SPECIAL REQUEST: "UPDATE SERIES" 1985 VIDA BLUE

Up on the blog today, we have a special request creation, a 1985 "Update Series" Vida Blue card, celebrating his return to the majors after a year:

Blue made it back to a Major League mound in 1985 with another stint with the San Francisco Giants, for whom he previously played for from 1978 through 1981.

He would do well for them in his return, going 8-8 over 33 games, 20 of those starts, pitching to a 4.47 ERA over 131 innings with 103 strikeouts and a complete game.

In 1983 Blue appeared in only 19 games for the Kansas City Royals, going 0-5 with a 6.01 ERA at the relatively young age of 33.

The following year he'd be out of baseball completely before coming back with the Giants, where he'd put in two seasons before retiring for good after 1986.

Of course, we all know that Vida Blue absolutely exploded onto the Major League scene in 1971, on his way to capturing both the Cy Young and MVP awards by season's end.

All he did in this epic season was post a record of 24-8, with a league-leading 1.82 earned run average, striking out 301 batters and tossing eight shutouts.

Oh yeah, he was only 21 years of age!

His WHIP of 0.952 and strikeouts-per-nine-innings of 8.7 also led the league, and he completed 24 of his 39 starts, putting in 312 innings of work for the upstart Oakland A's, who were about to go on the three-peat championship run between 1972 and 1974.

Blue would go on to post 209 career victories in the Majors, having some successful seasons with the San Francisco Giants, even starting the 1978 All-Star game for the National League, while finishing up his 17-year career in 1986.
It’s amazing for me to remember that when Blue started that NL All-Star game in 1978, he wasn’t even 30 years old, yet to me he already seemed to be an aging veteran by then.

FANTASY CARD: 1972 "TRADED" NOLAN RYAN

Hot on the heels of my re-done base 1972 card for the "Ryan Express", I now post up a "Traded" late-series 1972 card I had printed up for one of my recent printed sets, which would have made that 1972 set even more of a beast:

Would have been a great card to add to that cool 1972 sub-set!

What really needs to be said about a guy who has become more myth than baseball legend?

300+ wins, 5700+ strikeouts, 60+ shutouts, and oh yeah SEVEN no-hitters, two of which came when he was well into his 40’s while with the Texas Rangers!

I love thinking about the fact that he did most of his damage in the American League with the designated hitter. Now imagine how many strikeouts he could have had in his prime pitching in the National League where the pitcher batted?!

Would it be safe to say you could add 20-30 strikeouts a season to his total? More?

Hey, you never know…

Nevertheless, the man became a baseball God, eventually finding his place in the Hall of Fame upon his first year of eligibility as an absolute no-brainer.

I just thank the skies above that I got to see him pitch in-person!

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1972 NOLAN RYAN

I never realized that I failed to post here on the blog the 1972 "do-over" Nolan Ryan card I had printed up for one of my recent "Series" sets from about a year ago, that of him with a New York Mets version:

I thought it'd be fun to have a Mets version, followed by a late-series "Traded" version which I also included in the set.

As we all know, Ryan was traded to the Angels along with three other players for Jim Fregosi, star shortstop.
And as we ALSO know, this goes down as one of the worst trades in baseball history, as Ryan IMMEDIATELY became THE fire-balling pitcher of his day.
I know I don't have to state the obvious here, but we're talking: 300+ wins, 5000+ strikeouts, seven no-hitters, 11 strikeout titles with six of them being 300+ seasons, two E.R.A. crowns and an almost unanimous Hall of Fame induction.
You can see why people can forget that Fregosi was a legitimate star the Mets were trading for, while Ryan was still trying to prove himself on the Major League level.
I got to see Ryan pitch a few times before he hung them up, and he was STILL throwing high-heat (with a loud GRUNT with every delivery) well into his LATE-40's!
It was truly something to behold...

 

1960s ALL-DECADE ALL-STARS: RELIEVER HOYT WILHELM

Good day all!

Here's another card I had printed up for a recent WTHBALLS set that never made it to the blog for some reason, my 1970 "All-Decade" 1960s card for the reliever of the decade, Hoyt Wilhelm, Hall of Fame knuckleballer:

Just a beautiful photo of the man with the New York Giants early in his career, a Big League tenure that would begin late, run years beyond most other careers, and lead right to the Hall of Fame, as it should have.

Who knows what he could have done if he remained a starter. Who knows what his career numbers would have been if he began his career in his early 20's instead of at the ripe "old" age of 29!
Think about this for a second: the man started his career at 29 and he STILL pitched in 21 seasons. He still ended up setting what was then the all-time record for appearances by a pitcher with 1070.
Throw in seven seasons of sub-2.00 E.R.A.'s, 227 saves, and on top of all of that, TWO E.R.A. crowns in the ONLY two years he even threw enough innings to qualify, and you definitely have a Hall of Fame career when it's all said and done.
Take a look at Wilhelm's rookie season. In 1952 he shows up in New York, pitching for the Giants, and all he does is go 15-3 in 159.1 innings, with a league-leading 2.43 E.R.A. and 11 saves. And this was ALL in relief! He appeared in 71 games without a single start. Just awesome.
He also managed to hit a home run in his first Major League at bat on April 23, 1952, never to hit another one in his career. Go figure.
It would then be another seven years before he would pitch more than 154 innings, this time topping out with a career high 226 with the Baltimore Orioles in 1959 mainly as a starter.
His other numbers that year were good enough to have him selected as an All-Star: 15-11, league-leading 2.19 E.R.A., and 13 complete games with three shut outs.
Whether you had him starting or coming in as a reliever, he was up for the challenge.
Wilhelm finally called it a career after the 1972 season where he appeared in only 16 games for the L.A. Dodgers.
Over the course of his last five seasons (all post-45 years of age), he bounced around a bit and pitched for five teams: White Sox, Angels, Braves, Dodgers and Cubs, going 17-18 with 43 saves.
Nevertheless, Wilhelm was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985, generally considered the first relief pitcher to have this honor bestowed upon him.

 

REVISIT: MISSING IN ACTION-1976 CHRIS ARNOLD

Good day all!

On the blog today, we revisit a ten-year-old post featuring my 1976 "Missing in Action" card for former San Francisco Giant infielder Chris Arnold, which was part of my "1976 Project" for my buddy Jim:

Arnold played in 29 games during the 1975 season after coming off a half-season of play the previous year, easily the most of his six-year career.

While playing both in the infield and outfields, Arnold chipped in with a .267 batting average based on his eight hits in 41 at-bats, all of those hits being singles.

His 1976 season would end up being the last of his career, which was spent entirely in 'frisco, finishing with a .237 career average with 103 hits in 435 at-bats over 273 games.

1988 CAREER-CAPPER: REGGIE JACKSON

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, we feature my 1988 "Career-Capper" for all-world sports icon Reggie Jackson, who wrapped up a memorable Major League career in 1987 as a member of the Oakland A's, from my recent "1980s Career-Cappers" set:

Truly one of the eternal icons of the game, the man was just destined for baseball greatness since his days at Cheltenham High School in Pennsylvania.
Recruited by pro teams and colleges alike, he went on to Arizona State where he was actually on a football scholarship.
Of course we all know the story of the 1966 amateur draft, where the New York Mets held the #1 pick, and opted for high school catcher Steve Chilcott instead of who many considered the true #1 overall amateur, Jackson.
With the second pick, the Kansas City Athletics (later Oakland) picked the slugger and the rest is history, as he would eventually lead the organization to three straight championships between 1972-1974 before being traded in a blockbuster to the Baltimore Orioles where he’d play for one season in 1976.
As a highly coveted free agent before the 1977 season, Jackson signed with the New York Yankees, and with Reggie in NYC, the legend exploded as he helped the Yankees to two championships in 1977-78.
With his larger than life persona, New York ate it up and before you knew it, he was known around the world, even getting his own candy-bar by the end of the decade.
For a kid like me growing up in Brooklyn in the ‘70’s, Reggie was like a God, larger than life, and before he finished up his career in 1987, putting in 21 seasons, he would put together a Hall of Fame career with 563 homers, 1702 runs batted in, an MVP Award in 1973, and five championships.
Add to that 14 all-star nods, four home run titles, a legendary homer in the 1971 All-Star Game against Dock Ellis, his 1977 World Series performance, and you can see why he goes down as one of the most well-known baseball personalities the game has ever seen!

 

OPC VARIATIONS: 1977 SAM EWING

On the blog today, we have the 1977 OPC card issued for Toronto Blue Jay designated hitter Sam Ewing, who was left out of the Topps 1977 counterpart:

Ewing appeared in 11 games for Chicago during the 1973 season, batting .150 with three hits over 20 at-bats, while playing first base.
He’d be stuck in the minors the next couple of seasons, putting up nice numbers before getting called up again in 1976 after hitting a very nice .351 for the White Sox Triple-A team Iowa Oaks.
In November of 1976, he’d be selected by the Toronto Blue Jays as the 57th pick of the expansion draft, and he’d have a nice year for the new organization, batting .287 with 34 runs batted in over 97 games in their first year as a Major League club.
However, after hitting only .179 in 1978, he’d find himself in the Minors again, before playing in Japan during the 1979 season for the Nippon Ham Fighters, hitting 15 homers while batting .286.
That production got him back with the White Sox organization in 1980 playing for Iowa, but he never got the chance to appear in another Major League game, finishing up with a .255 batting average with 92 hits over 361 at-bats in 167 games.