FIXING UP ALL-STAR CARDS: 1984 ROBIN YOUNT

Up on the blog today we have another 1980s Topps All-Star fix, this time a 1984 All-Star card for the 1983 American League starting shortstop, Robin Yount:

If you remember, Topps decided to give Cal Ripken the All-Star card in their 1984 set over the rightful player, Yount. Still a mystery as to why Topps changed their All-Star card selection process in 1981. Never a fan of that!

Yount went 0-2 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI in the 1983 Midsummer Classic, the first win for the A.L. since 1971! I remember that game vividly, as I watched it as a 14-year-old and witnessing an A.L. win for the very first time as a young baseball fan.

A Milwaukee Brewer for life, Yount finished his great career with 3142 hits, 1632 runs scored, 251 homers and 271 stolen bases, taking home two A.L. MVP Awards and incredibly only making three All-Star teams. How on earth?!
Anyway, it’s amazing to realize that when he had his first true All-Star season in 1980, after what was already seven years in the Big Leagues, Yount was STILL only 24 years of age!
He was on cruise-control from then on, elevating his game to become one of the elite players in the American League, with 1982 the high point when he led the Brewers to the World Series and taking home his first MVP Award.
What a player...

 

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: ROBIN YOUNT

On the blog today, we add Milwaukee Brewers legend Robin Yount to my custom "Classic Baseball" set, which I hope to produce later this year, celebrating the great game:

Just a fun image of the teen-aged Yount as he was launching what would turn out to be a Hall of Fame career.

A Milwaukee Brewer for life, Yount finished his great career with 3142 hits, 1632 runs scored, 251 homers and 271 stolen bases, taking home two A.L. MVP Awards and incredibly only making three All-Star teams. How on earth?!
Anyway, it’s amazing to realize that when he had his first true All-Star season in 1980, after what was already seven years in the Big Leagues, Yount was STILL only 24 years of age!
He was on cruise-control from then on, elevating his game to become one of the elite players in the American League, with 1982 the high point when he led the Brewers to the World Series and taking home his first MVP Award.
What a player...

REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: 1974 FANTASY ROOKIE CARD

On the blog today, we revisit a 10-year-old blog post featuring a fantasy multi-player 1974 rookie card that would have been quite the doozy had it really been out there:

Not a bad group of young ballplayers right here!

Here's the original write-up for it:

"Now here's a card that would have been nice to pull out of a pack! (Even though I am admittedly NOT a fan of the "multi-player" rookie cards).

Like I previously did with the 1978 dream rookie card with Ozzie Smith, Paul Molitor, Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, I couldn't resist designing a 1974 "Rookie Infielders" card with Robin Yount and George Brett.

Now it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility to have the two future Hall of Famers appear on one of those multi-player rookie cards in the '74 set.

But I DO understand why Topps didn't give them a look at the time.

I took an already existing card (#604) and replaced Terry Hughes and John Knox (sorry guys!) with Brett and Yount.

Teamed up with two other future solid major leaguers in Andre Thornton and Frank White, and this card would have been a killer at the card shows of the late 1980's when the rookie-card explosion happened.

Thankfully, because of the wonderful world of Photoshop, we can all go ahead and "fix" these so many years later."

 

1975 IN-ACTION: ROBIN YOUNT

Now, today on the blog I may be stretching it a bit, but I’ll go ahead and add Milwaukee Brewers all-timer Robin Yount to my long-running 1975 “In-Action” thread:

Yount just played the first season of his brilliant Hall of Fame career in 1974, bursting onto the baseball spotlight as an 18-year-old.
Incredibly, he performed admirably, hitting .250 with 86 hits over 344 at-bats, scoring 48 runs and driving in 26, making his Big League debut not even a year after being drafted third overall in the 1973 draft.
A Milwaukee Brewer for life, Yount finished his great career with 3142 hits, 1632 runs scored, 251 homers and 271 stolen bases, taking home two A.L. MVP Awards and incredibly only making three All-Star teams. How on earth?!
Anyway, it’s amazing to realize that when he had his first true All-Star season in 1980, after what was already seven years in the Big Leagues, Yount was STILL only 24 years of age!
He was on cruise-control from then on, elevating his game to become one of the elite players in the American League, with 1982 the high point when he led the Brewers to the World Series and taking home his first MVP Award.
What a player!  

 

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970S- "THE KID" ROBIN YOUNT

Up on the blog today is a “nickname” card for the great Robin Yount, “The Kid”, who was a Major League starter at the age of 18 and just kept on going until he was justly given his place in the Hall of Fame some 25 years later:

Yount is one of those players I’m grateful to have been able to see play during my lifetime.
He broke into the Majors in 1974 at the age of 18, appearing in 107 games and hitting .250 with 86 hits over 344 at-bats, scoring 48 runs with 26 RBIs.
A Milwaukee Brewer for life, Yount finished his great career with 3142 hits, 1632 runs scored, 251 homers and 271 stolen bases, and still retired at the age of “only” 37.
I loved him as a kid and was in awe of the Brewers’ combo of Yount and Paul Molitor, watching them put in year after year of solid stats.
It’s amazing to realize that when he had his first true All-Star season in 1980, after what was already seven years in the Big Leagues, Yount was STILL only 24 years of age!
He was on cruise-control from then on, elevating his game to become one of the elite players in the American League, with 1982 the high point when he led the Brewers to the World Series and taking home his first MVP Award.
Now, I’ll be honest here, I never really remembered him with this nickname, but I’ve seen it listed for him in a few places since he’s retired so why not?
Hope you all enjoy it!

1975 FANTASY "HIGHLIGHT" CARD- THE BOY-WONDER ROBIN YOUNT

Today’s blog post has an admittedly “fantasy” 1975 Highlight card that of course would have been a stretch for Topps to create.
But I always wanted to have a card celebrating the teenage Robin Yount and his Major League debut with more than just a “regular” card:

A nice photo of the “Boy Wonder” getting ready to put together a 20-year Hall of Fame career that saw him take home two American League Most Valuable Player Awards, three All-Star nods (that’s it!?!?), three Silver Slugger Awards and a Gold Glove.
Yount broke into the Majors in 1974 at the age of 18, appearing in 107 games and hitting .250 with 86 hits over 344 at-bats, scoring 48 runs with 26 RBIs.
A Milwaukee Brewer for life, Yount finished his great career with 3142 hits, 1632 runs scored, 251 homers and 271 stolen bases, and still retired at the age of “only” 37.
I loved him as a kid and was in awe of the Brewers’ combo of Yount and Paul Molitor, watching them put in year after year of solid stats.
It’s amazing to realize that when he had his first true All-Star season in 1980, after what was already seven years in the Big Leagues, Yount was STILL only 24 years of age!
He was on cruise-control from then on, elevating his game to become one of the elite players in the American League, with 1982 the high point when he led the Brewers to the World Series and taking home his first MVP Award.
I just realized I have to create a “nickname” card for him, “The Kid”!
Keep an eye out for that one soon!

A DREAM ROOKIE CARD IF THERE EVER WAS ONE...

Now here's a card that would have been nice to pull out of a pack! (Even though I am admittedly NOT a fan of the "multi-player" rookie cards).

Like I previously did with the 1978 dream rookie card with Ozzie Smith, Paul Molitor, Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, I couldn't resist designing a 1974 "Rookie Infielders" card with Robin Yount and George Brett.

Take a look:

Now it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility to have the two future Hall of Famers appear on one of those multi-player rookie cards in the '74 set.

But I DO understand why Topps didn't give them a look at the time.

I took an already existing card (#604) and replaced Terry Hughes and John Knox (sorry guys!) with Brett and Yount.

Teamed up with two other future solid major leaguers in Andre Thornton and Frank White, and this card would have been a killer at the card shows of the late 1980's when the rookie-card explosion happened.

Thankfully, because of the wonderful world of Photoshop, we can all go ahead and "fix" these so many years later.