"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #9: 3000 HITS FOR BOTH MAYS AND AARON IN 1970

So HOW did Topps fail to celebrate the fact that TWO of the greatest players in baseball history collected their 3000th hit during the same season by not honoring them with a card in the following year's set?!

Both Hank Aaron and Willie Mays notched their 3000th career hit during the 1970 season, Aaron on May 17th and Mays on July 18th.

I know there weren't any "special" cards like this in the 1971 set, but come on!

Talk about something worth having slapped onto a card!

So let me take this moment to upload my design for a 1971 "highlight" card celebrating "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron  & "Say Hey" Willie Mays on their 3000th knock.

Take a look:

"Hammerin' Hank" & the "Say Hey Kid"

Love the photo I came across with both of them beaming in front of the camera!

Aaron would finish with 3,771 hits, at the time the second most all-time (behind Ty Cobb), while Mays would finish with 3,283, good for seventh all-time at the time of his retirement.

Hope you're all enjoying these "highlight" cards of the 1970's, 'cause I sure am having fun designing them!

Many more to come in the near future.

"DEATH IN AN INDIANS UNIFORM"- 1977 TOPPS JOHN LOWENSTEIN #393

I don't want to seem rude here to Mr. Lowenstein, but man did this card spook me as an 8-year old when it came out:

I mean, come on right?!

John Lowenstien is downright dark and ominous on that card. (Not like I'm a prize or anything myself, believe me)

But it's like he's "Death" and was about to step out onto the field to claim a life right smack in the middle of a game.

This was one of those cards that my cousin and I would always pull out to gawk and giggle at when we were at each other's house.

Nowadays I just love it for the cheesy 1970's wildness that it represents.

Sort of a time capsule of the days when ballplayers let the hair flow, sideburns burn and mustaches…well… 'STACHE!

Gotta love it...

On a side note-there also seems to be some strange airbrushing/touching up going on between Lowenstein and the background. Kind of reminds me of the 1976 Fritz Peterson card I profiled a while back.

I can't tell if he was airbrushed, or cropped out of one photo and dropped onto this one.

Either way it wouldn't make any sense since he was already playing for the Indians for seven years at this point.

So why Topps didn't have a solid image of him for this card has me puzzled.

And look at his autograph, if you can even see it. Really thin, almost non-existent  signage to the left of him, about ear-high. Strange. Wonder what was up with this card.

I'll always remember Lowenstein as one of the most successful platoon players of the 1980's, when he was paired up with Gary Roenicke on the Baltimore Orioles.

For example check out their awesome combined 1982 season where Lowenstein and Roenicke outright mashed the ball in part-time rolls.

The two combined for 45 homers, 140 runs batted in, 209 hits and 127 runs scored in 715 at-bats! Granted it's a bit more playing time than a "regular" full season, but not by THAT much.

Lowenstein ended up with a very decent 16-year career playing for the Indians (1970-77), Rangers (1978) and Orioles (1979-85), generally as a part-time player.

As a matter of fact his 1974 season with Cleveland would be the only time he posted enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title throughout his career.

But a decent career nevertheless, and a classic card in my eyes in 1977.

MISSING IN ACTION A FEW TIMES OVER- ANGEL'S CATCHER JOHN STEPHENSON (1972-1974)

I've been on somewhat of a rant lately regarding California Angels catchers and how some were inexplicably omitted from Topps sets while others were given cards for much less playing time.

Today I want to put a spotlight on a guy that fit BOTH categories, albeit having a "missing" card three years in row, catcher John Stephenson.

First off, he did manage to have a card in Topps 1971 set, even though he only played in 23 games in 1970 for the San Francisco Giants, good for 43 at-bats and only three hits (a paltry .070 average!).

Take a look:

Why he got a slot in this set is beyond me.

However, perhaps it was a good thing the poor guy got that card, since he was pretty much persona-non-grata in Topps' eyes the following THREE years, where he wasn't given a card in any of those sets!

Now I usually don't profile multiple "missing" cards in one post since each one is worthy of their own attention in my eyes.

But for Stephenson it all ties in together to make for a very strange case, so I am going to post up all three of my "missing" John Stephenson designs here:

1972

1973

1974

I stretched it a bit with that 1973 image. Not quite full-resolution but I think it still worked adequately enough.

I mentioned Stephenson last week when I posted about the missing 1974 Jeff Torborg card.

Seems Torborg, Stephenson and Art Kusyner were ALL ignored by Topps in the early '70's, while other Angels' catchers like Charlie Sands and Rick Stelmaszek, who played a lot less than the other three, got cards.

For Stephenson, he was pretty much the Angels' number-2 catcher behind Jeff Torborg, and played in 98, 66 and 60 games in 1971, '72 and '73.

His at-bat totals were decent enough to warrant a card (compared to others who got one) in each year: 279, 146 and 122).

Granted, it's not like he "tore it up" those years, hitting about .240 altogether, but it stiall confuses me as to why some guys got a card when others didn't.

I'm not aware of any contractual problems between Stephenson and Topps, so I'd love to know what was up.

Anyone out there have an idea?

But at least today I can help "fill-out" a player who was missing from a Topps set multiple times, even if there are only a few of us who care. ;)

"WHEN AIRBRUSHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG...BUT APPRECIATED!"- 1973 VINCENTE ROMO

Take a look at the 1973 Topps card for pitcher Vincente Romo:

At first glance the airbrushing job is pretty funny and makes me want to spotlight it as an airbrushing failure.

But then again, the more I look at it the more I appreciate the effort that was put into the job.

I love the shading and shadowing job the "artist" did on the cap and left shoulder.

And Lord knows working with that awesome mustard-yellow Padres color must have been glorious.

There was even an attempt at the embroidered stitching on the "S.D." logo on Romo's cap! How awesome is THAT!?

Funny? Yes. But a nice job nevertheless wouldn't you agree?

Oddly enough, as a kid in the early '80's Romo was probably the first player I noticed as a "long time no see" guy when he appeared on a Topps card in the 1983 set as a Los Angeles Dodger.

It was a cousin of mine who reminded me that Romo had a card in the 1975 set as a Padre, and nothing in between.

As far as I can remember it was the first time something like that came to my attention.

After the 1974 season Romo went off to pitch in the Mexican League for the next seven years before making it back to the Majors with the Dodgers.

In 1982 Romo appeared in 15 games at the age of 39, starting six of them, posting a 1-2 record with a 3.03 E.R.A.

That would be his final taste of the big leagues, but he'd get that last card a year later in one of my all-time favorite sets, 1983's offering by Topps.

By the way, I just love those Padre uniforms from the early 70's! 

Taking a line from the sit-com "Night Court", "What a bold fashion statement!"

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

It's Thursday, and you know what that means.

We take a breather from 1970's baseball cards and delve into 1970's trivia.

Today's topic is "teammates".

See how many answers you can get!

Answers will be posted tomorrow…

1. What two teammates combined for the most wins in a season during the 1970's?

2. Which two teammates combined for the most home runs during a season in the '70's?

3. What pair of teammates combined for the most stolen bases in a season during the 1970's?

4. What two pitching teammates combined for most strikeouts in a season during the "wild" '70's?

5. What slugging teammates drove in the most combined runs in a season during the '70's?

***SPOILER ALERT! ANSWERS BELOW: 

1.  Mike Cuellar & Dave McNally, Orioles. 48 wins between them (24 each) in 1970.

2. Johnny Bench and Tony Perez, Reds. 85 home runs, 45 for Bench and 40 for Perez in 1970.

3. Lou Brock and Bake McBride, Cardinals. 148 thanks in large part to the record-breaking 118 by Brock in 1974.

4. Nolan Ryan and Bill Singer, Angels. A whopping 624 strikeouts in 1973 with Ryan's 383 and Singer's 241.

5. Once again the Reds' combo of Bench and Perez in 1970 with 277 R.B.I.'s. 148 for Bench and 129 for Perez.

"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #8: GEORGE FOSTER AND HIS 50+ HOMERS IN 1977

If you're someone who grew up in the late-70's/early-80's like me and followed baseball somewhat seriously, you always came back to George Fosters 50-homer season of 1977 from time to time since he was the only guy to achieve such a feat in your lifetime.

52 homers in 1977. It was just awesome, and to many younger fans out there who may not believe it, it really seemed for a while that no one would hit 50+ homers again since we had home run leaders consistently in the high 30's in the early-80's.

When the 1978 set came out my friends and I were shocked when there wasn't some sort of "highlight" card for Foster's power display.

Well, 26 years later, here's one I designed:

Just imagine it: Foster's 52 home run season was the only 50+ homer season between Willie May's 52 homers in 1965 and Cecil Fielder's 1990 total of 51.

ONE player in 25 years managed to top 50 homers in the Major Leagues.

What a season Foster had for the Cincinnati Reds that year!

Following M.V.P. years in the decade by teammates Johnny Bench (70,72), Pete Rose (73) and Joe Morgan (75,76), Foster came up HUGE, slamming those 52 home runs while also hitting for average at a .320 clip, with 197 hits, a league-leading 124 runs scored and a whopping 149 runs batted in.

Those numbers made him the sixth Red's M.V.P. In the '70's, and pushed Foster to the top of the heap after finishing second in voting the previous year.

For a while there he was an R.B.I. machine, driving in 90+ every year but one between 1976 and 1983.

His 1981 season is often overlooked, as he drove in 90 runs, just one off the league lead (Mike Schmidt had 91) in only 108 games, along with 22 homers, good for third in the league.

The following year he signed with the Mets as a free agent, becoming the first $2 million a year player in Big League history.

It wasn't until Kirby Puckett in 1989 that we would see a $3 million dollar a year player (followed about a week later by Rickey henderson actually).

His four+ years with the Mets were decent, but he never had that "all-star" year the folks at Shea were hoping for, and he did catch some grief for it.

Nevertheless he had a decent 18-year career overall, finishing with just under 2000 hits, 348 homers and 1239 runs batted in with a .274 batting average.

Throw in five all-star selections, an M.V.P., and a solid cog in the "Big Red Machine" Reds of the mid-70's and he certainly left his mark on the game for the era.

If you're liking this "highlights" thread on my blog, keep an eye out for the next one, which shines a light on Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, who both reached 3000 hits during 1970, leading to a 1971 card I designed celebrating the two.

1975 "CY YOUNG AWARD" SUB-SET: WHAT IF? 1966

Today we'll look at the final year of the "Koufax-era" in my imagined 1975 Cy Young Award sub-set, 1966.

After a run of domination hardly seen in Major League baseball before or since, Koufax would retire from the game at season's end and shock many fans because of serious arm-trouble.

Along with Koufax and his third Cy Young in four years, the fine folks at SABR picked Jim Kaat of the Minnesota Twins as the American League Cy Young winner had they chosen one in each league at that time.

First up, my card design:

This would be the final year of voting on one winner for the award before they began voting on winners for both leagues beginning in 1967.

Koufax was once again out of this world spectacular, posting a record of 27-9 with a 1.73 earned run average and 317 strikeouts, all league leading figures.

He also lead the league in games started (41), complete games (27), innings pitched (323) and shutouts (5), easily taking home the award and unexpectedly capping a Hall of Fame career before injuries halted his career at age 30.

Sadly the season was also marred by the Dodgers' surprising loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, getting swept mainly because of the "Birds" up-and-coming young pitching studs Jim Palmer, Wally Bunker and Dave McNally, along with a surprise performance by reliever Moe Drabowsky in the first game.

Six years later Koufax was inducted into the Hall of Fame, getting named to 344 of 396 ballots when voting was announced.

Perhaps only Pedro Martinez' run in the late 90's/early 00's was there be another pitcher who had a run that far out-shined the rest of his league for a few years like Koufax's run between 1963-1966.

Over in the American League, the Twins were once again the beneficiaries of a fine performance by one of their young pitchers, this time Jim Kaat.

After a nice five year run between 1962-1965, Kaat came into his own in '66, finishing the season with a league-leading 25 wins (against 13 losses), a 2.75 E.R.A., and 205 strikeouts, while also leading the league in starts (41), innings pitched (304.2) and complete games (19).

He also picked up his fifth of what was to become 16 Gold Gloves in his 25 year career while finishing in fifth place in M.V.P. Voting.

Kaat would have two more 20-win seasons, in the 1970's while pitching for the Chicago White Sox, before switching over to relieving the final few years of his lengthy career in the early-80's with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Next we take a look at the first season where TWO Cy Young winners were selected, one for each league, 1967.

For the National League we have Giants pitcher Mike McCormick, while in the American League we have Red Sox hurler Jim Lonborg.

Two guys who easily had career years that season.