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

Here are this week's trivia questions. Have fun! Answers will be posted tomorrow down below:


1. Who was the only team to have four players drive in 100 or more runs during the same season, and what year was it?

2. Who quietly won 20 games for the Yankees in 1978, easily being overshadowed by Ron Guidry's Cy Young performance?

3. What Major League season saw only four players reach 100 or more runs scored for the year, a low mark for the decade? Coincidentally all were from the same league:

4. What season in the 1970's saw the most players hit 40 or more home runs?

5. What player recorded only 74 runs scored in a season that saw him collect 200+ hits, the lowest total in the decade?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1. 1977 Red Sox: Jim Rice, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk and Butch Hobson.

2. Ed Figueroa. 20-9.
 
3. 1971. All four from the National League: Lou Brock, Bobby Bonds, Willie Stargell,  and Ralph Garr.
 
4. 1970- Six Players: Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Billy Williams, Frank Howard and Harmon Killebrew.

5. Willie Montenez. 1976. He had 206 hits while only scoring 74 runs..

"WHEN AIRBRUSHING GOES TERRIBLY (RIGHT &) WRONG"- PART XI

Here's an absolute classic airbrush job Topps executed in 1975 for one of the most "vibrant" team uniforms in Baseball history: a 1975 (#355) Chris Cannizzaro card in technicolor Padre-yellow!

Man! You think Topps stocked up on the mustard-yellow paint for this card or what?

(Un)funny enough, Cannizzaro never even played in 1975, as his Major League playing days were over by the end of the previous season.

But what I don't understand is that he actually played in 26 games with San Diego in 1974, so why wasn't Topps able to snap off a shot of him in Padre yellow for his 1975 card?

I tell you, the guy doing the airbrushing job here did a thorough job, as I cannot tell at all what uniform he was actually wearing in the photo before they painted it. Usually you can see some part of the original photo peeking through.

 

Man, dig that crazy mustard uniform!

 

As for Cannizzaro, here's a little trivia: he was actually an original New York Met in 1962 as well as an original San Diego Padre in 1969, becoming the very first Padre player selected for an all-star game the very same year.

LIKE LOOKING INTO A T.V. SET- 1971 TOPPS ROY WHITE

Here's a card I've always loved: the 1971 Topps Roy White #395.
The cropping of this photo to the card design is perfect! It really looks like you're watching the game on a television set!
If I'm not mistaken this card was photographed at the "old" Yankee Stadium against the Tigers (?). Seems like all-star Bill Freehan catching behind the plate, no?
Beautiful card that goes well with the other three Yankee cards I've already profiled from this set: Thurman Munson, Ron Woods and Lindy McDaniel.

Perfectly cropped in-game action photo!

Here's a funny true-story from my life:
About 20 or so years ago I was a DJ here in NYC at some clubs like Limelight and Danceteria.
During that time I became friends with another DJ, Reade.
He was a really nice dude and we'd always shoot the breeze about music. He'd even visit me at the record store I used to work at in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan just to chill since he was a student at nearby NYU.
Anyway, keep in mind my baseball worship is worn on my sleeve so to speak, and I was always reading baseball magazines or listening/watching games, even at clubs sometimes!
Well, a few years after I was pretty much out of the music scene, I run into yet another former DJ and we start talking, and I ask him what ever happened to Reade.
After he tells me whatever he heard about Reade's whereabouts, he makes an off-handed remark about how I should have hit Reade up for free Yankee games back then.
Of course I then ask him, "Why?"
And that's when I found out Reade was Roy White's son.
Wouldn't you know it, I go looking at old Yankee yearbooks from the mid-70's with those player family photos, and THERE is little Reade with his dad, the New York Yankee.
Go figure...
Ya' think the kid would mention something like that to a friend who's a rabid Yankee fan?!

HALL OF FAME LEADERS VI: 1971 NATIONAL LEAGUE R.B.I. LEADERS

Basically a "repeat" of the last entry for this thread, these three Hall of Famers had quite a 1970 season, as they paced the National League both in Home Runs AND Runs Batted In, which we see here on card #64.
The only difference here is that Perez and Williams tied for the second and third place spots with R.B.I.'s., both driving in 129 for the year.
Nothing really more to say about this awesome trio that I didn't mention with the previous post on the Home Run leader card.
Just over-flowing star power on a nice-looking card from one of my favorite sets.

Monster seasons by all THREE future H.O.F.'ers.

One thing I WILL mention here is something I never forgot that former "Big Red Machine" skipper Sparky Anderson said about the Reds dynasty years later.
When asked why the Reds didn't win more championships after 1976, especially since they added Tom Seaver to their already powerful squad in 1977, Anderson was quick to reply that the Reds trading away Tony Perez in December of 1976 "killed" the team.
Interesting to hear since the you always think of Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion and even George Foster on those all-star loaded teams.
It's easy to forget just how consistent and important Perez was to that Cincinnati juggernaut of the 1970's.

"THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL" 1977 TOPPS JIM MASON

Now, this Jim Mason 1977 (#212) card has always bothered me since it came out.
As an eight year old ripping open packs as quick as I could, I remember freezing at the sight of this card and never being able to figure out why this Major League baseball player was CRYING on his card!
Look at it!
What a weird picture of Mason. It's like he's seeing something horrible happening on the field and he's just about to break out in tears!
Then again, perhaps finding himself on the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in 1977 just after appearing in the World Series as a member of the American League New York Yankees in 1976 might make ANYONE cry, wouldn't it?
Maybe Mason realized that there were going to be some LONG days ahead playing for a cellar-dwelling team, especially for a light-hitting utility player like himself.
Well, it turns out he didn't need to worry THAT much, as he was traded to Texas on May 9th (my birthday actually) with pitcher Steve Hargan for Roy Howell.
Nevertheless, what an odd card from my youth...

It's ok Jim, you're moving on to Texas in May!!

Mason was a light hitting, and I mean LIGHT HITTING infielder who is probably best known for hitting a home run in his first World Series at-bat in 1976 for the Yanks against the Reds.
Other than that, he managed to carve out a nine-year career playing for the Senators/Rangers, Yanks, Blue Jays and Expos until he retired after the 1979 season.

"CAN WE JUST LEAVE MY STATS OFF THE CARD?"- 1974 LLOYD ALLEN #539

Now, let me preface this all by stating clearly that I was never anywhere close to being a College baseball player, let alone a MAJOR LEAGUE player.

So while I seem to be poking fun of some players from time to time, in no way do I forget the fact that these were, at some point in their lives, the sh*t wherever they came from!

With that being said however, sometimes it is incredible to see a player with a Topps baseball card with stats that would make anyone depressed.

Take Mr. Allen here. As card #539 of Topps 1974 set, you have a young pitcher for the Texas Rangers with all the promise in the world. Then you turn that card around and, oh my, you see a 1973 line that states: 0-6 with a 9.42 E.R.A!

Whew! That's a bit hard on the eyes don't you think?

So of all marginal players out there for Topps to give a card slot to, Allen made the cut. ???

Guess I just don't see it! Oh well.

But come on! The guy pitched in 28 games, good for 49.2 innings in 1973 for the Rangers and Angels, with a staggering 13.2 hits per nine innings! 

Damn.

Sadly things did NOT get any better for Allen before he hung up the glove, as he never won a Major League game again, going 0-4 the rest of the way (0-2 in both 1974 & 1975).

He ended his seven year career with a rough 8-25 record and a somewhat pedestrian 4.69 earned run average.

Kind of tough for a former first round pick (12th overall) by the California Angels in 1968. 

But in all fairness, the 1968 draft was a bust overall. In the first two rounds, the only players of note drafted after Allen were Gary Matthews (1st round / 17th pick) and Bill Buckner (2nd round/ 25th overall pick).

 

We feel for you Lloyd...

 

"GIMME A DO-OVER"- PART XXIV: 1975 #335 JIM PALMER

Jim Palmer had a decent run of nice cards throughout the 1970's, especially (for me) his 1979 card which I profiled just last week on this blog.

But take a look at his 1975 card (#335).

To use such a poor quality image of one of the best pitchers of the decade is quite the bummer.

I've always been a fan of that 1975 set because of all the color and action. Yet what Topps gave us was a card that had Palmer's face obscured because of this giant shadow across his face.

Just take a look. Come on Topps!

 

As issued by Topps in 1975. Dig the shadow across his face!

Pretty much anything would have been better than this. So today I'm posting up my own design for a 1975 Jim Palmer card.

But first, let's get reacquainted with what Topps issued way back when (Can't even believe it's already 38 years ago):

My "action shot" redesign.

A bit better no? Nice action shot of Palmer ready to come out of his wide open wind-up.
Classic Palmer right there!
Man. I'm sure it's because I really got into cards right around 1976/77 as a seven-year-old in Brooklyn, N.Y. But I STILL just love that run of Topps sets between 1975 and 1978.
Just fantastic sets with great colors and action shots throughout...