Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #15 George Scott

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, July 22, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #15.
• Player Name, position, team: George Scott, first baseman, Milwaukee Brewers.
• Major League Debut: April 12, 1966.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Brewers): 158 G, 617 AB, 86 R, 176 H, 26 2B, 4 3B, 36 HR, 109 RBI, .285 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Red Sox as a Free Agent 05/28/1962. Traded by the Red Sox to the Brewers 10/10/1971. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his eleventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Has led Brewers in RBI's 4 years."
• Commentary: George Charles Scott found his way to the Brewers when he was included in a ten-player trade with the Boston Red Sox. He left the Red Sox after six seasons which saw "Boomer" hit .260 with 105 home runs, 390 rbi's, and an OPS of .743. He would have his best year as a Brewer in 1975, as he led the American League in both homers and rbi's (36 and 109 respectively), as well as being named to his second All-Star team, and finish 8th in the MVP voting. An extremely steady fielder at first, he also won his seventh Gold Glove award, Believe it or not, the Brewers traded Scott BACK to the Red Sox after the 1976 season, where he would continue his career in Beantown for another three seasons. After a short stints with the Royals and Yankees in 1979 (he was traded to KC in June, only to be released two months later), his MLB career was over. Although skipped over by the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox HOF in 2006. George Scott passed away on July 28, 2013. He was 69-years old.
• Beckett value: $2.00-$5.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 8 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1979 Topps #435. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 1979 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

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

It's Pie Day!!! Wait. Did I Spell That Correctly??!

It's Pie Day!

If you're in the Chicago area, may I recommend a certain family bakery to get your cake, cupcake, and pie fix?

Wait, it's not that kind of "pie day???"

But I had all this stuff I wanted to talk about.

Like what better time to honor Hall of Famer Harold Joseph Traynor who was honored by Topps and The Sporting News in 1976 as one of baseball's All-Time All-Stars.

No?

I also wanted to talk about former Cub outfielder Felix Pie...

Oh, his last name is pronounced \pee-yay\

So what can I talk about today???

It's 3/14...ohh...


Happy "Pi" Day!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. Just think, next year, I can run this post again on 3/14/15 9:26:53...jba

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #39 Pete Broberg

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, December 25, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #39.
• Player Name, position, team: Pete Broberg, pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers.
• Major League Debut: June 20, 1971.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Brewers): 130 G, 480 AB, 96 R, 138 H, 26 2B, 1 3B, 36 HR, 100 RBI, 7 SB, 66 BB, 80 SO, .571 SLG, .965 OPS, .320 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Senators #1st (Special), June 1971. Traded by the Rangers to the Brewers 12/05/1974. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 8. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: I've been debating for a while now as to whether or not I should buy a set of 1975 Topps. It would be the first set I'd own that's older than me. Well, actually, that's not true. The 1976 Topps Baseball set is technically older than me too. But by the time the '76 season started, I was already born. And while I never heard of baseball until grade school, I can say that I own cards that were born before I knew what baseball was. And one of the cool things about doing these Random Cards of the Day is that when a player like Peter Sven Broberg comes along, I have to do a bit of research to know who this player was. Because up until now, I have never heard of the guy. From the back of the card, I can see that he was one of the members of the Washington Senators who made the move with the team (the second team to take the name Senators) left for the wild west of Arlington, Texas. After the 1974 season, Broberg was traded over to Brewers for Clyde Wright. In 1976, Broberg went 1-7 for the Brew Crew, had an ERA of 4.75, walked 72 batters (compared to striking out 28), and had a WHIP of 1.852. After the 1976 season, Broberg was exposed to the expansion draft to fill rosters for both the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. Broberg was drafted by the M's, but was then traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Jim Todd (who if you still follow this blog, was yesterday's subject for the Random Topps Card of the Day). After one season of languishing in the Cubs bullpen (when he wasn't with the Cubs, he was biding his time in the starting rotation for AA-Wichita), Pete was traded to the Oakland A's where he returned to the starting rotation. Broberg's one-season stint in the majors would turn out to be the last action he'd see in a major league uniform. He signed with the Dodgers, but was released before the 1979 season began. Overall, Pete Broberg went a combined 41-71, saved 1 game, struck out 536 batters, and walked 438 of the 4249 batters he faced. The back of Broberg's 1976 card shows a cartoon featuring Broberg's teammate Hank Aaron. "Hank Aaron was walked intentionally 289 times during his National League career," is the caption as a catcher stretches his right hand to signal for an intentional pass. Thing is that the Brewers were part of the American League at the time. For the record, he has 4 IBB's in the American League.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 4.

Tomorrow's card will be 1986 Topps #337. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #635 Jim Fregosi

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, December 6, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #635.
• Player Name, position, team: Jim Fregosi, third baseman, Texas Rangers
• Major League Debut: September 14, 1961.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Rangers): 77 G, 191 AB, 25 R, 50 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 33 RBI, .262 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Red Sox as a Free Agent before the 1960 season. Traded by the Mets to the Rangers 07/11/1973. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 27 (16 as a player, 11 as a manager). This is his fifteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a
• Commentary: By the time this card came out, James Louis Fregosi already had a very good career. From 1964 through 1970, all with the Angels, he had made the All-Star team all but one season, was a perennial MVP candidate, a consistent hitter (no less than 150 hits during that stretch), and a slick fielder to boot (Gold Glove in 1967). But when a tumor was discovered on his foot, his playing career began to be in doubt. He was traded to the Mets in the same deal that brought a young fireballer named Nolan Ryan to California. His time with the Mets was brief, mostly due to a thumb injury and in at the end of the 1973 season, he was traded to the Rangers. In 1976, Fregosi was nothing more than a backup, playing very sparingly during the course of the season. In 58 games, he would hit for a .233 average, with 2 home runs, 12 runs driven in, and percentages of .342/.331/.673. But you know what, some good must have come from sitting on the bench all that time. During the 1978 season, again as a fill in for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gene Autry, the owner of the Angels, had this idea that the now 36-year-old Fregosi would make a good manager. On June 1, 1978, the Bucs released Jim so that he could become a manager. I don't think it has been done since then that a MLB player would retire during the season to become a manager that same year (of course I could be wrong). Fregosi would finish his 18-season playing career appearing in 1902 games, a .265 batting average, 151 home runs, 706 rbi's, a cumulative .966 fielding percentage, and the distinction of being the last of the original "Los Angeles Angels" to retire as an active player. In 1998, the Angels retired his uniform number 11. He has since been a manager for four different teams (the Angels, White Sox - that's how I first heard the name -, the Phillies - who he led to the 1993 World Series -, and the Blue Jays) and has a managerial record of 1,028-1,095.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 15.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2000 Topps #344. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #654 Doug Griffin

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, November 28, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #654.
• Player Name, position, team: Doug Griffin, second baseman, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: September 11, 1970.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Red Sox): 100 G, 287 AB, 21 R, 65 H, 6 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI, .240 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Angels #22nd, June 1965. Traded by the Angels to the Red Sox 10/11/1970. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 7. This is his sixth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: So I'm spending time with my wife's family at my brother-in-law's house in Indiana. His in-laws are in town from Massachusetts, and I had to tell them that after the Tigers went down, there was nobody left for me to root for, even as a NL fan, so it was "Go Red Sox" for me. It then turned into a discussion about how Ben Cherington has been a great GM since Theo left and that John Farrell was robbed of the AL MGR of the Year Award. Maybe I should show them my Doug Griffin card from 1976, the card that came out AFTER the 1975 World Series run and ask what they thought of the second baseman. Apparently Douglas Lee Griffin was a pretty good ballplayer when his career started. After being traded to Boston from the California Angels, he finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1971 and won a Gold Glove in 1972 despite a broken hand injury that affected his hitting. In 1973, he was beaned by a Nolan Ryan fastball, knocking him unconscious. The beaning would ultimately affect Griffin for the rest of his career. Although he played in more than 100 games as the team's second baseman during that magical 1975 season, he was left off the playoff roster throughout the ALCS and only appeared in one game (Game 5) of the World Series as a pinch hitter. In 1976, Griffin would be the backup at second base and the team's primary pinch hitter. In 49 games, Doug would hit .189 with 4 rbi's in a very limited capacity. Griffin would only appear in five games during the 1977 season, and by June, was given his unconditional release. He would never work in baseball after his release, working in the construction business in both California and Florida. Griffin's story is one of many that can be found thanks to the SABR's BioProject. 
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1977 Topps #10. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #87 Tom Burgmeier

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, June 4, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #87.
• Player Name, position, team: Tom Burgmeier, pitcher, Minnesota Twins.
• Major League Debut: April 10, 1968.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Twins): 46 G, 76 IP, 5-8, 32 R, 26 ER, 41 SO, 23 BB, 3.08 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Colt .45's as a Free Agent 09/24/1961. Traded by the Royals to the Twins 10/24/1973. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 16. This is his seventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "In American Legion, Tom once hurled 11-inning no-hitter, fanned 23 batters in game, but was defeated 2-1."
• Commentary: You do realize that he can't possibly be holding a ball in his left hand and that there is nothing in the glove, right? Would this be what his follow-through would look like? The St. Paul, Minnesota-born Tom Burgmeier was traded by the Royals to the Twins after the 1973 season concluded. Prior to that, he was drafted by the fledgling Kansas City franchise in the 1969 expansion draft from the California Angels. For five seasons, he performed very well in the KC bullpen, saving 28 games while earning a 24-16 record with an ERA of 3.20. His best season in KC was in 1971, when Tom saved 17 games and earned a record of 9-7 with what would eventually be a career low 1.73 ERA. In 1976, his third season in the Twin Cities, had a fantastic season as a middle reliever. In 115.1 innings of work (a career high), he would win eight of nine decisions, have an ERA of 2.50, strikeout 45 batters, and have an WHIP of 1.075. After four years, Tom would conclude his run in Minnesota with a record of 24-16 (the same record he earned in five seasons with KC) along with a 3.77 ERA in 380 innings pitched. Burgmeier signed a Free Agent contract with the Red Sox in 1978, and spent the next five years in Boston, becoming an All-Star in 1980. He would finish his career in Oakland, spending two seasons with the A's until he retired after the 1984 season. He has gone on to be a pitching coach in the Royals' and Orioles' farm systems over the years, and was a video coordinator for the Royals before turning to coaching. The SABR BioProject has an article on Tom Burgmeier's career that you can access here.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 11 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps #590. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2004 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #321 Jose Cruz

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, April 2, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #321.
• Player Name, position, team: Jose Cruz, outfielder, Houston Astros.
• Major League Debut: September 19, 1970.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Astros): 120 G, 315 AB, 44 R, 81 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 49 RBI, .257 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Cardinals as a Free Agent 10/27/1966. Contract purchased by the Astros 10/24/1974. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 17. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: The Topps Card Randomizer picked Jose Cruz, Jr. a couple of months ago. Today, it's dad's turn to be featured. I know that the Astros' uniforms in the 70's and 80's had some wild colors, but was pink one of them? Maybe it's the era of design, but I would have preferred it if Topps incorporated the team colors for the design than random colors. Just my opinion, of course, I'm no expert. Jose Cruz played for the Astros for thirteen full seasons. It is the team he is mostly connected to, long after his playing days ended (and after one really quiet season with the Yankees). Starting in 1976, Jose Cruz would reach triple digits in hits for the first time in his career, beginning a streak of 11 straight years reaching the century mark in hits (he would lead the NL in Hits in 1983 with 189). He would go on to hit .303 with 4 home runs, and 61 rbi's. He would also go on and steal 28 bases and draw 53 walks, contributing to an OBP of .377 and an OPS of .777. Defensively, Cruz would play all three positions equally well, only committing 8 errors in 283 chances (.972 fielding percentage). During his stay in Houston, Cruz would become a two-time All-Star (in 1980 and 1985), a two-time Silver Slugger (in 1983 and 1984), and MVP candidate (reaching as high as 3rd in the running in 1980). Until Craig Biggio passed him in 2001, Cruz also had played in more games in an Astros uniform than any other player (1870 appearances). In his time with Houston, Cruz would hit 138 home runs, drive in 942 rbi's, steal 288 bases, and hit for a .292 average (.789 OPS). After his one season with the Yankees, Cruz called it a career, giving him time to focus on his family and see his son, Jose Cruz, Jr, live his dream of playing in the majors as well. In 1992, the Astros organization retired his uniform number #25, and in 1999, he was one of three outfielders selected onto the All-Astrodome team (to celebrate the team's run before moving to Enron Field-Minute Maid Park).After managing in both the independent Texas-Louisiana League and the Puerto Rican Winter League, he joined the Astros as a first base coach. He is now a special assistant to the GM with the Astros. Although Jose Cruz was slighted by the BBWAA for induction into Cooperstown (two votes to earn .4% of the total count), he is a Hall of Famer. He was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.60-$1.50.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 19.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2012 Topps #657. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2012 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #146 George Medich

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, March 30, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #146.
• Player Name, position, team: George Medich, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: September 5, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Yankees): 35 G, 272 IP, 16-16, 115 R, 106 ER, 132 SO, 72 BB, 3.50 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Yankees #29th, June 1970. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 11. This is his fourth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: If there was ever a really appropriate nickname bestowed upon a player, it was given to George Francis Medich. Living up to his last name, he really was a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh, so upon making it to professional baseball, there was only one nicknamte to give him, "Doc." And the good doctor delivered for four years as a New York Yankee, going a combined49-40 in 111 games (108 starts) with a cumulative 3.40 ERA, 431 strikeouts, and 1.276 WHIP. On December 11, 1975, Doc was traded to the Pirates for three players: Willie Randolph, Ken Brett, and Dock Ellis (Doc for a Dock). With the Bucs in 1976, when he wasn't continuing his studies at his alma mater, Ellis went 8-11 in 29 games (26 starts), with an ERA of 3.52 and 86 k's. He even saved the life of a 73-year old who was having a heart attack in the stands, providing CPRHis stay in the Steel City was brief as he was traded in 1977 to the Athletics in a nine-player deal. After 25 starts in which Doc went 10-6, Medich had an interesting couple of weeks in September. First, his contract was purchased by the Mariners on September 13. He started three games for the M's, won both decisions for Seattle. Only thirteen days later, he was placed on waivers, and the New York Mets picked him up. He signed on with the Rangers, spending four plus seasons in Texas before his contract was purchased by the Brewers in 1982. He retired as a player after the season soon afterwards. So back to his 1976 campaign. Because he was traded off before Topps could get to airbrush a Pirates cap on his picture, he was included in Topps' second "Traded" product. The back of his regular card features a cartoon sketch depicting one of baseball's famous plays: "On September 23, 1908, Fred Merkle's failure to touch 2nd base cost the NY Giants the National League Pennant."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1956 Topps #41. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #586 Ron Schueler

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, March 8, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #586.
• Player Name, position, team: Ron Schueler, pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies.
• Major League Debut: April 16, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Phillies): 46 G, 93 IP, 4-4, 55 R, 54 ER, 69 SO, 40 BB, 5.23 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Braves #3rd (Special), January 1967. Traded by the Braves to the Phillies 12/03/1973. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 8. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a
• Commentary: Growing up in Chicago, I recognize Ron Schueler as the GM of the White Sox from 1991 through 2000. But what I didn't realize (until I started collecting cards from 1986 backwards) was that Ronald Richard Schueler was a pitcher for four teams in an eight season stretch of the 1970's. With the Braves, he was used as a swingman, pitching in both the starting rotation and bullpen. In his two years with Atlanta, Schueler (make sure you spell his name with two "e"'s) went a combined 13-15 in 76 games (38 starts), with 2 saves, an ERA of 3.78, 220 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.291. Not spectacular, but he was a reliable pitcher nonetheless. He was traded to the Phillies in December of 1973. Although he continued in the dual role of starter/reliever in his first year in Philly, after a mediocre season in the starting role, he was sent to the bullpen. It turned out to be a very good move. Schueler was sidelined for most of May, but when he returned, his performance resulted in his best season to date. In 35 appearances, all in relief, he finished 12 games, saving three of them. He went 1-0 in his decisions, had a career low ERA of 2.90 with 43 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.208 in 49.2 innings of work. His contract was purchased by the Twins during spring training in 1977 and recorded a good 8-7 record in 52 games (7 starts, 21 finishes, 3 saves). He signed on with the White Sox, spending a season-and-a-half as a pitcher. When White Sox pitching coach Fred Martin died on June 11, 1979 due to complications to cancer, Schueler retired as an active player and took over as the team's pitching coach. It would be the beginning of a long career in baseball for Schueler. He stayed on as coach with the Pale Hose until 1981. He was hired by the Oakland Athletics for the same role in the following year, serving three seasons with the A's. After taking a year off, he joined the Pirates in 1986 as their pitching coach. He rejoined Oakland, this time as a special assistant to the GM in 1987, sticking around for the A's late 80's run of dominance. He was hired by the White Sox in 1991 to become their GM, and signed a number of veteran players during his tenure to help the Sox compete. He stepped down in 2000 to become the team's senior vice president, and an adviser to the new GM Ken Williams. He crossed town in 2003, joining the Cubs as a special assistant to the president and GM. Ron Schueler has since trekked on to other teams serving in the same capacity, beginning with the Cardinals (2005-2007), Giants (2008 as a scout and evaluator), and Nationals (since 2009 as a special adviser to the Nat's GM). On the back of Schueler's card is a cartoon sketch of a baby holding a bat in a crib staring at a picture on a dresser. The caption: "Hank Aaron was playing Major Lg. Baseball before Robin Yount, his Brewer Teammate in 1975, was born." True, since Yount (born on September 15, 1955) was 18 when the Hammer returned to Milwaukee.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 4.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2007 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH97. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #275 Rick Manning

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Wednesday, February 20, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #275.
• Player Name, position, team: Rick Manning, outfielder, Cleveland Indians.
• Major League Debut: May 23, 1975.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Indians): 120 G, 480 AB, 69 R, 137 H, 16 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 35 RBI, .285 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Indians #1st, June 1972. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 14. This is his first Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: Do you notice the drawing of the outfielder running to make the catch on the bottom left corner of the card? That could easily have been inspired by the play of Rick Manning (or maybe not, but work with me here). In 118 games in the field, he committed 9 errors in 352 chances for a .974 fielding average. Okay, that might not be impressive, but the following year, as the Tribe's primary centerfielder, his .987 fielding percentage thanks to committing only 5 errors in 372 chances earned him the Gold Glove award in 1976. He was no slouch at the plate either, hitting .292 with six home runs, 43 rbi's, and 16 stolen bases in 138 games. In 1977, his was knocked out for the better part of two months thanks to an awkward slide on the base paths, which caused him to hurt his back and require surgery. He remained with the Indians until 1983, when he was traded to the Brewers in a five player trade that sent Brewer fan-favorite Gorman Thomas to the "Mistake by the Lake." In his nine years with the Tribe, he hit for a good .263 with 36 home runs and 336 rbi's, and stole 142 bases. After five seasons and 492 games with the Brewers (.237, 20 HR, 122 RBI), Manning retired as a player. Since 1990, Manning has been the color commentator for Cleveland Indians telecasts. On the back of Manning's 1975 Topps card, there is a cartoon sketch of a baseball caroming off the fence much to the dismay of the fielder and the words "Cookie Lavagetto's 9th inning single with 2 out spoiled Bill Bevens' no-hit bid in the 1947 World Series (according to Baseball-Reference, Lavagetto's hit was a double). In a sign of things that were yet to come, in 1981, Rick Manning made the final catch that clinched Len Barker's perfect game.
• Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 14 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be 1980 Topps #300. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Hope you will be too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #396 Bill Lee

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, February 08, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #396.
• Player Name, position, team: Bill Lee, pitcher, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: June 25, 1969.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Red Sox): 41 G, 260 IP, 17-9, 123 R, 114 ER, 78 SO, 69 BB, 3.95 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Red Sox #22nd, June 1968. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 13. This is his seventh Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a.
• Commentary: It's the oldest complete set I have in my collection. As much as I would love to start acquiring sets or collecting cards from 1975 and older, because I was born in 1976, I feel, at this time, that this set will be the furthest that I will claim to own for a long time. Yes, it doesn't get as much praise as the set from the year before, but there is something to be said about the cards from 1976 that warms the hearts of those who like this set. Maybe it's the picture of the baseball player on the side of the card that is unique to the player's position. Maybe it's the fact that there are three other unique design elements (picture, bar with player name, bar with team name and position) included in the design. Maybe it's because this was the last "colorful" design we'd see from Topps for five years. But this is a set that still screams "70's" at first glance...and maybe that's the point. Bill Lee was a "flake." That's probably the best way to describe him. He drove many crazy with his antics, was a media darling because of the wild things that would come out of his mouth. But make no bones about it, when he was on, he was one of the best Boston fans had ever seen. After four seasons of wallowing in the bullpen, Lee finally cracked the starting rotation, and for three years straight, won 17 decisions each year(going 17-11, 17-15, and 17-9 from 1973-1975). He became an All-Star in 1973 and even though the Red Sox lost both games in the 1975 World Series that he started (Game 2 and the decisive Game 7), he kept the potent Reds lineup in check while he was on the mound, allowing only five runs in 14.1 innings of work. During a game in 1976, against the hated Yankees no less, Lee was involved in a scuffle after a play at the plate went the Red Sox' way. Graig Nettles blindsided Lee, who landed awkwardly on his shoulder. He was out of action for almost two months thanks to that hit. He did finish the year with a 5-7 record, a 5.63 ERA (a career worst), and 29 strikeouts in 96 innings of work. In 1978, his Red Sox career started tumbling downhill, both on the field and off it. He questioned the authority of management, specifically his manager, Don Zimmer. When one of his teammates (Bernie Carbo) was traded off, he caused such a ruckus, saying "Today just cost us the pennant," and that he was retiring. He returned the next day. But his actions earned him a fine and permanent space in Zim's doghouse. He was traded to the Expos after the season ended. His first season with the Expos went rather well, a 16-10 record will do that for a player. But his woes with management returned. After two subpar seasons, he was released by the Expos on May 9, 1982. It would be the last time he would see action in MLB. He would travel the world, playing baseball in places like Cuba, China, Canada, and even the former USSR. He has written a couple of books, including one considered an alternative view of Red Sox history. The back of Lee's 1976 card includes a cartoon sketch which mentions that Jim O'Rourke pitched for 34 years in professional baseball, from 1872 to 1907. In 2003, he was one of 21 subjects featured in Topps All-Time Fan Favorites product whose cards appeared exclusively as autographed cards and not part of the base set. Autographed cards of the Spaceman appeared again in 2012 Topps Archives. The SABR Biography Project includes one of the colorful Bill Lee here.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.60-$1.50.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 8.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1988 Topps #145. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #319 Larry Gura

We reset the Topps Card Randomizer to come up with seven new cards to present for this week. Introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Monday, January 10, 2011:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #319.
• Player Name, position, team: Larry Gura, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: April 30, 1970.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Yankees): 26 G, 151 IP, 7-8, 65 R, 59 ER, 65 SO, 41 BB, 3.52 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Cubs #2nd, June 1969. Traded by the Rangers to the Yankees 05/08/1974. Bats: left. Throws: left.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his sixth card.
• Blurb on the back: Comic blurb "Pete Gray, a one-armed outfielder, played in 77 games with the St. Louis Browns in 1945."
• Commentary: The iconic 1976 Topps design, utilizing the position specific drawing of each player on the lower left corner of the card, failed to follow the Topps status quo of using team specific color borders. To wit...sky blue and green? For the Yankees? Larry didn't stay long with the Yanks. Although as fate would soon have it, he was traded to the Yankees' favorite patsy, the Kansas City Royals, during the 1976 season. But with KC, he flourished. He became an All-Star in 1980, finishing the year with an 18-10 record and a 2.95 ERA. With the Yankees, however, Gura went 12-9, a decent 3.21 ERA and a WHIP of 1.350.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 13 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH292. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. See you then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #576 Maximino León

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, October 15, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #576.
• Player Name, position, team: Maximino Leon, pitcher, Atlanta Braves.
• Major League Debut: July 18, 1973.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Braves): 50 G, 85 IP, 2-1, 52 R, 39 ER, 53 SO, 33 BB, 4.13 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Braves as a Free Agent 07/31/1972. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: León's second regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). I mentioned before about the use of colors in Topps' many designs, and over the years, there have been hits and misses. And I understand that using the same colors over and over would make the designs incredibly boring for a team collector. So would that be the reason why the Braves cards have the 'kind of' correct shade of blue with the totally incorrect shade of orange??? Anyway, Maximino León was a mainstay in the Braves bullpen in the mid-1970's. While not necessarily the closer, he did finish the previous year with 7 saves. He may have had more if the defense behind him wouldn't have failed him (13 unearned runs). But he did finish 20 of the team's games that year. Believe it or not, he was a pretty decent hitter. In his career, he went 13 for 52 (good for .250) and drove in 5 runs. How many relief pitchers in today's game can make that claim? In six seasons, León 14-18 with 13 saves, 170 K's, and a whip of 1.337. The back of León's card is unique as it shows his career stats (up to that point) during his time in the Mexican Central League. How's this for a Mexican geography lesson. It shows here that Max played in Fresnillo, Jalisco, and Puerto Mexico before his first taste of USA ball with Savannah. What the numbers also say is that he was a great pitcher in the Mexico. After his stay with the Braves, he returned to Mexico and competed for another decade, finally retiring in 1989. He finished his career with a 142-92 record in the Mexcian League. In 1997, Maximino León was inducted into the Salon de la Fama, the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2000 Topps #114. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps Traded #231T Tom House

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, September 18, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps Traded #231T.
• Player Name, position, team: Tom House, pitcher, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: June 23, 1971.
• Last Line of Statistics: n/a
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Braves #3rd June (Secondary), 1967. Traded by the Braves to the Red Sox 12/12/1975. Bats: left, Throws: left.
• Any special information about this specific card: House's sixth regular Topps (total includes regular and traded cards only). Topps second attempt at making an end of the year traded set (it's really their third try, the 1972 Traded cards were part of the actual set). Instead of repeating the stats of the players "Traded", the fronts of the cards features a headshot of the highlighted player with an airbrushed cap of his new team. It also utilizes a newspaper header with the date of the transaction above the headline. The back of the card goes into more detail about the transaction that sent the player to his new team. Tom House, the Braves' lefthanded relief specialist, was traded to Boston in exchange for Rogelio Moret. The card number for house coincides with the Topps card number assigned to him in the regular set (#231). These traded cards did present a quandary for young collectors new to the concept of "traded" cards. Should one replace the regular card in the set with its traded doppelgänger? Or would the cards be kept separated, creating its own set? Tom House was a very good reliever in the 70's, but he will be remembered for a catch he made in a game that he had not yet appeared in. He was the pitcher who caught Hank Aaron's 715th home run in the Braves' bullpen.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of each player do I own?: 5 cards.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1965 Topps #133. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #655 Mike Vail

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, September 14, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #655.
• Player Name, position, team: Mike Vail, outfielder, New York Mets.
• Major League Debut: August 18, 1975.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Mets): 38 G, 162 AB, 17 R, 49 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, .302 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Cardinals #4th, June 1971 (Special). Traded by the Cardinals to the Mets 12/11/1974. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Looking at the scoreboards at stadiums now, it's hard to believe that the one behind Vail in this card was considered high tech in the 1970's. And that's a big one too. The colors used for the 1976 Topps cards almost makes sense. The blue fits perfectly, and while it should have been orange, the shade of yellow does seem to fit for the Mets. The back of Vail's card, with it's dark green background and brown text, is a bit hard to read. The blurb on the back mentions that Mike tied a rookie record for hitting safely in 23 straight games, a record. He did lead the International League in batting average in 1975 (a high .342). Vail and his hitting gave the Mets good reason to trade Rusty Staub to the Tigers. But Vail would injure himself in the offseason, and his hitting did not return. He would go on to have the journeyman's career, travelling from the Mets to the Indians, Cubs, Reds, Giants, Expos and Dodgers.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 12 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps #559. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2004 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #476 Bob Moose

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, August 27, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #476.
• Player Name, position, team: Bob Moose, pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Major League Debut: September 19, 1967.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Pirates): 23 G, 60 IP, 2-2, 30 R, 28 ER, 34 SO 25 BB, 3.71 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #17th June, 1965. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Moose's ninth and final regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). If there was a color scheme that I would associate with the Pirates, especially in the mid to late 70's, green would not be included in it. So why did Topps a yellow and green color design for this card??? Moose was part of the dominant Pirate teams of the early 70's, including the World Series winning team in 1971. The Pennsylvania native's best year was in 1969 when in 44 games pitched, he had a record of 14-3, an ERA of 2.97, and struck out a career high 165 batters. The back of his card recalls the no-hitter he pitched agains the Mets on 09/20/1969, and that he held the Astros hitless for 7.2 innings at legendary Forbes Field 06/14/1968. Sadly, after the 1976 season, Moose died in a car crash on his way to Bill Mazeroski's golf course in Ohio. It was his 29th birthday. So although he did play in the 1976 season, this is his final card as an active player.
• Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1984 Topps Traded #25T. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #556 Minnesota Twins Team Card

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, August 21, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #556.
• Player Name, position, team: Gene Mauch, manager, Minnesota Twins.
• Special: Minnesota Twins Team Card
• Any special information about this specific card: The 1976 Topps Team cards did not serve as a team leaders card. Its main purpose was to provide a team checklist for each of the 24 teams (yes, there were 24 teams back then...the Blue Jays and Mariners would make their Topps debut the following year). What makes this even more unique is that the 1975 Twins in 1975 were not managed by Gene Mauch but by Frank Quilici. So while accurate in the fact that Mauch did manage the team in time for the 1976 season, he was not the manager of the team the year before. Anyway, the '75 Twins finished fourth in the AL West with a 76-83 record. The team checklist features 26 Twins cards (25 players, and one manager/team card). The breakdown by position includes 11 pitchers, 2 catchers, six outfielders (one an OF-1B), five infielders, and one designated hitter. Hey, that's a whole team. You don't see that nowadays (look, we've had that conversation before...enough already). It is also around this time that you could also get an uncut sheet of all 24 team checklists in one shot by mailing $0.50 and a Topps baseball wrapper to a PO Box in Westbury, NY. Collectors had until the end of the year to redeem this prize. I have several of these kinds of sheets (thanks to eBay), but not one from 1976. So if you have one laying around, please let me know if you'd be interested in it.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.60-$1.50.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1963 Topps #127. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #481 Rudy May

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, April 29, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #481.
• Player Name, position, team: Rudy May, pitcher, New York Yankees.
• Major League Debut: April 18, 1965.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Yankees): 32 G, 212 IP, 14-12, 87 R, 72 ER, 145 SO, 99 BB, 3.06 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Twins as a Free Agent 11/05/1962. Contract purchased by the Yankees from the Angels 06/15/1974. Bats: left, Throws: left.
• Any special information about this specific card: May's eighth regular Topps card (total includes regular and traded cards only). How does Topps out do themselves for their 1976 Topps design after a successful and popular 1975 product? This set. The two colored frame and name box are their (even though green and powder blue is awkward for Yankees team colors), but what really stands out is the picture used on the left side of every player card. Depending on the position, you got a different picture. Rudy May was, at this point in his career, a journeyman. He was a decent pitcher, and even made it to the 80's. But May found a home in the Yankees starting rotation. The blurb on the back indicates that May is "a hard thrower. Rudy's strikeout high was 16 vs. Twins 08/10/1972.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 10 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1996 Topps #84. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 1976 Topps #218 John Knox

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, February 13, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1976 Topps #218.
• Player Name, position, team: John Knox, third baseman, Detroit Tigers.
• Major League Debut: August 1, 1972.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1975 stats (Tigers): 43 G, 86 AB, 8 R, 23 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .267 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by Tigers #8th June 1970. Bats: left, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Knox' third and final Topps card (this total does not include the Topps mini card from 1975). As 1975 was Knox' final year in the majors, the total stat line on his 1976 card is complete (for the 9 stats on there anyway). I think I understand why Topps used the brown and gold combo for the Tigers borders for the 1976 Topps set, but I don't think it makes any sense based on the fact that the Detroit Tigers colors are blue (navy), white, and orange (occasionally). The card I have is so far off center in both directions, but fortunately, it's not miscut. The back of the card includes a cartoon, about how on May 8, 1935, Ernie Lombardi hit 4 doubles in successive innings (6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th), helping the Reds beat the Phillies 15-4. If this isn't already impressive enough, he did it against four different pitchers!!!
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.15-$0.40.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 1 card.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1975 Topps #463. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama