OPC IMAGE VARIATION: 1977 MANNY SANGUILLEN

In a Topps decade that gave us many memorable airbrushed "masterpieces", today we take a closer look at TWO such gems, which happen to be of the same player for both his 1977 Topps and OPC cards, those of All-Star catcher Manny Sanguillen:

OPC version

Topps version

These are just tremendous! In all their wonderful dayglo green for us kids to pull out of packs, whether here in the States or up North in Canada.

This was a rare moment where both companies scrambled to get the player in the updated uniform, in this case Sanguillen with the Oakland A's after the odd trade that had the catcher traded along with $100,000 to Oakland for their manager, Chuck Tanner on November 5th, 1976.

Sanguillen really gets overlooked when it comes to how well he played during his 13-year career, all but 1977 spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This was a catcher who hit over .300 four times, with a high of .328 in 1975, while also topping .280 another four times, before retiring with a robust .296 career average.

I personally think he may have been ripped off a Rookie of the Year in 1969 when he hit .303 with 62 runs scored and 57 runs batted in as a rookie catcher, losing to the Dodgers Ted Sizemore (a STRONG argument can also be made for Sanguillen's teammate Al Oliver, who also could have won).

He was named to three all-star teams, and even garnered some MVP support in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 as a member of the Bucs.

A very nice career for a solid catcher during the 1970's who gets forgotten among the Benchs, Fisks, Munsons and Simmons of the Majors…

 

1977 N.L. CENTENNIAL: MANNY SANGUILLEN

Today on the blog, we go and add catcher Manny Sanguillen to my long-running 1977 "N.L. Centennial" sub-set, celebrating the National League's 100th anniversary of 1976:

Sanguillen really gets overlooked when it comes to how well he played during his 13-year career, all but 1977 spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This was a catcher who hit over .300 four times, with a high of .328 in 1975, while also topping .280 another four times, before retiring with a robust .296 career average.

I personally think he may have been ripped off a Rookie of the Year in 1969 when he hit .303 with 62 runs scored and 57 runs batted in as a rookie catcher, losing to the Dodgers Ted Sizemore (a STRONG argument can also be made for Sanguillen's teammate Al Oliver, who also could have won).

He was named to three all-star teams, and even garnered some MVP support in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 as a member of the Bucs.

A very nice career for a solid catcher during the 1970's who gets forgotten among the Benchs, Fisks, Munsons and Simmons of the Majors…

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1977 MANNY SANGUILLEN

Though I am actually a fan of the CLASSIC 1977 Topps airbrush job on Manny Sanguillen's card, I am finally creating a do-over, using the catcher actually suited up in Oakland's finest, so here you go:

Now, for those that really need a refresher on the original, here you go:

 

Absolutely stunning isn't it? Topps really went to town on this one!

Nevertheless, I had this great image of Sanguillen from the 1976 season and figured it was time to recreate the card for the blog.

Sanguillen really gets overlooked when it comes to how well he played during his 13-year career, all but 1977 spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This was a catcher who hit over .300 four times, with a high of .328 in 1975, while also topping .280 another four times, before retiring with a robust .296 career average.

I personally think he may have been ripped off a Rookie of the Year in 1969 when he hit .303 with 62 runs scored and 57 runs batted in as a rookie catcher, losing to the Dodgers Ted Sizemore (a STRONG argument can also be made for Sanguillen's teammate Al Oliver, who also could have won).

He was named to three all-star teams, and even garnered some MVP support in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 as a member of the Bucs.

A very nice career for a solid catcher during the 1970's who gets forgotten among the Benchs, Fisks, Munsons and Simmons of the Majors…

 

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #51: 1972 MANNY SANGUILLEN

It's been a while since I had a “Missing” In-Action card from the 1972 set, so today I’ll post up my card for Pirates cathcer Manny Sanguillen.
Take a look:

With the 1970’s giving us catchers like Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Thurman Munson, it’s easy to overlook Sanguillen and just how good a player he was.
A career Pittsburgh Pirate except for a lone season (1977) in Oakland, he put together a very nice 13-year career between 1967 and 1980, ending up with a .296 lifetime average.
Over the course of his career the man could flat out rake, posting .300 plus averages four times in his career, while hitting .280 or better another four years.
In 1975 he hit .328, his career high, and between 1969 and 1971 his averages were: .303, .325 and .319.
Named to three all-star teams during his career, he was also a member of both the 1971 and 1979 World Champion teams, and finished with 1500 hits over 5062 at-bats, with  57 triples (for a catcher!) and 65 homers.

A DOOZY IN AIRBURSHING: 1977 MANNY SANGUILLEN

Here is one classic of an airbrushed card from Topps, the 1977 Manny Sanguillen edition:

Where do we even begin?

The collar on his jersey? The paint job on his batting helmet?

The helmet literally looks hand painted, as in colored in with a crayon or marker! Love it!

Since I've been documenting these cards on the blog, I've grown to really appreciate them as I go along, remembering how much fun I had staring at these painted pictures before the age of Photoshop.

But before we examine Sanguillen's career, let's not forget those awesome period-perfect sideburns! Wicked…

Sanguillen really get's overlooked when it comes to how well he played during his 13-year career, all but 1977 spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This was a catcher who hit over .300 four times, with a high of .328 in 1975, while also topping .280 another four times, before retiring with a robust .296 career average.

I personally think he may have been ripped off a Rookie of the Year in 1969 when he hit .303 with 62 runs scored and 57 runs batted in as a rookie catcher, losing to the Dodgers Ted Sizemore (an STRONG argument can also be made for Sanguillen's teammate Al Oliver, who also could have won).

He was named to three all-star teams, and even garnered some MVP support in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 as a member of the Bucs.

A very nice career for a solid catcher during the 1970's who gets forgotten among the Bench's, Fisks, Munsons and Simmons of the Majors…