WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: VADA PINSON

Good day all!

On the blog today, from my custom "Stars of the Game" 1960 gelatin set, my card for the terribly underrated Vada Pinson:

The man put in season after season as a top-notch player who got lost amid the Mays, Aarons and Clementes reigning the National League when he came up.

Heck, he even got lost on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, trying to share the spotlight with guys like Frank Robinson and Pete Rose!

When you look at Pinson’s career, you should be impressed with what he accomplished between 1958 and 1975.
The man could slug the ball, hitting 256 home runs, while also swipe a base, as his 305 steals show. He collected 200+ hits in a season four times while topping .300 four times with a high of .343 in 1961 for the pennant winning Reds.
He led the N.L. in hits, doubles and triples two times each, while also topping the Senior Circuit in runs in his first full season, 1959, with 131.
By the time he completed his career, he topped 2700 hits, 1300 runs, 1100 runs batted in, 250 homers and 300 stolen bases.
To this day it amazes me that guys like Pinson, Al Oliver, & Steve Garvey get snubbed by both the BBWA at first, then the Veterans Committee, yet Cooperstown has players like Stonewall Jackson, Chick Hafey, Jesse Haines and “High Pockets” Kelly in there.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1969 HAL McRAE

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1969 card for DHing master Hal McRae, who started out his career with the Cincinnati Reds:

McRae appeared in 17 games for the Reds in 1968, hitting .196 with the first ten hits of his very nice Big League career, driving in two while scoring one himself.

McRae didn’t actually play in any Major League games during the 1969 season, but he did make his Big League debut in 1968 with 17 games, hitting .196 with 10 hits over 51 at-bats as a 22-year-old second baseman.
He’d be back in the Majors in 1970, where he would stay for the next 18 seasons putting together an excellent career, becoming one of the first true full-time designated hitters once he was traded to the Kansas City Royals before the 1973 campaign.
All McRae would end up doing once in a Royals uniform is put in a 15-year run where he became one of the best hitters in the league, with three All-Star nods, six .300+ batting average seasons, and MVP consideration four times.
By the time he was done, he retired with a career .290 batting average, with 2091 hits, 484 doubles and 1097 runs batted in over 2084 games and 7218 at-bats, making three All-Star teams and finishing top-5 in MVP voting twice (1976 and 1982).

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1987 PAUL O'NEILL

Time to post up a "missing" 1987 card for one of my all-time favorite players, Paul O'Neill, who wouldn't get a Topps card until the 1988 set came around:

O'Neill actually made his Big League debut with five appearances in 1985 before coming back for three games in 1986, with Topps leaving him out of their sets in 1986 and 1987.

It wasn't until the 1987 season that P'Neill would get some significant playing time, hitting .256 with 41 hits in 160 at-bats in 84 games.

During his time in Cincinnati, the Reds insisted on him trying to be a "slugger", something that caused some friction between player and management.

Of course, as we all know, as fate would have it, the Reds would trade him to the New York Yankees for Roberto Kelly before the 1993 season, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Once in the Bronx, O'Neill became a perennial All-Star and .300 hitter, leading what would become a four-time World Champion dynasty as he would be their #3 hitter, even winning a batting title during the strike-shortened 1994 season.

I absolutely loved this guy during his Yankee tenure, getting to see him play hundreds of times before he'd retire after the 2001 season.

About as solid a player as they came, he even would go out with style, collecting his FIRST 20-home run/20-stolen base season in his last year at the age of 38.

The man was a battler.

His numbers upon retirement: 2105 hits, 281 homers, 1269 RBIs and a .288 batting average, while also swiping 141 bases.

Look out for my 1986 "missing" card for him here on the blog soon!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1957 CURT FLOOD

Today on the blog we have a fun card to create, a "missing" 1957 card for Hall of Fame worthy outfielder and trailblazer Curt Flood, who started his Big League career with a handful of games with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956. 

The card was part of my recent "1960's Dedicated and Missing" set released early this year:

Flood appeared in five games for the Reds that year, going 0-1 at the plate while putting in some time as a pinch runner.

The next year he'd appear in three games for Cincinnati, going 1-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored, that one hit a home run.

During the ensuing off-season Flood found himself traded to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a five person trade involving Willard Schmidt, Marty Kutyna and Ted Wiend to the Reds, and Flood and Joe Taylor to the Cardinals.

His first three seasons with his new team were stutter steps, as he played sporadically and hit about .250 combined.

But beginning in 1961 Flood strung together nine fantastic seasons starring for the St. Louis Cardinals, consistently batting over .300, two 200-hit seasons, and seven straight Gold Glove Awards, right up to the 1969 campaign.
Then it all began with a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies along with others including Tim McCarver for superstar slugger Dick (Richie) Allen and a couple of other players.
Flood refused to report to his new team, eventually forcing the Cardinals to send prospect Willie Montanez to complete the deal, essentially ending his career as a player while he fought to have control over his own career, fighting the “reserve clause”.
After sitting out the season in 1970, the Phillies eventually sent him to the Washington Senators, where Flood played the last 13 games of his career before leaving the team within the first month, abruptly closing out a great career that could have been Hall of Fame worthy had he played longer.
If you’re not familiar with Flood’s case, and his teaming up with Players’ Union head Marvin Miller, you MUST read up on this to understand the state of the game today.
I just touched upon some brief points here, but the case and Flood’s decision to pursue this cause is incredible.
Every single player today has much to thank Flood and his sacrifice, allowing the Free Agent boom of the mid-70’s to change the game forever, leading to the salaries and benefits even the average players have today.

SPECIAL REQUEST: 1969 IN-ACTION JOHNNY BENCH

By special request, today on the blog we have a 1969 "In-Action" card for Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, perhaps the greatest of them all:

Fun picture of the young Bench arguing a call with an umpire at the beginning of his incredible career.

Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, while taking home two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”, and he and the rest of his "Big Red Machine" teammates were steamrolling through the league towards two straight championships in 1975 & 1976, while appearing in two other series in 1970 and 1972.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

By the time he retired after the 1983 season, he collected 2048 hits, hit 389 homers, drove in 1376 runs, and scored 1091 runs, all mainly done during the "dead ball" decade of the 1970s.

Just the best!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1970 BILL SHORT

On the blog today, we have a 1970 "not so missing" card for former pitcher Bill Short, who finished up a six-year Big League career with four games as a Cincinnati Red in 1969:

Over those four games Short didn't factor in a decision, while pitching to a 15.43 ERA over 2.1 innings.

Originally up with the New York Yankees in 1960, he posted a record of 3-5 in 10 appearances, posting an ERA of 4.79 over 47 innings of work.

He'd spend all of 1961 in the Minors before coming back in 1962, now a member of the Baltimore Orioles, appearing in five games and going 0-0 with a bloated 15.75 ERA in four innings.

It would be a while before he made it back to a Major League mound, that being 1966 when he split the season between the Orioles and the Boston Red Sox, going 2-3 over 14 games with a 3.13 ERA, even tossing his only MLB shutout.

In 1967 he'd find himself in Pittsburgh with the Pirates, appearing in six games though only throwing 2.1 innings, allowing a hit and a run which translates to a 3.86  ERA.

In 1968, new year, new team! Now with the New York Mets, he would appear in a career-high 34 games, all in relief, going 0-3 with a 4.85 ERA over 29.2 innings, picking up a save along the way.

Overall, Short appeared in 73 games as a Big League pitcher, going 5-11 with a 4.73 ERA in 131.1 innings, striking out 71 batters while walking 64, with a shutout and two saves.

 

WTHBALLS CUSTOM SET SPOTLIGHT: 1960S STARS OF THE GAME: FRANK ROBINSON

Up on the blog today, we spotlight my 1960 "Stars of the Game" card for the great Frank Robinson, from my 2018 custom gelatin set:

Really fun set to put together, which included a gelatin pack inside the WTHBALLS printed gelatin box!

Robinson is perhaps the “greatest underrated player” in Major League history.
A two-time Most Valuable Player, and the first to do it in both leagues, Robinson also took home a Triple Crown in 1966, was a twelve time All-Star, finished in the Top-4 in MVP voting outside his two wins, and oh yeah, as mentioned earlier was also the first African-American Manager in league history.
When he retired as an active player in 1976, Robinson was in the top-5 in so many offensive categories he was in the company of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
Yet oddly enough, perhaps because of the era he played in, he would get buried in the “all-time greats” conversation in lieu of the aforementioned players along with guys like Ty Cobb, Roberto Clemente and Ted Williams.
I would say he and Stan Musial are the TWO greatest “underrated” players of all-time, and you could arguably throw in others like Bob Feller for good measure.
Just an all-out legend in so many ways.

 

1981 DRAKES BIG PITCHERS: TOM SEAVER

Good day all!

On the blog today we start spotlighting my 1981 "Drakes Big Pitchers" custom set released a few months ago, adding pitchers to one of my favorite oddball sets, the '81 "Big Hitters" set.

We start off with the great Tom Seaver, "Tom Terrific", my favorite pitcher as a kid growing up in New York City, even though I was a Yankees fan:

What needs to be said about this man?

By the time he was done he would end up with a 311-205 record along with 61 shutouts and 3640 strikeouts to go with a brilliant 2.86 ERA over 20-seasons and 656 appearances, 647 of which were starts.

He was in prime form in the mid-70’s, putting together nine straight 200 strikeouts seasons while getting tabbed to ten all-star teams in his first eleven seasons.

God I loved Tom Seaver when I was a kid. More than any other pitcher of that era I was in awe of this man. He just seemed like a "super-hero" to me.

Just look at all my other posts dedicated to the man here on this blog. He was other-worldly to me growing up in New York City as a kid in the 1970's.

Even if he WAS a Met, to this young Yankee fan he was unquestionably the best pitcher in the game at that time.

Rest in Peace "Tom Terrific"!

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: TED KLUSZEWSKI

The next baseball star to get a card in my long-running WTHBALLS original custom set is slugger Ted Kluszewski, Cincinnati Reds legend:

Kluszewski made his mark with the Reds’ organization in the 1950’s as a slugging first baseman who made four straight all-star teams between 1953-1956, with a power display of 40, 49 47 and 35 homers, all with 100+ runs batted in.
He even finished second in the National League MVP voting in 1954 (behind Willie Mays), after leading the league in HR’s with his 49 and RBI’s with 141.
His playing career lasted through the 1961 season after a season with the (then) Los Angeles Angels, before moving into coaching.
Who could ever forget those awesome photos of Kluszewski and his cut-off sleeves on his baseball cards!? Looked like a damn Paul Bunyon swinging an axe. Awesome.

 

REVISIT: DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1974 KEN GRIFFEY Sr.

Thought it'd be fun to delve into the archives and revisit another ten-year-old post, this time my 1974 "Dedicated Rookie" for Ken Griffey Sr:

Griffey began what was to become a brilliant 19-year career that saw him hit .296 with 2143 hits in 7229 at-bats, with 1129 runs scored, 152 homers and 859 runs batted in.
During the 1973 season he made the most of his short stay, hitting .384 in 25 games with 33 hits in 86 at-bats.
He was named to three all-star games during his career, and was a member of the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds of the 1970’s, taking home two consecutive World Championships in 1975 and 1976.
Of course, we HAVE to mention something else he did, which was father a kid who would become one of the players of his generation, Ken Griffey Jr, recent Hall of Fame inductee and super-star extraordinaire.
I still think one of the coolest moments in baseball history was when Griffey Sr and Griffey Jr BOTH hit homers for the same team in the same game!  I just couldn’t believe it actually happened.

 

FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1984 MARIO SOTO

Today on the blog we go ahead and "fix" another All-Star card snub, this time a 1984 All-Star card for the National League starter for the 1983 game, Mario Soto of the Cincinnati Reds:

1984 is really where Topps went off the rails with their All-Star cards, pretty much just ignoring the starters of the Midsummer Classic and just giving the honor to whomever they wanted.

There's NO better example than ignoring the pitcher who started the game in 1983 for the N.L., Mario Soto, ace of the Reds.

Soto started the game, tossing two innings and taking the rare loss for the N.L., though he only gave up two unearned runs in that game before the American League blew it open later on, capped off with the Fred Lynn grand slam off Atlee Hammaker.

Soto would go on to have an excellent 1983 season, finishing runner-up for the Cy Young Award with a record of 17-13, with a 2.70 ERA and 242 strikeouts, with three shutouts along the way.

An absolute stud on the mound between 1980 and 1985, he'd strikeout as many as 274 batters (1982) while averaging 14 wins a season before arm troubles did him in by the age of 30.

He'd retire at only 33 after the 1988 season with 100 wins and a 3.47 ERA over 297 appearances, with 13 shutouts over 72 complete games, striking out 1449 along the way.

 

"SPECIAL REQUEST" MISSING IN ACTION: 1963 FLEER PETE ROSE

Good day all!

Up on the blog today, by special request, a "missing" 1963 Fleer Pete Rose card to add to the future WTHBALLS second series release I have planned:

Of course this would have been a pre-rookie card along with his (sadly) ugly 1963 Topps counterpart, making this one much more eye-pleasing for Pete Rose fans!

This stud pictured here would win the Rookie of the Year in 1963, three batting titles, an MVP in 1973, be selected as an All-Star at FIVE different positions, and end up the all-time hit leader with his staggering 4256 knocks over his illustrious 24-year career.

Rose also spear-headed the "Big Red Machine" to two straight championships with his relentless play, acting as the spark alongside teammate Joe Morgan to the ferocious juggernaut.

Growing up in the 1970's as a baseball nut, Pete Rose was an almost mythic figure. Even though his Reds steamrolled through "my" Yankees in the 1976 World Series, Rose, along with his all-star teammates, seemed like something made-up, not real.

I guess a part of that could be that the very first Pete Rose baseball card I ever saw, at the age of seven, was his 1976 Topps masterpiece, which had that glare of his, staring down the camera, showing that intensity that created the "Charlie Hustle" legend.

What a player, a Hall of Fame player. But I won't get into THAT here.

The "Player of the Decade" for the 1970's, Rose etched his name into the history of the game many times over.

Really, along with guys like Tom Seaver and Reggie Jackson, you just can't have too many Pete Rose cards from the 1970's in my eyes.

 

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: SPARKY ANDERSON

We move onto the Managers for the two teams in that classic of all Midsummer Classics, the 1971 All-Star game played in the "Motor City", Detroit, Michigan, and today it's the National League skipper Sparky Anderson:

Arguably leading the team of the decade, the Cincinnati Reds, Anderson was at the helm of a team that featured many of the top players of the era.

In 1975 the Reds were arguably one of the best teams in baseball history, steamrolling to 108 victories before eventually beating the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

In 1976, more of the same as the team would win 102 games before sweeping the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Throw in the fact that they were also in the World Series in both 1970 and 1972, and it really looked like the team, stacked with guys like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and George Foster, would be keeping our attention for quite some time.

But alas, according to Sparky, it was the trading of one of their OTHER stars, Tony Perez, that took the heart and soul out of the team, and shockingly the "Big Red Machine" would not bring home another championship, and the franchise would have to wait until 1990 before experiencing it again.

For Anderson however, the man would go down as one of the greatest managers in Major League history, moving on to the Detroit Tigers in 1979, where he would go on to manage 17 years, giving him a combined 26 years of Big League managing, even taking home another title with that great 1984 Tiger team that was in first "wire-to-wire", winning 104 games before beating the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

All told the man won 2194 games as a manager, finishing with a .545 winning percentage, three titles, 5 pennants, and of course a Hall of Fame induction in 2000.

Legend, and perpetually looking like an "old man" even when he was in his 30's!

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: JOE MORGAN

Today we add perhaps the most dynamic player of the 1970s to my ongoing custom "Classic Baseball" set, Joe Morgan, spark plug of the juggernaut "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds:

Morgan was "all-world" by the time he had a few seasons with the Cincinnati Reds under his belt!

What else could Morgan have accomplished by the end of the 1970s?! The two-time MVP led his “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds to two straight World Series wins in 1975 & 1976, took home his third straight Gold Glove Award, was RIPPED OFF a Rookie of the Year Award back in 1965 (look it up), and was well on his way to the Hall of Fame.
His 1976 season was the stuff of legend at the time: a .320 batting average, 27 homers, 111 runs batted in, 113 runs scored and 114 base on balls, leading his league in On-Base-Percentage and Slugging while claiming a spot on his seventh National League All-Star team.

He created a modern standard for a middle infielder, a standard that rarely has been matched since.

One of the all-time greats of the game.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1971 BO BELINSKY

Up on the blog today, we feature a 1971 "Career-Capper" for one-time phenom Bo Belinsky, who wrapped up a Big League career as a member of the Cincinnati Reds in 1970:

Belinsky made a huge splash back in 1962 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, tossing a no-hitter in his fourth start, allowing him to start his career 4-0.

He was an instant "player" of another sort in L.A., known for his night-life action and dating of a handful of Hollywood starlets like Ann Margaret, Mamie Van Doren, Connie Stevens and Tina Louise.

He didn't exactly finish his rookie year as a star himself however, going 10-11 with a 3.56 ERA over 33 games and 187.1 innings, while leading the league in walks.

The following year, his star fell even further as injuries limited his season to just 13 games, going 2-9 with a 5.75 ERA over 76.2 innings, completing two games.

1964 saw him bounce back a bit, arguably posting his best season as a Big Leaguer when he went 9-8 over 23 games, 22 of them starts, with a nice 2.86 ERA over 135.1 innings, striking out 91 while tossing a shutout.

It would give the Angels a promising two-man punch along with their Cy Young winner Dean Chance, who had a monster year that season.

Sadly, that was all short-lived as Belinsky would come back in 1965, now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, and go 4-9 over 30 games, only 14 of them starts, finishing with an ERA of 4.84 in 110 innings.

Turns out the Angels would trade Belinky to Philly for Rudy May and Minor Leaguer Costen Shockley.

He would never again find that "spark" in the remaining parts of four seasons left in his career, as he would go on to pitch for the Houston Astros in 1967, Pittsburgh Pirates in 1969 and Reds in 1970, never winning more than three games in any season, reaching 100 innings once.

By the time he was done, he finished with a record 28-51 over 146 games, with an ERA at 4.10 in 665.1 innings pitched.

The white-hot start way back in 1962 now a long-ago memory.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1987 TONY PEREZ

Today on the blog, another card creation from outside the 1970s, this time a 1987 "career-capper" for the "Big Dog" Tony Perez, who finished up a stellar Major League career in 1986, one that would lead straight to Cooperstown:

Perez truly was an overlooked star on a team that would also have guys like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan, just to name a few, and it’s just plain criminal considering he logged 10 seasons in a row over 90+ runs batted in, with six of them over 100 as stated earlier.
With a batting average hovering around .280, he was a solid and steady force at the plate and out in the field for a team that would become legendary, on their way to two straight championships in 1975 and 1976.
He would play for 23 seasons in the Major Leagues, and end up with 379 homers, 1652 RBI’s, 2732 hits and a very nice .279 average before he left the game at the age of 44.
The “Big Dog”, Sparky Anderson always stated that what killed the “Big Red Machine” from dominating for a longer period of time was trading away their slugging first baseman in December of 1976 to the Montreal Expos for Woodie Fryman and Dale Murray, a trade that still baffles me.
Nevertheless, after nine tries, he finally made it into the Hall of Fame in 2000, and rightly so. Hopefully Pete Rose can also join his former teammates someday as well.

 

CAREER-CAPPER: 1984 JOHNNY BENCH

Time to step out of the 1970's yet again and create another fun "Career-Capper" from the 1980s, this one of the greatest catcher of them all, Johnny Bench, 1984 style:

Leading the Cincinnati Reds to two World Championships, four World Series appearances, while taking home two MVP Awards, and absolutely rewriting the catching game in Big League history, the man was already a legend by the time he was in his early-20's!

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.

As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”, and he and the rest of his "Big Red Machine" teammates were steamrolling through the league towards two straight championships in 1975 & 1976, while appearing in two other series in 1970 and 1972.

L-E-G-E-N-D.

By the time he retired after the 1983 season, he collected 2048 hits, hit 389 homers, drove in 1376 runs, and scored 1091 runs, all mainly done during the "dead ball" decade of the 1970s.

Just the best!

A SET THAT NEVER WAS: 1971 ALL-STAR TICKET SET: JOHNNY BENCH

Today on the blog I post the first of what is a "set that never was", a 1972 All-Star Ticket card for 1971 starting N.L. catcher Johnny Bench, which was going to be released some years back before I opted for the standard sized 1972 All-Star set that quickly sold-out:

This was a bookmark-sized set that would have had all nine starters for each league, as well as managers.

The background design is based off the actual ticket design for the historic All-Star game, along with a deckle-edge element that Topps was using at that time.

After designing everything, including the packaging for the set, I then decided to go with the other set simply because I wanted to add those cards into my 1972 set binder. Ha!

Still only 24 years old when this card would have come out, Bench was a Rookie of the Year in 1968, a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner by the end of 1969, and would go on to take home the first of his two MVP Awards at the end of the 1970 season.

All-time best at his position? I'd be hard-pressed to argue this.

Of course as we all know, he would go on to put together a career rarely seen by ANY player, let alone a catcher: TWO N.L. MVP Awards, 14 all-star games, 10 Gold Gloves, two home run titles and three RBI titles, all while donning the “tools of ignorance” for 17 seasons, all with the Reds.
As a kid growing up in the 1970’s, this man was a mythic figure, a “god”.

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: VADA PINSON

On the blog today, a beautiful card I hope to have released as part of a multi-series custom set, "Beautiful Baseball", by the end of the year, featuring one of my favorite players, All-Star outfielder Vada Pinson:

Just a beauty of a photo I found to celebrate both the sport I love and the man himself, who put in season after season as a top-notch player who got lost amid the Mays, Aarons and Clementes reigning the National League when he came up.

Heck, he even got lost on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, trying to share the spotlight with guys like Frank Robinson and Pete Rose!

When you look at Pinson’s career, you should be impressed with what he accomplished between 1958 and 1975.
The man could slug the ball, hitting 256 home runs, while also swipe the base, as his 305 steals show. He collected 200+ hits in a season four times while topping .300 four times with a high of .343 in 1961 for the pennant winning Reds.
He led the N.L. in hits, doubles and triples two times each, while also topping the Senior Circuit in runs in his first full season, 1959, with 131.
By the time he completed his career, he topped 2700 hits, 1300 runs, 1100 runs batted in, 250 homers and 300 stolen bases.
To this day it amazes me that guys like Pinson, Al Oliver, Ted Simmons, Steve Garvey, Dave Parker and Jack Morris get snubbed by both the BBWA at first, then the Veterans Committee, yet Cooperstown has players like Stonewall Jackson, Chick Hafey, Jesse Haines and “High Pockets” Kelly in there.

REVISIT: 1975 "NICKNAMES OF THE 1970s" SPARKY ANDERSON

Thought it'd be fun to revisit my 1975 "nickname" card for Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, the skipper for the juggernaut "Big Red Machine" Reds of the 1970's:

I used a 1975 template and a fantastic photo of Anderson with his Hall of Fame catcher, Johnny Bench after (what else?), waiting for a relief pitcher!

It would have been too easy to use some portrait shot of him, but this photo just seemed "right", even WITH his back to the camera.

I used the 1975 template since he was at the height of his league domination with the Reds and his juggernaut lineup: Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, George Foster et al. 

But the nickname, of course, comes from the fact that Sparky was really one of the first managers to rely heavily on his bullpen.

When you look at the "Big Red Machine" teams of the mid-70's you find solid Major League starters like Don Gullet, Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, etc.

But there was never a true "ace", which was actually rather abundant in the Majors during the decade.

However, the Reds DID have solid guys out of the pen like Tom Hall, Rawly Eastwick, Pedro Borbon, Clay Carroll and Will McEnaney.

These were guys that could come in at any time during the game and pitch as long as Sparky needed them to.

So while so many other teams during the decade had guys completing 20 or more of their starts every season, the Reds didn't even have one of their starters complete 10 or more in either of their World Champion years.

But how can you argue with success, right?

And Anderson found a lot of success in his 26-year managing career!

Three world titles (the third coming in 1984 with the Tigers), seven first place finishes, two more pennants (1970 and 1972), and 2194 career victories.

He also won two Manager of the Year Awards, in 1984 and 1987 (the award was instituted in 1983, or he almost assuredly would have won a couple with Cincinnati), and guided five All-Star teams (four in the N.L., one in the A.L.).

Just a classic manager who managed some classic teams!

It's amazing to think that when he took over the Reds in 1970, he was only 36 years of age! It's easy to remember him like the grandfatherly figure he was the last part of his career.

Sparky Anderson, "Captain Hook", a Hall of Famer inducted into Cooperstown in 2000 by the Veterans Committee.