A HINT ON WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER THE "1979 MISSING IN ACTION" WTHBALLS ISSUE...

Here's a rather huge hint as to what topic I tackle first in the Magazine after the "Missing in Actions" are all done ...

Time to tackle the specialty cards!
This looks even better in person!

FANTASY 1977 CARD- REGGIE JACKSON'S LOST ORIOLES CARD

You knew at some point I had to create a 1977 Reggie Jackson Orioles card. And I thought this photo made for a nice version of a card many have created before me:

I always felt it was messed up that there was never a card for Reggie really showing him as an Orioles player considering it was a HUGE blockbuster of a trade that sent him to Baltimore right before the 1976 season started.
This was big time news, and coming off of his second home run title (which was a tie with Milwaukee Brewer slugger George Scott), Jackson was in his prime.
Anyway, as well know Topps managed to airbrush him into a “Yankee” uniform, and we got the ugly card that was his 1977 slab. I was never a fan.
So, he we go, with a nice Baltimore Orioles card for the future Hall of Fame slugger and icon of the 1970’s.
On a side-note I always found it interesting that Reggie shared THREE home run titles in his career, in 1975, 1980 and 1982, ALL three with Milwaukee Brewers: George Scott, Ben Oglivie and Gorman Thomas.
Go figure.

FUTURE STAR- STEVE GARVEY

Here’s the next “Future Star” card in my imagined 1978 sub-set, Los Angeles Dodger great Steve Garvey, who put together (in my opinion) a Hall of Fame career that had him as the National League all-star first baseman ten times, eight of them consecutively:

Coming out of Michigan State University, Garvey went on to rack up the hits, the awards and the accolades over his 19-year career.
The National League M.V.P. In 1974, he reached 200+ hits six times, 100+ runs batted in five times, and batted .300+ seven times.
The four-time Gold Glover would also finish in the Top-10 in M.V.P. voting four times during his career, including a second place finish behind Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1978 to go along with his award from ‘74.
By the time he retired in 1987, he collected 2599 hits, 272 home runs, 1308 runs batted in and a .294 career average with five World Series appearances, including one championship in 1981.
In the post-season he batted .338 with 75 hits and eleven home runs with 31 runs batted in spread over 55 games!
Call me crazy, but when he retired I pretty much figured he was a LOCK for the Hall, expecting him to even be a first or second-year inductee!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1970 BILL DAVIS

Here’s a “missing” 1970 card for Bill Davis, a player who already wrapped up a short three-year career as a part of the inaugural San Diego Padres of 1969:

Davis appeared in 31 games during the 1969 season, batting .175 with 10 hits over 57 at-bats while playing first base.
It’s the first action he saw in the Majors since the 1966 season when he played in 23 games for the Cleveland Indians, for whom he came up the previous year as a 23 year-old rookie.
All told he played 64 games in the Major Leagues in those three abbreviated seasons, batting .181 with 19 hits in 105 at-bats in 64 games.
A rather interesting footnote to his career is that he appeared in FIVE straight Topps sets from 1965 through 1969 on a multi-player rookie card!
I cannot think of any other player that was subjected to such torture, having to share his card with another.
Lou Piniella comes close, with three cards (1964, 1968 & 1969) before finally getting his own card in the 1970 set. After all, he did win the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1969 with the Kansas City Royals!

"WHAT IF?"- 1969 REGGIE JACKSON ROOKIE, BUT AS A NEW YORK MET!

I tweeted a few days ago about a “fantasy” card (if there ever was one) I created regarding the 1969 Reggie Jackson rookie, but in this scenario he is pictured as a New York Met! It created for “Fastball John” and a book review he wrote for the Casey Stengel biography, “Baseball’s Greatest Character". Take a look:

The idea behind this is of course the (in)famous 1966 amateur draft, where Reggie went #2 overall, picked by the Kansas City Athletics after the Mets chose high school catcher Steve Chilcott, who never ended up playing a game in the Major Leagues.

There are many theories as to why Reggie wasn’t chosen #1 overall, too many to get into here (some unsavory), but nevertheless considering the impact he made at Arizona State University during his collegiate career, Reggie really should have been picked 1st. That would have given the university two straight overall picks after Rick Monday was taken 1st by the Athletics the previous year, in the very 1st amateur draft in MLB history.

Of course, it would have been interesting to see how the personality of Reggie would have played out had he immediately been in NYC, though as a part of a team that was at the precipice of success with a youth-core of Seaver, Koosman, et al and a championship looming in 1969.

Who knows? But it sure is fun imagining!

Anyway, for the card, I had to combine a nice photo or Reggie around 1969 with a perfect shot of former Mets favorite Tommie Agee. Just so happened I found two identical poses, though Reggie’s was flipped.

Through the magic of Photoshop, voila! We Have the young Reggie Jackson shown as a New York Met!

I may have to try my hand at a few other “what if’s” down the line! Keep an eye out to see who…

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1973 CHARLIE HUDSON

Here’s a “not really missing” card for former pitcher Charlie Hudson, for whom I earlier created a “missing” 1974 card:

Hudson appeared in 12 games for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1972 season, the first taste of Major League ball he’d have.
He picked up a win against no losses, with a 5.11 earned run average over 12.1 innings of work, all out of the bullpen.
After a 1973 season that saw him as a Texas Ranger, going 4-2 with a 4.62 E.R.A. in 25 games, four of which were starts, he’d be out of the big leagues until 1975 when he made it back with the California Angels, appearing in the last three games of his short three-year career, going 0-1 with a bloated 9.53 E.R.A. to finish up at 5-3, with a 5.04 career E.R.A. in 40 appearances and 80.1 innings pitched.

1975 "IN-ACTION" JIM PALMER

The next player featured in my on-going 1975 “In-Action” sub-set is the one and only Jim Palmer, 3-time Cy Young winner and ace of the Baltimore Orioles pitching staff for almost 20-years:

Though coming off of an uncharacteristically season in 1974 that saw him go 7-12 in only 26 games, he still posted an E.R.A. Of 3.27 with a couple of shutouts.
But of course that wasn’t the Jim Palmer we were used to, because for four years before AND after that season, he’s post 20-wins each and every time, as well as E.R.A.’s under 3.00 while racking up shutouts, innings and awards, including the aforementioned Cy Youngs, four Gold Gloves, six all-star game nods and an 8-3 postseason record with three championships.
Palmer will always be considered one of the era’s great pitchers, along with guys like Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton, the other 3-time (four for Carlton) Cy Young winners of that time period.
Just an amazing career.