1972 Topps Mets Rookie Stars: Buzz Capra, Leroy Stanton, Jon Matlack

 

The random number generator brings a card from one of my favorite sets. The 1972 set had an over-the-top 1970's vibe to it. It had great colors, great design and innovation  with the "In Action" and Traded cards. 1972 was the last time Topps would use team-based rookie stars until 1979. 

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A September call-up in 1971, Buzz Capra went 0-1 in 3 appearances and had an 8.44 ERA. That was enough to earn him a spot on this 1972 card. In 1972 and 1973 he split time between the Mets and their AAA team. In 1972 he was 3-2 with a 4.48 ERA with the big league club. In 1973 he was 2-7 with 4 saves and an ERA of 3.86. But Capra was with out a card in both the 1973 and 1974 sets.

In March of 1974 he was dealt to the Braves where he went on to have a career year.  He had a personal best 16-8 record and a League leading 2.28 ERA. He was selected to the All Star team but didn't see action. So for his Card That Never Was I gave him a 1974 Topps card of him on the Braves.  I toyed with making this a Traded card but since he technically was purchased not traded, I stuck with a regular issue card. 

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Although Leroy Stanton appears as a Met on this 1972 rookie card, he was actually included in the trade that sent Nolan Ryan to the Angels. Stanton, Ryan, Don Rose and Frank Estrada were dealt for six-time All Star shortstop Jim Fregosi. The Mets used him primarily as a third baseman because the shortstop position was already occupied by another All Star, Bud Harrelson. 

Fregosi never regained his All Star status and I forget whatever happened to Rose, Estrada and Nolan Ryan. But Stanton became the starting right fielder for the Angels from 1975-1975. He platooned in the outfield in 1976 when Bobby Bonds came to the Angels in a trade for Mickey Rivers.

In 1976 he was drafted by the expansion Seattle Mariners an in 1977 had a career season. He led the Marines in all three triple-crown categories with 27 homers, 90 RBIs and a .275 average. In 1978 he was used primarily as a DH and his numbers dropped significantly. He was released at the end of the season.

In 1979 he signed with the Hanshin Tigers and went back to playing the outfield. He hit a meager .225 for the Tigers and the following season found him in the Mexican League. He made one more attempt in 1981 to play for the Toronto Blue Jays but was cut before the start of the season.

For his Card That Never Was, I gave him a 1979 Topps style card of him on the Hanshin Tigers. There were no horizontal cards in that set, so I made the necessary modifications needed to fit the picture. I noticed a strange coincidence(?) when looking for a photo of Stanton, is that he is the 4th "gaijin" I noticed to wear #44 for the Tigers. I also came across photos of George Altman, Cecil Fielder and Randy Bass wearing that same number. 

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For Jon Matlack this card was his Rookie of the Year card but it was not his first Topps Rookie Stars card. He had previously appeared on this late series card from the 1971 set along with Rich Folkers and Ted Martinez. 

Matlack got his first big league start in the second game of a double header just before the All Star break. He pitched well, going seven innings and giving up two runs, both off the bat of Hall of Famer, Tony Perez. Perez got a solo homer in the 2nd to tie the game at 1-1. In the 7th he got an RBI single to put the Reds ahead 2-1. The Mets came back in the 8th with back to back RBI hits by Tommie Agee and Donn Clendenon. But Perez was not done. He hit a tree-run-homer off Tom Seaver, who made a rare relief appearance.

He ended up going 0-3 in six starts in the 1971 season. In 1972 he started out in the bullpen. After pitching six innings in relief, he was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Once earning a spot in the rotation he went 6-0 by the end of May with a 1.95 ERA. For the season he went 15-10 with a 2.32 ERA. He won the N.L. Rookie of the Year award getting 19 of the 24 votes. On my other blog I made cards of him as part of my Rookie of the Year series that paralleled Topps' 1975 MVP series.

Since he was also the 1975 Co-MVP of the All Star Game he was also a subject of my Horizontal Cards That Never Were. In this series I made horizontal action cards for Topps sets that didn't normally include horizontal cards. And the subject was always that year's All Star MVP.

 Up until I put these cards on the same page, I didn't realize that I had used the exact same photo for both cards. So for this blog, I took a  mulligan, and remade this Card That Never Was.

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This was an easy card to grade for me. I gave it a 7 for "Binder Worthy".  Because I collect Rookie of the Year cards, I literally have this card in a binder so this is the lowest grade I could possibly give it. All three players were solid major leagues and the fact that this technically not Jon Matlack's rookie card does not take anything away from it.

1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

In my last post, I mentioned the fickle nature of the random number generator. Two posts ago it was Hall of Famer Steve Carlton's rookie card. Last post was a pair of one-and-done Brewers. Now we are back with Yaz's rookie card.

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We all know Carl Yastrzemski's list of accomplishments are endless. 18 all star games, 7 gold gloves, AL MVP in 1967, All Star Game MVP in 1970, winner of the Triple Crown in 1967, first ballot Hall of Famer, etc. The only thing missing is a World Series ring.

And with that string of accomplishments, it's no wonder that I have several Cards That Never Were already from my other blog. The first is a 1970 Horizontal card in honor of his 1970 All Star Game MVP performance. The rest are 1971-1973 All Star Cards That Never Were. 

There is a reason why I created 2 versions of the 1973 All Star card. The solo card is the one I used for my running theme of All Star Cards That Never Were. I had used the coach-style 1973 earlier for starters and reserves once before and so by request, I added it to the fray.

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Dmitri Young sold a PSA 10 Yaz rookie card for $83,818 in 2012. A PSA 8 goes for around  a grand, and a PSA 2 was recently had for $30 plus shipping on eBay. This is one of the most sought after rookie cards from the '60s. Depending on its condition, it could be the elusive "college fund" card we all dream of finding in a box in our parents' attic. If a 1960 Carl Yastrzemski card doesn't merit a perfect 10 nothing will.

1971 Topps Brewers Rookie Stars: Bernie Smith, George Kopacz

The random number generator can be fickle. Last post featured Hall of Famer, Steve Carlton's rookie card. This time it's two players that were one-and-done in Topps opinion.

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Bernie Smith played in the Mets minor league system from 1962-1969. He was traded to the Pilots in December of 1969, but the Pilots broke spring training and went to Milwaukee instead. In 1970 he hit .330 with 13 homers in 98 games for the Brewers AAA team, the Portland Beavers. In July he was brought up to the show and hit a respectable .276 in 44 games. But in 1971 he was unable to hit his weight in 15 games. By the end of April he was back on the farm.

For his Card That Never Was, I put him on a 1970 Topps card in his Pilot's uniform. Although he never played a regular season game for the Pilots, the Brewers played the spring training exhibition games as the Pilots. 

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George Kopacz never actually played for the Brewers. He was sent to the Brewers from Pittsburgh in a conditional deal in October of 1970. Milwaukee marked him "Return to Sender" in March of 1971. Kopacz was a 30 year old with 11 years of minor league experience by 1971. He had also played 6 games at the end of 1966 for the Braves and another 10 games in September of 1970 for the Pirates.

 In 1970 Kopacz was co-MVP of the International League along with Roger Freed. He was you classic solid minor leaguer. He hit .281 and 154 homers over his 14 year career but just never successfully made the jump to the big leagues. For his Card That Never Was, I made a 1970 Topps card of him on the Pirates. He played 10 of his 16 big league games for Pittsburgh in 1970.

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Not much to say about this one. For both players this was their one and only MLB baseball card. Kopacz didn't play in the Majors in 1971 at all and Smith hit .139 through April 28th. After which he was sent back down never to return. Put it in your spokes because I give it a 1.

1961 Topps Ron Perranoski

Ron Perranoski was one of the top relievers of his era. Most of it was before the save was recognized as an official stat. The only start of his career came in his rookie season. He pitched the first four innings of a 10 inning 12-11 win over the Pirates. He gave up three runs before being pinch hit for by Frank Howard.  Over the next five innings, Roger Craig, Turk Farrell and Jim Golden combined to give up 8 runs.  In the 10th Johnny Podres pitched a scoreless frame and got the win on a John Roseboro walk-off RBI triple. So in the famous closer's only start, the final inning was pitched by an All Star starter.

If you follow my other blog, you have seen that I have a few Cards That Never Were featuring Ron Perranoski already. He has been a repeat subject on my Leaders series. Perranoski made an appearance on the 1963 and 1964 cards and was awarded the Sporting News Fireman of the Year in 1969 and 1970 giving him top billing on the 1970 and 1971 AL Leading Firemen cards.

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This is the rookie card of one of the top relievers of his era. He was never selected to the All Star game but received MVP votes in 1962, 1969 and 1970. In 1970 he also received Cy Young votes. I would consider this card "Binder Worthy". I give it a solid 7.

1970 Topps Royals Rookie Stars: Al Fitzmorris, Scott Northey

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While researching Al Fitzmorris, I have found a few interesting facts. First he was originally signed by the White Sox in 1965 as an outfielder. Batting only .227 as a minor leaguer, he decided to covert to pitcher.

Second, although he led the Carolina League with 214 strikeouts in 1968, he was not a strikeout pitcher in the majors. He averaged just 3.2 strikeouts per 9 innings over his career. In 1974 he pitched a complete game shutout without a single strikeout or walk. He gave up just 3 hits, all singles, one each in the 1st, the 5th and the 8th.

Third he was selected twice in an expansion draft. In 1968 he was left unprotected by the White Sox and picked by the Royals. In 1976 he was drafted again. This time by the Toronto Blue Jays only to be traded to the Indians for catcher, Alan Ashby and first baseman, Doug Howard.

For his Card That Never Was, I chose a 1975 Hostess design. In 1975 Fitzmorris had a number of career highs including 16 wins and 11 complete games.

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For Scott Northey this was his first of 2 rookie cards. The second was this 1971 American League Rookie Stars card with A's outfielder Bobby Brooks and Brewers Outfielder Pete Koegel.

Northey was the son of MLB journeyman Ron Northey. Ron played on the Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds and White Sox from 1942-1957 and later a coach for the Pirates from 1960-1963.

Like his 1970 Topps card-mate Fitzmorris, Scott Northey was originally signed by the White Sox as an outfielder in 1965 and also picked by the Royals in the 1968 expansion draft. Also like Fitzmorris, he was called up from the Royals' AAA Omaha team in September.  That is where the similarity ends. After Northey's "cup of coffee" in September of 1969, he never made the show again. He played minor league ball until 1972 despite being depicted on rookie stars cards in bot 1970 and 1971.

For his Card That Never Was, I chose to give him his own 1969 Topps card to commemorate this original Royals only MLB season.

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This card contains two September Call-ups from the Royals inaugural season. Fitzmorris was a solid pitcher for parts of 10 seasons. Northey on the other hand just struck out too much. He had 19 strikeouts in just 20 games including one 4 strikeout game. I may have graded a bit on the generous side but I gave this card a 4 because it contains 2 original Royals so for someone somewhere, this would qualify as a "set filler".

1966 Topps Athletics Rookie Stars: Paul Lindblad, Ron Stone

On this episode of Rating the Rookies we are looking at a 1966 Topps Rookie Stars card featuring Paul Lindblad and Ron Stone of the Kansas City Athletics. 

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After 3 solid minor league seasons in A, AA, and AAA, Kansas City called up Paul Lindblad in September of 1965 and he never looked back. Initially a starter, Lindblad found a home in the bullpen. He pitched at the Major League level from 1965-1978. He was with the Kansas City A's which moved to Oakland. In 1971 he was dealt to the Washington Senators which moved to Texas. He was traded back to the A's then was signed again by the Rangers and eventually finished his career with the Yankees.

He was the Game 3 winner of the 1973 World Series.  He came in the 9th inning of a 2-2 game. When the A's went up 3-2 in the 11th, Rollie Fingers came in to close it out. He also was one of 4 pitcher to combine for a no-hitter in 1975. It was the final game of the 1975 season and the A's had long since clinched a playoff spot. Manager, Al Dark had his ace, Vida Blue on a short leash. Vida pitched 5 no-hit innings and got the hook. The Oakland bullpen followed up with a perfect 6th inning by Glenn Abbott, a perfect 7th by Lindblad and a perfect 8th and 9th by Fingers. The A's beat the last place Angels by a score of 5-0.

Paul Lindblad had Topps cards every year from 1966-1979 and represented every city he played in except Washington. His 1971 card showed him in Oakland and his 1972 card was an air-brushed Rangers card. So for his Card That Never Was, I created this 1971 card of him on the Senators. 

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Ron Stone had a solid 1965 season hitting 16 homers and 67 RBIs playing for the Orioles minor league clubs. The A's took a chance on him and picked him up in the Rule 5 Draft. This required them to play him at the big league level or return him to Baltimore.  After 26 games and only 22 plate appearances, he was returned to the Orioles.

 He put together a few more solid seasons in the minors before being traded to the Phillies in 1969.  During this time Topps include him on 2 more Rookie Stars cards. One along with Frank Peters on the Orioles in 1968 and for the Phillies in 1969 with Bill Wilson. On both cards Topps used the same air-brushed image of him in an A's uniform.

He was picked up by the Phillies in 1969 for veteran catcher Clay Dalrymple. There he became a cautionary tale about reading too much into spring training performance.  He was labeled "Palm Tree Stone" by teammate, Larry Bowa. "He'd hit about .600 every spring then disappear on opening day. You didn't see him again until the next February."  

The Phillies used him mostly as a utility outfielder and pinch hitter. He played this role until 1972 when he spent July and August back in the minors. He was called up again in September but didn't get a single hit in 8 opportunities and began the 1973 back in the Phillies minor league system.  For his Card That Never Was, I created this 1973 Topps card to capture "Palm Tree" Stone's last spring training with the Phillies. 

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This rookie card produced a solid relief pitcher who played in 2 World Series and pitched a perfect inning as part of a 4-man no-hitter. It also was the first (and only air-brush-free) of 3 rookie cards for "Palm Tree" Stone. While this is by no measure an essential card, I'm going to label it "Set Filler" and give it a 4.

1973 Topps Rookie Outfielders: Gary Matthews, Tom Paciorek, Jorge Roque

The random number generator has graced us with another card featuring that season's Rookie of the Year. This time from 1973. That is the year when Topps returned to grouping the rookies by position instead of by team. They had done this on the earliest multiplayer rookie cards in 1962 and 1963. In 1979 Topps would once again return to grouping the players by team.

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The first player on this card is the 1973 NL Rookie of the Year, Gary Matthews. Over on my other blog, I had a running theme of making Rookie of the Year cards using the 1975 Topps MVP format. So Matthews already had a few Cards That Never Were. I created an individual 1973 Topps rookie card for him as well as one for Al Bumbry in order to fit the format below.

I also created a Card That Never Was from later in his career. This one is from strike shortened 1981 season. That year the Phillies won the divisional title in the first half of the season and the Expos won the second. The Phillies lost to the Expos 3 games to 2 in the first ever divisional series. Although Matthews had a Topps Traded card showing him on the Phillies in 1981, Donruss and Fleer still showed him in a Braves uniform.

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The second player on this card, Tom Paciorek, had appeared on a rookie card 2 years earlier. At the top of this post, I mentioned that 1973 is when Topps went back to grouping rookies by position . But here is a 1971 Topps rookie card grouped into a position. For most of the 1971 set Topps had grouped the rookies by team, but in the high number series there were a few that were either grouped by position or by league instead of by team. 

Paciorek, who would later play for the White Sox and eventually broadcast for the Southsiders, found himself on a rookie card with 2 players who would later manage the crosstown rivals. Both Dusty Baker and Don Baylor managed the Cubs. Baylor managed the Northsiders from 2000-2002, Baker was the Cubs skipper from 2003-2006.

Paciorek was a back up outfielder and firstbaseman most of his career. He bagan with the Dodgers in 1970, went to the Braves as part of a 6 player deal that included 1971 card-mate Dusty Baker. He was signed by Seattle in 1978 and in 1981 finally found a regular spot in the lineup for the Mariners.

In 1982 he was dealt to the White Sox and would be the regular first baseman, for a while anyway. He played a key part of the "Winning Ugly" team of 1983. He would later turn that into a broadcasting career with the Sox in 1988. Teamed up with Ken Harrelson in 1991, "Hawk and Wimpy" would be together until 1999. Afterward Paciorek announced games for the Tigers, Mariners, Braves and Nationals

In 1985 Paciorek was dealt to the Mets, In 1986 he was picked up by the Rangers where he finished his career in 1987. He has been well represented on cardboard throughout his career, even appearing on several traded/update cards. In fact in 1986 he had 2 Fleer cards and 2 Topps cards showing him on both the Mets and the Rangers. Donruss, however, left him out completely. So for his Card That Never Was, here is a 1986 Donruss card of him playing for the Mets.

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The third player on this card, Jorge Roque, also had an earlier rookie card.  In 1972 he appeared on a Cardinals Rookie Stars card along with Jim Bibby and Santiago Guzman. On the 1973 card you can see him with Montreal Expos colors airbrushed onto his St. Louis Cardinals cap. He began his MLB career in September of 1970 and he played parts of 1971 and 1972 with St, Louis.

Unable to hit his weight at the Major League level he was dealt to Montreal. In 1972 the Expos were fat with catching prospects and dealt veteran catcher Tim McCarver for the speedy centerfield prospect. Unfortunately, Roque's poor hitting continued north of the border and by May of 1973 the Expos were done with him. He continued to play in the Mexican League until 1979.

For his Card That Never Was, I decided to make a 1973 Topps Traded card featuring him along with Tim McCarver. Although McCarver played 77 games with the Expos in 1972, his 1972 Topps card shows him on the Phillies and by 1973 his card showed him on the Cardinals again. So this would have been the only Topps card to show McCarver representing the Expos.

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Given Matthews' Rookie of the Year performance and Paciorek's lengthy career both on the field and in the booth, I can forgive the airbrushed bust in the third slot and call this one "Binder Worthy".  I give it a slightly generous 7.

1970 Topps Senators Rookie Stars: Jim Miles, Jan Dukes

Our random number generator brought us another card from 1970. This time it is #154, Senators Rookie Stars.

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For Jim Miles, this would not be his first rookie card.  He was included on a high number multi-team rookie stars card in 1969. It would be his last card however. He was a September call-up in 1968. He pitched in 3 games for a total of 4.1 innings giving up 6 runs. His 1969 campaign wasn't much better. He threw in 10 games for a total of 20.1 innings giving up 14 runs.

 Although he would never return to the Majors, he remained in the Senator/Rangers organization through 1972. Since he already had one card that was issued after his MLB career was over, I went the other direction. For his Card That Never Was, I made a 1968 Topps card from his 1968 call-up.

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Jan Dukes pitched a total of 20 innings over his short MLB career. He had short stints in 1969 and 1970 with the Senators and again in 1972 with the Rangers. This was Jan Dukes one and only baseball card. For his Card That Never Was, I made a 1971 Topps card for him.

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Two pitchers accounting for a total of 2 cards in the Topps catalog. Both rookie cards. 44.2 innings between the 2 of them, 26 earned runs, 3 losses and zero wins. I think we can call this card a total bust. Put it in your spokes.