NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 JUAN BENIQUEZ

Here’s yet another card for former player Juan Beniquez, who didn’t have a rookie card until 1973, though an argument could have been made for him to have cards in both 1972 and 1973 (which I created a while back). Here’s the 1972 card:

Beniquez appeared in 16 games for his first taste of the Major Leagues in 1971, batting .298 for the Boston Red Sox with 17 hits in 57 at-bats while playing shortstop.
Of course we all know that he would be moved to the outfield once he made the big leagues for good in 1974, going on to a nice 17-year career that would have him end up with a .274 batting average, with a high of .336 in 1984 while with the California Angels.
He’s one of those players that seemed to have found his stroke later in his career, topping .300 four straight season while in his mid-30’s between 1983-1986.

1976 PROJECT: JUAN BENIQUEZ

Here’s a 1976 card for Juan Beniquez, NOT because he was missing from the set, but because Topps had him in an airbrushed job with his new team, the Texas Rangers, and “Reader Jim” needed a card showing him with the Boston Red Sox, for whom he suited up the previous year:

As part of the American League champs, I can see why Jim wanted to have a version of the Beniquez card showing him with the team he came up with.
I’ve already created 1973 and 1974 “missing” cards of the former utility hitter, and this makes a nice addition to the Beniquez “family” of cards on the blog.
Beniquez was always a decent hitter, but it is odd that he seems to have found his true stroke towards the end, when he batted over .300 a handful of times, including his career-high .336 for the California Angels in 1984.
He’d finish his 17-year career with a decent .274 batting average based on his 1274 hits in 4651 at-bats, playing for no less than eight organizations.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 JUAN BENIQUEZ

Here’s a “missing” 1973 card for Juan Beniquez, who ironically has his rookie card in the 1974 set even though he didn’t even play during the 1973 season:

Beniquez appeared in 33 games during the 1972 season for the Boston Red Sox, batting .242 with 24 hits over 99 at-bats while playing shortstop.
Yet for some reason he wasn’t even given a spot on one of the multi-player rookie cards in the 1973 set.
The following year he gets his card, yet didn’t spent the entire 1973 season in the minor leagues.
Go figure…
Beniquez would go on to have a productive 17-year career spanning 1971 to 1988, really turning it on later in his mid-30s when he strung together four seasons over .300 with a high of .336 for the California Angels as a platoon player with 382 plate appearances.
He would end up with a .274 career batting average, based on 1274 hits in 4651 at-bats and exactly 1500 games playing for eight organizations, all in the American League.

1974 TOPPS JUAN BENIQUEZ.....WHY EXACTLY?

Here's another of those cards that leaves one scratching their heads: a 1974 Topps Juan Beniquez:

So why is it so strange?

Well for starters the guy didn't even appear in a Major League game in 1973.

And since the 1974 set was the first by Topps to NOT be issued in different series throughout the Spring and Summer, it's not like they saw Beniquez collecting some decent playing time in early 1974 in time to issue a card for him later on.

Odd, especially when you also see that Beniquez actually played in only 33 games in 1972 as well. Yet Topps went and gave him a slot in the 1974 set.

I could never figure that one out.

I remember always being intrigued by Juan Beniquez in the mid-1980's since he was always batting better than .300, with a high of .336 in 1984 with the California Angels over 382 plate appearances.

Over his 17-year career he only plated enough appearances to qualify for a batting title twice, in 1976 and 1978, both seasons with the Texas Rangers, so he was really that bat off the bench for most of his career.

Yet he did manage to stretch it out to 17 years until he retired after 1988 after a couple of part-time seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, even winning a Gold Glove in 1977 and playing in the 1975 World Series while with the BoSox.

He finished with a .274 lifetime average with 1274 hits, 610 runs scored, 79 home runs and 476 runs batted in over exactly 1500 games and 5151 plate appearances.