Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #41 Tippy Martinez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, June 10, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #54.
• Player Name, position, team: Tippy Martinez, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: August 9, 1974.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Yankees): 23 G, 37 IP, 1-2, 15 R, 11 ER, 20 SO, 32 BB, 2.68 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Yankees as a Free Agent 07/22/1972. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 12. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: I don't know about you, but when I think of the Yankees, the last color I think about is green (interpret it any other way, fine, but I'm not thinking money or grass). But Topps seemed to think that the color would work well with the Yankees cards from 1976. Eh. While Felix Anthony Martinez would go on to find success as a closer for the Baltimore Orioles (including an All-Star roster spot in 1983), Tippy started his years with the Yankees organization. In 1976, Martinez was having a pretty good season in the Bronx. He had appeared in 11 games, saved 2 of the 3 games he finished, had a 2-0 record, a 1.93 ERA, and struck out 14 of the 108 batters he had faced in 28 innings of work. But on June 15, 1976, the Yankees and AL East rival Baltimore Orioles conducted a ten-player trade, with each team sending what would be the equivalent of a fifth of a 25-man roster to each other. Martinez and four other players were now wearing the orange and black of Baltimore. And Martinez' production made it look like the O's got the better of the deal. In 28 games with the O's, the reliever earned a 3-1 record, saving 8 of the 18 games he finished, struck out 31 batters, and achieved an ERA of 2.59. Martinez would go on to a very solid career with the O's, saving 115 games in an 11 season career.
• Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 12 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1991 Topps Traded #48T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1991 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama