Random Topps Card of the Day: 1974 Topps #34 Andy Kosco

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, March 17, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1974 Topps #34.
• Player Name, position, team: Andy Kosco, outfielder, Cincinnati Reds.
• Major League Debut: August 13, 1965.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1973 stats (Reds): 118 AB, 33 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 21 RBI, .280 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Tigers as a Free Agent before the 1959 season. Traded by the Red Sox to the Reds 03/27/1973. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 8. This is his eighth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Named Most Valuable Player in Northern League for 1964. Led Northern League with .346 Avg; 28 Homers & 97 RBI's, 64."
• Commentary: It's rare that we get a card from 1974 to show up on the Randomizer. It is mostly remembered for being the set that had jumped the gun, assuming that the San Diego Padres would be relocating to Washington, DC. Thus, a number of Padres cards had the city they played for as "Washington, Nat'l Lea." Andrew John Kosco was a nine year veteran whose career saw him travel from Minnesota (where he took over for Harmon Killebrew when the Killer was on the DL) to the Yankees (as backup to Mickey Mantle at first base - he was with the Oakland A's organization at the time he was selected in a Rule 5 draft). He was then traded at the end of the 1968 season to the Dodgers, and then again to the Brewers after two seasons. After a year in Milwaukee, he was traded again to the Angels, but after August, was traded out to Boston. Finally, by March of 1973, he was traded to Cincinnati. Was it because he was in high demand that many teams stood in line to trade for him? He was a formidable bench player at best, with his best years with the Yankees and Dodgers. In his final season with the Reds, Kosco appeared in 33 games in a pinch hitting role, hitting 7-37 (.189) with five rbi's. By July 30, he played his final major league game. He was released from the team after the 1974 season ended. He did play for one more year in the minors with Toledo (AAA-Phillies), but after 48 games, he decided to call it a career. Since his playing days ended, he has gone on to a successful career as an insurance salesperson. There is a cartoon sketch of a beaten up and bandaged baseball flying over a fence with the caption "Andy homered into left-center bleachers at Yankee Stadium, '68."
• Beckett value: $0.20-$0.50.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1988 Topps #247. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama