1964 Topps AL Leading Firemen: Miller, Radatz and Dailey

In 1963 Stu Miller was named The Sporting News Fireman of the Year. This was originally said to be given to the player with the most Saves and Relief Wins but was voted on by the writers and thus subjective. In 1963 Miller led the league in saves with 27 and had 5 wins. Dick Radatz had 25 saves and 15 wins, all in relief. It appears as though the 1963 award was given to the player strictly with the most saves. Dick Radatz, the 1962 recipient of the award, had the the better overall record for a reliever. Radatz also had more strikeouts and a lower ERA. 

There were 3 pitchers tied for 3rd with 21 saves, Bill Dailey of the Twins, Hoyt Wilhelm from the White Sox, and John Wyatt of the A's. Of the 3 Bill Dailey had the best overall record at 6-3 with 72 K's and a 1.99 ERA. That was enough to earn him the 3rd spot on this fake card.

Wilhelm was 5-8 with 111 K's and a 2.64 ERA and Wyatt was 6-4 with 81 K's and a 3.13 ERA.

1977 Topps Rookies: Page, Henderson, Rozema, Bannister

After switching to a single series in 1974, Topps did a poor job of  getting star rookies onto cards their rookie season. in 1977, eight players received Rookie of the Year consideration, only 3 made it into the Topps set for that year

In my last post I created a 1977 card that never was for the AL ROY, Eddie Murray who was conspicuously missing from the set. For this post I am creating a single rookie card for 4 others who received Rookie of the Year votes but were left out by Topps. The sad truth is, other than the Hall of Famers at the top of the ballot the rest were pretty forgettable. 

I don't want to give the wrong impression, all of these players had respectable baseball careers ranging from 6-15 years. They were just, well, forgettable. Bump Wills had the notoriety of being Maury Wills' son. Floyd Bannister was the only one to play in an All Star game. Just once and it was the same year he led the league in strike outs, then followed it up in 1983 as part of the "Winning Ugly" White Sox. 

Speed apparently played a big part in ROY voting. Four ROY candidates had double-digit steals. Dawson had 21, Wills had 28, Mitchell Page had 42 and Gene Richards had 56.

The 3 players who were included in the 1977 set appeared on 2 cards. Gene Richards shared a card with the NL Rookie of the Year Andre Dawson.

Bump Wills was also included on a multiplayer rookie card.

1977 Topps Eddie Murray

 In 1977 Eddie Murray and Andre Dawson were the Rookies of the Year. Both went on to be enshrined in Cooperstown.  Its not often that both AL and NL Rookies of the Year land in the Hall of Fame. 

In 1956 it was Luis Aparicio and Frank Robinson.

In 1967 we had Rod Carew and Tom Seaver.

And the most recent is Eddie Murray and Andre Dawson in 1977. The 2001 ROY's Ichiro and Albert Pujols, look like they have a pretty good chance but that is a fairly long drought. 

1970 Topps Carl Yastrzemski All Star MVP

Going Horizontal

The A.L. clung to a 4 run tie into the 12th inning of the 1970 All Star Game. Then Pete Rose barreled over Ray Fosse to break the tie in front of the home crowd to give the Nationals the win.

Yaz went 4 for 6 in the game. He scored a run and drove in another. He was the 2nd All Star game MVP to play for the losing team. Brooks Robinson was the first in 1966 and no player has accomplished that feat since.

Video Checklist - Series 19

Hey Nineteen. Never thought I would make this many cards. But here they are, my nineteen series of Card That Never Were. All 25 of them in 2 1/2 minutes.

1961 Topps Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 19th Series

This was a quick 25. One remaining  1963 Leader card, the World Series cards and the 1971 All Star cards that never were. For my checklists I continued using the 1961 style and some famous baseball battles. Here is Roger Clemens hurling Mike Piazza's broken bat at him during the 2000 World Series.

1971 Topps All Star Cards : The Managers

1971 Topps Gil Hodges All-Star

Gil Hodges was one of the few managers I can recall that came to a team via the trade. He was aquired by the Mets in a trade that sent pitcher Bill Denehy to the Washingtin Senators. Most recently Ozzie Guillen was "traded" to the Marlins by the White Sox. Before that Lou Piniella went to the Rays in a trade that sent Randy Winn to the Mariners and in the 70's the A's Charlie Finley traded Chuck Tanner to the Pirates for an aging Manny Sanguillen.

1971 Topps Earl Weaver All-Star

In his 1st of 4 All Star games as a manager, Weaver took the NL to 12 innings before losing 5-4. In 1971 he would lead the AL to their only All Star victory from 1963-1983. In 1972 he would take the NL into extra innings again before losing again. If he were a hockey coach he would be 1-1-2 getting 4 out of 8 possible points.

1971 Topps All Star Cards : American League Battery

1971 Topps Jim Palmer All-Star

1970 was Jim Palmer's 1st All Star game. He would pitch in 6 All Star games over his career starting in 4 of them. In 1970, both he and NL starter Seaver began the game with 3 scoreless innings. Palmer gave up a walk and a single in the 2nd but stranded the runners then mowed down Rusty Staub, Willie Mays and Dick Allen in order in the 3rd.

1971 Topps Bill Freehan All-Star

Bill Freehan was selected to the All Star team 11 times in his 15 year career. He was the starting All Star catcher 7 consecutive seasons from 1966-1972. He lined out to center in his only at bat in 1970. In the bottom of the 5th he was replaced by Ray Fosse. 

1971 Topps All Star Cards : National League Battery

1971 Topps Tom Seaver All-Star

Tom Seaver was selected to 12 All Star teams during his career. In 1970 he made his only All Star start. He pitched 3 near perfect innings. He struck out 4, walked no-one and gave up only 1 hit to the eventual All Star MVP, Carl Yastrzemski. In the 1st inning Yaz singled to center but was stranded at 1st when Seaver struck out Frank Robinson then got Boog Powell on an infield pop up.

1971 Topps Johnny Bench All-Star

In 1970 Johnny Bench was the catcher in his 2nd of what would be 9 consecutive All Start starts. He played in 14 Mid Season Classics, 10 as a starter. Although he hit .357 in All Star play, he went 0 for 3 in 1970, striking out all 3 times. On the bright side he threw out pinch-runner Tommy Harper. Harper was the 1st ever Milwaukee Brewer All Star. Harper came in to run for Harmon Killebrew in the 5th and was thrown out trying to steal 2nd.

1971 Topps All Star Cards : American League Infield

1971 Topps Boog Powell All-Star

Boog Powell was 2nd in MVP voting in 1969 and was the AL MVP in 1970. His dominance didn't cross over into the 1970 All Star game, though. He went 0 for 3 batting clean-up for the AL.

1971 Topps Davey Johnson All-Star

The Orioles' Gold Glove 2nd baseman, Davey Johnson was selected to his 3rd All Star game and his 1st as a starter in 1970. I always remember him being referred to as "Davey" yet Topps always listed him as Dave well past his playing days and into his managerial years.

1971 Topps Luis Aparicio All-Star

Luis Aparicio hit a career high .313 in 1970. He also won his 9th and final Gold Glove that year. He was traded to the Red Sox after the 1970 season. The White Sox retired his number in 1984, the year he was voted into the Hall of Fame.

1971 Topps Harmon Killebrew All-Star

Killebrew was one of only 3 AL starters to get a hit in the 1970 All Star game. The Killer had an impressive .308 batting average in his 13 All Star game appearances.