Random Topps Card of the Day: 1963 Topps #245 Gil Hodges

(Due to the flooding that occurred in my neighborhood on Thursday, April 18, 2013, I was not able to get this post out at the scheduled time. I am just catching up now.)

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, April 21, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #245.
• Player Name, position, team: Gil Hodges, first baseman, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: October 3, 1943.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1962 stats (Mets): 54 G, 127 AB, 15 R, 32 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 17 RBI, .252 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Dodgers as a Free Agent before the 1943 season. Drafted by the New York Mets in the Expansion Draft 10/10/1961. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 21. This is his twelfth and final Topps card as a player.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: The first card I owned of Gil Hodges came from the 1989 Topps set, and it was from the Turn Back the Clock subset. I learned then (he was the "Twenty Years Ago" subject) that Hodges led the Mets, who had lost 120 games in their first year in MLB existence, to their first World Series title in 1969 (thanks in part to an epic Cubs collapse...but that's another subject for another day). But what I didn't know back then (and it is now 24 years later, making that card now a "Forty-Four Years Ago" card) that Gil Hodges had a long career that spanned all the way to 1943 with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (with two years off for serving in the Marines in World War II). He was considered the best first baseman in the NL during the 1950's, and one of the NL's best hitters (with only teammate Duke Snider ahead of him in home runs and rbi's during the decade). He was an eight-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and by the time he was selected by the expansion New York Mets after the 1961 season, had played 2006 games for the Dodgers, hit .274 with 361 home runs, 1254 rbi's, 63 stolen bases, scored 1088 runs, and had an OPS of .847. So why did the Mets select Hodges at the age of 38 years of age? Probably to get a player that was widely revered in New York (hello...Brooklyn), and probably because they had other plans for him. In the two years he actually played for the Mets, he appeared in only 65 games, hit for a .248 average, hit 9 home runs (all in 1962), and drove in 20 rbi's. After 11 games in 1963, in which he was also plagued with injuries, he was traded to the Washington Senators, not so he could play for them, but to manage them. After managing the Senators through the 1967 season, the Mets, who by now had been the perennial doormats in the National League, hired Hodges to manage their team. The rest, as we all know, is history. Tragically, on April 2, 1972, Gil Hodges died of a heart attack after a round of golf with his Mets coaching staff. He was only 47 years old. His death reverberated around the baseball community as they now lost a man who was beloved by teammates and rivals alike. The Mets retired his jersey number 14 during the 1973 season, the second year the Mets would make it to the World Series.
• Beckett value: $8.00-$20.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 7.

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: 2001 Topps #262. 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

Let's Get One Thing Straight: TOPPS IS NOT TO BLAME!!!

Yes, I'm late to the party (as usual).  Yes, other people have written better articles about this topic than me (I'm not a good writer...I acknowledge this).  But it's articles like this that make me question the sanity of Chicagoans...and I'm one.

The big hullabaloo today in the Hobby involved this article written by "a collector" who noticed that on the back of this year's Topps baseball cards, that in the career chase line that compares a present player's hits total to the career leader, the career hit leader's name is missing.  On all other cards with different statistics, the career leader in that stat category is mentioned.  Just not on the one mentioning hits.  

Funny, but I think I mentioned that before somewhere on this blog. 

The problem with the article is that it was poorly researched.  He did interview Topps, who did say that it was a "simple decision" to exclude Pete Rose's name from the back of their trading cards.  But at the end, he decided that it was Topps' who was purposely trying to wipe out Rose from the record books by not including his name on the stat line.  For comparison's sake, he compares Rose's case to the likes of Barry Bonds, who by the way...has not been banned by MLB and can still be put in cards (as long as card companies are willing to pay a hefty price to do so).

What's sad about this whole mess is that the original story has been picked up by major media outlets like USA Today, CBS Sports, and even (gack) Fox News. 

What's worse?  People have been commenting on these articles, and actually believe this.

Now, I understand that not everybody follows Hobby news as religiously as us (and by us, I assume that if you're reading this, you actually follow Hobby news). But some of the comments written by "outsiders" just bordered on ignorance. 

"I'm boycotting Topps because of this?"  Sure.  

"I thought baseball cards are dead."  Hardly.

"I tore all of my cards." Sorry to hear that.

"Someone's going to create a website denouncing this atrocity." I guess these people don't read the Hobby blogs.

"Wait...if MLB still recognizes Rose on their website, how can they tell Topps not to recognize him?" Because they can.

The fact is this.  Topps is the sole licensee of MLB Properties. As indicated by the Number One Source in the Hobby, it is not Topps' call to exclude Rose's name from the stat line.  If the writer of that article actually talked to somebody from MLB Properties as Chris Olds had, he would have found out that,

“Since Pete Rose is banned from baseball,” said Matt Bourne, the MLB Vice President of Business Public Relations, on Wednesday, “he is not included in MLB-licensed products.”

Now that is not to say that Topps has made every effort to take Rose's name off cards before.  In fact, thanks to Night Owl, he has found cards from 1995 and 2006 that mention his name in the blurbs on the back or in a cartoon caption.  But in 2010, when Topps included a Franchise History card for all 30 teams, the back of the cards feature statistics that conveniently Rose was not the team's all-time leader. Coincidentally, all 30 team cards use the same stats.  

But the fact remains that Topps is not to "blame" for not putting Pete Rose's name on the back.  If MLB (and for that matter MLB Properties) tells Topps that they aren't allowed to insert Rose's name, even on a little stat line, then Topps is going to take every effort to exclude the guy's name on their cards.  

Understand that this is the last year of Topps' four year exclusive license with MLB Properties.  If Topps wants their friendship with MLB to continue, then they are going to comply.

So for everything good and holy.  It is not Topps' fault.  Let's make that crystal clear.  If you have a beef, then take it up with MLB and MLB Properties.

If there is any positive to be taken out of all of this...it's that at least people are looking at the back of the cards.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

PS:  Oh, yeah, to the guy that said that Topps made an insert card of Rose in 2011. That's a good one.  jba

PS2:  Buyback cards that Topps had to stamp as such in their Topps Heritage product last year do not count as a new cards.  Besides, the card considered Pete Rose's rookie card also includes Pedro Gonzalez, Ken McMullen, and Al Weis. Last I checked, none of those guys were banned by MLB, so why should they not have their rookie card included in the product.  jba

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1963 Topps #216 Gene Conley

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, January 06, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #216.
• Player Name, position, team: Gene Conley, pitcher, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: April 17, 1952.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1962 stats (Red Sox): 34 G, 242 IP, 15-14, .517 PCT, 134 SO, 68 BB, 3.94 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Braves as a Free Agent before the 1951 season. Traded by the Phillies to the Red Sox 12/15/1960. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 12. This is his eleventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "The tall righty had his winningest season in the majors in '62."
• Commentary: I love researching the cards and subjects for Retro Sundays. It truly is a look at the past, of players I have never really come across or heard of. Their stories are worth reading and researching. And in the 1950's and 60's, there wasn't a story as unique as Gene Conley's. Before Bo Jackson, before Deion Sanders, Gene Conley was a professional two-sport athlete. But while Bo and Deion were NFL players during the baseball offseason, Conley spent his winters with the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He is also the the only athlete to own dual-sport championships (a World Series title with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and three straight NBA Championships with the Boston Celtics from 1958 through 1961). He is also the only athlete to play for three franchises in the same city for two different sports (he debuted with the Boston Braves in 1952). Sometimes, he would go directly from the NBA to MLB without taking an offseason.  By the time he joined the Boston Red Sox, Conley was a three-time All-Star (with both the Braves and Phillies). Prior to the 1963 baseball season, as a member of the New York Knicks, he suffered injuries to his pitching hand's index finger and ankle. His basketball injuries affected his play during the baseball season for most of the year. He finished the year with a 3-4 record, a 6.64 ERA, and 14 K's. He was released by the Red Sox in April of 1964, and signed with the Indians the next day. But rotator cuff injuries were took their toll on Conley, and after he was released by the Indians in June , 1964, his MLB career was finished. He played one more season of basketball with the Knicks, and then retired from that game when that season was over. As a baseball player, he finished his career with a 91-96 record, a 3.82 ERA, 888 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.333 in 11 seasons. As a basketball player, he appeared in 351 games, scored 2069 points, collected 2212 rebounds, and 201 assists in six seasons. In retirement, he owned and operated a industrial packaging supply company in Foxboro, MA. He and his wife also fought for the pension rights of NBA players who had retired prior to the 1965 season, thus forming the NBA Old-Timers Association. More of Conley's story can be found at the SABR Biography Website.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $3.00-$8.00.
• 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: 2012 Topps Update Series #US15. 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

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1963 Topps #181 Sammy Esposito

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, January 9, 2011:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #181.
• Player Name, position, team: Sammy Esposito, infielder, Chicago White Sox.
• Major League Debut: September 28, 1952.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1962 stats (White Sox): 75 G, 81 AB, 14 R, 19 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .235 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the White Sox as a Free Agent before the 1952 season. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 7. This is his seventh and final card.
• Blurb on the back: "A great defensive infielder, Sammy is an important member of the White Sox's bench." Comic shows that Sammy plays a lot of handball in the winter.
• Commentary: Ahh the 1963 Topps design. With it's easy to chip, bold colored bottom borders, it is no wonder that you will be hard pressed to find any in good condition. I always wondered how these were printed? I mean, were some cards upside down on the full sheet? Was Topps careful and actually placed the cards gently on the cutter to ensure that no color appears on the top of the cards? Then I learned, yes, that there would be rows of cards that would appear upside down on the printer sheet. Makes you wonder how they got that final Whitey Ford card printed (last card in the set sequentially with the green border). I boldly predict that the 2023 set will have a similar design (big picture with a little picture by the player's name somewhere). Why? Because we've seen it with the 1983 set, and the 2003 set design as well (also in 1984, but we won't count that here). Esposito was a bench player at best for the team that made it to the World Series in 1959. Never appeared in more than 98 games a season (high water mark was in 1958). Listed on here as an infielder because he had no set position. Sammy played third base most of the time, but was inserted in second and short from time to time. But he was a whiz defensively. In ten seasons, had a fielding percentage of .959, and committed only 42 errors.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $1.50-$4.00.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 0 cards.

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. (You have to stop by and visit them now. They just announced that they are allowing more people to enter the museum at one time.)

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1976 Topps #319. 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

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1963 Topps #277 Dick Farrell

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, October 17, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #277.
• Player Name, position, team: Dick Farrell, pitcher, Houston Colt .45's.
• Major League Debut: September 21, 1956.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1962 stats (Colt .45's): 43 G, 242 IP, 10-20, .333 PCT, 203 SO, 55 Walks, 3.01 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Phillies as a Free Agent before the 1953 season. Selected by the Colt .45's in the Expansion Draft #4th, 10/10/1961. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Farrell's sixth regular Topps card (total includes regular cards only). With those easy to chip color edges at the bottom of most of the player's cards in the 1963 set, finding any with sharp corners is a challenge indeed. But the picture that the Card Museum used for Farrell's card shows that it can be done. Many baseball fans argue nowadays that a pitcher's win-loss record really is insignificant to how good he is a pitcher that year. And to wit, Seattle's Felix Hernandez had a really great year, leading (2.27 ERA led the AL in 2010), or being around the leaderboard (232 K's, good for 2nd), in many pitching categories. However, thanks in large part to his team's horrible record in 2010, King Felix' record wasn't as good as you would have expected. He barely was above the .500 mark in his decision (13-12). Prior to his majesty, another King, HOF Nolan Ryan had a disastrous record with the Houston Astros in 1987. Although he led the NL in strikeouts with 270, and had an ERA of 2.76 (also led the league here), he had an 8-16 record. Speaking of Houston pitchers, Dick Farrell is also an interesting case. He was selected in the expansion draft before the 1962 season (was with the Dodgers and Phillies the season prior). He struck out 203 batters in 242 innings of work. He had a WHIP of 1.097, and was named as the Colt .45's first All-Stars. But alas, as one of the first expansion teams in baseball, the team finished eighth in the NL (this was before divisional play), and "Turk" Farrell finished the year with 10 wins and 20 losses. Ouch!!! Even the bio on the back of his card, as positive as it sounds, doesn't tell the whole story. It says "Dick led the Houston Colts' pitching staff in 1962 in strikeouts with a microscopic E.R.A." Then you find out his ERA in 1962 was 3.01. Microscopic? No. But good enough to lead his staff? Yes. He was the staff ace on a team of inexperienced rookies and castoffs from other teams. Things could only get better, right? The following year, his WHIP was a microscopic 0.969, and he even had a record of 14-13. He made two more All-Star teams, this time as a member of the Houston Astros, and returned to the Phillies in 1967.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $2.00-$5.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

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. (You have to stop by and visit them now. They just announced that they are allowing more people to enter the museum at one time.)

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1993 Topps #90. 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

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1963 Topps #127 Bill Tuttle

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, August 22, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #127.
• Player Name, position, team: Bill Tuttle, outfielder, Minnesota Twins.
• Major League Debut: September 10, 1952.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1962 stats (Twins): 110 G, 124 AB, 21 R, 26 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, .210 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Tigers as a Free Agent before the 1951 season. Traded by the Athletics to the Twins 06/01/1961. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Tuttle's eighth regular Topps card (total includes regular cards only). The 1963 Topps set's unique design not only included the second picture in the round frame, but a full color border that goes across the bottom of the card. Imagine if you will an uncut sheet of cards with these colored bands going across them, and above and below each of these bands would be the cards themselves. It'd look like a surreal garden of baseball players' pictures. And Tuttle would be sitting alongside a bunch of other players with the same green-colored border. Now I don't know if Tuttle's card would be printed above or below the band, or for that matter, right-side up or upside-down. But that's neither here nor there today. The 1963 Topps design remains a classic, and in two years, will become the design for the 2012 Topps Heritage product. On to Mr. Tuttle. He was the Tigers regular centerfielder in for most of the 1950's, and by all accounts a really decent hitter. Not a power hitter by any means, but good for at least 130 hits and 55 rbi's a year. He was sent to the Athletics in a thirteen-player trade that saw him and six other Tigers off to Kansas City. While never part of the infamous Kansas City-New York Yankees trading circle, he did well enough during the 1959 season to be considered a candidate for the AL MVP award (okay, so he finished 23rd...but he at least got some votes). In the middle of the 1961 season, the Athletics sent him to Minnesota for cash and a player to be named later. One of the players involved in the trade, Paul Giel, was sent with Tuttle to Minneapolis, only to be sent back to KC as the player to be named later (he was an Athletic for ten days). Now when I first saw the numbers for Tuttle for 1962 on the back of this card, I thought that there had to be some kind of error. How could a guy, who up to this point was an everyday player, play in 110 games, and only have 124 at bats??? He couldn't have been relegated to pinch hitting duties could he? Well, actually, that was partially correct. Because the Twins had an outfield that consisted of Harmon Killebrew, Lenny Green, and Bob Allison, Tuttle was relegated to the bench as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement late in ball games. In fact, the logs indicate that in many games, he would come in during the 8th or 9th inning without an at bat. He did start a handful of games, but by the end of the season, he only made 148 plate appearances in 110 games. By the middle of the 1963 season, he was released by the Twins, ending his big league career. The back of his card, in easy to read yellow/orange and black colors, includes a cartoon that indicates that "Bill led the AL in putouts in 1955 and 1960." The cartoon is of a smiling player with outstretched arms (complete with gloves on both hands), catching a ball 400 feet from home plate. Now, if you notice on his card, there is this big bulge coming out of his left cheek. It turns out that Tuttle was a chewing tobacco aficionado. In many of his cards, because this was around the time Topps mainly used headshots, he is depicted chomping on the stuff (or whatever it is you do with it). Diagnosed with oral cancer in 1993, he became a spokesperson against the use of chewing tobacco, and did so until he passed away in 1998.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $1.50-$4.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

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: 1992 Topps #5. 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

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1963 Topps #256 Jerry Lumpe

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, August 1, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #256.
• Player Name, position, team: Jerry Lumpe, second baseman, Kansas City Athletics.
• Major League Debut: April 17, 1956.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1962 stats (Athletics): 156 G, 641 AB, 89 R, 193 H, 34 2B, 10 3B, 10 HR, 83 RBI, .301 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Yankees before the 1951 season. Traded by the Yankees to the Athletics 05/26/1959. Bats: left, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Lumpe's sixth regular Topps card. Already mentioned with last week's Card of the Week, the famous 1963 Topps set features two pictures, one main large one, and the second a smaller picture in a frame. Lumpe is one of many players who went through the NY Yankees-KC Athletics pipeline in the late 50's - mid 60's. For more information about that, click on the post I wrote about Bob Cerv (one day, I'll finish the Topps Archives project...I have to, it's due in 2011). The back of his card shows that Lumpe left professional baseball for Military Service in 1954, and made it back, the following year. The cartoon above the stats reads that he finished second on the team in batting average in 1962.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $2.00-$5.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

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: 2005 Topps #628. 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

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1963 Topps #291 Don Rudolph

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, July 25, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1963 Topps #291.
• Player Name, position, team: Don Rudolph, pitcher, Washington Senators.
• Major League Debut: September 21, 1957.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1963 stats (Indians-Senators): 35 G, 177 IP, 8-10, .444 PCT, 68 SO, 42 BB, 3.61 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the White Sox before the 1952 season. Traded by the Indians to the Senators 05/03/1962. Bats: left, Throws: left.
• Any special information about this specific card: Rudolph's fourth regular Topps card. Here is the pioneer...the set I always mention almost every time a 1983 or 2003 Topps card shows up on the randomizer. The famous 1963 Topps set. Featuring two pictures, one main large on, and the second a smaller picture in a frame. If Topps continues this 20-year pattern, the next time a design similar will appear will be in 2023. Don Rudolph, based on the back of this particular Topps card, must have been some heck of a pitcher in the minors. The cartoon above the stats says that he won 28 games in the minors in 1951. The bio on the back reads that the "Indians drafted Don from the PCL (or at least the Reds' minor leage team) in 1961 after he posted the best ERA in the league." Sadly, Don died on September 12, 1968 in a truck accident. But he did leave his mark in cardboard history. On the back of his 1959 Topps card, there is a cartoon drawing of a baseball player at a restaurant table watching a dancer high-stepping. The caption read "Don's wife is a professional dancer." How odd would that have been to the youth of 1959 America to see that little blurb. His wife was dancer Patti Wiggin, and I do recall reading somewhere about this interesting tidbit and something about a book being written about it. I can't find it anywhere. If anybody knows what I'm talking about, please lead me to it. Thanks.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $2.00-$5.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

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: 1987 Topps #432. 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