REVISITING A POST FROM 2014: MISSING 1972 ZOILO VERSALLES

Good day all!

On the blog today, we revisit a ten-year-old post, this time my "missing" 1972 card for former MVP Zoilo Versalles, who was wrapping up a nice Major League career by the time this card would have seen the light of day:

Here's the original write-up from that post:

You think a former Most Valuable Player would get a little more love from Topps than 1965 winner Zoilo Versalles got in 1972.

After appearing in 66 games for the Atlanta Braves, hitting .191 in 194 at-bats, Versalles was still a member of the organization by the time the 1972 set was being printed, yet he wasn't given a slot on the checklist while quite a few "no-names" with even less action did.

Not the best picture out there, but believe me when I tell you I looked far and wide for a better one of him in an Atlanta uniform. Couldn't find one.

Now, I'll admit that Versalles really was one of those "who?" M.V.P. names when you go through the awards history.

Sure he had a nice season in 1965 as part of the pennant winning Minnesota Twins.

However that team was loaded with "co-stars", from Tony Oliva, to Harmon Killebrew, to Mudcat Grant and Jim Kaat on the mound.

Nevertheless, Versalles ended up leading the American League in at-bats, runs, doubles, triples and total bases, and even pulled in a Gold Glove.

So when voting time came around, he outdistanced teammate Oliva 275 to 174 in points.

It's interesting to note that to reinforce the fact that Versalles had quite a co-starring cast helping him out, no less than six Twins finished in the top-15 in M.V.P. voting that year: Versalles, Oliva, Grant (6th), Earl Battey (10th), Jimmie Hall (13th) and Killebrew (15th).

Not too bad, even IF they ended up losing to the Dodgers in the World Series.

For Versalles, he'd never again come close to those type of numbers, finishing up his career in 1971 after a few mediocre years with the Dodgers, Indians, Senators and Braves.

I guess you could consider this a "career-capper" card as well for what it's worth. However I really left that thread to retired Hall of Famers.

 

RANDOM QUICKIE: 1970 TOPPS ZOILO VERSALLES

Today I want to focus a little bit on the 1970 Topps Zoilo Versalles card (#365).

Take a look at it here:

Man, first off the man looks pissed. 

What was going on when this picture was snapped? And why on earth was this shot deemed just right for a baseball card?

To make it that much more of an unique situation, this is the very same photo Topps used for Versalles on his 1969 card as well (#38)!

Check it out:

Hilarious!

Perhaps the look on his face just showed his frustration with his career, which was quickly coming to an end after a split season in 1969 with the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators.

For the year the former Most Valuable Player hit .236 with a homer and 19 runs batted in over 103 games and 292 at-bats.

1970 would not be any better for him, as he didn't even suit up for a Major League game that year, and would play his last Major League games in 1971 as a member of the Atlanta Braves at the ripe old age of 31.

And as a side note: even though his 1969 card has him depicted as a San Diego Padre, he never played for the team, as he was drafted by them in the expansion draft before they then used him in a trade with the Indians a couple of months later.

Yeah, I guess I'd be pissed as well!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 ZOILO VERSALLES

You think a former Most Valuable Player would get a little more love from Topps than 1965 winner Zoilo Versalles got in 1972.

After appearing in 66 games for the Atlanta Braves, hitting .191 in 194 at-bats, Versalles was still a member of the organization by the time the 1972 set was being printed, yet he wasn't given a slot on the checklist while quite a few "no-names" with even less action did.

Well today I'll post a design for the "missing" card. Take a look:

Not the best picture out there, but believe me when I tell you I looked far and wide for a better one of him in an Atlanta uniform. Couldn't find one.

Now, I'll admit that Versalles really was one of those "who?" M.V.P. names when you go through the awards history.

Sure he had a nice season in 1965 as part of the pennant winning Minnesota Twins.

However that team was loaded with "co-stars", from Tony Oliva, to Harmon Killebrew, to Mudcat Grant and Jim Kaat on the mound.

Nevertheless, Versalles ended up leading the American League in at-bats, runs, doubles, triples and total bases, and even pulled in a Gold Glove.

So when voting time came around, he outdistanced teammate Oliva 275 to 174 in points.

It's interesting to note that to reinforce the fact that Versalles had quite a co-starring cast helping him out, no less than six Twins finished in the top-15 in M.V.P. voting that year: Versalles, Oliva, Grant (6th), Earl Battey (10th), Jimmie Hall (13th) and Killebrew (15th).

Not too bad, even IF they ended up losing to the Dodgers in the World Series.

For Versalles, he'd never again come close to those type of numbers, finishing up his career in 1971 after a few mediocre years with the Dodgers, Indians, Senators and Braves.

I guess you could consider this a "career-capper" card as well for what it's worth. However I really left that thread to retired Hall of Famers.