1963 Topps Pete Rose

The 2012 Heritage set coming out in March will feature the classic 1963 design. With Rose still on Major League Baseball's double-secret-probation, he won't be included in this set.  (As a White Sox Fan, I think that Rose shouldn't be reinstated unless Shoeless Joe Jackson is also reinstated. That said, his accomplishments on the field merit a plaque in Cooperstown.) 

Pete Rose beat out Mets second baseman Ron Hunt 17 votes to 2 in Rookie of the Year voting. The two had very similar stats.  Rose hit .273 with 6 HR and 41 RBIs, Hunt hit .272 with 10 HR and 42 RBIs. The big difference in the runs scored. "Charlie Hustle" scored 101 times compared to Hunt's 64.

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.