1979 Topps Royals Prospects: Randy Bass, Jim Gaudet, Randy McGilberry

The random number generator has given us our first rookie card from the 1979 set. This is a particularly ugly sub-set. I'm not sure why Topps opted for the greyscale photos but I am thankful it was for one season only. 1979 also marked the return to team-oriented multi-player rookie cards. From 1973-1978 rookies were generally grouped by position instead of team.

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Randy Bass hit 22 homers for the Royals' AAA team in Omaha during the 1978 season.  But he was purchased by the Expos before the start of the 1979 season. He spent most of the 1979 season in Denver hitting 36 dingers for Montreal's AAA team. His MLB career is mostly forgettable but his fortune would change when he moved to Japan in 1983. In his first year with the Hanshin Tigers he hit 35 homeruns and in 1985 he slugged an incredible 54 round-trippers just one shy of Sadaharu Oh's single season record.

Although Bass hit a meager  .212 in his 130 MLB games he batted .337 during his 6 seasons in Japan. For his Card That Never Was, I created this 1985 Topps-style card of Bass on the Hanshin Tigers. In 1985 Randy Bass was the Japanese Triple Crown winner and the Central League MVP.

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Jim Gaudet is the only one of the three players featured on this card to actually play for the Royals in 1979. Gaudet played a total of  6 MLB games, all for the Royals. He played 3 each in 1978 and 1979 both times as a September call-up. In 1979 he got his one and only MLB hit. It was a 9th inning single off of Rich Gossage in Yankee Stadium. Although he was stranded on base the Royals won 9-8.

For his Card That Never Was, I gave him a solo card from 1978, the year of his only other MLB appearance.

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Randy McGilberry's short MLB career began as a September call-up in 1977. In his final game of 1977, McGilberry was called upon in the 14th inning of a 2-2 game against the A's. Ths was the first game of a double-header. After escaping the 14th unscathed he gave up a walk-off homer with 2 outs in the 15th. His next MLB appearance would be in Game 2 of another double-header against the A's but this time it was in July of 1978.

 In all, he pitched 32.2 innings for the Royals in 1977 and 1978.  Although he pitched more in 1978 than 1977, I went with the 1977 Topps set for his Card That Never Was because I had just used the 1978 format for Gaudet.

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In 1979 the Royals were coming off their 3rd consecutive Western Division Championship and 3rd consecutive AL Pennant loss to the Yankees.  This was a veteran team with a veteran rotation. So it comes as no surprise that none of these "prospects" made an impact. Bass and McGilberry didn't even play on the Royals in 1979 and Gaudet played in just 3 games.

This card might only appeal to fans of Japanese Baseball as it features Randy Bass as a rookie. Other than that, it doesn't carry much value. My suggestion is to put it in a box. I give it a generous 3.

1975 Topps Rookie Catchers-Outfielders: Gary Carter, Marc Hill, Danny Meyer, Leon Roberts

For the 25th post on this blog, the random number generator has finally brought us a genuine Hall of Fame rookie card. It is also this blog's first rookie card from the 1975 set. It has a somewhat odd combination of 2 catchers and 2 outfielders. I think that adds to its uniqueness and makes for a nice long post. 

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Although Gary Carter is depicted on this card as a catcher, "The Kid" was used primarily as an outfielder by the Expos in 1975. Barry Foote was the Expos everyday catcher, but Carter's .270 batting average and 17 homers was too much to prevent Montreal from playing him on a daily basis. He was even selected to the All Star roster in 1975 and played 1 inning in defense. Not behind the plate but in left field. That is why when I made this 1975 Hostess Card That Never Was for my other blog, I chose to list him as an outfielder.

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Here Marc Hill is depicted in a typical Topps airbrushed Giants cap. He had actually made brief appearances in 1973 and 1974 for the St. Louis Cardinals before being traded to the Giants for Ken Rudolph and Elias Sosa. Over on one of my favorite blogs, Johngy's Beat, John created a nice individual 1975 Topps card of Marc Hill on the Cardinals. I've included that over to the right.

Hill had a long career mainly as a back-up catcher. He did have 2 years in which he played the majority of games behind the plate for the Giants in 1977 and 1978. But for the rest of his 14 big league seasons, he played a supporting role. And Topps has had a card for him every year from 1975-1986. Fleer and Donruss were spotty at best. For his Card That Never Was, I chose to make the missing Fleer card from the White Sox's "Winning Ugly" 1983 season.

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After spending the 1975 and 1976 seasons as a first baseman/outfielder for the Tigers, Dan Meyer was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft. In Seattle he became the everyday first baseman. 1977 was a career season for Meyer. He hit 22 homers with 90 RBIs. Overall Meyer spent parts of 12 seasons in the majors. In 1985 the A's took one last chance on Meyer, but he went hitless in 14 games and was released in May. For his Card That Never Was, I gave him a final 1985 Topps card.

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Leon Roberts played big league ball from 1974-1984. After being called up in September 1974, Roberts became Detroit's everyday right fielder. Following the 1975 season he was part of a 7 player trade with the Astros. After the 1977 season the Astros gave up on Roberts and traded him to the Mariners. Topps gave up on him as well. There was no 1978 card of him despite that being his career season, hitting .301 with 22 homers.

Leon Roberts went on to play until 1984 with the Rangers, Blue Jays and Royals. He even pitched one mop-up inning for the Royals in 1984. Kansas City was down to Bert Blyleven and the Cleveland Indians in the 9th inning. Roberts faced 8 batters in the 9th giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk. He did manage to strike out Mel Hall. 

For Roberts' Card That Never Was I made the 1978 card that Topps skipped over. 

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This card has earned my highest grade to date. Hall of Famer, Gary Carter, carries the load but all three of the other players on this card had MLB careers lasting over 10 years each. That is more than respectable. If you have this card, display it proudly. I give it a solid 8.