Another Batch of Cards from Rating the Rookies

It's crazy how these things add up. Here is a baker's dozen.  Thirteen Cards That Never Were from my other blog, Rating the Rookies. The first are a couple of one-and-done players. The only card either Bernie Smith or George Kopacz appeared on was a 1971 Brewers Rookie Stars card. So I made 1970 Topps cards of them.

The second batch also landed on 1970 Topps Cards That Never Were. George Lauzerique and Roberto Rodriguez originally shared a 1969 Topps Athletics Rookie Stars card.

The next two actually had solo rookie cards. Lee Stange had a solo rookie card in 1962. That was the first year Topps had multi-player rookie cards. But they also had quite a few solo rookie cards.  I gave Stange a 1963 Fleer Card That Never Was. 

Deron Johnson had three, count 'em three solo rookie cards. He appeared on solo rookie stars cards in 1959, 1960 and 1961 as a Yankee. And for all three cards Topps used the exact same photo. For his Card That Never Was, I put him on a 1975 Topps card showcasing his brief time with the White Sox. 

The next two appeared together on a 1965 Topps Red Sox Rookie Stars card. I gave Rico Petrocelli a 1968 All Star Card That Never Was in honor of his start in the 1967 All Star game.

 Jerry Stephenson got a 1969 Topps Card showing him as a member of the Seattle Pilots. 

Jim Woods went to High School just blocks from Wrigley. In the same year he graduated high school, he was a September call-up for the Cubs. They only used him a couple times, both times as a pinch runner. So for his Card That Never Was, I gave him the Herb Washington treatment, and put him on a 1957 Topps card with his position listed as pinch runner. He eventually appeared as a rookie on a 1961 Topps card but that was not his first card. He also had a card in the 1960 Leaf set.

Mike Cubbage, Doug DeCinces, Reggie Sanders and Manny Trillo shared a 1975 Rookie Infielders card. Cubbage was part of a multi-player trade that sent Bert Blyleven to the Texas Rangers. For his part, I gave him a 1976 Topps Traded Card That Never Was. 

After a solid career for the Orioles, Angels and (very briefly) Cardinals, DeCinces played in Japan for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. For his Card That Never Was, I made a 1988 Topps style card of him on the Swallows.

This Reggie Sanders was drafted by the A's in the same year the other Reggie Sanders was born. His entire MLB playing career consisted of  26 games played in 1974. Despite that he had 2 rookie cards, one in 1974 and another in 1975. For his third rookie Card That Never Was, I teamed him up with another young Reggie on this 1968 card.

Manny Trillo also had rookie cards in '74 and '75. For his Card That Never Was, I gave him a Kellogg's cereal card for his first All Star season 1977.

1970 Topps AL Stolen Base Leaders: Tommy Harper, Bert Campaneris, Cesar Tovar

The 1969 Seattle Pilots didn't have much to celebrate. The team had an old stadium with poor attendance and an older team. With an average age of over 28 years, they were older than most established MLB teams and considerably older than the other 1969 expansion teams.  But Tommy Harper provided Seattle fans with a reason to cheer. The lead-off hitter got the Pilots first hit ever and also scored their first run. Harper also led the Majors with 73 stolen bases.

After leading the AL in stolen bases for 4 consecutive years, Bert Campaneris fell to 2nd place. His 62 swipes still matched his career high from the 1968 season. Additionally he was only caught 8 times compared to 22 in 1968.

Cesar Tovar stole 52 bases in the regular season and 1 in the NLCS for the Minnesota Twins. 

The Many, Many Rookie Cards of Lou Piniella

Sweet Lou made his cardboard debut as a Senator after batting .310 with 16 homers for their single A ball club. He made his Big League debut in September of 1964 but by that time he was dealt to the Orioles as the "player to be named later" to complete an earlier trade. Although he played in 4 games he would have only one plate appearance. He pinch hit for Hall of Famer Robin Roberts. He grounded out to second base.

He next appeared on a card in 1968. This time as an Indian. 1968 would also be the next year he would play in the Majors. Again he was a September call-up. He did manage to score a run as a pinch runner, and get an RBI on a sac-fly but his first big league hit still eluded him.

In 1969 Topps would recycle his 1968 photo and put him on a Rookie Stars card for the 3rd time. This time as a Pilot. Of course Lou would be traded before the start of the season to the Royals and eventually be named A.L. Rookie of the Year.

If Topps saw fit to include him on a Rookie Stars card in 1964, 1968 and 1969, why not 1965 or 1966 or 1967?  Since the name of this blog is Cards That Never Were, it is my duty to fill in the missing years.

In 1965 Piniella was in the Orioles Farm system. After his single at bat in 1964, Baltimore placed him in AA where he hit a mediocre .249. Topps had plenty of other Oriole prospects to choose from in 1965 other than Piniella. There was the eventual 1965 R.O.Y. Curt Blefary as well as future All-Stars, Paul Blair, Davey Johnson and Darold Knowles. Apparently there wasn't room for Lou. So I made a 1965 Rookie Stars card for him along with another guy who made his MLB debut as an Oriole in 1965.

In March of 1966 Piniella was dealt to the Indians. Topps opted to put first baseman Bill Davis and pitcher Tom Kelley on the Indians Rookie Stars card. I teamed Lou up with a seldom used utility infielder Vern Fuller for this version of the 1966 Rookie Stars card. In 1966 Piniella was promoted to AAA ball and his batting average improved to .289

In 1967 Topps would again put first baseman Bill Davis on its Rookie Stars card. This time along with utility infielder Gus Gil. I chose the Indians 4th string catcher from 1966, Buddy Booker to keep Piniella company on this version of the 1967 Rookie Stars card. Although Piniella remained at the AAA level in 1967, his hitting improved again. This time topping the .300 mark at .308. He would spend most of the next season in triple A as well. Finally getting called up in September of 1968.

1969 Topps Mike Hegan All Star

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #1

I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Mike Hegan was the only Pilot selected to the All Star team. However he couyld not play due to an injury and was replaced by first baseman Don Mincher. Hegan also has the distinction of hitting the first homerun for  the Pilots. In his 1969 season with the Pilots he hit .292 a full 50 points higher than his career average. 

1969 Topps Deckle Tommy Davis

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #2

I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Another Pilot who played for both the Cubs and the White Sox, Tommy Davis led the 1969 Pilots in RBIs despite spending the last month of the season playing for the Houston Astros. Davis had a career high 20 stolen bases in 1969, 19 of them for the Pilots. Davis played on 10 different teams from 1966-1976, Dodgers, Mets, White Sox, Pilots, Astros, A's (twice), Cubs (twice),Orioles, Angels and Royals.

1969 Topps Stamp Bob Locker

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #3

I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

Bob Locker was traded to the Pilots from the White Sox in June of 1969. He was 3-3 with 6 saves and a 2.18 ERA.  Decent numbers but nothing great. So why am I including him as a CTNW Fan Favorite? Because I'm a homer. Bob Locker spent most of his career in Chicago. He started his career on the South Side in 1965 and ended his career on the North Side in 1975. He came to the Cubs along with Manny Trillo as part of the trade that sent Billy Williams to the Oakland A's.

1969 Topps Decal Jim Bouton

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #4

I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

My last post featured a rising star, this one is in the other direction. After 7 years on the Yankees, Jim Bouton played for Seattle in 1969 before being traded to Houston in August of 1969. He was cut by the Astros in 1970 and became a sportscaster for WABC-TV in New York. Bouton last appeared on a Topps card in 1968 as a Yankee. After his 1969 book "Ball Four" he was unoficially blackballed by the Yankees for several years.

I started this as Top-5 series of the short-lived Seattle Pilots. It is turning into a tribute to the different Topps products of 1969.  The Pilots only played one season and I didn't want to use the same format over and over. So here is what Bouton would have looked like had he been featured on a 1969 Topps Decal. 

1969 Topps Lou Piniella

Seattle Pilots CTNW Fan Favorites #5

I'm putting together 5 "Cards That Never Were" fan favorites from each team. These are not necessarily the 5 best players from the franchise. So as David Letterman used to say before Stupid Pet Tricks, "This is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, no wagering."

The Pilots played exactly one season on the MLB.  An inadequate stadium, lack of cash flow and poor management decisions resulted in the Pilots being sold to a Milwaukee car dealer named Bud Selig.  An example of poor management decisions was the decision to trade Lou Piniella to the Royals after spring training in 1969. The decision was based on his salary more than his performance. Piniella was a 26 year old rookie who was set to earn $175,000. Piniella went on to win the Rookie of the Year award for the other AL expansion team, the Kansas City Royals in 1969.

Piniella had a few false starts, coming up for a "cup of coffee" for the Orioles in 1964 and the Indians in 1968. Topps considered him enough of a prospect to appear on 3 different rookie cards.