The Pause That Refreshes

Taking a quick break at the halfway mark of my 10 things posts. I finished off this page in my 1961 binder over the weekend when the Yogi card arrived. An interesting (to me) page. Lots of yellow/red name/team blocks here. With a bit of blue and an orange outlier thrown in. Also lots of star power here with Kaline and Maz in addition to Berra who is at Yankee Stadium as is Turk Lown.

Lown was nearing the end of an 11-year career, mostly as a reliever and it was one of his better ones. Dick Ellsworth had a handful of very good seasons in a rollercoaster career. This pic was used again for his 1962 card.

I had never really associated the Ray Barker in this set with the 'Buddy' Barker on the Yankees when I lived up there in the late 60s. Same guy. He had a long minor league career and had a short stint with the Orioles in 1960 before re-appearing with the Yanks later in the decade. My original copy was extremely miscut so I recently upgraded it to this one.

Looks like Maz was photographed in Wrigley. Stobbs as well (he was with the Cards in '58 so it's possible). Stobbs pitched 15 seasons, mostly for the Red Sox and Senators. Coot Veal's name was always worth a second look as a kid. His real name is Orville Inman Veal.


The Braves team card is in the spot it would have been had Topps not messed up and mis-numbered it. They gave it #426 on the checklist but the back has #463 as does Jack Fisher's card. Sticking it in the 'correct' slot was a simple solution for me.

Those team card backs with pitchers W-L versus the other teams provided me with hours of entertainment. I'd wonder why Spahn could have such good results against the league but go 1-5 against the Pirates. Bob Buhl beat the Bucs four times but the rest of the staff could only win five? Then I'd probably remember that the Pirates won the pennant and I'd go look at the rest of the NL team cards I had to see how they fared against the champs. A great time to be a kid with your cards.

Spring Fling #3 and another ST Update!

This is a Pro Star Promotions Al Kaline postcard. The shot was obviously taken in Spring Training, the telltale palm tree can be seen in the background.

I don't know much about these Pro Star things. I have several Orioles and have shown them before. I think the O's I have are part of the American League set issued in 1972. I say that because I don't recall having any of the NL guys in my postcard binders. PSA has a bit more info, but not much:

The Pro Star Promotions baseball set consists of 37 postcards, each one 3-1/2” by 5-1/2”. Printed in Canada, each blank-backed, unnumbered piece features a white-bordered color player photo with the player’s name in the lower white border. A facsimile autograph is also printed across the bottom of the photo. The series can be divided into a trio of 12-card sets representing the Montreal Expos, the National League, and the American League. A checklist card makes up the final piece. Hank Aaron (#13), Johnny Bench (#14), Roberto Clemente (#15), Ferguson Jenkins (#16), Juan Marichal (#17), Willie Mays (#18), Willie McCovey (#19), Frank Robinson (#20), Pete Rose (#21), Tom Seaver (#22), Willie Stargell (#23), Reggie Jackson (#26), Al Kaline (#27), Harmon Killebrew (#28), and Brooks Robinson (#36) anchor the set. 

With Baltimore native Kaline in his home uni I will assume that this photo was taken in Lakeland which has served as the Tigers' spring home seemingly forever. I am scheduled to see the Nats play the Tigers there today. And I just was given a Yankees-Blue Jays ticket for their game in Tampa tonite. Gonna be a busy day!

On Monday we watched the Nats back in Viera taking on the Astros. I took a lot more digital pix at this one because my camera pics have been lacking.

Before stuff gets started there is a lot of standing around and talking.

Nat's Manager Matt Williams was very nice. That's him below.

We found out when we arrived that the Astros were not going to come in for BP and were not scheduled to arrive until noon. I had been hoping to get to see Jose Altuve because I'll never have this kind of access anyplace else. But he scheduled to play in the Astros 'home' game and didn't take the bus down here.

We spent a lot of time on the field watching Nats go through the controlled and rather laid back chaos that is Spring Training gameday. Players were taking BP from a guy throwing from 40 feet, coaches were hitting grounders from either side of the cage while other coaches nearby were fungo-ing flys to the outfielders. Balls are going in every direction yet everyone seems so nonchalant and unconcerned that baseballs are flying just over their heads while they practice double plays.

I've heard baseball being compared to a ballet, well there is no more ballet-like time in the game than morning practice in mid-March.

I'm not a guy who seeks many autographs. But Matt Williams came over and signed a ball for me.

After morning practice we cooled off in the offices until the anthem. The 'halo effect' in this shot comes from me holding the camera an inch from the glass window. No one is ever going to confuse me with Ansel Adams

They have this statue titled Casey at the Bat up there. I meant to ask someone about it but I didn't. 

Good seats again. Note the green caps for the Nats. They celebrated St. Patty's Day early because they are on the road today.

Len Dykstra's kid is trying to make the Nat's roster. Tony Gwynn Jr. is as well but I didn't get a shot of him.

Spalit Squad day meant that the Astros brought along some guys with numbers in the 80s and 90s and no names on their unis.

Jon Singleton whiffed a couple of times. He's young and still a work-in-progress.

here are the baseballs signed by Williams and Tarasco.

40 Years Ago Today

On September 24, 1974 one of my favorite non-Orioles players reached a milestone in a way that showed great symmetry (or great something).

Baltimore native and Hall of Famer Al Kaline got his 3,000th hit that night in Baltimore Memorial Stadium off Orioles starter Dave McNally. It was a double into the right field corner for Kaline, the first of two hits he got that night while serving as the Tigers' DH.

The Orioles won the game 5-4 with a bottom of the eight 2-run rally. Reliever Bob Reynolds got the win with two and a third innings of one hit ball. The O's finished the night a half game ahead of the Yankees and won the Eastern Division that year by two games and then lost the AL title to the A's.

Kaline has four cards in the 1959 Topps set. His base card is my favorite:

He is featured on one of the Baseball Thrills subset cards:

A hideously ugly pink and red combo card with Yankee killer and my Dad's least favorite player, Charlie Maxwell:

And a The Sporting News All Star Selection card.

This post is both a tribute to one of the greats of the game and one final plug for $30 a Week Habit's 'best set' tournament. It's a close contest at the moment with this '59 set slightly ahead of the '74 in the finals so your vote may tip the scales one way or another.

In another bit of symmetry here is my 1974 Topps Dave McNally.

Go vote!

The Final Four

Arriving in one package over the holiday weekend were the flast four '68 Game cards I needed to complete the set. 

Blue-eyed Baltimore native Al Kaline leads off. One of the quietest superstars ever. Mr. Tiger. If I had to choose my father's favorite non-Yankee player, Kaline would probably be the guy. 

Notable Achievements from Baseball Reference for Al Kaline:

• 15-time AL All-Star (1955-1967, 1971 & 1974)
• 10-time Gold Glove Winner (1957/ML-RF, 1958/AL-RF, 1959/AL-CF & 1961-1967/AL-OF)
• AL Batting Average Leader (1955)
• AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1959)
• AL OPS Leader (1959)
• AL Hits Leader (1955)
• AL Total Bases Leader (1955)
• AL Doubles Leader (1961)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 9 (1955-1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967 & 1969)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 3 (1955, 1956 & 1963)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1955 & 1961)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1955)
• Won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers in 1968
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1980

The Hammer, Hank Aaron. Some folks still consider him the home run champ. I'll stay far away from that argument. 

Notable Achievements from Baseball Reference for Hank Aaron:

• 1953 MVP South Atlantic League Jacksonville Tars
• 24-time All-Star (1955-1975)
• NL MVP (1957)
• 3-time NL Gold Glove Winner (1958-1960/RF)
• 2-time NL Batting Average Leader (1956 & 1959)
• 4-time NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1959, 1963, 1967 & 1971)
• 3-time NL OPS Leader (1959, 1963 & 1971)
• 3-time NL Runs Scored Leader (1957, 1963 & 1967)
• 2-time NL Hits Leader (1956 & 1959)
• 8-time NL Total Bases Leader (1956, 1957, 1959-1961, 1963, 1967 & 1969)
• 4-time NL Doubles Leader (1955, 1956, 1961 & 1965)
• 4-time NL Home Runs Leader (1957, 1963, 1966 & 1967)
• 4-time NL RBI Leader (1957, 1960, 1963 & 1966)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 20 (1955-1974)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 15 (1957-1963, 1965-1967 & 1969-1973)
• 40-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1957, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1969, 1971 & 1973)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 11 (1955, 1957, 1959-1963, 1966, 1967, 1970 & 1971)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 15 (1955-1967, 1969 & 1970)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 3 (1956, 1959 & 1963)
• Won a World Series with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1982

Next is Hall of Fame-worthy and possible future Hall of Famer, Pete Rose. I'm not a fan, and not just because of what he did to earn his baseball ban. He always struck me as a bad guy. But who knows. The H-O-F is full of less-than-perfect people so if he gets in, so be it. He has that stats, for sure.

Notable Achievements from Baseball Reference for Pete Rose:

• 1963 NL Rookie of the Year Award
• 1963 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 17-time NL All-Star (1965, 1967-1971, 1973-1982 & 1985)
• NL MVP: 1973
• 1975 World Series MVP
• 2-time NL Gold Glove Winner (1969/OF & 1970/OF)
• NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1981/1B)
• 3-time NL Batting Average Leader (1968, 1969 & 1973)
• 2-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1968 & 1979)
• 4-time NL At-Bats Leader (1965, 1972, 1973 & 1977)
• 4-time NL Runs Scored Leader (1969, 1974, 1975 & 1976)
• 7-time NL Hits Leader (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1976 & 1981)
• 3-time NL Singles Leader (1973, 1979 & 1981)
• 5-time NL Doubles Leader (1974, 1975, 1976, 1978 & 1980)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 10 (1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972-1976 & 1978)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 10 (1965, 1966, 1968-1970, 1973, 1975-1977 & 1979)
• Won three World Series with the Cincinnati Reds (1975 & 1976) and the Philadelphia Phillies (1980)

And finally, Harmon Killebrew. Of the players in this post I probably saw more of Killebrew than any other. I seemed to be at a lot of Twins games at Yankee Stadium back then. I was a Bob Allison fan as a result and enjoyed watching the big hitting lineups the Twins had. Don Mincher, Jimmie Hall, Tony Oliva and company were fun t watch. I also saw the Twins in Baltimore more than a few times including the 1969 Playoffs.

Notable Achievements from Baseball Reference for Harmon Killebrew:

• 11-time AL All-Star (1959, 1961 & 1963-1971)
• AL MVP (1969)
• AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1969)
• AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1963)
• 6-time AL Home Runs Leader (1959, 1962-1964, 1967 & 1969)
• 3-time AL RBI Leader (1962, 1969 & 1971)
• 4-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1966, 1967, 1969 & 1971)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 13 (1959-1967 & 1969-1972)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 10 (1959-1964, 1966, 1967, 1969 & 1970)
• 40-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1959, 1961-1964, 1967, 1969 & 1970)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 9 (1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967 & 1969-1971)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1967 & 1969)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1984

This was a fun set to put together. Didn't cost much and it's chock full of hitting stars. Thanks again to Jim from Downington whose gift of the Robinson Boys kicked this off. He has several posts on the set himself. And he has some nice dupes to trade.

A few more of my '64 Topps Giants Hall of Famers

Here are four more out of this under appreciated set. 

Joe Torre is among the most recent H-O-F class and will be inducted this summer. He never got a ton of voting support when he was being considered for his playing career and I think that's a shame because he has excellent numbers, especially when you consider his position. He was a nine time All Star, the NL MVP in 1971 when he hit .363 and led the league in total bases as well as hits and RBI while winning the batting title. But it was his tenure as manager, particularly as Yankee manager, that got him elected by the Veterans Committee.

This shot was taken in the Polo Grounds. 

The great Al Kaline. He's a Baltimore native who went to Southern High School which is in the same Federal Hill area of Charm City in which I was born. And, just like me, he never played in the minor leagues (the fact that I never played in the majors is besides the point, isn't it?). I've never heard or read a single negative thing about Kaline. He was called 'Mr. Tiger' and a nickname like that pretty much reflects how much you mean to an organization.

Orlando Cepeda with Shea Stadium behind him. At least I think it's Shea, sure looks like it to me. The placed opened in 1964 so this shot was taken not long before the card was produced.

And finally we have Billy Williams. Like Al Kaline he did everything on the field well and yet never was much for the spotlight.