, Bench, Rose and Morgan, it would give the Reds five MVP seasons in the decade, just insane, with Foster having his career-year in 1977 when he slammed 52 homers along with 149 RBIs and 124 runs scored, all leading numbers in the National League.
He’d go on to play 18 years in the Big Leagues, finishing in the top-3 in MVP voting three times, while making five All-Star teams and retiring with 348 home runs, 1239 RBIs and just under 2000 hits with 1925.

CAREER-CAPPER: 1984 JIM KAAT

On the blog today, from my wildly popular "1980s Career-Cappers" set, a 1984 capper for HOF pitcher Jim Kaat:

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.