TBT - New York Mets 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.

Earlier this month the Mets celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1986 World Series championship by donning the uniforms they wore that season. Here is "Captain America" David Wright. And as a point of comparison, here is the 1986 card of World Series MVP Ray Knight

As you can see it is a fairly true representation.  As a side note, the person who actually designed these iconic uniforms has a terrific Mets blog. If you are reading that from a Cub fan then you know it must be good. Click here to check it out.

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I just want to update this post with a link to The Shlabotnik Report. He has been making his own brand of virtual cards on his blog for a few years now. And he has also been pairing up throwback uni's with their appropriate era cards. These have been "inserts" in his virtual packs. 

Let's face it, "Cards That Never Were"  was never an original idea. This blog grew out of a weekly feature of a now defunct blog I used to do. And that idea was taken from other bloggers and the card manufacturers themselves. But I have to give credit where credit is due. 

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.

1971 Topps NL Stolen Base Leaders: Bobby Tolan, Lou Brock, Bobby Bonds

From 1966-1974 Lou Brock led the NL in stolen bases every year but one. 1970 was that year. It was not that Brock had an off year. He still had 13 homers and 51 stolen bases while batting .304 in 155 games.  Bobby Tolan just had a slightly better season. He had 16 homers, 57 stolen bases and an average of .316. Unfortunately, Tolan would miss the entire 1971 season after tearing his Achilles tendon playing basketball. 

1970 was a year with many career highs for Bobby Bonds. He had a career high 48 stolen bases. He also had highs in hits with 200, runs with 134, doubles with 36, triples with 10 and batting average with .302. 

1971 Topps AL Stolen Base Leaders: Bert Campaneris, Tommy Harper, Sandy Alomar

Bert Campaneris's stolen base production dropped from 62 in 1969 to 42 in 1970. Yet he went from second place to league leader. The reason is that 1969 stolen base leader, Tommy Harper saw his numbers drop even more significantly. He went from 73 in 1969 to only 38 in 1970. By contrast Harper's home run production skyrocketed. He went from 9 in 1969 for the Seattle Pilots to a career high 31 with the Brewers. He was also the first Brewer selected to the All Star game in 1970. He was brought in as a pinch-runner and was thrown out by Johnny Bench trying to steal second. 

Sandy Alomar will always have a close place in my heart. Not because of his meaningless All Star at-bat in 1970, nor because of his 3rd place stolen base performance in 1970. Instead it was because of his kindness to my son at his first baseball game ever. It was the 2001 season and we had seats on the 3rd base line.  Right behind the Cubs bullpen. My  5 year old son was chatting with every player that came his way.  Including bullpen coach Sandy Alomar. And Sandy not only chatted with him but gave him a ball mid-game,  He also autographed it for him after the game. My son is away at college now but that autographed ball is still in his abandoned bedroom. He may have trouble remembering it because he was only 5 years old, but I will remember it forever.

Thank You Sandy. 

1971 Topps NL Leading Firemen: Wayne Granger, Dave Giusti, Jim Brewer

For the second year in a row Wayne Granger was the Sporting News Fireman of the Year.  He had a career best 35 saves and received MVP and Cy Young votes. His efforts helped the Reds to a National League pennant in 1970.  But his success didn't carry over to the World Series. He gave up a grand slam to Orioles pitcher Dave McNally in a 9-3 loss in game 3. He didn't fare much better in the 5th and final game. He surrendered 4 runs, 2 of them earned while recording only 2 outs in another 9-3 loss. 

After going 3-7 as a starter for the Cardinals in 1969 Dave Giusti was sent to the bullpen mid season. When the season ended, he was dealt to the Pirates as part of a 4 player deal. On the Pirates he found his place as a closer, earning 9 wins and 26 saves.  He came in 4th in Cy Young  voting and 9th in the 1970 NL  MVP race.

When the Dodgers dealt Ron Perranoski to the Twins after the 1967 season, Jim Brewer inherited the role of closer. In 1970 he had a career high 24 saves.