MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: LEGENDS EDITION- WALTER JOHNSON

On the blog today, we keep building on my future custom "Minor League Days: Legends Edition" set by adding "The Big Train", my personal pick as greatest pitcher ever, Walter Johnson:

Funny enough, Johnson's only time in the "true" Minors was after his Big League tenure, appearing in one single game for the Newark Bears in 1928, facing one batter, whom he walked.

That was it!

99.9% of his time on a mound was for the Washington Senators between 1907 and 1927, producing one of the all-time greatest careers the game has ever seen.

Perhaps the greatest all-time pitcher PERIOD when you consider all the bad teams this guy pitched for.

All Johnson did while pitching his entire career for the Washington Senators was win 417 games (second all-time), throw 110 shutouts (all-time high), whiff 3509 batters (the record until the late-70's), and post a stellar 2.17 earned run average.

Can you imagine if Johnson pitched for good teams most of his career!? He'd probably have an extra 50-100 wins thrown in!

His 1913 season is just too sick: a 36-7 record with a 1.14 E.R.A, and 243 strikeouts, all league highs, as well as leading numbers in complete games (29), shutouts (11), winning percentage (.837)and WHIP (0.780). 

Needless to say he won the first of two M.V.P. awards that year, with his other award coming in 1924 when at the age of 36 he went 23-7 with a 2.72 earned run average and 158 K's (again winning the pitching Triple Crown) as he led Washington to a World Series win over the New York Giants.

He actually won a third "Triple Crown" in 1918 as well, when he posted a 23-13 record with a 1.27 E.R.A. and 162 strikeouts.

All told he led the league in wins six times, E.R.A. five times, shutouts seven times and strikeouts twelve times, twice topping 300 for a season (1910 & 1912).

And for you "modern" analytics fans out there, how about EIGHT seasons of 10+ WAR, with an INSANE 15.2 mark in 1913!?

And the year before THAT he posted a WAR of 14.3!

He was really a player from out of this world pitching among children. Incredible.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1969 BILL HAYWOOD

Good day everyone!

On the blog today, a special request that came through Twitter a few months ago, one for a 1969 Bill Haywood, who appeared in 14 games for the Washington Senators in 1968, the only games of his Big League career:

Haywood didn't factor in a decision over his brief Major League career, pitching to a 4.70 earned run average over 23 innings, striking out 10 while walking 12, with 27 hits allowed.

He'd put in one more season in the Minors in 1969, going 1-1 for Burlington in Single-A ball before retiring for good, immediately becoming the head baseball coach at Western Carolina University before later holding the same position at Georgia Southwestern State University.

He would put in some Big League coaching as well later on, for both the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners organizations, where he also served as Player Development Coordinator.

A baseball lifer traveling many roads!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1970 TOBY HARRAH

On the blog today we have a 1970 "not really missing in action" card for All-Star shortstop Toby Harrah of the Washington Senators:

Harrah appeared in the first eight games of his career as a 20-year-old in 1969, going 0-1 at the plate while scoring four runs.

He would spend all of 1970 in the Minors before making it back in 1970, where he would stay for the next 16 years putting in a very solid career that arguably has him as THE best shortstop in the American League during the 1970s.

The four-time shortstop would top 20 home runs five times while also topping 20 stolen bases four times, putting in high on-base-percentages while also topping 100 walks in a season twice, with over 80 base on balls another six times.

Very underrated player who finished his career with just under 2000 hits at 1954, hitting .264 with 195 home runs and 238 stolen bases over 2155 games and 7402 at-bats.

While he was the A.L. starting shortstop in the 1976 All-Star game, his 1977 campaign was even better when he hit 27 homers along with 27 steals, leading the league with 109 walks and posting a .393 OBP.

Later in 1982 while with the Cleveland Indians, Harrah would have another excellent season when he scored 100 runs while collecting a career-best 183 hits, hitting .304 with 25 homers and 17 stolen bases.

Solid dude through and through!

REVISITING AN OLD POST FROM 2015: 1970 NICKNAME CARDS FOR FRANK HOWARD

Today we go and revisit a blog post from almost eight years ago, my TWO nickname cards for Frank Howard, so good he needed more than one nickname:

"The Capital Punisher" or "Hondo", take your pick!

Here's the original write-up for the post, which first appeared here on February 18th of 2015:

I used the 1970 template since Howard was just mashing the ball at the turn of the new decade.

Between 1968 and 1970 he'd top 40+ home runs each year (becoming the last player to do so until Jay Buhner came along during the 1995-1997 seasons).

Howard led the American League in 1968 and 1970 with 44 taters, but fell one short of the league lead with 48 in 1969 thanks to another masher, Harmon Killebrew and his 49 blasts.

Howard was also one of the first players to top 30 home runs in both leagues, as he hit 31 home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1962.

A National League Rookie of the Year in 1960, he'd finish in the top-10 for an M.V.P. Award four times during his 16-year career.

The man was a flat-out beast at the plate, hitting 382 home runs in only 6488 at-bats!

He also topped 100 runs batted in four times, leading the league once, and also topped a .500 slugging percentage seven times during the modern "dead-ball" era, leading the league once in that category as well.

He finally retired after the 1973 season, which saw him play in 85 games for the Detroit Tigers.

Now I'm not saying he's a Hall of Fame player, but I was surprised to see that he only garnered 1.4% of the vote when he became eligible in 1979, thus getting dropped immediately.

REVISITING AN OLD BLOG POST FROM AUGUST 4TH, 2014: THEN AND NOW #8: HARMON KILLEBREW 1975

Up on the blog today, how about we revisit one of my favorite "early" blog posts, this one from August of 2014 celebrating the great Harmon Killebrew with my 1975 "Then and Now" card:

 

I have been a super-fan of the man since the age of 10 in 1979, when I first saw this "stranger's" stats on the back of a 1973 card, and I couldn't believe my eyes!

Here's the original blog post write-up from way back:

"What does anyone need to be reminded of regarding Killebrew?

He was an absolute BEAST at the plate, crushing 573 lifetime homers, MOST of them during the pitching-era of the 1960's into the '70's.

Eight 40+ home run seasons, nine 100+ runs batted in seasons, seven 100+ base-on-balls seasons, an M.V.P. in 1969 (with five top-5 finishes in M.V.P. voting as well), and a Hall of Fame induction in 1984.

I remember as a ten-year old in 1979 scoring a 1973 Killebrew card from my cousin, and I was absolutely dumbfounded by the statistics on the back!

I never heard of this guy, yet I was looking at numbers that made my jaw drop.

I just couldn't understand why his name wasn't plastered everywhere. Ha!"

1970 IN-GAME ACTION: FRANK HOWARD

Up on the blog today, we add "Hondo" Frank Howard, the "Capitol Punisher" to my on-going 1970 "In-Game Action" sub-set:

 

Howard was in the middle of an insane run of three 40+ home run seasons, with two titles and three 100+ RBI campaigns as well between 1968 and 1970 for the Washington Senators.

Those efforts got him top-10 finishes in the league MVP voting each year, finishing 8th, 4th and 5th respectively between 1968 and 1970.

An absolute beast at the plate, he would be the last Big League player until Jay Buhner (1995-97) to hit 40+ homers three years in a row from 1968-1970, with a high of 48 in 1969, though leading the league in 1968 and 1970 with 44.
He was also one of the early players to join the 30-home runs in each league club, hitting 31 with the Dodgers in 1962 before reaching the plateau again in 1967 when he slammed 36 taters.
All told, he finished his career with 382 homers over 16 seasons, before moving on to a coaching and managerial career, making him somewhat of a baseball lifer.
I loved him when he was with the New York Yankees later in his coaching career! I mean, how often do you get to appreciate a guy who was so nasty as a player that he had TWO great nicknames: “The Capital Punisher”, and “Hondo

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT- "MISSING" 1957 HARMON KILLEBREW

The next card from my "Whole Nine" custom set released last year to get the spotlight treatment is my 1957 "missing" Harmon Killebrew:

 

One of my favorite players, I'll use ANY excuse to create a card for "Killer" Killebrew, and this one was a pleasure to create!

Still in the infancy of his Major League career, the 20-year-old appeared in only 44 games for the Washington Senators in 1956, hitting five homers while driving in 13 over 99 at-bats while playing third base.

Of course this was but a small glimpse into what he'd accomplish over his amazing career!

He was an absolute BEAST at the plate, crushing 573 lifetime homers, MOST of them during the pitching-era of the 1960's into the '70's.
Eight 40+ home run seasons, nine 100+ runs batted in seasons, seven 100+ base-on-balls seasons, an M.V.P. in 1969 (with five top-5 finishes in M.V.P. voting as well), and a Hall of Fame induction in 1984.

A favorite player of mine "before my time" since I first discovered him when I flipped over his 1973 card, not believing the numbers I was seeing as a 10-year-old in 1979 at my cousin's house.

What a player!

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 JEFF BURROUGHS

Up on the blog today we have a "not so missing" 1971 card for former #1 overall draft pick and N.L. MVP Jeff Burroughs, who made his Big League debut in 1970 at the age of 19:

 

The #1 pick by the Washington Senators in 1969, Burroughs appeared in six games during the 1970 season, hitting .167 with two hits over 12 official at-bats, both scoring and driving in a run.

His next two seasons were more of the same, sporadic action for the Washington/Texas teams before 1973, when he played a full season and delivered big time, hitting 30 homers with 85 RBIs, hitting a very nice .279 at the age of only 22.

Of course the following season he'd give the Rangers a big-time year as he would go on to take home the MVP Award after hitting 25 homers, with a league-leading 118 RBIs and a career-best .301 batting average, making his first All-Star team.

He would be one of the first members of the 30-home runs-in-both-leagues club (30 with the Rangers in 1973 & 41 Braves in 1977), and actually one of the most successful #1 overall picks at the time.
At the tail end of his career during the early-1980’s he was a potent bat off the bench for teams like the Seattle Mariners, Oakland A’s and Toronto Blue Jays.

He'd put together a very nice 16-year career that saw him hit 240 homers while driving in 882 runs between 1970 and 1985.

GIMMIE A DO-OVER- 1971 GERRY (OR IS IT "JERRY"?) JANESKI

On the blog today, thought I would go ahead and give former pitcher Jerry (Gerry) Janeski a do-over on his 1971 Topps card, being that the original was quite a classic as far as "airbrushing" went:

 

Now, for those of you who don't remember the original, allow me to bestow the pleasure:

 

Not really much of an attempt by the fine people at Topps on this one to try and "create" anything close to a real cap.

Nevertheless, decades later it gave me the opportunity to create a revised version showing Janeski (is it "Gerry" or "Jerry"?), suited up for the team he played for during the 1970 season, the Chicago White Sox.

Nice action image that follows what Topps was slowly introducing with the 1971 set, alongside classic cards like Lindy McDaniel, Thurman Munson, etc.

After coming up as a rookie with the Chicago White Sox in 1970 and posting a 10-17 record over 35 starts and 205.2 innings pitched, Janeski was traded in February of ‘71 for former “Bonus Baby” Rick Reichardt.
Janeski would pitch three years in the big leagues, finishing up with a 11-23 record over 62 games, 46 of which were starts, including a 4.73 earned run average, a shutout and a save, with 105 strikeouts over 280 innings.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 LARRY BIITTNER

Up on the blog today, we have a "not so missing" 1971 card for former outfielder Larry Biittner, he of that crazy unique last name, as he made his Big League debut with two games in 1970:

 

Biittner (that surname always mesmerized me as a kid!), went 0-2 at the plate in his MLB debut, but was back the following season when he appeared in 66 games for the Washington Senators in their final season before relocating to Arlington Texas, becoming the Texas Rangers in 1972.

In his 1971 season he hit .257 with 44 hits in 171 at-bats, scoring 12 and driving in 16 at the age of 24.

He'd get a full season in during 1972, playing in 137 games and hitting .259 with 99 hits in 382 at-bats, scoring 34 runs and driving in 31.

For some reason he was left out of the ‘74 set even though he played in 83 games during the 1973 season.
In that campaign he he collected 65 hits over 258 official at-bats. Good for a .252 average with a homer and 12 runs batted in.
He’d go on to play straight through to the 1983 season before retiring, a nice 14-year career that saw him hit a very respectable .273 with 861 hits in 3151 at-bats in 1217 games
I’ll always remember him as a Chicago Cubs player, for whom he suited up between 1976 and 1980, even though he also played for the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds.

ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1970 FRANK HOWARD

Time to add the great Frank Howard to my on-going "On-Card All-Star" thread, celebrating "Hondo's" 1969 start in the Midsummer Classic representing the Washington Senators:

  

Howard was smack dab in the middle of an incredible run, topping 40 homers three straight seasons with a career best in 1969 of 48, while driving in over 100 with a high of 126 in 1970.

Those efforts got him top-10 finishes in the league MVP voting each year, finishing 8th, 4th and 5th respectively between 1968 and 1970.

An absolute beast at the plate, he would be the last Big League player until Jay Buhner (1995-97) to hit 40+ homers three years in a row from 1968-1970, with a high of 48 in 1969, though leading the league in 1968 and 1970 with 44.
He was also one of the early players to join the 30-home runs in each league club, hitting 31 with the Dodgers in 1962 before reaching the plateau again in 1967 when he slammed 36 taters.
All told, he finished his career with 382 homers over 16 seasons, before moving on to a coaching and managerial career, making him somewhat of a baseball lifer.
I loved him when he was with the New York Yankees later in his coaching career! I mean, how often do you get to appreciate a guy who was so nasty as a player that he had TWO great nicknames: “The Capital Punisher”, and “Hondo”!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 CISCO CARLOS

Today the blog offers up a career-capping “not so missing” 1971 card for former pitcher Cisco Carlos, who played the last of his Big League games during the 1970 season with the Washington Senators:

Carlos, who began his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1967, appeared in only five games for Washington in 1970, not factoring in a decisions but pitching very well, to the tune of a 1.50 earned run average over six innings of work.
Over his four seasons under the Big League sun, Carlos was mainly an arm out of the ‘pen, though in 1968 he did start 21 of his 29 appearances, going 4-14 with a 3.90 ERA over 122.1 innings, by far the most action he ever saw in any one year.
All told, even though he’d pitch another four years in the Minors, he’d never get another chance at the Majors, so he finished his career with a record of 11-18, with an ERA at 4.25 over 73 appearances and 237 innings pitched. 

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 JIM FRENCH

Up on the blog today to start the new work week, a 1972 career-capping “not so missing” card for former catcher Jim French, who played the last of his Big League games in 1971 with the Washington Senators:

Now, yes he was never an official member of the Texas Rangers, and was released by Washington at the end of the 1971 season, but hey, I figured with this unique situation where a player finished his career while his team became another franchise during the immediate off-season, why not make up a card like this?
French played the entirety of his seven-year Major League career with the Senators, beginning in 1965 through the 1971 season when he only appeared in 14 games, hitting .146 with six hits in 41 at-bats over that limited rolse.
Never a full-time player, the most action he ever saw in one season was 69 games in 1970, with 63 games the season prior.
It seems he retired from professional ball as he has no Minor League play after 1971, thus finishing his career with a .196 batting average with 119 hits in 607 at-bats, spread out over 234 games, with five home runs, 53 runs scored and 51 runs batted in.

 

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS- FRANK HOWARD

Time to go and add one of my favorite subjects here on the blog to the 1971 “Minor League Days” sub-set, “Hondo” Frank Howard, who was bashing the ball at every level of his professional career:

When this picture was taken, the young stud was wrapping up a 1959 season that saw him hit .342 for the Spokane Indians and Victoria Rosebuds, with 43 home runs and 126 runs batted in over 139 games combined between the two teams.
This was after a 1958 season, his first in pro ball, when he hit .333 with 37 homers and 119 RBIs over 129 games for the Green Bay Blue Jays.
An absolute beast at the plate, he would be the last Big League player until Jay Buhner (1995-97) to hit 40+ homers three years in a row from 1968-1970, with a high of 48 in 1969, though leading the league in 1968 and 1970 with 44.
He was also one of the early players to join the 30-home runs in each league club, hitting 31 with the Dodgers in 1962 before reaching the plateau again in 1967 when he slammed 36 taters.
All told, he finished his career with 382 homers over 16 seasons, before moving on to a coaching and managerial career, making him somewhat of a baseball lifer.
I loved him when he was with the New York Yankees later in his coaching career! I mean, how often do you get to appreciate a guy who was so nasty as a player that he had TWO great nicknames: “The Capital Punisher”, and “Hondo”!

 

 

MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 GREG GOOSSEN

Today on the blog we have a “missing” 1971 career-capper for former first baseman Greg Goossen, who played the last of his Big League games during the 1970 season:

Goossen finished his MLB career with a split season between the Milwaukee Brewers and finally the Washington Senators, playing in a combined 42 games and hitting .241 with 20 hits over 83 at-bats.
In 1969 with the Pilots he had his best year, hitting .309 in 52 games for the one-year organization, with a power surge of 10 homers in only 139 at-bats.
Over his six seasons under the Big League sun he hit .241 with 111 hits in 460 at-bats spread out over 193 games between 1965 and 1970, playing for the New York Mets, Seattle Pilots, Brewers and Senators.

1971 SPECIAL- "THE SPLENDID SPLINTER" AND "MR. OCTOBER"

When I came across this image a long while back, I always knew I wanted to create a 1971 “special” card showing two icons of the game, Ted Williams and Reggie Jackson:

While Williams was now a manager for the Washington Senators, some ten years removed from his Hall of Fame playing days, the young Reggie Jackson was just beginning to lay down HIS Cooperstown resume.
Perhaps the greatest hitter who ever lived talking to the greatest clutch performer the game has ever seen.
You can imagine that anything Williams would talk to you about, as a young budding superstar, you whole-heartedly soaked up, word for word.
Today, almost 50 years after this image was taken, both legends of the game are Hall of Famers and remembered as two of the greatest to put on a Major League uniform during their eras.
I just love images like this and hope to keep producing special cards for the blog along these lines. Hope you enjoy them!

SUPER VETERAN "THEN AND NOW": 1971 CURT FLOOD

Time to honor All-Star outfielder and a major factor in the way the game is structured to this very day, Curt Flood, with a “Then and Now” card in the 1971 set:

Flood pretty much sacrificed his career by the early-70’s , fighting MLB for their handling of players “as cattle” in regards to trades, releases, eventually opening the doors for Free Agency and allowing players some control over their own careers.
You have to understand how HUGE this was, as it was something players have been trying to do since the late-1800’s (think of the failed Players League of 1890).
Sadly for Flood, while it did end up helping ballplayers soon after he left the game, his own playing career was over by the age of 33, really 31.
Beginning in 1962 Flood strung together eight fantastic seasons starring for the St. Louis Cardinals, consistently batting over .300, two 200-hit seasons, and seven straight Gold Glove Awards, right up to the 1969 campaign.
Then it all began with a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies along with others including Tim McCarver for superstar slugger Dick (Richie) Allen and a couple of other players.
Flood refused to report to his new team, eventually forcing the Cardinals to send prospect Willie Montanez to complete the deal, essentially ending his career as a player while he fought to have control over his own career, fighting the “reserve clause”.
After sitting out the season in 1970, the Phillies eventually sent him to the Washington Senators, where Flood played the last 13 games of his career before leaving the team within the first month, abruptly closing out a great career that could have been Hall of Fame worthy had he played longer.
If you’re not familiar with Flood’s case, and his teaming up with Players’ Union head Marvin Miller, you MUST read up on this to understand the state of the game today.
I just touched upon some brief points here, but the case and Flood’s decision to pursue this cause is incredible.
Every single player today has much to thank Flood and his sacrifice, allowing the Free Agent boom of the mid-70’s to change the game forever, leading to the salaries and benefits even the average players have today.

MISSING IN ACTION SPECIAL- 1972 JOE FOY

Here’s a bit of a “Special” card, a 1972 “Missing in Action” card for NYC-born Joy Foy, who wrapped up a six-year Major League career with the Washington Senators in 1971:

Of course, since the Senators relocated and began the 1972 season as the Texas Rangers, it left me with a little bit of a twist to have Foy on a card, so I went with the same format as the Curt Flood I did a long while back, using the “Traded” late-series sub-set template.
Foy came up to the Big League in 1966 with the Boston Red Sox and really had an underrated rookie year, scoring 97 runs while hitting 15 homers and driving in 63 with a a .262 batting average.
Over the next two seasons he’d pretty much keep those numbers consistent, giving the Red Sox a very good young shortstop for the future.
However, left unprotected in the 1969 expansion draft, the Kansas City Royals picked him as the fourth overall pick. So it was straight to the “second division” for Foy, where he once again had a solid year, batting .262 with 37 stolen bases and 72 runs scored for the new Major League team.
Of course, he would then become a part of one of those lopsided trades in the early-70’s, as the New York Mets acquired him for a young outfielder named Amos Otis, giving the Royals a player who would be a mainstay in the outfield over the next decade, while Foy fizzled out, hitting only .236 in Queens during the 1970 season, before that last season for Washington.
It seems that Foy developed some problems during his tenure with the Mets, apparently even showing up to games high on marijuana, thus leaving the Mets no choice but to leave him unprotected once again, enabling the Senators to take one last chance on the young infielder to no avail, when he hit .234 in a limited role.

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1971 JAN DUKES

Here’s a “not really” missing 1971 card for former pitcher Jan Dukes, who had a brief three-year career with the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers:

Dukes, who was taken 8th overall in the 1967 January draft by Washington, appeared in five games during the 1970 season, not factoring in a decision while posting a .270 earned run average over 6.2 innings pitched.
The previous year he finished 0-2 in his first taste of the big leagues, while ending up with a nice 2.45 E.R.A. in eight appearances, all out of the pen.
After spending the 1971 season in the Minor Leagues, he’d make it back to the Majors in 1972, now with the organization shifted to Texas as the Rangers.
In his final stint as a Major League player, he appeared in three games, allowing one earned run in 2.1 innings without a decision.
All told, he finished his MLB career with an 0-2 record along with a nice 2.70 E.R.A., all in relief over 16 games and 20 innings pitched.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK- TOM CHENEY STRIKES OUT 21 BATTERS

Here’s a “Turn Back the Clock” 1972 card celebrating the 10th anniversary of Washington Senators’ pitcher Tom Cheney striking out 21 Baltimore Orioles in a 16-inning complete game which saw him throw over 220 pitches:

On September 12, 1962, Cheney had a shutout going into the ninth-inning, along with 13 strikeouts.
Sadly for him, the Orioles also had a shutout going, so the game would go into extra innings.
Little did anyone know that Cheney would continue pitching, as well as striking out batters, for another seven innings until opposing pitcher Dick Hall gave up a game-winning homer to Senator Bud Zipfel, giving Cheney the shutout and record-breaking performance.
The mark still stands as the most strikeouts in a single game by one pitcher, regardless of innings pitched.