NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUE ALL-TIME LEGENDS- PETE HILL

It’s been a long while since I added to my original 1972 thread celebrating the greats of the Negro Leagues, so I thought today would be a fine time to add the great Pete Hill to the blog:

 

Considered the greatest Negro League outfielder before Oscar Charleston came along, Hill was a complete five-tool player, playing the bulk of his career in the pre-league era in the earliest part of the 20^th century.

Credited with multiple batting crowns, sadly statistics were not as reliably kept in the pre-league Negro Leagues, so we rely on information handed down from generation to generation.

However, he is credited with hitting .452 in 1906, .349 in 1907, .457 in 1910, .406 in 1912 and .382 in 1913 in those pre-league days, while also documented as a career .303 hitter in the Negro League days from 1920 (at the age of 37) to 1925 (aged 42), collecting 154 hits over 508 at-bats in 159 games.

For more information on the Hall of Famer (elected in 2006 by Special Committee), please click the link below to the wonderful Baseball-Reference page:

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Pete_Hill

 

If and when I create my Negro League Legends “Second Series” custom set, he will most assuredly be one of the key players featured.

Stay tuned…

1970 "IN-GAME ACTION": WILLIE McCOVEY

Time to go and spotlight San Francisco Giants slugger Willie McCovey from my 1970 "In-Game Action" set here on the blog:

 

The reigning MVP at the time this card would have seen the light of day, he was easily the most feared hitter in Major League baseball.

From the moment he got called up to the Big Leagues in 1959, all he did was tear the seams off the ball by hitting .354 with 13 homers and 38 runs batted in along with 32 runs scored in only 52 games, copping a Rookie of the Year Award and setting the tone for his 22-year career.

In 1969 he had his finest season, as he made his fifth All-Star team, on his way to taking home the league MVP Award after a year that saw him lead the league with 45 homers, 126 RBIs, a .453 OBP and a .656 slugging percentage, as well as a whopping 45 intentional base on balls.

The man put it ALL together that year!

By the time he retired in 1980, he crushed 521 home runs, collected over 2000 hits, drove in over 1500, and left his mark as one of the most feared sluggers of his generation.

In 1986, his first year of eligibility, he was voted into the Hall of Fame with 81.4% of the ballots cast.

Man, what a threesome McCovey, Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda made back in the 1960's for San Francisco, huh?

Just incredible.

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT- 1982 RYNE SANDBERG "WHOLE NINE" CUSTOM SET

Fun card to spotlight today on the blog, my 1982 “missing” custom for Ryne Sandberg, from my “Whole Nine” set released a few months back, before he became a Hall of Famer with the Chicago Cubs:

 

Sandberg made his Big League debut in 1981, appearing in only 13 games, going 1-for-6 at the plate, scoring two runs, with time out at both shortstop and second base.

Of course, we know that over the Winter before the start of the 1982 season he was traded to the Chicago Cubs with Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus, in one of the most lopsided trades of the modern era.

All Sandberg would end up doing is become an MVP second baseman, taking home the Award in 1984 when he helped lead the team to their first playoff action since 1945, leading the league with 114 runs and 19 triples to go along with his 200 hits, 36 doubles, 19 homers and 32 stolen bases.

Over the next dozen or so seasons he would steal as many as 54 bases in a season (1985), while also becoming a home run king, which he did in 1990 when he blasted 40 homers while also topping the league with 344 total bases.

Defensively, Sandberg was no slouch, taking home nine straight Gold Gloves between 1983 and 1991, becoming one of the game’s top all-around players, yet somewhat overlooked.

I was always a huge Sandberg fan, and was blown away when he returned from retirement in 1995, missing the entire season, then hit 25 homers with 92 runs batted in in 1996 at the age of 36.

By the time he retired after the 1996 season, he finished his stellar career with 2386 hits, 1318 runs scored, 282 homers, 1061 RBIs and 344 stolen bases, with a career .285 batting average.

What a great ballplayer, and I’m so glad to have seen the bulk of it as a kid back then.

REVISITING AN OLD BLOG POST- NOVEMBER 6th, 2016: A "DREAM CARD" THAT NEVER WAS

Thought it'd be fun to revisit one of my favorite customs over the years, this one created back in 2016: a "fantasy" 1973 rookie card featuring three top-notch outfielders:

One player went on to the Hall of Fame, and the other two can be argued to be part of that posse.

I for one STILL say Dave Parker is a Hall of Famer!
Nevertheless, we know Winfield and Parker would actually have their rookie cards the following year in the 1974 set.
Evans was the only player of the three to appear on a multi-player rookie card in ‘73, and I left his part “as-is” and added the other two on either side of him.
It’s been stated that Parker and Winfield changed the ballplayer prototype when they entered the league. Huge, slugging athletes who could also run and play stellar defense.
Evans of course took a little longer to come into his own, but when he did he became of the game’s best in the early to mid 80’s.
All three had awesome Major League careers, with Winfield leading the way and ending up in the Hall of Fame.
But again, look at what those other two did on the ball field and tell me without question that they don’t deserve to be there.
It’s a tough argument for sure...
Would have been an awesome card to be chasing as a kid, as well as these days as a collector.

SPECIAL SPOTLIGHT: "LOST" 1963 FLEER SECOND SERIES: AL KALINE

The next card from my recent custom "Lost Second Series" 1963 Fleer set to get the spotlight is the one for Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline, "Mr. Tiger":

 

Kaline was an institution in the Motor City, coming up at the age of 18, winning a batting title at the age of 20, retiring after the 1974 season, all 22 years of his career with the same team.

In only his second full season as a Major League player, the 20-year old hit a league-leading .340 based on his 200 hits in 588 at-bats, barely edging out the previous record holder Ty Cobb by mere days as the youngest champ.

The 15-time all-star topped 3000 hits, 1600 runs, 1500 runs batted in and came one home run short of 400 over his stellar career, which also included 10 Gold Gloves for his defensive prowess.
An easy Hall of Fame pick, he was inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1980 with 88.3% of the ballots cast.
“Mr. Tiger” indeed!

DEDICATED ROOKIE- 1977 LEE MAZZILLI

On the blog today, we have a 1977 "dedicated rookie" for Brooklyn-native Lee Mazzilli, who made his MLB debut with 24 games at the age of 21 in 1976 for the New York Mets:

 

Mazzilli hit .195 in his short time with the parent club as a September call-up, going 15-77 at the plate with two homers and seven runs batted in.

The "Italian Stallion" had himself quite a following back in his old neighborhood during his first tour with the New York Mets between 1976 and 1981..

Once Tom Seaver and Dave Kingman were shipped out Mazzilli was their star and future, giving the Mets some solid seasons between 1977 and 1980.

The Lincoln High School grad made his only All-Star team in 1979, arguably his finest as a Big Leaguer when he hit .303 with 181 hits and 79 runs batted in, all career-highs, along with 34 stolen bases and 78 runs scored.

He would go on to put in 18 seasons as a player before moving on to coaching, and eventually managing, which he did with the Baltimore Orioles in 2004 and 2005.

I remember when Joe Torre was out as Yankee manager after the 2007 season and my favorites for the job were Mazzilli or Larry Bowa.

Anyway, by the time Mazzilli retired as a player he finished with a .259 batting average, with 1068 hits over 4124 at-bats in 1475 games, stealing 197 bases, along with numerous young girls' hearts in my neighborhood!

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS- 1975 A.L. FIREMEN

Up on the blog today, we move along in my on-going “expanded league leaders” thread, with the top relievers in the American league for 1974, shown on a 1975 three-spot league leader card as opposed to the original one-and-one Topps issued way back when:

 

 

We begin with Chicago White Sox reliever Terry Forster, who paced the league with his 31 “points”, seven wins to go with his league-leading 24 saves, while appearing in 59 games and pitching 134.1 innings.

It wasn’t exactly a dominating season as evidenced by his 3.62 earned run average and eight losses, but in the days before true “closers” it was good enough to have him come out on top.

Just one point behind with 30, the A.L.’s top reliever of 1973, and arguably of 1974 as well, Detroit Tiger pitcher John Hiller, who posted 13 saves while also posting an incredible 17 wins in relief!

Over his 59 appearances, Hiller went 17-14, with a nice 2.64 ERA over a staggering 150 innings, with the aforementioned 13 saves, closing out 52 of his games.

The previous season he was all-world with his record breaking 38 saves, as well as 10-5 record with a microscopic 1.44 ERA over 65 games, 60 of which he closed out, throwing 125. 1 innings out of the bullpen.

Also coming in at 30 points, tied for second place, Milwaukee Brewers reliever Tom Murphy, journeyman righty who had a very nice 1974 season, saving 20 while posting a record of 10-10 over 70 appearances, finishing up with a 1.90 ERA over 123 innings pitched, all out of the ‘pen.

A converted starter, he’d pitch through the rest of the decade in relief, putting in 12 years in the Majors and finishing up with 62 wins and 59 saves over 439 appearances and 1444 innings.