Showing posts with label 1977 Topps Big League Brothers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1977 Topps Big League Brothers. Show all posts

Sunday, April 24, 2016

1976 ASG +40: Ken & Bob Fosch 1977 Topps #632

Hello Houston!

The Astros are once again noteworthy and are getting national recognition on Sunday Night Baseball. To mark that return we turn our 1976 All-Star Game Anniversary coverage to one the Astros reps on the NL Squad.

1977 Topps #632 Big League Brothers Bob and Ken Forsch

In 1976 Ken Fosch made the first of his two all-star appearances. He finished the game setting down the AL in order, finishing with a strike out of Amos Otis.

Ken Fosch had a 16 year career, 11 with the Astros followed by five with the Angels.  A swingman Forsch made the All-Star team as a reliever who would save 19 games for the 1976 Astros.  He pitched to a a cumulative career WAR of 27.1 with his single best WAR season during his first full one in 1971 at age 24, +3.6. 

Phillies fans my remember his only Postseason appearance, the 1980 NLCS.  He pitched during deciding game 5. Forsch entered the game with an Astros 5-4 lead and 2 men on bases. He gave up back to back hits to Del Unser and Manny Trillo which led to three Phillies runs. The Phillies would eventually triumph 8-7 in ten innings.
 
1977 Topps #632 Big League Brothers Bob and Ken Forsch 

Nice synopsis of the Forsch's little league years. Bob Forsch never made an all-star team But did win a World Series as a member of the 1982 Cardinals.

1977 Topps Big League Brothers
Big League Brothers is barely a subset clocking in at four cards. However two of those four cards were represented in the 76 ASG. In addition to the Forsch siblings there were also the Brett's. George Brett started at 3rd Base for the AL squad. He and his brother Ken occupy the #631 slot in 1977T. 

A career highlight for Bob Fosch features the Phillies. The first of his two no-hitters was versus the Phillies on April 16, 1976, A 5-0 Cardinals victory.

Sources and Links
1976 ASG 40th Anniversary Index
Cardboard Connection
Baseball Card Database
Baseball Almanac
Baseball-ref

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Sunday Night Baseball: Big League Brothers Lee and Carlos May 1977 Topps #633

ESPN is in Baltimore tonight to feature the AL East leading Orioles as they host the New York Yankees.  To honor this match up of division rivals we present a card from teh 1977 Topps Big League Brothers Subset.

1977 Topps #633 Big League Brothers Lee and Carlos May 

Lee May and Carlos May combined to play 28 years of Major League Baseball. The elder brother, Lee, spent most of his career with two clubs the Reds and the Orioles. Carlos is pictured here with the Yankees but spent 9 of his 10 seasons with the White Sox. 

Lee was the more prolific of the brothers logging 354 Home Runs over 18 seasons. His 109 RBI in 1976 led the league. Lee was a three time all-star and a member of two league championship teams - 1970 Reds and 1979 Orioles.

Carlos May had the less stellar career of the two brothers, but things could of ended up differently. On August 11 1969 Carlos was on Marine Reserve duty in California when a Mortar accident occurred. An interesting and scary interview can be read here. The accident cost May part of his thumb. Carlos was able to recover and return to baseball. As noted he had a significant career but only topped his rookie HR output of 18 once over his decade long career.

One would expect a major thumb injury to hinder a hitters performance. In the interview cited above Carlos mentions that it may have actually helped him. The Wilson Sporting Goods Co made him a custom batting glove that May acknowledged helped a lot, but he also believes that the injury forced him to change his approach. Carlos approach at the plate went from being a pull hitter to more of an fields spray hitter.

As of 2011 Lee was working in the Cincinnati Reds PR department. He is a member of both the Reds and Orioles Hall of Fame.

Carlos May is currently the first base coach for the Schaumburg Boomers, A Chicago area minor league team in the unaffiliated Frontier League.

1977 Big League Brothers
The 1997 Topps BLB subset consists of four cards. In addition to the May Brothers there are also the Forsch's, Reushel's, and the Brett's.

Sources
SABR Bio Lee May by Eric Aron
Boomers Baseball
White Sox Interactive
Baseball Card Database

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a thousand words
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