NOT SO MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 OTIS THORNTON

Love creating cards like this: here’s my “not so missing” 1974 Otis Thornton, he of two Major League games in 1973:

Thornton’s entire Major League career came and went in one day, appearing in both games of a double-header for the Astros against the Montreal Expos on July 6th.
He went a combined 0-3 in the two games, while taking up catching duties, though he did drive in a run while striking out twice.
The following season he’d spend toiling in the Minors, where he’d play the last of his pro career, which began in 1965, all with the Houston Astros.
What a unique post for the blog, even after all these years!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 JIM GOSGER

Here’s a “missing” 1972 card for former outfielder Jim Gosger, who I also created a 1974 card for many moons ago:

Gosger actually would end up playing the entire 1972 season in the Minor Leagues in the Mets system, but he did appear in 51 games for the Montreal Expos in 1971.
Over that Big League action, he hit .157 16 hits over 102 at-bats while playing both outfield and some first base.
He’d end up putting in 10 years in the Majors, hitting .226 with 411 hits over 1815 at-bats in 705 games between 1963 and 1974.
Along the way he was a member of the 1969 Seattle Pilots, before getting shipped to the New York Mets during their “Miracle Mets” run, and he was also a member of the inaugural 1968 Oakland A’s team when they relocated from Kansas City.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1977 FRED ANDREWS

Here’s a 1977 card for Fred Andrews of the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom I also produced a 1978 card a while back, thus representing the entirety of his two-year Major League career:

Andrews appeared in the first four games of his brief MLB career in 1976, going an impressive 4-for-6 while playing second base.
The following season he’d get a bit more action, appearing in 12 games while batting .174, which would be the final games of his career before spending the next few years in the Minor & Mexican Leagues.
Though he only played in bits of two seasons on the Big League level, he did play 10 years of pro ball, spanning 1970 and 1979 before retiring for good.

1977 HOSTESS REGGIE JACKSON- ANOTHER AIRBRUSH SPOTLIGHT

Once again we’ll take a closer look at an original image used by Hostess to create a card for their set, this time the 1977 Reggie Jackson card:

I guess it was easier (??) to use an image of him while still with the Oakland A’s instead of one with the Baltimore Orioles, for whom he suited up the previous year, though I really can’t figure out why.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t such a bad job. I mean, it’s somewhat impressive how they removed all traces of that glorious Oakland Green and Gold to create a faux Yankee pinstripe uni!
Of course, we all know that Reggie was about to go on and become “Mr. October” with the Bronx Bombers, leading them to two straight world championships.
His clinic in hitting against the Dodgers in the 1977 series was the stuff of legend, and at the very least made THIS kid of eight years old in Brooklyn look at him like a GOD!
By the time he hung up the cleats in 1987, he was simply “Reggie”, enough said. All-Time great and icon of the era, carving his name into baseball’s long, rich history.

CY YOUNG WINNERS- 1977 SUB-SET

We’re moving on to 1977 for my on-going “Awards” sub-set through the 1970’s, starting off with the 1976 Cy Young winners: Randy Jones in the National league and once again Jim Palmer in the American League:

In the N.L., Randy Jones took home the award after finishing as runner-up to Tom Seaver for the 1975 award.
Jones’ season in 1976 was brilliant, as he cruised to a record of 22-14, with an ERA of 2.74, leading the league in wins, starts with a whopping 40, complete games with 25 and innings pitched with 315.1.
Along the way he also tossed five shutouts, starting the All-Star game for the N.L., and ending up 10th in MVP voting at the end of the year.
Though he’d play through the 1982 season, he’d never again taste success in the Majors, never winning more than 13 games in any season between 1977 and 1982.
Over in the American League, once again we have the Orioles Jim Palmer, who took home his third Cy Young Award in four seasons, leading the league in wins (22), starts (40) and innings pitched (315), while tossing six shutouts and posting an ERA of 2.51.
Palmer wasn’t done yet as we all know, posting two more 20-win seasons while going on to win 268 games in the Major Leagues, eventually heading straight for the Hall of Fame with his induction in 1990.
Arguably (without much argument from me) the American League’s best pitcher in the wild decade of the 1970’s.

A CAREER-CAPPING NOT SO MISSING 1973 CARD FOR MEL QUEEN

Let’s go and give former pitcher Mel Queen a career-capping 1973 card after finishing his seven-year career with the California Angels in 1972:

Queen appeared in 17 games for the Angels, not factoring in a decision while posting an earned run average of 4.35 over 31 innings pitched.
He was coming off a very nice season in 1971 out of the bullpen where he posted an ERA of 1.78 over 44 appearances and 65.2 innings along with four saves.
His best year in the Majors was his rookie year of 1967, which was with the Cincinnati Reds, when he posted a record of 14-8 with a 2.76 earned run average over 31 appearances, 24 of which were starts.
He also threw two shutouts and struck out 154 batters over 195.2 innings pitched in his only season as a starter.
All told, he’d finish his career with a record of 20-17, with an ERA 3.14, those two shutouts and 14 saves over 140 appearances and 389.2 innings pitched.

1975 IN-ACTION: JEFF BURROUGHS

Time to go and give the reigning American League MVP, Jeff Burroughs, an “In Action” card in my on-going 1975 sub-set:

Burroughs was coming off of the finest season of his 16-year career, taking home the MVP trophy while leading the Texas Rangers to an excellent season while under the managerial eye of Billy Martin.
The team also had the rookie of the year in Mike Hargrove, and the second-place finisher in the Cy Young race in Fergie Jenkins!
For Burroughs, he went on to drive in a career-high 118 runs, which led the league, as well as bat .301 with 25 homers and 84 runs scored.
I never really realized that this was all done at the age of only 23, yet already in his fifth season in the Majors after being the #1 overall pick in the 1969 amateur draft by the (then) Washington Senators.
He would have another monster year in 1977, now with the Atlanta Braves, where he hit a career-high 41 home runs while driving in 114 runs.
But when you do this in a season that had George Foster’s incredible MVP year, you can expect to get lost in the shuffle.
By the time Burroughs retired after the 1985 season, he finished with 240 homers, a .261 batting average and 882 runs batted in, with 1443 hits over 5536 at-bats.