NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 LARRY LINTZ

Time to go and give former speedster Larry Lintz a “not so missing” 1978 card after another season of a “designated running” for the Oakland A’s in 1977:

Lintz, who didn’t quite get the full-on “D.R.” action that Herb Washington had before him, did play in 41 games, with only 40 plate appearances, stealing 13 bases while scoring 11 runs for Oakland.
The previous year, his first with the A’s, Lintz appeared in 68 games, yet had only four plate appearances, scoring 21 runs while stealing 31 bases for the go-go team that stole over 300, 341 to be exact!
But Lintz’s MLB days were coming to a close, as he’d find himself with the Cleveland Indians the following year, appearing in only three games before being out of Big League ball for good.
All told, he played in 350 games during his career between 1973 and 1978, hitting .227 while scoring 137 runs and stealing 128 bases in 616 at-bats and 756 plate appearances.

21 STOLEN BASES WITHOUT GETTING A HIT? LARRY LINTZ AND THE GO-GO OAKLAND A'S

Back in the beginning of June I profiled Topps' 1975 card for Herb Washington, "Designated Runner" for the Oakland A's.
The card offered a never before (or since) seen set of statistics on the back that listed: Games, Runs, Stolen Bases and Caught Stealing. That's it. No at-bats, no hits, no average.
That experiment lasted a couple years, as Washington was out of baseball by the end of '75.
However, there was another player who was used primarily as a pinch runner even though he garnered a few at-bats before his career was done: Larry Lintz.
Check out the stats on the back of his 1977 card (#323):

Lintz probably wondering when he'll finally be allowed to bat.

1 single at-bat with 21 runs scored. Love it.

You just have to love the odd stat line that shows one official at-bat with 21 runs scored! His highlight text at the bottom then states that he had 31 stolen bases as well.
Not bad for aa player who never even got a hit that year!
Unlike Washington however, Lintz did see some playing time as a batter before he got to Oakland.
In 1974 with the Montreal Expos he did manage to get 319 at-bats and 76 hits while stealing a career high 50 bases, good for fifth in the N.L. that year.
But by the time his 1977 card was issued, he only had 30 at-bats left in his career, all of which came during the '77 season.
In 1978 he got into three games for the Cleveland Indians, but no official at-bats and a run scored. Kind of odd since "Baseball-Reference.com" has him in a game as a "designated hitter", yet he didn't have an official plate appearance. (???)
I like looking at Lintz's final career stats and taking them as only ONE full season based on his total career at-bats.
What a sick season that would make:
616 at-bats, 137 runs scored, 140 hits, 27 R.B.I.'s and 128 stolen bases with a .277 batting average.
Another bit of Charlie Finley's influence on the crazy-1970's baseball scene...