Today
on the blog we have a 1973 “not so missing” card for four-year Big
Leaguer Paul Ratliff, closing out his tenure after appearing in 22 games
for the Milwaukee Brewers during the 1972 campaign:
Ratliff, who originally made it up to the Majors in 1963 at the age of
19 with the Minnesota Twins for 10 games, would have to wait until the
1970 season before getting another shot at Big League action, appearing
in 69 games and hitting .268 before coming back for 44 games in 1971
split between the Twins and Brewers, when he hit .165 over 85 official
at-bats.
In 1972, he hit .071 with three hits in 42 at-bats for the Brewers while
filling in at catcher, finishing up his brief career with a .205
batting average, with 12 homers and 42 runs batted in over 145 games and
297 at-bats, never again playing pro ball.
OK,
so every once in a while I think I did my research for a “not really”
missing card, but fall flat on my face, as is the case today with a card
I created not realizing the player was on a multi-player rookie card
that year.
The player is former Montreal Expos pitcher Gerry Pirtle, and the year is 1979. So nevertheless, here you go:
Pirtle, who was given the name “Jerry” on his 1979 multi-player card
appearance by Topps, was given “Gerry” by me here on this dedicated
rookie, since it’s the only way I’ve seen his name on other references.
The one-year MLB pitcher appeared in 19 games for Montreal during the
1978 season, going 0-2 with an earned run average of 5.96 over 25.2
innings of work, with 14 strikeouts and 23 walks allowed.
He was 30 years of age when he made his Big League debut, and sadly for
him that was all there would be, as he’d spend the next season in the
Baltimore Orioles Minor League system before calling it a career.
Originally in the New York Yankees organization between 1967 and 1975,
he spent 13 years in the Minors, with only those 19 games in the Summer
of 1978 to show for it. But hey, he got to live that dream!
Recently
a buddy of mine asked me to create a 1972 “Traded” card for Sparky
Lyle, one of the great New York Yankee trades in the franchise’s
history.
And although I already created a version that differed from what Topps
did with their “Traded” sub-set, I figured I may as well toe-the-line
and create one true to the original idea:
Originally depicted as a Boston Red Sox player in the '72 set, Lyle was
traded by the Sox for Danny Cater right before the regular season in
March.
I originally decided NOT to use the traded format Topps issued that year, since I've always thought it was a terrible design.
It was bad enough Topps didn't have player positions on their
regular-issue cards in the set (a set I DO love mind you), but for their
traded sub-set they even failed to have the team name running across
the top!
As for the trade, which is often cited as terribly one-sided in favor of
the Yankees, it paid instant dividends in the Bronx, as Lyle posted a
9-5 record with a 1.92 earned run average and league-leading 35 saves in
his first year there.
He'd even finish seventh in Cy Young voting, as well as third in Most Valuable Player voting during the post-season.
Five years later in 1977, Lyle would win the Cy Young Award, going 13-5
with a league-leading 23 saves and a 2.17 E.R.A., and he'd finish fifth
in M.V.P. Voting.
Not too shabby!
Time
to go and give the “Secretary of Defense” Garry Maddox a 1975
“In-Action” card in my long-running sub-set, celebrating his ascent to
becoming one of the all-time greatest defensive outfielders we’ve ever
seen:
Maddox was still with his original Big League team, the San Francisco
Giants, when this card would have seen the light of day, with him just
about to begin his fourth season.
1975 would see him get traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Willie
Montanez in May, and he would take that opportunity to take home the
first of eight Gold Gloves over his brilliant 15-year career.
He would spent the rest of his career with the Phillies, hitting as high
as .330 in 1976, helping them to a World Championship in 1980, and
finishing with 1802 hits and a .285 batting average when it was all said
and done.
Incredibly, the man was never tabbed for an All-Star game, which stuns me since he had some excellent seasons during his career.
Nevertheless, by the time he retired after the 1986 season he was
regarded as one of the best defensive outfielders ever, prompting one of
the best quotes, “Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by
water, the other one-third by Maddox”.
Brilliant!
I
have to say, I have slept on a “missing” 1971 card for former pitcher
and author Jim Bouton all these years, considering the man pretty much
played a full season with the Houston Astros during the 1970 season. So
here you go:
Bouton appeared in 29 games for the Astros in 1970, going 4-6 with an
earned run average of 5.40 over 73.1 innings, with 49 strikeouts and a
complete game thrown in.
Still only 31 years of age, it turned out to be the last action he’d see
on a Big League mound before he made that incredible comeback eight
years later with the Atlanta Braves in 1978 when he made five starts at
the age of 39 as a knuckleballer.
It was a far cry from his MLB debut in 1962 when he posted seven wins fr
the eventual World Champion New York Yankees, following that up with a
21-7 season in 1963 that saw him make his only All-Star team.
After another solid year in 1964 that saw him go 18-13 with a 3.02 ERA
and four shutouts, his career stumbled with injuries, never winning more
than four games in any season between 1965 and 1970, becoming an arm
out of the bullpen by the time he played for the Seattle Pilots in their
lone season of 1969.
Nevertheless, he finished with a career 62-63 record, with a 3.57 ERA
over 304 appearances, 144 of those starts, with eleven shutouts and six
saves along the way, along with a landmark book called “Ball Four” that
is still essential reading for any sports fan.
Time
to go and close out the brief three year Major league playing career of
former pitcher Marcel Lachemann, who made his last appearance on a Big
League mound during the 1971 season:
Lachemann appeared in one game that year, pitching a total of a third of
an inning, giving up two hits and two earned runs along with a walk
against the Detroit Tigers on April 25th.
He would go on to spend the rest of the year in the Minor Leagues,
pitching to a record of 5-2 with a nice 3.04 ERA over 43 appearances,
but would never get a chance to get back to the Majors.
He would go on to play three more seasons in the Minor Leagues for both
the Oakland and Montreal Expos organizations as a reliever, settling for
a Big League career that had 70 appearances with a record of 7-4, with
an ERA of 3.44 over 102 innings pitched.
He would also get some managing in the Majors decades later, managing
the California Angels between 1994 and 1996, finishing his managerial
career with a 161-170 record, leading the Angels to a second place
finish in 1995.
Up
on the blog this morning we have a “not so missing” 1976 card for
two-year Major League pitcher Chip Lang of the Montreal Expos:
Now, when I say “two-year” MLB pitcher I am stretching it quite a bit,
as Lang appeared in one single game during the 1975 season, his Big
League debut, pitching 1.2 innings and allowing two hits and three walks
for a cool 10.80 earned run average, with two strikeouts.
He’d be back on a Major League mound the following season, appearing in
29 games for Montreal, with two of them starts, going 1-3 with a 4.19
ERA over 62.1 innings of work, striking out 30 but walking 34.
He would go on to play two years in the Minors, for both the Montreal
and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations, but never get back to the Big
Leagues, finishing up with those 30 appearances in 1975/1976, with a
record of 1-3 along with a 4.36 ERA in 64 innings pitched.
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