HALL OF FAME #21: MICKEY WELCH: CLASS OF 1973

Today, I post a Hall of Fame card for 19th-century pitching great Mickey Welch, one of my early baseball obsessions:

Once I got my hands on my first Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia as a 10 year old I became obsessed with those early Gods of the mound, like Tim Keefe, Kid Nichols, Pud Galvin, and this guy, fellow Brooklyn native Welch.

All of these pitchers had incredible numbers on their Major League resume, and my eyes would strain to grasp the inning-counts, the complete games, win totals and the earned run averages.

It was mind-blowing to me, and to some extent (even after learning the differences of the game back then), it still is.

Welch put together an uber-solid 13-year career, a career that saw him post nine 20-win seasons, four 30-win seasons and a 40-win season.

All but three of his years as a pro were with the New York Giants, with his first three years playing for the Troy Trojans between 1880-1882, and he went on to become only the third pitcher to amass 300 or more career wins.

He'd finish his career after only one start in 1892, putting up a 307-210 lifetime record, with a 2.71 earned run average, a staggering 525 complete games out of 549 starts, 41 shutouts and 1850 strikeouts.

Sadly, he wouldn't gain entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame until 1973, long after he passed away in 1941, when he was voted in by the Veteran's Committee.
But this time the Committee got it right as opposed to some of those other questionable picks in the early-1970's, as Welch found his place with all the other aforementioned 19th-century 300-game winners.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 CARL TAYLOR: "1976 PROJECT"

Next up on the 1976 "Project" is former pitcher Chuck Taylor, he of the Montreal Expos bullpen collection between 1973 and 1976:

You can make a nice argument for Taylor to have had a card in the 1976 set, as he posted 54 game appearances with 74 innings of work. 

He also fashioned a 2-2 record with six saves and a 3.53 earned run average and 29 strikeouts while finishing 28 of those 54 games.

While putting together an eight-year career, Taylor pitched for the Cardinals, Mets, Brewers and Expos, appearing in a total of 305 games with 607 innings of work.

His final MLB record was 28-20, with 31 saves and a nifty 3.07 ERA.

He did start 21 games early on in his career, all for the Cardinals, and even had two shutouts among his wins.

The 1976 season would end up being his last, posting a 2-3 record with a 4.50 ERA over 31 games and 40 innings before "closing the books" at the age of 34.

MISSING 1970 ALL-STAR: SAL BANDO- 3B

Here's the next "missing" all-star card from the 1970 Topps set: Sal Bando, the starting American League third baseman.

Now, I don't know why Brooks Robinson wasn't the starter, as it seems he wasn't injured or anything, but Sal Bando joined fellow teammate Reggie Jackson in the starting line-up, and were giving everyone a look at the budding dynasty the Oakland A's were about to become.

Bando put together a very solid 16-year career that saw him take home three championships, participate in four all-star games, and finish in the top-10 in MVP voting three times.

His five 20-homer and two 100+ RBI seasons were a nice compliment to Reggie's offensive exploits, and with Joe Rudi, Gene Tenace and Bert Campaneris thrown in you can see why those A's teams were so strong.

Then again, with starting pitching like Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman, Rollie Fingers et al, yeah, they were going to kick-ass no matter what…

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT- 1970'S BASEBALL TRIVIA PART #98 (A REVISIT OF #16)

Another week of 1970's baseball trivia And this week we'll revisit #16 from September of 2013. As usual, the answers will be posted tomorrow.

1. Only one pitcher lead the A.L. In complete games with less than 20 for a season during the 1970's. Who was it, and what year?

2. How many years during the decade did the Cincinnati Reds have a player with a top-3 M.V.P. placing?

3. What year was the only season in which the Baltimore Orioles did not have a pitcher finish in the top-5 in Cy Young voting?

4. There were two players that eventually made the Hall of Fame and were the highest picks in the amateur draft during the decade, both going at #3 four years apart. Ironically enough they were picked by the same team. Who were they?

5. What pitcher won the most E.R.A. crowns during the 1970's?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW:

1. Dennis Martinez, Baltimore Orioles, with 18 in 1979..

 2. The Cincinnati Reds had six seasons of players finishing in the top-three in M.V.P. voting: 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976  and 1977.
 
3. Every season but one, 1974, had the Orioles see one of their pitchers finish in the top-three in Cy Young voting. Mark Cuellar finished 6th that year.
 
4. Robin Yount (1973) and Paul Molitor (1977) both were picked third overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in the amateur draft.

5. Tom Seaver, New York Mets: 1970, 1971 and 1973.
 

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #37: 1972 PAUL BLAIR

Here's a "missing" 1972 In-Action card for former Baltimore Orioles star outfielder Paul Blair.

Check out my card:

Though a decent hitter in his own right, Blair was a superstar fielding outfielder for the O's, taking home eight Gold Gloves for his excellence in the field, seven consecutively between 1969-1975.

He was known to taunt hitters by playing shallow, then sprinting deep to track down fly balls.

A member of four world champion teams (Orioles in 1966/70; Yankees 1977/78), Blair put together an excellent 17-year career playing between 1964 and 1980 for the Orioles, Yanks and Reds.

He'd finish with a .250 batting average with 1513 hits, 134 homers and 171 stolen bases over 1947 games and 6673 plate appearances.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 GOMER HODGE

Next up on the "missing" hit-parade is Cleveland Indians pinch-hitter Gomer Hodge and the 1972 set:

Hodge only saw big league action during the 1971 season with the Tribe, playing in 80 games and collecting 90 plate appearances.

Used generally as a pinch-hitter, he also played first, second and third base for a total of eight times.

He batted .205 for the year, getting 17 hits in 83 official at-bats, with three doubles and a home run with nine runs batted in and three runs scored.

Hodge played all of his 16-year professional ball in the Cleveland organization between 1963 and 1976, playing in over 1000 minor league games before calling it a career at the age of 32.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 VIC BERNAL

Happy Memorial Day everyone...

Today I give former pitcher Vic Bernal a "missing" card in the 1978 set.

Check it out:

Bernal appeared in 15 games during the 1977 for the San Diego Padres, the only games he'd ever suit up for on the Major League level.

He pitched 20.1 innings and posted a 1-1 record with a 5.31 earned run average and six strikeouts, all in relief.

After his Major League career, he'd go on to coach high school ball for many years in his home state of California.

Sadly, he would pass away at the young age of 52 in September of 2006.