Wednesday, November 30, 2011

1975 Topps 1958 Rookies of the Year


Here is the 1958 edition of my recurring theme putting the ROY's on the 1975 Topps MVP cards.

Once again with more series and a larger set, Topps managed to produce cards for both Rookie of the Year players in 1958. 

 Albie Pearson struggled after his rookie year and was traded to Baltimore. In 1960 he was selected in the expansion draft by the L.A. Angels where he got back on track. He was the starting centerfielder on the 1963 A.L. All Star Team and went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. He retired in 1966 with back ailments.

Orlando Cepeda went on to a Hall of Fame career. He played for the Giants, Cardinals, Braves, A's, Red Sox and Royals, had 7 All Star seasons and won the M.L. MVP in 1967. He retired in 1974 but if the AL hadn't added the designated hitter his career might have ended with the Oakland A's in 1972.

Monday, November 28, 2011

1961 Topps Traded Don Larsen


A few months ago I posted a 1967 Don Larsen card in a Cubs uniform. He also played on the South side of town. In June of 1961 he was traded from the Kansas City Athletics to the White Sox in an 8 man trade. By November he was traded to the Giants as part of a 6 man trade. As a result he never appeared on a Topps card as a White Sox player. In 1961 his card had him on the Athletics and in 1962 his card had him on the Giants. 

Sunday, November 27, 2011

1963 Menko Larry Doby


I found a black and white photo of Larry Doby in his uniform for the Chunichi Dragons and felt compelled to turn it into a card. This is a fairly decent representation of a 1963 Menko card. The characters on the right are from top to bottom: Chunichi (2 Characters), 7 (his uniform number), Larry (3 characters), Outfielder (3 characters). The cards themselves were 1 13/16" x 3" and had baseball related drawings on the back. They were meant to be used for flipping which some of us older guys remember doing to our cards as kids.

Doby played for the Dragons in 1962 along with Don Newcombe who was the NL MVP and Cy Young award winner in 1956.  Newcombe played 1st base for the Dragons instead of pitching. Doby did have a 1962 Menko card which is why I made mine in the 1963 style.

 Here is his actual 1962 Meko card:


This card recently sold at Prestige Collectibles for $486. As you can see by the original that my crappy colorizing fits right in with the originals. You can also see the beating this card took as it was probably used the way it was intended, kids flipped and traded it.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Video Checklist -Series 3


Cards 51-75 plus the 3rd checklist.  Most of these cards are multiplayer  post season cards and every one of them is based on a Topps design. Next series will have more variety, I promise.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

1958 Topps #145 Ed Bouchee


In 1957 Ed Bouchee came in second place to his teammate Jack Sanford for Rookie of the Year and was co-winner of the Sporting News Rookie of the Year along with Sanford.  In 1958 Topps had him slated for card #145. That card was never printed and may not have even been made. There are rumors of its existence but I have never seen it. 

Monday, November 21, 2011

1967 Topps Traded Jack Sanford


Jack Sanford started his career beating out Phillies teammate Ed Bouchee for Rookie of the Year in 1957. His career ended when he was released by the Kansas City Athletics in August of 1967.  He started the 1967 season on the Angels and appeared in the 1967 Topps set in an Angels uniform. I played with the idea of making a 1968 card of Sanford on the A's but decided on 1967 because he was released before the season ended.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

1975 Topps 1957 Rookies of the Year


In 1957 Topps had 5 series and 407 cards. The most since 1952 and for the first time both Rookies of the Year had Topps cards issued in the original set.  

Tony Kubek played his entire 9 year career win the Yankees. He then went on to Broadcast on NBC until 1989 then locally for the Yankees until 1994. In 2009 he was awarded the Ford C. Frick award for Broadcasting by the Hall of Fame.

Jack Sanford beat out Phillies teammate Ed Bouchee for the Rookie of the Year. He led the league in Strikeouts and had 19 wins. He would go on to play for the Giants, the Angels and the Athletics until 1967.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

2011 Managers of the Year



The selection of 2011 Managers of the year surprised no one. Madden and Gibson were the favorites but I had a sneaky feeling that LaRussa would somehow get the nod out of sentimentality. I have to admit the Gibson card was made for the NL Championship Series but never got posted because they were eliminated. But the Madden card is freshly made.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

2011 Rookies of the Year


I posted these cards last week of what I perceived to be the favorites in the Rookie of the Year running. I also posted a poll asking who you though should win the ROY.

For the National League Kimbrel won the poll and also the Rookie of the Year award. In the AL the winner was Jeremy Helickson but I never put him on the Rookie Stars card or include him in the AL poll. There was one vote for "Other" but whoever cast that vote didn't leave a comment.

Here are the complete results:
National League
Kimbrel 3
Espinosa 2
Worley 1
Other 1
Freeman 0

American League
Trumbo 4
Hosmer 3
Nova 1
Other 1
Walden 0



Monday, November 14, 2011

1961 Topps Baseball Thrills Johnson & Vance


The last time pitchers from both the National League and American League won the Triple Crown was 1924.  Hall of Famer Walter Johnson led the A.L. with 23 wins 158 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.72 for the World Series Champion Washington Senators.  Another Hall of Famer, Dazzy Vance had 28 wins 262 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.16 for the Brooklyn Robins who came in 2nd in the N.L.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

2011 Topps Pitching Triple Crown Winners


The Cy Young Awards will be announced this week. Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw both led their respective leagues in victories, strikeouts and ERA, the pitcher's equivalent of the triple crown.  Does this make the shoo-ins for the Cy Young award?  I think Verlander will be the unanimous winner but Kershaw has some competition.  Since the creation of the Cy Young Award in 1956, no  triple crown winner was denied the award. The last time there was both an American League and National League triple crown winner was in 1924.


Friday, November 11, 2011

1963 Topps Checklist - Cards That Never Were - 3rd Series


Here is my 3rd checklist already. This one went by even faster with all of the playoff and World Series cards. As far as checklists go, the 1963 Topps was pretty bland. Also this was the first time all 25 cards that I made used Topps Baseball format.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

1978 Topps Mickey Mantle


Mantle played his final game in 1968 and yet here I am making a 1978 Mickey Mantle card.  From 1971 on it seem as though more and more action or candid shots made their way onto cards. In 1978 Topps seemed to feature a lot of posed head-shots.

Monday, November 7, 2011

2011 N.L. Rookie Stars - 1974 Topps Format


A week from today MLB will announce the 2011 Rookies of the Year.  Using the same 1974 Topps Rookie format, I put together 4 on the top National League rookies. I am also posting a poll in the side-bar. Let me know who you think should win the N.L. Rookie of the Year.

Danny Espinosa (2B): Washington Nationals
HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
21 66 17 6 57 166 .236

Freddie Freeman (1B): Atlanta Braves
HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
21 76 4 4 53 142 .282

Vance Worley (RHP): Philadelphia Phillies
W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP
11 3 3.01 0 46 119 1.230

Craig Kimbrel (RHP): Atlanta Braves
W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP
4 3 2.10 46 32 127 1.039



Sunday, November 6, 2011

2011 A.L. Rookie Stars - 1974 Topps Format


Next Monday MLB will announce the Rookies of the Year for 2011. Borrowing from the 1974 Topps rookie cards, here are 4 of the top AL rookies.

Eric Hosmer
HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
19 78 11 5 34 82 .293
Mark Trumbo
HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
29 87 9 4 25 120 .254
Jordan Walden
W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP
5 5 2.98 32 26 67 1.243
Ivan Nova
W L ERA SV BB SO WHIP
16 4 3.70 0 57 98 1.331




I am also posting a poll in the side-bar. Let me know who you think should win the A.L. Rookie of the Year.

Friday, November 4, 2011

1976 Topps Frank Robinson


After winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1956 Robinson continued to play until 1976. Robinson appeared on the 1976 Topps Indians team card in the lower right corner as the manager but he did not have a regular player card even though he appeared in 49 games in 1975 and 36 in 1976. The Hall of Famer continued to appear in various sets as a manger until 2006.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

1975 Topps 1956 Rookies of the Year


Now that the post-season is over I can return to some of my recurring themes. Here is the 1956 edition giving the Rookies of the Year the same treatment Topps gave the MVPs in 1975. 

1956 is the first year that both Rookies of the Year went on to Hall of Fame careers. While Luis Aparicio had a card in the 1956 Topps set, Frank Robinson first appeared on a Topps card in 1957. 

 The Robinson card I included here was produced by Topps and given away in VIP packages at the 2006 National Sports Card convention.  I actually have one problem with this card. In 1956 the team was officially called the Redlegs. This was the height of the McCarthy era and the Reds changed names rather than be confused with communists. As ridiculous as it was to change the name, it seems disingenuous to ignore the name change on a reissue. A few days ago I include Bob Lemke's version of  Robinson' "rookie" card. His properly identified the team as Redlegs. Check it out.