Just a quick post of some of the Cards That Never Were that I created for my other blog: Rating the Rookies. Perhaps this would be a good time to point out something that almost every collector knows: for every rookie card that has a legit future star, there are dozens of players that don't make it big. This batch of cards certainly proves that point.
Most of Dave Bennett and Morrie Steevens (no, not a typo) short MLB careers were behind them by the time they appeared together on this 1965 Phillies Rookie Stars card. Steevens ended up pitching just 2.2 innings in 1965 which was exactly 2.2 more than Bennett.
Tommy Matchick and Daryl Patterson were on the same 1968 Tigers Rookie Stars card. At face value, it looks like any other mundane rookie card. But it seems like there is always a good story hidden somewhere. Just ask Pedro Borbon, AKA the "Dominican Dracula".
Chuck Coles was an early one and done. His one and only baseball card was a Topps Sporting News Rookie Stars of 1959 card. 1959 was the birth of the designated rookie card. Unfortunately, most of the players in that series didn't live up to Topps' expectations.
Randy Bass, Jim Gaudet, and Randy McGilberry were captured in grainy black and white on a Royals 1979 Prospects card. Only one of them actually played on the Royals in 1979.
In 1973 Tom Paciorek and Jorge Roque shared a 1973 Rookie Outfielders card with the 1973 NL Rookie of the Year, Gary Matthews Sr. I had to dig deep to create Cards That Never Were for Paciorek and Roque but had several already in the bank for Mathews right here.
