REVISIT: 1975 "TRADED" DICK ALLEN FROM 2014

For fun today, revisiting a card I created 10 years ago for the blog,a 1975 "traded" card for the "Wampum Walloper" Dick Allen, who found himself back where it all began, the Philadelphia Phillies:

Really fun to play around with the 1975 template and create a landscape-oriented design, with that ever-so-beautiful All-Star designation.

Here's the original write-up for that post, which seems like a lifetime ago:

"Allen had quite an adventurous off-season between the 1974 and 1975 seasons, getting traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Atlanta Braves on December 3, 1974, only to THEN get swapped on May 7, 1975 by the Braves to his original Major League team, the Phillies.

While his original 1975 Topps card is a classic in my eyes, it does still have him on the "wrong" team. That is, NOT on the team he played with in '75.

He was coming off of a solid 1974 season which saw him lead the American League in homers (32) and slugging (.563) while batting .301 with 88 runs batted in and 84 runs scored.

But Allen pretty much wore out his welcome on the South Side of Chicago, leading to his departure.

After a couple of "so-so" seasons in Philadelphia, Allen wrapped up his career in 1977 after appearing in 54 games for the Oakland A's.

There are some guys I'll find ANY reason to design a card for, and Allen is definitely one of them!

Hope to have more here in the future…"

 

MISSING IN ACTION: 1976 TRADED MIKE TORREZ

Fun card to add to the WTHBALLS mix today, a "missing" 1976 traded card for solid MLB starter Mike Torrez, who seemed to find himself on a new team every year in the mid-to-late 1970s, even though he kept on winning for whomever he suited up for:

I had fun creating a "bad" Photoshop image of him instead of an actual shot of him as an Oakland A's pitcher, to give it more of that authentic feel.

Torrez was part of the BLOCKBUSTER traded between the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A's on April 2nd, 1976, when Baltimore sent him along with Don Baylor and Paul Mitchell out West for Bill VanBommel, Ken Holtzman and of course Reggie Jackson just as the season was opening up.

Torrez was coming off his only 20-win season, and certainly made this package much more even than most remember, as Reggie was ready to take his superstar bat elsewhere after numerous battles with owner Charlie Finley.

I’ve always been fascinated by Torrez’s run between 1974 and 1978 when he posted 15+ wins each and every year, playing for a different team each and every season!
In 1974 he won 15 for the Montreal Expos, then 20 for the Baltimore Orioles in 1975, then 16 for the Oakland A’s, then the aforementioned 17 combined wins with the Yanks and A’s in 1977, then finally 16 for the Boston Red Sox in 1978.
Toss in his 16 wins for the Expos in 1972 and then another 16 for the Red Sox in 1979, and we are talking a solid eight-year run of dependability that gets overlooked.
By the time he retired after the 1984 season, Torrez fashioned himself a solid 18-year career that saw him go 185-160, with a 3.96 E.R.A., 1404 strikeouts and 15 shutouts over 494 games, 458 of which were starts.
He also won two games in the 1977 World Series against the Dodgers, pitching a complete game in both starts, yielding a 2.50 E.R.A. with 15 strikeouts. Not bad at all…

REVISITING AN OLD BLOG POST FROM OCTOBER, 2014: 1976 "TRADED" REGGIE JACKSON

Thought it'd be fun for you "newer" blog followers to see an older blog post today, this one from October of 2014, my 1976 "traded" card for uber-star Reggie Jackson:

 

I wanted to try something different from what Topps did for their traded sub-set, a set I was never a fan of.

Since I've always been a sucker for horizontal lay-outs, I tried it with the 1976 template and this is what I came up with.

Here's the original write-up from that post:

"This is my second card (following the 1977 Tom Seaver) in my "Traded" sub-set, creating cards of players that were traded before Topps could get them on the correct team by Opening Day.

As we all know, Reggie was traded by the Oakland A's right around the start of the 1976 season to the Baltimore Orioles.

And even though we were left with what is STILL one of my all-time favorite cards, that '76 card of Reggie would have been nice to have depicted him on the correct team.

There are a lot of really takes on this out there, for sure. Hope you all think this one is an adequate addition to them as well!"

TRADED: 1973 ALEX JOHNSON

For fun today, thought I'd whip up a 1973 "traded" variation card for former batting champ Alex Johnson, who found himself off to the Texas Rangers after one season with the Cleveland Indians:

 

Johnson, who won the 1970 batting title while with the California Angels, had a disappointing season in Cleveland in 1972, appearing in 108 games for the Tribe, hitting .239.

On March 8th of 1973, the Indians sent him packing to the Texas Rangers for pitchers Vince Colbert and Rich Hinton.

Just three seasons earlier he hit a league-leading .329, barely out-hitting the Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski, with 202 hits, 86 runs batted in and 17 stolen bases while making the All-Star team.

However, issues regarding his play created problems with California management, leading to conflict between he and manager Lefty Phillips.

As the 1971 season opened these issues continued, limiting his play because of "indifference", eventually leading to a season ending suspension by the Angels' front-office without pay because of a few different incidences.

Sadly, though he had a couple of decent seasons over the next few years of his career, he never again reached the level of play between 1968-1970, done as an active player after the 1976 season at only 33 years of age.
By the time he retired, he finished with a very nice .288 batting average, with 1331 hits over 4623 at-bats in 1322 games, but sadly never again able to reach that level of play that made him one of the more promising young talents in 1970.

TRADED- 1978 RICK WISE

I haven't created one of these in a long while here on the blog, so I figured I'd go ahead and add a 1978 "Traded" card for former pitcher Rick Wise to the mix:

 

Wise found himself traded over to the Cleveland Indians on March 30th of 1978 from the Boston Red Sox along with Ted Cox, Bo Diaz and Mike Paxton in a blockbuster for Dennis Eckersley and Fred Kendall.

He had a rough first season with the Indians in 1978, leading the league with 19 losses.

However, toiling for the hapless Indians did not reflect his efforts on the mound, as his 4.34 earned run average  and 1.34 WHIP would show.

He'd fare a lot better the following season when he posted a record of 15-10 over 34 starts, with a 3.73 ERA and two shutouts.

It's easy to forget that the guy put together a really solid Major League career, finishing with a 188-181 record to go along with a 3.69 earned run average, 30 shutouts and 1647 strikeouts over 506 games (455 starts) between 1964 and 1982.
Yes he'll always be remembered for being the "wrong" side of the Steve Carlton trade (ironically enough during the off-season after his no-hit year), but if not for an injury-plagued season in 1974 while with the Red Sox, he could have been a 200-game winner.
Go figure...

TRADED: 1977 CLAUDELL WASHINGTON

On the blog today, we have a 1977 "Traded" card for former outfielder Claudell Washington, who found himself heading to the Texas Rangers just before the 1977 season after a trade from the Oakland A's:

 

Washington, who was still only 21 years of age, was traded for Rodney Scott and Jim Umbarger after parts of three seasons with Oakland.

An All-Star in 1975 at the age of only 20, Washington was certainly a promising star in the game, hitting for average while stealing bases and showing a little "pop" in his bat from time to time.

He didn't disappoint in his first season as a Ranger, hitting .284 with 148 hits, 63 runs scored and 68 RBIs, with 12 homers and 21 stolen bases.

However after only 12 games in 1978, he was on the move again, to the Chicago White Sox where he'd play for parts of three years, with 1979 his only full season there.

After finishing his 1980 season with 79 games for the New York Mets in 1980, he signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves, where he would end up playing for the next five and a half seasons, again, giving his team a consistent set of numbers that generally hovered around .275 with 15 homers and 20 stolen bases.

After the Braves he played with the New York Yankees from 1986 through the 1988 season before heading West as a member of the California Angels in 1989 & 1990, before one last hurrah with the Yanks at the end of that 1990 season.

By the time he retired, Washington finished with 1884 hits, 926 runs, 164 homers and 312 stolen bases, along with a .278 batting average over 1912 games and 6787 at-bats.

Sadly, he passed away last year at the age of 65 from prostate cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in 2017.

TRADED: 1978 BOBBY BONDS (PART 2)

Years ago on the blog I created a 1978 "traded" card for Bobby Bonds, showing him as a member of the Chicago White Sox after coming over from the California Angels.

Today, I thought it'd be fun to create yet another 1978 traded card, this one for his move to the Texas Rangers later in the year:

 

On May 16th of 1978 Bonds was traded from the White Sox to the Rangers for Rusty Torres and Claudell Washington, going on to play in 130 games in Texas after opening up the season with 26 in the South Side of Chicago.

Over those 130 games Bonds did very well, hitting 29 homers while stealing 37 bases with a .265 batting average, combining for yet another 30/30 season when he hit 31 homers and stole 43 bases.

Along with the homers and steals he scored 93 runs and drove in 90 collecting 151 hits over 565 at-bats in 156 total games.

Really is something how Bonds career went, especially the second half, when he played for seven teams in seven years.

Here's a guy that could slam homers, steal bases, and hit for a respectable average, yet couldn't find a home anywhere even though he was putting in all-star type seasons.

I have to admit I've never read any substantial stories as to the type of person he was, and if THAT was the main reason for his traveling act during his Major League career, but nevertheless the man seemed to be a guy you'd want in your line-up, no?

A five time 30/30 guy with two other "near-misses", he also fell one home run short in 1973 from becoming the first ever 40/40 guy, when he slammed 39 homers along with 43 stolen bases for the San Francisco Giants.

By the time his 14-year career was done, he totaled 332 home runs and 461 steals, along with three Gold Gloves and three all-star selections.

Even though he did put in a solid career, you have to wonder "what could have been" if he found a real home and was able to put in a career that was a bit longer.

TRADED- 1978 BILL NORTH

On the blog today, a 1978 traded card for former speedster Bill North, who found himself heading South to the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Oakland A's about a month after the 1978 season started:

 

North was traded straight up for Glenn Burke after 5+ seasons with the A's, a tenure that saw him lead the league in stolen bases twice (1974 & 1976), with a high of 75 in 1976.

He would have led the American League in 1973 as well if not for a sprained ankle on September 20th, leaving him one stolen base behind Tommy Harper.

Luckily for him, he was traded from an Oakland team that was free-falling to a team heading to the World Series, where Los Angeles would face the New York Yankees.

Over his 110 games for the Dodgers, North would hit .234 while stealing 27 bases, scoring 54 runs and drawing 65 walks.

At season's end he was declared a Free Agent, and with that he took his legs over to the San Francisco Giants, where he would play what turned out to be the last three years of his career between 1979 and 1981.

All told, North finished his career with a .261 batting average over 11 seasons, stealing 395 bases and scoring 640 runs, winning two titles with the A's in 1973 and 1974, and that N.L. pennant with the Dodgers in 1978.

TRADED- 1976 WILLIE CRAWFORD

On the blog to start off a new week, we have a "missing" 1976 traded card for former outfielder Willie Crawford, who found himself heading East from Los Angeles to the St. Louis Cardinals:

 

Crawford spent the first 12 years of his Big League career with the Dodgers before heading to the Cardinals in a deal for Ted Sizemore on March 2nd, 1976.

He would play well in what turned out to be his only year there, hitting .304 over 120 games and 392 at-bats, driving in 50 runs while scoring 49.

But his time there was brief, for on October 20th of 1976 he was traded to the Giants as part of a six-player trade that included John Curtis and Vic Harris going to San Fran, while Mike Caldwell, John D’Acquisto and Dave Rader came to St. Louis.
 As if that wasn't enough change of scenery, on March 26th of 1977, just before the season started, Crawford was on the move again, getting traded to the Houston Astros.
But it didn't end there! After just 42 games with Houston, Crawford found himself playing for the Oakland A’s after getting traded for Denny Walling and cash.
Turns out that time with Oakland playing out the 1977 season would be the last of his Big League career, as he would go on to play in the Mexican league over the next two years before retiring for good as an active player.
Over 14 MLB seasons, Crawford hit .268 with 921 hits over 3435 at-bats, playing in 1210 games between 1964 and 1977.

TRADED- 1975 WILLIE DAVIS

Up on the blog today we have a nifty 1975 "traded" card for "3-Dog" Willie Davis, who was heading South from the Montreal Expos to the Texas Rangers:

Coming off of a very nice 1974 season that saw him collect 180 hits and bat .295 with 89 runs batted in for the Expos, Davis was traded to the Rangers on December 5th of '74 for Pete Mackanin and Dan Stanhouse.

He would end up playing in only 42 games for Texas before being traded yet again on June 4th to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ed Brinkman and Tommy Moore.

Back in the National League, he'd hit .291 the rest of the way, driving in 50 runs over his 98 games there.

What an underrated career for the three-time Gold Glove outfielder: 2561 hits, 1217 runs scored, 182 home runs, 398 stolen bases and 1053 runs batted in over 18 seasons, 14 of which were with Los Angeles.
His best year in the Big Leagues was arguably his finest, collecting 198 hits and batting .309 while collecting the first of his three straight Gold Gloves.
Of course, being a National League outfielder through the 1960’s in the age of Mays, Aaron, Clemente and Robinson kept him from All-Star nods, and he only made two of them, in 1971 and 1973.
Nevertheless, by the time he retired he had quite the Major League resume, including leading the league in triples twice, 13 seasons of 20+ stolen bases, and two World Championships (1963 and 1965).

 

TRADED- 1976 DARRELL EVANS

Time to add a 1976 “traded” card for former slugger Darrell Evans to the mix, reflecting his trade form the Atlanta Braves to the San Francisco Giants in June of 1976:

Evans and Marty Perez were sent West for a parcel that included Willie Montanez, Jake Brown, Mike Eden and Craig Robinson, with San Fran certainly getting the better part of the deal as Evans would play for them through the 1983 season, making an All-Star team and hitting 20 or more homers three times, with a high of 30 in 1983.
Of course, little did we know he would just keep on bopping and become the first player to hit 40 homers in each league when he’d lead the American league in 1985 at the age of 38 with 40.
In 1987, at the age of 40, he would blast 34 homers with 99 RBI’s and 100 walks for Detroit, easily one of the best age-40 season we’ve seen come along.
By the time he retired, he would hit 414 home runs, while hitting .248 with two all-star game berths in 2687 games and over 10000 plate appearances.

FANTASY 1972 TRADED CARD- RUSTY STAUB

Been a long time coming to create this, but I finally got around to adding a 1972 “Traded” card for Rusty Staub to the two “missing” base cards I created seven years ago on the blog:

As we all know, Rusty Staub had contractual problems with Topps in the early '70's, and was excluded from the 1972 and 1973 baseball card sets.
He was traded by Montreal to New York on April 5th of 1972, and it's worth mentioning that this was a pretty decent trade for both teams, as Staub was sent to Flushing in exchange for Ken Singleton, Tim Foli and Mike Jorgensen. All players contributed admirably for their new teams in the next few years after the swap.
Lost in the crowd that was Rose, Bench, Jackson, Carew, etc. was this player who built a 23 year career, finishing up with over 2700 hits, 292 homers, 1466 R.B.I.'s, and six all-star appearances.
He started out as a 19 year old kid in Houston in 1963 and went on to play for Montreal, Detroit, Texas  and the New York Mets for two stints, with whom he retired with after the 1985 season.
And for those last five seasons with the Mets, he became one of the top pinch-hitters in the game and endeared himself to the Met faithful, even opening up a couple of well-liked restaurants in NYC along the way.
A few little "extras" about his career: Staub is one of three players (along with Ty Cobb and Gary Sheffield) to hit home runs as a teenager and as a 40-year old, and he is also the only player to amass 500 hits with four different teams (Astros, Mets, Expos and Tigers).
He was also the first player to play all 162 games in a season strictly as a Designated Hitter, which was for Detroit in 1978.
Seeing that the most support he ever received for the Hall was 7.9% in 1994 is a bit disappointing, to say the least.

TRADED- 1978 GEORGE HENDRICK

On the blog today, a 1978 traded card for George Hendrick, he of a very nice 18-year Major League career and  who found himself a member of the St. Louis Cardinals about two months after the 1978 season began:

Hendrick was traded by the San Diego Padres to the Cardinals straight up for former pitcher Eric (Harry) Rasmussen on May 26th of the 1978 season, and he would not disappoint his new team, hitting .288 the rest of the way with 17 homers and 67 runs batted in over 102 games.
He’d stay a solid bat in the St. Louis Cardinal line-up for the next six-plus years, winning a World Series with them in 1982 and making two All-Star teams, while taking home two Silver Slugger Awards as well.
Originally up with the Oakland A’s as a 21-year-old in 1972, Hendrick would play through the 1988 campaign, finishing up with 267 homers, 1111 RBIs, a .278 batting average and 1980 hits in 2048 games and 7129 at-bats.
Apparently his nickname was “Silent George”, though I do not remember that, but perhaps I need to whip up a “nickname of the 1970’s” card for him as well!

TRADED- 1978 RUDY MAY

On the blog to close out the week is my 1978 traded card for former pitcher Rudy May, who found himself North of the border when the Baltimore Orioles traded him to the Montreal Expos on December 7th, 1977:

May was traded to the Expos along with Randy Miller and Bryn Smith for Joe Kerrigan, Gary Roenicke and Don Stanhouse, which seems like somewhat of an even trade looking ahead to the future.
May just came off a very nice 1977 season that saw him post a career-high 18 wins, while also tossing four shutouts over 37 starts, with 11 complete games.
He’d go a combined 18-13 over two seasons with Montreal before playing out the final four years of his 16-year career with the New York Yankees between 1980-1983, even winning the ERA title in 1980.
It would arguably be his finest year, when he led the American League in E.R.A. with a nice 2.46 mark, WHIP at 1.044 and strikeouts-to-walks with a 3.41 number.
All told, he posted a 152-159 career record, with a 3.46 earned run average, 24 shutouts, 12 saves and 1760 strikeouts.

TRADED: 1977 BAKE McBRIDE

On the blog today is a special 1977 “traded” card for a man who could rake at the plate, “Shake ‘n Bake” Bake McBride, who found himself in the city of Brotherly Love come June of that year:

McBride, who came up to the Big Leagues and spent all his time thus far with the St. Louis Cardinals, was dealt along with Steve Waterbury to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 15th for Rick Bosetti, Dane Iorg and Tom Underwood after alleged tension between he and recent managerial hire Vern Rapp, who was knows as a disciplinarian.
McBride made an immediate splash in the Majors, hitting .302 in limited play in 1973 before coming back and taking home the 1974 National League Rookie of the Year Award when he hit .309 with 173 hits and 30 stolen bases.
Sadly, even though he would keep that average around .300 for the rest of his career, he was repeatedly dealing with injuries, ranging from knee and shoulder ailments, to missing almost an entire season because of eye problems relating to contact lenses.
Over his 11-year career he managed to play a full season only four times, with three of those years coming consecutively between 1978-1980.
In that last of consecutive full years, he helped the Phillies win the 1980 World Series, defeating the Kansas City Royals and giving the team their first title.
After that, he played three more years in the Big Leagues, never more than 70 games in any one season, finishing up with a .299 batting average over 1071 games and 3853 at-bats, with 1153 hits and 183 stolen bases.

1978 TRADED- JOHN MILNER

Today on the blog we have a 1978 “traded” card for “The Hammer” John Milner, who found himself part of a blockbuster trade on December 8th, 1977 after seven seasons as a New York Met:

Milner was part of a monster four-team trade between the Mets, Pirates, Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves that also saw Willie Montanez, Bert Blyleven, Al Oliver, Jom Matlack and six others on the move.
A Shea Stadium fan favorite during his Mets years, Milner hit as many as 23 homers in a season while playing both First Base and Left Field between 1971 and 1977.
He would play 12-years in the Big Leagues, finishing with 131 homers, a .249 batting average and 855 hits over 1215 games and 3436 at-bats between 1971 and 1982.
Sadly, Milner passed away at the age of only 50 from cancer on January 4th, 2000.

1972 TRADED- TIM McCARVER

Today on the blog we have a 1972 “traded” card for long-time Major League catcher Tim McCarver, who found himself shipped North of the Border to the Montreal Expos on June 14th of 1972:

McCarver started the year with the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he played the previous two seasons, and would only play this half season with Montreal before heading back to his original MLB team, the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.
For his career, McCarver played in 1909 games, hitting .271 with 1501 hits over 5529 at-bats, with his best years in the mid-60’s with the St. Louis Cardinals when he even finished second to teammate Orlando Cepeda for National League Rookie of the Year and led the league with 13 triples the year before.
He’d play through the 1980 season, good for 21 years as a Big Leaguer, before going on to an even more successful career as a baseball broadcaster/commentator for almost 40 years, especially known for his analytical approach.
One of my favorite quotes about him; “If you ask Tim McCarver what time it is, he’ll explain how a watch works.”-Sports Writer Norman Chad.

1973 TRADED: HAL McRAE

I’m sure this one will hurt Cincinnati Reds fans a bit, but today’s blog post has a 1973 “traded” card for All-Star Hal McRae, who went on to have a very nice 19-year Major League career, 15 of those with the Kansas City Royals, where he was traded from the Reds on November 30th of 1972 for Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum:

Granted, Nelson was coming off a very surprising season where he posted one of the lowest WHIPs in Major League history along with a sparkling 2.08 earned run average, and McRae was a 26-year-old who didn’t really show all that much so far in parts of four Big League seasons.
But all McRae would end up doing is put in a 15-year run where he became one of the best hitters in the league, with three All-Star nods, six .300+ batting average seasons, and MVP consideration four times.
Definitely one of the more lopsided trades looking back for the era.
But with what the Reds were about to embark on, becoming the “Big Red Machine” juggernaut with the straight championships in 1975/1976, they’re not looking back with too much pain at this one.

TRADED- 1975 TUG McGRAW

Time to go and create a 1975 “traded” card for long-time reliever Tug McGraw, who found himself moving on to the “City of Brotherly Love” with a December trade from the New York Mets:

McGraw was traded over to the division rival Philadelphia Phillies on December 3rd of 1974 along with Doh Hahn and Dave Schneck for Mac Scarce, John Stearns and Del Unser.
After putting in nine solid if not excellent seasons with the Mets between 1965 and 1974, McGraw would go on to turn it up a notch and play ten years for the Phillies, closing out his career after the 1984 season at the age of 39.
He would make the All-Star team twice, get MVP consideration three seasons, and finish fifth in the Cy Young race in 1980 after helping the Phillies to a World Championship.
In that season he had perhaps the best year of his career, posting a record of 5-4 with a miniscule 1.46 earned run average over 57 games, with 20 saves, before posting another four saves in the Post Season, including the final out of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.
His final numbers were a career record of 96-92, with a 3.14 ERA over 824 appearances, with 180 saves and 1109 strikeouts in 1514.2 innings pitched.
I can’t believe it’s already been 16 years since he passed away on January 5th of 2004 from a brain tumor which was first diagnosed just about a year earlier.
A true character of the game, he was only 59 years old.
R.I.P. Tug.

TRADED- 1971 TONY TAYLOR

Next up on the blog we have my 1971 traded card for long-time Major League second baseman Tony Taylor, who found himself traded to the Detroit Tigers after starting the season with the Philadelphia Phillies:

Taylor was unceremoniously traded for two Minor Leaguers on June 12th, at the time hitting .234 for the Phils, for whom he’d played the previous ten seasons after coming over from the Chicago Cubs in 1960.
He performed well for Detroit the rest of the way, hitting .287 in more of a spot-start role at both second and shortstop, with 27 runs scored and 19 runs batted in over 55 games.
Taylor had a very solid 19 year career, finishing with over 2000 hits (2007), 1005 runs scored, and 234 stolen bases. I'd say 1963 was his finest year, as he hit .281 with 102 runs scored and 180 hits for the Phillies, the latter two stats being career highs.
He also made what some call the toughest play in teammate Jim Bunning's 1964 perfect game against the New York Mets.
In the fifth inning of that game, Mets catcher Jesse Gonder hit a ball between first and second base, where Taylor made a diving stop, just in time to get Gonder at first.
I nice little anecdote to it all is that years later, Bunning mentioned in an article that he and Taylor would call each other every year on the anniversary of the game, June 21st, to reminisce about the game and play.
Love hearing stuff like that.