2016 NLDS: Cubs vs. Giants

For the 2016 postseason I am making Cards That Never Were of Hall of Famers from each team but with a couple of twists. The first twist is that they will appear on cards that coincide with the year they were inducted into Cooperstown. The second twist is that these are not the teams they are best known for playing.

1976 Topps Robin Roberts

Robin Roberts was in seven straight All Star games and pitched 6 straight 20 win seasons for the Phillies in the 1950s. After a dismal 1-10 record in 1961 he was sold to the Yankees. He spent spring training with the Yanks but was released without ever seeing action in a regular season game. He was picked up by the Orioles where he went 42-36 over 3 and a half seasons. He spent the second half of 1965 and the first half of '66 with the Astros. The Cubs picked him in July of 1966. He went 2-3 and retired at the end of the season at the age of 40. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1976.

2003 Topps Gary Carter

This one is just rubbing salt in Mets fans' wounds. First the Giants eliminate them in the wildcard game, now they have to see Gary Carter in a Giants uniform. After 4 straight All Star seasons in New York, Carter struggled with injuries in 1989. He played in just 50 games and hit .183. After the season. He played three more years, 1990 with the Giants, 1991 with the Dodgers and in 1992 he retired after playing his final season in Montreal. The Expos retired his number 8. The Nationals un-retired it along with the retired numbers of Rusty Staub, Andre Dawson and Tim Raines. Fortunately, the Montreal Canadiens rescued them and they are hanging from the stadium rafters. 

Carter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 on his sixth ballot. Hard to believe it took that many vote for an eleven-time All Star, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time Gold Glove and two-time All Star Game MVP.

1981 Topps Gary Carter All Star MVP

Going Horizontal

With the 2016 All Star game behind us, I thought I would return to an old theme, making horizontal cards for the Topps years without them. As usual I am using the All Star MVP as my subject.  In 1981, it was Gary Carter of the Montreal Expos. 1981 was the only season in which the Expos saw post-season play.

Just to get ahead of the usual comments that the 1981 All Star MVP would appear on a 1982 card: yes, I know. I also don't care. My blog, my fake cards, my rules.

The actual 1981 Gary Carter card was a beauty so this is not  meant to be an improvement on his card from that year. I took a few liberties with the original design besides turning it on its side. I narrowed the lower border and shrunk the size of the cap. I also replaced the position and team name inside the cap with the team logo, an idea blatantly stolen from the Dick Allen Hall of Fame blog. Click here to see the source of my plagiarism.

The 1981 All Star game was postponed to August and marked the return to baseball after the 1981 strike. The 1981 was split into two halves with the division winners from each half season playing each other in the first ever best-of-five Divisional Championship Series.

The All Star Game itself  had the NL come from behind to win their 10th straight 5-4. Gary Carter hit two solo homers. His first cam in the 5th inning off Angel pitcher Ken Forsch to tie the game at 1-1. His next came in the 7th with the AL leading 4-2. He took Yankees reliever Ron Davis over the center field fence to bring the NL within one run. Mike Schmidt had the game winning RBI with a two run shot in the 8th off Rollie Fingers.   

1975 Hostess Gary Carter

Montreal Expos CTNW Favorites #1

Although Gary Carter would have a Hall of Fame career behind the plate, most of his rookie season was spent in the outfield. The Expos primary backstop was Barry Foote. Foote was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team in 1974 and Expos manager Gene Mauch called him "the next Johnny Bench". Meanwhile "The Kid" was selected to the All Star team as an outfielder and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. During his career he was selected to 10 more All Star teams (twice winning the All Star MVP) and won 3 Gold Gloves. All of them as a catcher.

On a side note, the 5 players I picked for my favorite Expos all had great nicknames. This wasn't deliberate, just a lucky coincidence.

"The Rock"

"The Big Unit"

"Rusty" and "Le Grand Orange"

"The Hawk"

"The Kid"