1980 Topps Sadaharu Oh

 

On this day in 40 years ago, Sadaharu Oh announced his retirement.  This was after 22 years and 868 homeruns. He played his entire career for the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo.  His home stadium during that time was Korakuen Stadium which has the dimensions of 288 feet down the line, 396 in center and 361 in the gaps.  I give these numbers not to dispute his HR numbers but to give a comparison with Hank Aaron, his MLB counterpart.

The dimensions at Fulton County Stadium were 325-330 down the lines, 400-402 in center and 375-385 in the gaps. These dimensions changed a couple times during Aaron's career.  Most of that time it was 330-375-400. Milwaukee County Stadium was 315 down the lines, 362 in the gaps and 402 in center.

So there may be an argument that the fences were a little closer.  But another argument is that the seasons were much shorter in Japan.  The length of the regular seasons varied from 114-140 games, most were in the 130 neighborhood. Although comparisons are difficult, you cannot discount his accomplishments. 

One More for "Mr. Tiger"

Last week baseball lost another legend.  Here is one more card in the style of the 1967 Alt-Topps. Over the past several years he has been featured on this blog more than a few times.  In fact, he was even included in my latest posts of the 1967 Alt-Topps.  He was on the AL batting leaders card.

He passed away on the 6th of April and his #6 was retired by Detroit in 1980.  I thought it might be interesting to see how Kaline performed on April 6th over his Hall of Fame career.  But what I came to realize is that the baseball season for the most part used to begin mid-April.  Its has been creeping earlier and earlier since 1970. Kaling had only played on April 6th 3 times in his career. Collectively, he hit .462 in just 3 games: 1970, 1971 and 1974.  He went 6 for 13 with 3 walks, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored.  Not bad.

Here are the cards that I've created for this blog in the past:

TBT - Oakland A's Edition

Last week the Swingin' A's hosted an Eighties party and invited the Chicago Cubs. Jake Arrieta spoiled their party by pitching 8 scoreless innings allowing only 4 baserunners. The Cubs beat the A's 4-0.  I tried to recreate Rickey Henderson's iconic rookie card for rookie shortstop, Marcus Semien. The uniforms looked great even though the hosiery was inconsistent, as has been the norm for these turn-back-the-clock games.  None the less, it was a very colorful, and fun to watch game.

TBT - Pittsburgh Pirates Edition

Throwback Thursday

Ok this will be a quick and dirty post I will try to actually publish every Thursday. I will make a retro card of a current player from the era of the throwback uni he is wearing. I will also post an actual card from that era as a comparison point.

This week I'm doing Pirates second baseman, Josh Harrison from a recent game against the Brewers. By comparison here is a 1980 card of Phil Garner. As you can see the Pirates made a pretty good match except for the hosiery.














The only other thing missing is the Stargell Stars on the cap. These were originated in 1978. Willie Stargell would give them out to players in recognition of a good play or a good game. The buzzkills in the MLB front office nixed the rebirth of the stars when the Pirates attempted to use them during the 2013 playoffs.

1980 Topps Nolan Ryan

Houston Astros CTNW Favorites #1

The blockbuster move of the 1979 off-season was the free-agent signing of  Nolan Ryan. Ryan became the first million dollar player in Major League Baseball. His 1980 salary for the Astros, $1,125,000 was more than his combined salary for all his previous 13 MLB seasons with the Mets and Angels.

To this day, Ryan has the most strikeouts of any Astros pitcher with 1866. Yet his 106 wins in an Astros uniform was only good enough for 6th place. He had 1 less than J.R. Richard and 28 fewer than Astros all-time leader Joe Niekro, both of whom are featured on my top 5 list.

Although Houston signed Ryan in November of 1979, he still appeared as an Angel in the 1980 Topps set. I created this card using a press conference photo with Ryan wearing his new team jersey over a dress shirt and tie. I'm not sure if Topps would have gone this route or simply relied on the trusty old air-brush.

There was a 1980 Topps-issued card featuring Ryan on the Astros. Burger King offered a 3 pack of Pitch, Hit and Run cards with the purchase of a large fries. This 33 card set featured 11 pitchers, 11 hitters and 11 runners. It was also the first set to feature Joe Morgan in an Astros uniform after his free agency signing in January of 1980.

1980 Topps Ken Griffey All Star MVP

Going Horizontal

Been gone for a while, but I have some unfinished business. Here is one of my running themes. I've been making horizontal cards in sets that didn't normally have them. For the subject I've been using the All Star Game MVP from that season. And yes, I do understand that the 1980 All Star MVP would not be included in the 1980 set, but my blog, my rules.  In 1980 the senior Griffey showed why the NL (at that time) was the "Senior Circuit".

Coming off a 48 home run season, the Cubs Dave Kingman was the fans choice in left field for the 1980 All Star game. But Kingman was also just coming off the disabled list with a shoulder injury. In the third inning Kingman re-injured his shoulder trying to throw Rod Carew out at second. Ken Griffey Sr. came in and went 2 for 3 with a homer. The National League went on to win their 9th straight All Star Game 4-2.

1980 Topps Gaylord Perry

Texas Rangers CTNW Favorites #3

Gaylord Perry had 2 tours of duty with the Texas Rangers. He spent part of the 1975 season and all of 1976 and 1977 as the result of a trade from Cleveland. In 1980 he was once again dealt to the Rangers after his final All-Star season in San Diego. Overall Perry played on 8 different teams over his 22 seasons. He played 112 games for the Rangers over parts of 4 seasons. He was 48-43 with a 3.26 ERA for Texas.

More from "Rating The Rookies"

Here are some "Cards That Never Were" from another four-player rookie card on Rating the Rookies. To see more about these players plus the Topps rookie card they shared click here.

Once again, life has gotten in the way of my regular blogging, but I will have more posts soon. Both here and on my other blog, Rating the Rookies.

1980 All Star Game Honorary Captains: Roy Campanella & Al Kaline

Rounding out my 2014 All Star Break set are the Honorary Captains of the 1980 All Star game in Los Angeles.

Representing the National League was 1969 Hall of Fame inductee and Dodgers fan favorite, Roy Campanella. Campanella appeared on one of the earliest "Card That Never Were" I am aware of, when Topps put him on a 1951 card as part of the 1975 MVP subset. A three-time MVP, Topps would also have to create a 1955 card of him (as well as a 1962 Maury Wills card).

Representing the 1980 American League All Stars in was 1980 Hall of Fame inductee Al Kaline. Kaline was a first ballot Hall of Famer with over 88% of the vote. He was also the youngest player to win the batting title in 1955. Signed by the Tigers in 1953, Kaline spent all 22 MLB seasons in Detroit. He retired at the end of the 1974 season just 1 homer shy of the 400 mark.

1980 Topps Steve Howe

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Steve Howe's story is a tragic one. He had 7 wins and 17 saves as the Dodgers' closer in 1980 and won the National League Rookie of the Year award. In 1981 he had a win and a save in the World Series to beat the Yankees in 6 games. His addiction to drugs and alcohol marred his career. He served 7 substance-related suspensions including the entire 1984 season and a "lifetime" ban in 1992. He successfully appealed that suspension and continued playing through 1996. Although he showed moments of greatness, he never really lived up to his potential. He died at 48 year old when he rolled his pick up truck. Toxicology reports found meth in his system.

1980 Topps Joe Charboneau

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Joe Charboneau was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1980. He had a batted .350 in single A ball in 1978, .352 in AA ball in 1979. In 1980 he skipped right over AAA to opening day starter in left field. He homered in his first ballgame. He continued to have success, hitting .289 with 23 homers, and received a 73 percent share of the R.O.Y. votes. His next 2 seasons would be plagued by back injuries. In the strike shortened 1981 season Joe hit a meager .210 and had back surgery following the season. 1982 was no better. He hit .214 in only 22 MLB games and underwent a second surgery. He never played another game in the Bigs. He holds the record for the fewest Major League games by a Rookie of the Year with only 201 games over 3 seasons.

1980 Topps White Sox Future Stars: Harold Baines, Britt Burns, Richard Dotson

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Like the Phillies, the White Sox also had 2 Rookie of the Year contenders on their roster in 1980. Also like the Phillies, neither were included in the 1980 set. Britt Burns and Richard Dotson were the only pitchers on the White Sox staff with double digit victories.  Burns' 15 wins and Dotson's 12 were good enough to earn 5th and 7th place in American League Rookie of the Year voting. I added Harold Baines to this version of the White Sox Future Stars card. The #1 pick of the 1977 draft and 1980 opening day starter for the White Sox somehow didn't find himself on a Topps card until 1981. The three players on my version would continue to play for the Sox well into the 1980's and were all key parts of the "Winning Ugly" 1983 team. 

But this is what Topps thought the "Future" held for the White Sox. Colbern was the Sox' 3rd string catcher in 1979. He spent all of 1980 in the minors never making the big leagues again. Guy Hoffman and Dewey Robinson were both local boys, Hoffman was from Ottawa, IL and played ball for Bradley University in Peoria. Robinson was from Evanston and played ball for the Salukis at Southern Illinois University. Both bounced back and forth from minors to majors the next few years. Dewey Robinson moved on to coaching and Hoffman was in the Sox, Cubs, Reds and Rangers systems before moving to Japan to play the 1989-91 seasons.

1980 Topps Phillies Future Stars: Bob Dernier, Lonnie Smith, Bob Walk

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

There were 2 Phillies players who received Rookie of the Year consideration in 1980. Of course neither of them were included in the 1980 Topps set so I decided to make a second Phillies Future Stars card.

The original card featured Ramon Aviles, Dickie Noles and Kevin Saucier. Aviles saw limited action as a middle infielder but Noles and Saucier each had over 40 games in relief.

Lonnie Smith had appeared in the 1979 Topps set on a Phillies Prospects and he had a regional Burger King issue of him on a 1980 card but he was excluded from the regular issue set. He hit .339 and had 33 stolen bases for the Phillies and came in 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting.

Bob Walk was one of 3 players who tied for 7th in the N.L. with one vote. He was 11-7 in his rookie season.

Bob Dernier made his Major League debut in September of 1980. I just added him to balance out the card. He would make his Topps debut in 1982 on a Phillies Future Stars card.

1980 Topps Future Stars: Tim Raines, Dave Stapleton, Lee Smith

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the Year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Dave Stapleton: I'm really not sure how Topps missed this one.  Dave Stapleton was the 1979 International League MVP for the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. He had a .321 batting average in 1980 and was 2nd in ROY voting in the American League. Stapleton spent most of his years in Boston as a utility infielder. In 1986 he was regularly used as a late inning defensive replacement for Bill Buckner who was nursing an ankle injury. Boston fans are still lamenting John McNamara's decision to leave Buckner in with a 2 run lead in the 10th inning of game 6.

I included Tim Raines and Lee Smith on this card but really only Dave Stapleton received ROY votes in 1980. Raines was a September call up for the Expos in 1979 and saw limited playing time in 1980. He would get his first Topps card in the 1981 set.  Lee Smith was 2-0 in 1980 but wouldn't appear on a Topps card until 1982.

1980 Topps N.L. Future Stars: Ron Oester, Jeff Reardon, Al Holland

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards.

Ron Oester: Although Ron Oester was not included in the 1980 Topps Set he did have a "Prospects" card in the 1979 set. With Dave Concepcion at shortstop, I can understand why Topps didn't want to take another chance on Oester. But the Reds found a place for him at 2nd base and Oester made the most of it. He played his entire 13 season career in a Reds uniform.


Jeff Reardon:  Reardon currently occupies 7th place on the All Time saves list with 367. But he wasn't the regular closer until he was traded to Montreal in 1981. Still his 101 strikeouts in 110.1 innings plus a record of 8 wins and 6 saves earned him a couple ROY votes.

Al Holland: Holland also put together a solid year coming out of the bullpen. He was 5-3 with 7 saves. He was part of a 5 player trade that sent Joe Morgan to the Phillies in 1983. With the Phillies, Holland assumed the closer roll and made his only All Star appearance in 1984.

1980 Topps A.L. Future Stars: Damaso Garcia, Rick Peters, Doug Corbett

There were 16 different players receiving Rookie of the year votes in 1980 and not a single one of them was included in the 1980 Topps set. So I am continuing my flood of 1980 rookie cards. Here are 3 A.L. players. None of these players are household names but both Doug Corbett and Damaso Garcia were All Stars during the '80s.

Damaso Garcia: Garcia saw limited action with the Yankees in both 1978 and 1979. He was part of a 6 player trade in which the principle players were Rick Cerone and Chris Chambliss. Garcia would play in 2 All Star games and win the Silver Slugger award while on the Blue Jays. He was 4th in R.O.Y. voting in 1980.

Rick Peters: The switch hitting center fielder hit .291 as a rookie in 1980. His production fell in 1981 and he missed the entire 1982 season on the D.L. with an elbow injury.From 1983-1986 he was with the A's organization splitting time between the Major League club and their AAA club in Tacoma. He was 6th in R.O.Y.  voting with a 2% share.

Doug Corbett: With 8 wins and 23 saves in 1980 Doug Courbet was 3rd in R.O.Y. voting. In the strike shortened 1981 season he led the league in appearances and games finished. He was also the sole representative of the Minnesota Twins in the 1981 All Star Game. Unfortunately, he never saw action.

1980 Topps N.L. Future Stars: Leon Durham, Bill Gullickson, Dave Smith

In 1980 there were a total of 16 players receiving Rookie of the Year votes. Guess how many of those 16 players were included in the 1980 Topps regular issue? Anybody?.... Bueller?.... Bueller?

That's right. NONE. Zero, or in the spirit of the World Cup, nil.

Granted, none of these players would set the league on fire. Most were fairly mediocre players. Still, 0 for 16 has to be some kind of record. 

As usual, this is where I like to fill in the blanks. so here are some of the National League R.O.Y. candidates:

Leon Durham: Leon played most of his minor and major league career at first base but with first base occupied by 1979 N.L. MVP Keith Hernandez. Durham spent most of 1980 in the outfield. At the end of the season he was dealt to the Cubs for Hall of Famer, Bruce Sutter. Durham was one of 3 players to receive a single Rookie of the Year vote. He was Tied for 7th in the N.L. with 1%.

Bill Gullickson: In 1980 Gullickson set the record for strike outs in a single game by a rookie pitcher with 18. That record would later be broken by Kerry Wood in 1998 with 20 K's for the Cubs. Gullickson was 2nd in R.O.Y. voting with 44% of the vote.

Dave Smith: In 1980 Smith had 7 wins and 10 saves to help the Astros to their first ever post season. Smith became the Astros all-time leader with 199 career saves until Billy Wagner surpassed him in 2003. Smith cam in 5th with an 11% share of the N.L. R.O.Y. votes.

1980 Topps Lou Brock - 30 Tribute Card Project - Part 15 of 15

This the 15th and final part of a continuing 30 tribute card project inspired by this article from Sports Collectors Daily. In previous posts I have shown 4 cards that Topps had produced and 15 cards that I have found on various blogs pages. Now I have my turn: 

Here is a shot of Lou Brock that I've been waiting for an excuse to use. I stole, er "borrowed", it from the Topps Vault. He just looks so bad-ass in those shades. This would have been a much more fitting tribute to the stolen base king than the highlight card he shared with Yaz in the 1980 set. I'm not sure why the photo was framed with the background on an angle but I decided not to level it when I saw that it seemed to parallel the pennants used on the 1980 design. 

 Here is the complete list. The Black X represents cards produced by Topps, The red X represents those made by other baseball card geeks, and now the blue X represents the cards made by yours truly:

1.       1952 Joe DiMaggio X

2.       1956 Ralph Kiner X

3.       1957 Bob Feller X

4.       1957 Phil Rizzuto X

5.       1957 Jackie Robinson X

6.       1961 Ted Williams X

7.       1962 Jackie Jensen X

8.       1964 Stan Musial X

9.       1964 Early Wynn X

10.   1965 Duke Snider X

11.   1966 Yogi Berra X

12.   1966 Warren Spahn X

13.   1967 Sandy Koufax X

14.   1967 Robin Roberts X

15.   1968 Whitey Ford X

16.   1969 Rocky Colavito X

17.   1969 Roger Maris X 

18.   1969 Eddie Mathews X

19.   1970 Don Drysdale X

20.   1972 Ernie Banks X

21.   1973 Maury Wills X

22.   1974 Willie Mays X 

23.   1977 Hank Aaron X

24.   1977 Frank Robinson X

25.   1978 Brooks Robinson X 

26.   1978 Jim Wynn X

27.   1980 Lou Brock X

28.   1980 Thuman Munson X

29.   1984 Johnny Bench X

30. 1984 Carl Yastrzemski X

30 Tribute Card Project - Part 4

I am continuing on with the 30 tribute card project I started based on  this article on the Sports Collectors Daily website. In my last post, I was able to check 5 more off the list ( numbers 16,19,21,22 and 23)with cards created by other people on the web.

 Another repeat offender, Uncle Doc's Card Closet gives us #24 on the list. Frank Robinson is represented in the 1977 Topps set, but only as a manager on the team card. Just as in 1976, he didn't have a card that represented him as a player also. The minor issue I have with the 1977 cards on this list is that both the Robinson and the Hank Aaron card on my previous post are missing the facsimile signature.

This bright orange Brooks Robinson card come from When Topps Had (Base) Balls. This site actually has several final tribute cards and all are done beautifully but in the interest of giving other card creators their due, I limited it to #25 on the list. I encourage you to browse his site.

I can't help coming back to Keith Conforti. This Thurman Munson tribute card has appeared on several sites including The Virtual Card Collection. This is not only a brilliant tribute card, but a great concept, borrowed from the 1964 Ken Hubbs card. #28 just might be my favorite card that never was.

The Writer's Journey is one of my daily stops. Among other things The Writers Journey features several "Fun Cards". That is where I found #29 on the list. In 1984 Fleer was the only card company to include a Johnny Bench card.

Like Johnny Bench, Yaz was only include in the 1984 Fleer base set. #30 on the list is the 3rd card from Keith Conforti. Here is another link to his Picasa Web Album.

 Here is the list so far. The Black X represents cards produced by Topps, The red X represents those made by other baseball card geeks:

1.       1952 Joe DiMaggio X

2.       1956 Ralph Kiner

3.       1957 Bob Feller X

4.       1957 Phil Rizzuto

5.       1957 Jackie Robinson X

6.       1961 Ted Williams X

7.       1962 Jackie Jensen

8.       1964 Stan Musial X

9.       1964 Early Wynn

10.   1965 Duke Snider

11.   1966 Yogi Berra X

12.   1966 Warren Spahn 

13.   1967 Sandy Koufax X

14.   1967 Robin Roberts X

15.   1968 Whitey Ford

16.   1969 Rocky Colavito X

17.   1969 Roger Maris 

18.   1969 Eddie Mathews

19.   1970 Don Drysdale X

20.   1972 Ernie Banks X

21.   1973 Maury Wills X

22.   1974 Willie Mays X 

23.   1977 Hank Aaron X

24.   1977 Frank Robinson X

25.   1978 Brooks Robinson X 

26.   1978 Jim Wynn

27.   1980 Lou Brock

28.   1980 Thuman Munson X

29.   1984 Johnny Bench X

30. 1984 Carl Yastrzemski X

Now it's my turn.

To be Continued......

Shout Out

The Virtual Card Collection

Here is a card I wish I made. I found this card on a site called The Virtual Card Collection. It has hundreds of scanned images of vintage baseball cards. It also has a small collection of "Cards That Never Were" 

In 1964 Topps created an "In Memoriam" card for Ken Hubbs  the 1962 Rookie of the Year who died in an accident while learning to fly.

In 1979 Munson, the 1970 Rookie of the Year, met a tragically similar fate. He was practicing landings on his Cessna Citation when he clipped a tree and crashed short of the runway.  Given the popularity and recent success of Munson and the New York Yankees, it would seem like a no-brainer for Topps to dedicate a card in its 1980 set to Munson.