JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART IX

Here we go again. The ninth round of 1970's baseball trivia...Look for the answers posted here tomorrow.

1. What pitcher appeared in the Seattle Mariners inaugural game in 1977, as well as the Seattle Pilots first game in 1969?

2. Who was the only National League player to top the circuit in hits with less than 200 during the decade?

3. Two players (one in the A.L. and one in the N.L.) topped 50 doubles in a season during the '70's. Who were they?

4. Who was the only player to top 400 total bases in a season during the 1970's?

5. Who was the only future Hall of Fame pitcher to lead the A.L. in losses between 1970 and 1979?


***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW:

1. Diego Segui.

2. Pete Rose, 198 Hits in 1972.

3. Hal McRae, 54 in 1977; Pete Rose, 51 in 1978.

4. Jim Rice, 406 in 1978.

5. Nolan Ryan. 18 Losses in 1976.

ANOTHER GEM FROM 1976: #230 CARL YASTRZEMSKI

Let's go ahead and take a look at one of my other favorites from the 1976 Topps set: card #230, Carl Yastrzemski.Just look at this work of art...
What a photo. Topps nailed it with this shot! I can't figure out where this is. The catchers arm shows what looks to be a Cleveland uniform, but I can't be too sure.
Nevertheless, this is just classic "Yaz" following what seems to be a homer (we'll give him the benefit of the doubt here), caught in the perfect follow-through pose.
On top of that, the border coloring of the card matches up perfectly with the BoSox uniform, making for a complete package as far as design is concerned (like many of the Oakland A's cards of the same year).
As for Yastrzemski the player, the 1976 season was a good one for him, as he posted a slash line of .267/.357/.432 to go along with 21 homers and 102 R.B.I.'s. 
He still had a few productive seasons left at this point in his career, and was already entrenched as arguably the most popular Red Sox player ever. Still is I guess, even though he was one of THE surliest, grumpiest players off the field.
But for now, let's just appreciate the awesome card...

Doesn't get much nicer than this card.

#100's for the 100th

For my 100th post on this blog, I thought I'd get "cute" and take a look at all the cards numbered "100" in the 1970's by Topps.
When I first thought about doing this, I figured at least ONE of them would be an all-time favorite card of mine, but alas this was not to be. As a matter of fact NONE of them are even considered "great" in my eyes.
As we all know Topps had long practiced the habit of "reserving" the double-zero's (100, 200, etc) for super-star players in their sets, so it was no surprise at the level of super stars depicted.
But it was still interesting to note that of the ten cards (1970-79), eight depict Hall of Famers, one should be in the Hall (depending on how you feel about gambling), and one was a very good pitcher before calling it a career by the middle of the decade.
For the number "100", they were true to form. Let's take a look:

1970: Mel Stottlemyre: Right off the bat we have the only guy given the number during the '70's that isn't considered a Hall of Famer. Though a very effective pitcher, Mel had to call it a career after arm troubles in 1974 at the age of 32, but not before posting three 20 win seasons and a lifetime E.R.A. of 2.97. in eleven years of Major League action.
As for the card itself. Eh. Not much to write home about. Boring, posed, and set against an empty stadium with that "love it or hate it" grey border. Definitely not one of my favorites. Take a look:

1971: Pete Rose: Now, while I do love the 1971 set, and really can't find much to complain about, the Rose card was a posed shot that didn't do much to please the eye. I guess I like the card, but only because of "classic" look of the thing.
Rose ends up being the last guy with the #100 designation we'll look at who didn't end up in the Hall. But I'm sure some of you would disagree with this. I may fall into this group as well. To me, not having the all-time hit leader and "Player of the Decade" for the 1970's in the Hall of Fame is just a giant empty hole in Cooperstown. However, "Charlie Hustle" certainly didn't help himself by acting like a complete idiot during the mess that lead to him being banned.

1972: Frank Robinson: This is a nice card. For me, one of the better #100 cards of the '70's. Just a pleasant, colorful card of one of the greatest players of all-time on one of the better teams in baseball history.
Funny enough, Robinson was to be traded to the Dodgers for the 1972 season, and he was included in Topps' first "traded" endeavor later in the set showing him in Dodger blue.
Regardless, I love the colors on this card. A classic card from a classic set.

1973: Hank Aaron: Decent card, nice set design. But really, of all photos to use who was well on his way to an all-time home run crown, you go and use one of him ready to catch a pop-up?!
I'm not saying this card is ugly, by any means. But man, this is Hank Aaron. Topps could have easily picked a better image of him popping one out of Fulton County Stadium. But we all know how that 1973 set confused and annoyed collectors ever since it was released, mainly due to the photo selections Topps made.
I may have to "re-do" this card on this blog sometime soon. Stay tuned for it.

1974: Willie Stargell: Not a bad looking card. Yeah it's a boring posed shot, but the colors all work well together, and the photo fits in with the overall design. I like the cleanliness of it, and this is classic "Pops" before he really began looking like a "pops". Dig the sideburns and goatee. The '70's were in full effect ladies and gentlemen!

1975: Willie Stargell: Well well! A repeat from the year before! Well, I'm a sucker for the 1975 set, and this card doesn't disappoint. I like the green borders, and Stargell looks great with the swinging pose, bat right at the camera.
This would be the only time a player had the number 100 more than once in the decade. Not a bad choice for it!

1976: Jim Hunter: Now, I COULD be an ass and refuse to say anything bad about my all-time favorite set. After all, I can easily lie to myself and say that the set could do no wrong. But I guess old-age has taught me to be objective when necessary, and I DO have to admit that the card is a bit boring.
Lame posed shot, lame background. But hey, the coloration of the card is nice! And this card pretty much displayed the last "hurrah" for Hunter, as he began his rapid decline from top-notch pitching ace in 1976 due to injuries. Although he posted monster number in 1975, he'd be out of the game in just four years, but not before posting up (arguably) Hall of Fame numbers.
An action photo could have easily made this my favorite "#100" card from the '70's. That's how much I love the card design elements. Oh well, perhaps another "do-over" in the future...

1977: Joe Morgan: Well. Not that great a card. I mean, where exactly is Morgan looking anyway? However, for a kid of eight years old back then, this card was legendary! This was Joe Morgan of the "Big Red Machine", the team that just swept my beloved Yankees in the World Series the year before. I remember staring at Morgan, Rose, Bench and the rest of those guys that made the Yanks look like their bitches! I was in awe of this force from Cincinnati.
Add to that fact that this card has "N.L. ALL-STARS" screaming out from the bottom of the card, and I felt I was truly looking at a "God".

1978: George Brett: This is my favorite "#100" from the decade. Strange since it doesn't have some great action shot, or even some interesting pose. But there was something about this youthful Brett with the sun shining, and that All-Star badge that made me love this card. Granted, I love the '78 set, probably second only to the '76 for me. But nevertheless there's just something about this card that has that aura of "super star". A classic...

1979: Tom Seaver: My second favorite card in this post. I would LOVE this card so much more but I was never really a fan of the 1979 set design, even though two of my all-time favorite cards (Carew and Brett) are from this very set, but they were aided by "lucky" color schemes and the "All-Star" banner running across the bottom part of the card.
Still, this is a great shot of "Tom Terrific" delivering a pitch. I remember thinking how much better the card would have looked like if Topps gave the Reds a red team banner instead of yellow. I mean, the "Reds" with a red banner made sense to me. No? I also HATED that obnoxious "Topps" logo in the baseball between the team name and the main image. Ugh, why?!

So there you have it. A quick look at all the cards numbered "100" throughout the 1970's for my 100th post on this blog. Eight Hall of Fame cards, the "Player of the 1970's", and a former Yankee ace.
Now let's see if this blog keeps going towards it's 200th post so I can do this again...

"HEY TOPPS, THANKS FOR NOTHIN'!"- 1973 DICK GREEN #456

Jeez. Imagine being Dick Green in 1973 and seeing your baseball card for the first time.
What a smack of reality when you gaze down upon this little piece of cardboard:

For all the world to see...forever and ever and ever.

I mean really, why on earth would they select THIS photo for a player's card. Did Green piss someone off over at Topps or something?
Ironically, Green was a decent fielding player, yet he gets to have an ERROR depicted on his baseball card for eternity!
This is a guy who went on to win the Babe Ruth Award for the 1974 World Series BECAUSE of his defensive play! Seriously, he went 0-13 with four strikeouts in the series, yet STILL won the award for his brilliant defensive performance!
But here you have him muffing a ball, frozen in time for the ages. Man that is rough.
We all know the 1973 had a strange, sometimes inexplicable selection of photos on cards, but showing a player making an error? This may top the Willie Davis card for "low blow" in my book.
You HAVE to think the Topps people were having a little bit of fun at the expense of the A's second baseman. But why?
Those people at Topps were a tough bunch sometimes...

RANDOM QUICKIE: 1971 TOPPS SAM McDOWELL

So...what EXACTLY is Sam McDowell so pissed about on his 1971 Topps card (#150)?!
Jeez! He may not have intended it, but this HAS to go down as one of the (accidentally) funniest cards out there from the decade!
Just take a gander at the expression on McDowell's face! He looks PISSED!!! Good gosh man! Calm down...
What is going on here? Was he trying to be funny? Or was he really not a happy camper when this photo was snapped? I'd love to know the background to this pose.
I just hope the photographer asked him for his "game face", and Sam did a bit of over-acting. If not, could you imagine having THAT staring you down in the batter's box?
By now we all know McDowell had his own personal demons lurking beneath the surface, but was he THIS tortured even during a baseball card shoot?
Wow...

Did someone in the stands just piss him off?!

THE MYSTERY OF JIM CAMPANIS AND HIS 1974 CARD

What would you say to a player logging six at-bats over six games getting his own baseball card the following year?
How about if I go one further and then state that this very same player didn't even play the year before that, or even the year before THAT?!
Odd, but this is exactly what happened with Topps giving Jim Campanis his own card in their 1974 set (#513).
I've always wondered why they even bothered to give this guy a card. He wasn't a "rookie star" or up-and-coming future star. He wasn't even some super star player at the tail end of his career, who Topps may have wanted to give a proper send-off with a final card.
He was just this lower-level catcher who played sparingly over the course of six years for the Dodgers, Royals and Pirates (for those six AB's mentioned earlier). Yet for some reason Topps felt it necessary to use one of their slots in the '74 set for him, even though he totaled 6 games in the past three seasons.
It was Campanis' first card since the 1970 set when he was a member of the inaugural Kansas City Royals team. He also had a card in the '68 set (only other solo) and the '67 set (as a rookie on the same card as Bill Singer).
Yet you can't help but wonder if the fact that Jim is the son of Dodger GM Al Campanis, that some sort of "hook up" was given here. Perhaps? Could it be?
But really, when you think about it, that sounds absurd. Why would Topps even bother?
By the time this card saw the light of day, Jim was already out of baseball as a player and working for the Dodgers in some capacity, leaving the catching gear behind him.
All told, his career comprised of 113 games and 217 at-bats for an eye-popping .147 career average. Seriously, the highest he ever batted was .161 in 61 at-bats for L.A. in 1967. But in all fairness, I do hear that he was a pretty good defensive guy behind the plate. Guess he had to be, right?
What's (not so) funny is, about the biggest thing this guy was remembered for regarding his career was that his own father traded him to the Royals in 1968 for "future considerations". Not exactly a comfortable Thanksgiving around that table I'm sure!

A card for THIS guy?

"CAREER CAPPER" #6: 1977 HANK AARON

One of THE players that always made me wish Topps created one last card AFTER retirement was Hank Aaron.

I mean, come on! Back in 1977 before the age of the ever-present internet and instant gratification, who wouldn't have wanted to stare at those insane stats after he was out of the game. 

It was crazy enough to look at the back of his 1976 card and get blown away by the numbers. But just to have the COMPLETE statistics on a lovely slab of cardboard would have been fantastic.

And while I DO think Aaron's 1976 issue was an awesome "last card", the 1977 set was so nice in the opposite way: clean and classic, it would have been great for Topps to throw in an Aaron card for posterity.

There's really no need to get into his whole bio here, as we all pretty much know it by heart at this point. This was HANK AARON for pete's sake...

Well, I went ahead and drew up an imaginary 1977 card to go along with the others I've seen created out there on the blogosphere. Consider this a tribute to the great "Hammerin' Hank".

By the time he left the game I was just getting into the sport hard-core, and he was nothing short of a "God" to my seven-year old self. He was instantly a mythical being who I only got to see in those awesome "Oh Henry" candy-bar commercials (anyone remember those?).

Love the way the colors all work together on this one. Enjoy…

One last hurrah for "Hammerin' Hank".