TASR: 1967 Topps #90 Jim Nash

On Tuesday Night the Pirates Rookie Pitcher Paul Skenes will throw the first pitch of the All-Star game. It's a rare occurrence but so is starting your career 6-0. Skenes' name is being mentioned in the same sentence with Rookie phenoms such as Doc Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela, Mark Fidrych and Jim Nash.

Jim Nash?? 

The first three of those names are all folks casual fans know well and whose Rookie accomplishments are referenced frequently. However Jim Nash - well he's before my time and even though he is a member of the All-Star Rookie Cup canon I had to look into his accomplishments

1967 Topps #90 Jim Nash 

Nash was the RHP representative for the 1967 TASR squad and he earned it, 12-1 with a 2.06 ERA. He led rookies in both categories (100 IP minimum). Prominent pitchers in the Rookie class included Future HoFs Don Sutton (12-12, 209K, 2.99 ERA, 3.5 WAR) and Fergie Jenkins (6-8, 3.32 ERA, 150 K, 3.3 WAR)

Flip

Two things to point out from the back, first the last line in the text mentions Nash's TASR nomination and secondly I direct you back to the first comic - I want pitchers to be awarded a trophy with a giant '%' etched on the front. 

Cover Boy

At roughly the same time as the above card was issued Jim Nash was also the triple cover subject for Sports Illustrated. 

Sports Illustrated 1967 March 13

Yes in March of 1967 with 12 Career Wins under his belt Jim Nash made the cover of Sports Illustrated.  At 22 years of age he was the staff ace for an Oakland A's staff that included a Young Catfish Hunter and Blue Moon Odom. 

Phuture Phillie

Jim Nash's ended his career with 8 starts for the 1972 Philadelphia Phillies, He lost ALL 8 of those starts. The 97 Loss Phillies were really bad, however Nash's 6.27 ERA with the squad was a pretty large factor in those losses. 

1973 Topps #509 Jim Nash

 

This looks like an airbrushed shot of Nash.  Check his cap, I doubt he wore that number 23 with the Phillies.  According to baseball-ref both he and Oscar Gamble wore 23 in 1972, but their tenures with the club appear to overlap so I am thinking Nash wore the other number they have listed #42. 

Flip

The comic on the flipside mentions Jim Nash's rookie Win Streak. I also want to note the Weight listed as 220. That is likely Nash's Rookie number. Articles from the era mentioned the voracious appetite of "Jumbo" Jim Nash and that he had ballooned to 260 lbs at one point in his career. 

Best of luck to Paul Skenes on Tuesday Night. Right now I imagine he is the front-runner to be the RHP rep on the 2024(2025 card) Topps All-Star Rookie team - hopefully if he ever becomes a Phillie he does better than 0-8. 

Peanut Gallery

For more coverage of this card check out Jim's column on the 1967 Topps Blog.

Sources and Links

1967 Topps All-Star Rookie Index

1967 Topps Blog

Philadelphia Inquirer (1970 June 11, Sandy Padwe)

baseball-ref

Rick Monday Index

This is an index of our postings related to 1967 Topps All-Star Rookie Cup Winner Rick Monday


1968 Topps Rick Monday

Rick Monday Index
1968 Topps Rick Monday
1976 Topps #251 (Phungo Original: 1976 0425 Rick Monday)

Happy Birthday Mike Schmidt: 1977 Topps #140

On September 27th Mike Schmidt will celebrate his 70th birthday. To mark the occasion we are examining a card that was issued back when Schmidt was 27 just on the cusp of hitting his prime.

1977 Topps #140 Mike Schmidt

In 1976 the Phillies wore a Bicentennial/All-Star Game patch on their left shoulders. The 1977T card which displays the patch most prominently is Mike Schmidt's.

That is probably my favorite aspect of the card. I have two other photo observations:

1) I believe this is Shea Stadium which is the setting for several Phillies cards in the era.

2) Schmidt appears to be swinging a Rawlings bat. Adirondack/Rawlings bats from the middle 70s carried a ring on the bat handle in the team color - seen in red here.

However, during a Louisville Slugger tour I took a few years ago I found out something interesting:

Louisville Slugger Museum

Above we have four Louisvlle Slugger Bats. Schmidt's lumber is the 3rd one from the top, notice the Red ring. Schmidt had an exclusive contract with Rawlings, however at times he felt the need to change bats. To hide the switch, Schmidt disguised the Louisville Slugger bat by creating his own red ring using tape. More detail on this can be found at the PSA Card site.

The four bats top to Bottom are Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray (HR #501, last as an Oriole), Schmidt and George Brett (note the Pine Tar).

 Flip

1977 Topps #140 Mike Schmidt (b-side)

This is the first card issued following Schmidt's Four Home Run game on April 17 1976 and the text leads of with that fun fact. The blurb closes mentioning that Schmidt had 11 Homers in April which is a record - not sure if this is for any month or specific to April. Regardless both records have been eclipsed since 1976. Sammy Sosa holds the MLB Record for HR in a month with 20 (June 1998), While the April Record of 14 is shared by Albert Pujols (2006) and A-Rod (2007).

Talkin Toons
Always good to see a cartoon on the back of the card. The subject of today's comic is Yankees Slugger Hank Bauer and his17 game Wolrd Series hitting streak( 1956 OCT 3 - 1958 OCT 4).  At the time this card was released Bauer had held the record for 18 years. Here we are almost 42 years later and he still holds the record. the 2018 World Series marked the 60th Anniversary of the record.

Bauer's 17 game hitting streak is also the record for consecutive postseason games as well. He shares the record with Derek Jeter (1998-1999) and Manny Ramirez (2003-2004).  The Astros George Springer has an active streak of 14 games

Bauer Toons
A couple of Hank Bauer own cards have comics that feature the record including 1960 and 1961.  My favorite is a manager card from 1969.

1969 Topps #124 Hank Bauer (b-side / baseball card datbase)

Rather than featuring a lengthy text bio the Manager cards from 1969 featured a full size cartoon that include a nice profile sketch.

Artsy
Speaking of sketches and bringing this back to our original subject, I created my own version of the 1977T Schmidt card.

1977T Mike Schmidt (Phungo Original)

Drawing 1997 Topps doesn't present any unusual challenges. The Team names are italicized which is a minor hassle. I like the drop shadow on the pennant.

I elected to leave the team logo and number off the uni, which are largely covered in the original - unfortunately this leaves a lot of blue space on the drawing and elongates Schmidt's Torso.

1980 Phillies
I am including this post as part of our 1980 Phillies Series. I hope to return to Schmidt again next year as he is not only one of the  most significant members of that particular team but also the franchise history.

Sources and Links
Mike Schmidt HoF Index
1980 Phillies World Champs Index
Phungo Artwork Index
Baseball Almanac
PSA Card
baseball card database
mlb.com / Astros 
Baseball-Ref

ANNIVERSARY - 1979 July 10: Del Unser 3 consecutive Pinch Hit HRs (1980 Topps #6)

Wednesday July 10 marks 40th anniversary of a Pinch Hitter getting into the MLB record book

1980 Topps #6 Highlights Del Unser

That pinch hitter was the Phillies Del Unser who tied a mark first established a year prior by the Dodgers Lee Lacy.

Unser's streak commenced on June 30th. In the 9th inning of game versus the Cardinals at Busch stadium the Phillies were down 4-2 with 2 out in the 9th inning. Phillies Center Fielder Garry Maddox was on base when Unser was sent to the plate to bat for Manny Trillo. Unser homered off of reliever George Frazier to tie the game which the Phillies won 6-4 in extras.

The 2nd Home Run came in a 3-2 loss to the Mets. Unser hit a solo home run in the 7th inning while batting for Larry Bowa in what was basically a convoluted double change. The victim was starting pitcher Craig Swan.

Del Unser finished his Home Run trifecta facing Padres future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers. The Phillies went into the 9th inning down 5-1, four batters later the Phillies had pulled to 5-3 on a 2 Run single by Bob Boone.

A hit and an out later Del Unser found himself once again pinch hitting for Larry Bowa. This time out he hit a Walk Off Home Run to give the Phillies a 6-5 victory. 

The streak ended 2 days later when Unser was Intentionally Walked by Fingers. The first time Unser was retired following the streak was July 23, Also by Rollie (strikeout).

1980 Topps Hilights
Hilights opens the 1980 set occupying the first six cards. The subset includes three Hall of Famers across two cards: Lou Brock & Carl Yastrzemski share card #1, While Willie McCovey resides at #2. In addition to Del Unser the Phillies are also represented in the subber by Pete Rose at #4.
 

Dennis Rasmussen?

1987 Topps #555 Dennis Rasmussen

What the heck is Dennis Rasmussen doing in the middle of a Del Unser column??, well lets turn over this card and see.

1987 Topps #555 Dennis Rasmussen (b-side)

Ok we are going to bypass that this card discusses Hall of Famer Larry Bird and move down to the On This Date section. Check it out we have today's hero Del Unser! and it mentions his 1979 Pinch Hit Home Run heroics too!

Finally Topps honors their history by mentioning Unser's 1979T card, lets have a look.

1979 Topps #628 Del Unser

Unfortunately Unser is repping a different team, however it always feels good to post and Expos card. Lets flip this one over and see if we have anymore fun items.

1979 Topps #628 Del Unser (b-side)

Well Check it out, we have another This day in History. This time it goes back to May 8 1968. On that date Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter tossed a Perfect game for the Oakland A's as they defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-0. 

And just because I am chaining together cards today, I am going to add one final card.

1969 Topps #235 Jim "Catfish" Hunter

The first card issued of Catfish following his Perfect Game was in 1969 Topps. This is back when Topps was putting -Toons on the back of cards, surely the Catfish comic would be dedicated to his big Game...

1969 Topps #235 Jim "Catfish" Hunter (b-side)

or.....maybe not

The game mentioned in the cartoon was a 15 inning affair won by the National League 2-1. In Hunter's defense he pitched FIVE innings that day, the difference was a Home Run by Tony Perez.

Topps does mention the Perfecto in the text. It also mentions that Hunter's game earned him a $5000 raise, that is a $36,000 raise in 2018 dollars. 

Game Dated Cards
Ok that is enough card chaining, At some point I will be adding each of these cards to the Phungo Game Dated Cards Index. 

1980 Phillies
Next Year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Phillies first World Championship, I hope to feature that team throughout 2020. Since I am not writing as many columns these days I am getting an early start on the feature and will open my Anniversary series a full six months in advance.

Sources and Links
1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies
1980 Topps Hilights
No-Hitter Index
Catfish Hunter index
Larry Bird Index
baseball-ref
Baseball Card Database

Anniversary 60 Years ago: Rocky Colavito 4 Home Run Day

June 10th marks the 60th anniversary of an historic game between the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. That Day Rocky Colavito became the 6th major league player to record a 4 Home Run game.

1964 Topps Jumbo #9 Rocky Colavito

The Indians won that game 11-8 with Colavito accounting for 6 RBI. Notice that the above card features Rocky as an Athletic not an Indian. Well that is because of the back of the card...

1959 Topps Jumbo #9 Rocky's Hot Bat (b-side)

As we can see the headline on this card is all about the 4 Homer game which is described in the cards first coupe sentences. The remainder of the text discusses Colavito's home run legacy all the way back to his minor league days.

Rocky Colavito's four home run game is also featured on the back of a 1964 Topps base card, #109. Colavito, however, does not appear on the front of that card, to find out more click here.

Sloppy Topps
The photo on the b-side of the card is also not with the Indians. Colavito wore three different numbers with Cleveland 6, 21 and 38 but never 7. The two squads for which he donned #7 were the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City A's. I am thinking that this photo is with the Tigers as Rocky Colavito didn't join the Athletics until 1964. The front appears to be an Airbrushed Tigers photo as well. 

1964 Topps Jumbo
I love this set and I have it on the back burner to build. They are referred to Jumbo or Giant cards because they are oversized at just over 3"x5". I go with Jumbo because when you search on "1964 Topps Giant" you get a bunch of Willy Mays cards, but not necessarily Jumbos. 

Colavito's Four Home Run Game
Baseball-Ref Box
1964 Topps #109 (Rusty Staub)

Sources and Links
Game Dated Cards Index
1964 Topps Jumbo Index
Baseball-Ref
ebay
Cardboard Connection

Happy 70th Birthday Reggie Jackson

On May 18th Reggie Jackson Celebrates his 70th birthday.

2013 Topps Across the Years #ATY-RJ Reggie Jackson 

A few years ago the common insert in A&G was these Across the Years cards that each recognized the birthday of a star player. Nice for a posting regarding a players birthday - Even the cards don't mention the birthday on the card front

Reggie as with any athlete that can be identified by only a single name doesn't need any introduction.

The first ballot Hall of Famer (1993) clouted 563 Home Runs. He was on Four World Series Winners and took home MVP honors in the Fall Classic twice. His regular season accolades include an MVP award in 1973 and four home run titles. He also led the circuit in OPS+ four times including 1969 when he finished first in Offensive WAR with a number of +8.5.

I think he is primarily know for his five years with the Yankees, but he spent twice as much time with the A's. In fact Jackson played 34 more games with the Angels than he did as a Yankee.

One other note on Geography, Reggie Jackson is from Philadelphia. He went to Cheltanham High School just on the edge of the city, yet he is never mentioned in connection with Philly. Never.

All four teams that he played for were in the AL, so Reggie never got to play in Philadelphia. He made 14 all-star teams including every year from 1971-1984 except one, 1976 the year the game was played at the Vet - It was also Jackson's only campaign with the Baltimore Orioles.

flip

2013 Topps Across the Years #ATY-RJ Reggie Jackson (b-side) 

The ATY inserts list a number of other notables that share a birthday with the A-side subject. The other baseball players listed are fellow Haller Brooks Robinson (celebrating birthday number 79) and early 20th century Pirates pitcher Babe Adams (b 1882).

The cards also contain in interesting event from the players date of birth. Appropriate for an Out of the World player Reggie card contains a UFO reference.  A story regarding the UFO sighting can be found here. the Gosta Carlsson on the back of the card is NOT the same person as the Olympic Cyclist.

Sources and Links
Reggie Jackson HoF Index
Topps
baseball-ref
UFO Conjecture
Sports-ref

Reggie Jackson HoF Index

This is an index of our posts related to Reggie Jackson

1970 Topps #459 Reggie Jackson All-Star

1977 Hostess Twinkies #9 (SP on Uncut Sheet)
1978 Topps #7 Record Breaker (5 HR Series / Kieth Jackson Memorial)
2002 UD Piece of History 500 HR Club Jersey #HR-RJ Reggie Jackson and b-side
2013 Allen & Ginter Across the Years #ATY-RJ Reggie Jackson

1976 ASG +40: Catfish Hunter 1988 Topps 87 ASG #11

We have a lot going on with our Sunday Night Baseball posting this week. 

ESPN is back in New York for another Red Sox v Yankees match up. The Big Apple venue gives us a chance to discuss one of the sadder of our 1976 All-Star Game subjects, Jim "Catfish" Hunter.

1988 Topps 87 All-Star #11 of 22 Jim Hunter

The 1976 All-Star game was the final of Catfish Hunter's eight appearances on the Mid-Summer Classic Roster. He represented the A's six times and the Yankees twice.

Overall 1976 was a mediocre season for Catfish, his ASG roster spot was earned with four consecutive top-4 Cy Young finishes in the seasons prior. His 1975 Cy 2nd included leading the league with 23 Wins and 30 Complete Games. His the most recent player to break the 30 CG mark and will probably be the last of my generation

Hunter was the 2nd AL pitcher to take the mound in the 76 ASG. He pitched the 3rd and 4th innings giving up a pair of runs on a 2-run bomb by Reds Outfielder George Foster. Hunter faced 3 HoF players in the two innings:

Joe Morgan - Singled and scored in front of  Foster's Home Run
Johnny Bench - Stuck Out to end the 3rd Inning
Tom Seaver - Stuck Out to end the 4th Inning

So really he faced only 2 HoF Hitters, we are being precise here - blogging is important.

The sole Phillies batter he faced was Greg Luzinski who flew out to Left.

1988 Topps All-Star Commemoratives
Picked this card because Catfish was not issued an All-Star card as a Yankee during his playing days.

The 1988 Topps Commemoratives which were placed in rack packs included two 1987 ASG Honorary Captain cards. Hunter represented the AL while Billy Williams received the honor for the NL. The two were inducted into the Hall of Fame later that summer.

Sloppy Topps
Details kids, the 1987 All-Star game was held in Oakland and Catfish wore the colors of his original team the A's for the occasion.

Catfish Hunter All-Star
Catfish Hunter spent his entire career in the AL during an era when the NL dominated the All-Star Game. The Junior Circuit lost all eight games in which he was on the roster, and truth be told he didn't help the AL very much.

Hunter pitched in six of those eight games including a fine performance in his first ASG in 1967. The game went 15 innings and Catfish pitched the final 5. Hunter only gave up two hits through his first four innings, unfortunately he gave up a Home Run to Tony Perez in the 15th.

The games outcome is noted in the -toon on the back of Hunter's 1969T card.

1969 Topps #236 Jim Hunter (b-side)

In today's terms giving up a run in an All-Star game seems about average, the cartoon neglects to mention that the single run occurred in an outing that went 5 innings.

And an Anniversary
Turning our attention to the text, the card mentions Catfish Hunter's No Hit Perfect Game. Today happens to be the anniversary of that Perfect Game a 4-0 A's victory over the Twins on May 8 1948. Hunter's 1969 Topps card is the first one issued after the game, therefore the first of his cards to include the words "Perfect Game". I imagine that prior to this card the only Topps Cards that mentioned "Perfect Game" were dedicated to Don Larsen, Jim Bunning and Sandy Koufax.

According to Baseball-Ref Catfish Hunter made $23,500 in 1968. Assuming that is his post bonus number, the $5,000 raise mentioned on the card is an increase of 27%. The US Department of Labor Inflation Calculator estimates that five grand is the equivalent of $34,000 in 2016 Dollars.

Here is a look at the front o the card

1969 Topps #236 Jim Hunter

Hunter's other ASG appearances were all mediocre at best

1966: DNP
1967: See above
1970: 3 Earned runs including a Home Run to Dick Dietz, while recording only a single out.
1972: DNP
1973: His Best ASG 1 1/3 no runs 1 hit, no walks. outs recorded vs HoF Joe Morgan and Hank Aaron plus Pete Rose.
1974: 2 Innings allowed a Home Run to Reggie Smith, Struck out 3 batters including Perez.
1975: Allowed 2 ER in 2IP - although the runs were both allowed in by Goose Gossage after Hunter exited the game without recording an out in the 9th.
1976: See Above

Sources and Links
1976 ASG 40th Anniversary Index 
Catfish Hunter HoF Index
No-Hitter Index
Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards - Bob Lemke  
Getty Images
YouTube - 1976 ASG
Baseball Almanac
Baseball-ref 
Bureau of Labor Inflation Calculator

Jim "Catfish" Hunter HoF Index

This is an index of our postings related to Jim Catfish Hunter

1966 Topps #36 Jim Hunter

1988 Topps '87 ASG Commemorative Set #11 - 1976 ASG +40/Perfect Game +48

2016 HoF Ballot: Mark McGwire - 1987 Leaf #40 with special guest Jose Canseco

Mark McGwire appears on the Hall of Fame ballot for his 10th and Final Time this year. Due to some recent changes to the voting process McGwire will not get the opportunity to hang around for five more election cycles.

For me it doesn't matter, Cardwise the first thing I think when I hear Mark McGwire's name looks like this...

1987 Leaf #40 McGwire and Canseco

or This

1988 Fleer Superstar Special Oakland's Power Team

or This

1988 Topps #797 Athletics Leaders

And I am sure there are more - given the era I assume there are lots more. Kind of curious that in all three cards the two players appear in the same order. I thought the latter two shots may have been at the same session but Jose Canseco is wearing different arm bands in each photo.

Mark McGwire HOF Verdict:

Well if you haven't guessed from tthose three cards here it is: 

 VETO
 
Unlike many fans the marriage of Steroids/PEDs and Baseball have made my life less difficult rather than more complicated. First off I don't get excited over HoF results, I think they are fun to follow and generate interesting conversations. Secondly it allows me to be arbitrary for no real good reason as to whom I put into the Phungo Hall.

And you know what - I dislike Mark McGwire. Having steroids out there lingering is a nice bonus to justify a NO Vote on my HoF ballot.

Beyond that I think of McGwire as a marginal HoF candidate. He is probably just over the line stat-wise.

Despite his 583 Home Runs among the 19 HOF first baseman McGwire ranks just a tick below the groups average in WAR scores for all three JAWS categories (WAR, WAR7 and JAWS).

Primarily known as an offensive threat at a power position McGwire never won an MVP award. He did finish 2nd to fellow PED suspect Sammy Sosa in 1998 despite having a higher WAR than the Cubs outfielder - Both Sosa and McGwire ranked behind Barry Bonds in 1998 WAR, However McGwire led the league in oWAR.

McGwire did check the Rookie of the Year box and won a pennant with the 1989 A's and was an all-star a dozen times.

Flip
We take a look at the reverse of each of the cards
 

1987 Leaf #40 McGwire and Canseco (b-side)

The text discusses the Rookie of the Year torch passing from Canseco to McGwire. Nice to see Sal Bando get a mention with all the thunder including Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. 

1988 Fleer Superstar Special Oakland's Power Team (b-side)

Fleer mention of McGwire's incredible 49 Home Run rookie campaign gives them a nice opportunity to give a nod to Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.

1988 Topps #797 Athletics Leaders (b-side)

As a stat nerd I find the topps Team Leader card the most interesting. Some great names there beyond McGwire and Canseco. The Hall of Famer appearing here is Dennis Eckersley. Fellow pitcher Dave Stewart is just starting his great stretch as the A's ace. Stewarts 261+ innings ranked 8th in the majors in 1987, That would have led all of MLB every season since 2003 (Roy Halladay 266). The NL has not seen a pitcher eclipse that mark this century - Randy Johnson 271.2 in 1999.

Sources and Links
2016 Phungo HoF Ballot
Baseball Hall of Fame
Baseball-ref

2015 ASG: Rickey Henderson?? 1983 Topps #391

Rickey Henderson played for nine different teams during his 25 year career, but he is most synonymous with one. The Oakland A's. They are the club he collected 867 of his Major League Record 1406 Stolen Bases with, They are the club he won his 1990 MVP award with and the are also the club with whom he won the first of two World Series titles. Unfortunately his other Ring came as a member of the 1993 Blue Jays and we all know who they beat.

 1983 Topps #391 Rickey Henderson All-Star

So what does all of these Hall of Fame Accomplishments of a guy who hasn't played in over a decade have to do with next weeks All-Star Game?

Nothing, Except for his 1983T AS Card.

 1983 Topps #391 Rickey Henderson All-Star (b-side)

 In 1983 Topps did something interesting on the back of the All-Stars. Each of the 22 cards in the subset features an All-Star Game from the past. There is a synopsis followed by a line score and along with a list of Winning and Losing pitchers and Home Runs.

It is an interesting use of the All-Star cards that I don't believe Topps has done before or since.

The #391 Card occupied by Rickey Henderson also happens to be the card that discusses the 1938 All-Star Game which was held in Cincinnati.

It was the first All-Star Game hosted by the Reds. The NL won 4-1. This game had to be one of the greats in All-Star history - Johnny Vander Meer got to start the game for the NL in front of his home crowd just weeks after his back to back no-hitter - That is Awesome.

Vander Meer and Cubs Pitcher Bill Lee (not Spaceman Lee) were the starts of the game. For six shutout innings they held the formidable AL line up to two hits. There were no offensive standouts on either side, 3 of the NLs four runs were unearned as the AL Squad had four Hall of Famers commit errors.

The Phillies sole representative in the 1938 All-Star Game was Hersch Martin. It was the only All-Star squad that Martin ever made, and he didn't even get to play in the game. 

1983 Topps/OPC #391 Rickey Henderson (AS)

Just presenting the OPC version of this card which is basically the same up front with the added French Text and a different logo.

but boy look at the back:

1983 OPC/Topps #391 Rickey Henderson AS  ( b-side)

OPC really squished up the font to get all the information on there. 

One final note. During the 1938 All-Star Game Leo Durocher hit what is referred to as a "Bunt Home Run" on the above Topps Card(s). During the recent SABR 45 in Chicago Chuck Hildebrandt gave an excellent (and funny) presentation on what he referred to as "Little League Home Run". To read more about Little League Homers click here.   

Sources and Links
Phungo 2015 ASG Coverage
baseball-ref
SABR

1990: Year of the No-Hitter - June 29th Dave Stewart

June 29th 1990 was one of the two greatest days in No-Hitter History. It started in Toronto with the Oakland A's Dave Stewart.....

1990 Score #702 No-Hit Club Dave Stewart

On May 9th 1986 the Phillies released Dave Stewart to make room for Ron Roenicke whom they purchased from the Oakland A's. A year later the Phillies released Roenicke and Dave Stewart led the AL in Wins en route to finishing 3rd in the AL Cy Young Voting.  

1990 was the fourth consecutive year that Stewart would finish in the Cy Young top four. He was coming off a World Series MVP award in 1989 and was near the top of his game.

That was not good for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Flip

1990 Score #702 No-Hit Club Dave Stewart (b-side)

Stewart was dominant, He struck out 12 and walked 3 pitching to two over the minimum - the extra runner (Junior Felix) was eliminated via caught stealing.

Looking inside the box we find the 1990 Blue Jays to be a pretty good hitting squad, Fred McGriff would hit .300 that season and the young John Olerud would eventually win a batting title.  Stewart's final three outs were Strike Outs of Manny Lee and Mookie Wilson and a Tony Fernandez Fly Out.

Dave Stewart's battery-mate for the no-hitter was Terry Steinbach who doubled and tripled in the game. In 1999 as a member of the Twins Steinbach called a second no-hitter authored by another Phillies connected pitcher - Eric Milton.

Among the folks playing defense for Stewart's no-hitter was future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. Rickey pitched in with a Homer, Sac Fly, and a Put Out in left.

1990 06 29
We are only half way threw June 29th 1990. Tomorrow we will jet off to the West Coast to see what happens later that day...




Team USA

in 2003 Dave Stewart was pitching coach for Team USA for a look at his 2004 UD card check here
  Sources and Links
1990: Year of the No-Hitter
Baseball-ref

1990 Year of the No-Hitter: June 11th - Nolan Ryan Pt 2

There are at least Four Cards in the Phungo Collection dedicated to Nolan Ryan's 1990 No-Hitter against the Oakland A's. 

This 1993 Pacific Card is my favorite of the lot.


1993 Pacific Texas Express #63 Last Pitch No-Hitter #6

This is a great baseball card. I would have elected to crop out the Jack in the Box/Michelin ads at the top, but otherwise this is pure beauty.

We can see Ryan on the follow through and Willie Randolph mid swing for the final out.

In an MLB Network interview Randolph mentioned hitting into the last out of the No-Hitter as one of his biggest career disappointments. Go to the 3:20 mark in the interview here.

Flip

1993 Pacific Texas Express #63 Last Pitch No-Hitter #6 (b-side)

The fireball is part of the design on the flip side of the Texas Express series - A set dedicated exclusively to Nolan Ryan.

Good synopsis of the game including nods to former Phils Julio Franco and John Russell.

To Look at our master posting on Nolan Ryan's sixth no-hitter click here. 

Sources and Links
1990: Year of the No-Hitter Index
1990 0611 Nolan Ryan 6th No-Hitter Index 
MLB Network Willie Randolf Discusses WBC 
Baseball-ref
Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards

TRENDY: 2009 Obak #29 Pat Venditte - SwitchPitcher

Just got the news that Pat Venditte is getting called up by the Oakland A's.

2009 Tristar Obak #29 Pat Venditte

Will elaborate on the Switch-Pitcher a bit more in the future but wanted to get this posted with the buzz going on.

The most recent switch-pitcher was Greg Harris who we profile here.


Love how this Obak Card echoes the Eddie Murray 1988 Record Breaker

1988 Topps #4 Eddie Murray

Sources and Links
Eddie Murray HoF Index
Hardball-Talk
Baseball-ref

1952 Bowman Bobby Brown - Former AL President

This is a followup from our #tbt posting last week where we saw some Official Major League Baseballs from years past

 1952 Bowman #105 Bobby Brown

Former AL President Bobby Brown never had a Topps card issued while he was playing, but he does have a couple of cards on the Bowman checklist including the 1952 set.

Its interesting to see Bobby Brown's facsimile signature on his 1952 Bowman Card, presumably from a contract he signed with Bowman around 1949. And then take a look at the UD card from 2009

2009 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary #1014 Subway Series/Interleague Play
The lower baseball has Bobby Brown's signature as AL President. He took office in 1984 which means there is roughly 35 years difference in the two signatures. I am no handwriting expert but it is interesting to see the similarities in the two autographs. 

1991 Score
While working on our Year of the No-Hitter Project I ran into this 1991 Score Card

1991 Score #568 Bob Welch

While most of the 1991 Score base set is a bit tired, the cards are so overproduced they can be found EVERYWHERE, there are a few interesting cards spread throughout the set.

There are a lot of subsets within 1991 Score, plus there are base cards like the above Bob Welch gem. The close up is used to display Welch's grip on the split-fingered fastball. In an 800 card set the image jumps off the page. An interesting nuance one may never think about, unless they are checking in on the differences in Official MLB Baseballs, is that it is an Official AL ball of the era signed by Bobby Brown.

So we have found at least two baseball cards that are so detailed that we can see one time AL president Bobby Brown's signature on the horsehide.

FLIP
Fear not Bob Welch Fans

1991 Score #568 Bob Welch (b-side - click to enlarge)

For those collectors that are dismayed that there isn't a player photo on the front Score did put a nice action photo on the b-side. In addition to the pix there is a nice synopsis of Bob Welch's experience with the Split-Finger. Sorry about the blurriness here, if you click on the photo it should enlarge and be a bit easier to read.

Sources and Links
baseball cardpedia
phungo (ibid)
SABR bio of Bobby Brown by Mike Huber

Will Ferrell raises money to fight Cancer - will emulate Bert Campaneris

As part of a fundraiser to fight Cancer, Actor Comedian and Phungo Favorite Will Ferrell will be making a special Spring Training tour on Thursday. He will be playing in 5 Cactus League games.

1965 Topps #266 Bert Campaneris

One of Ferrell's goal is to play for all 10 teams playing in those five games. He will also attempt to play all 9 positions - a feat first accomplished in a Major League Game 50 years ago by Bert Campaneris.

On September 8th 1965 Campy started at shortstop for the Kansas City A's who were hosting the California Angels. He then went on to play all 9 positions including pitcher and catcher. As a batter he went 0-3 but did score a run off a walk. Campaneris pitched the top of the 8th inning giving up a single run off one hit and a couple of walks. He did Strike Out Bobby Knoop.

1965 Topps 
Nice card with a rookie cup - an award earned by Campaneris for 67 games in his rookie campaign of 1964. He batted .257 with 4 Homers and 22 RBIs. Good enough for an 86 OPS+ and +0.7 WAR

Sources & Links

1965 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
LA Dodgers
Baseball-ref

Philly Show 9/28

The Phily Show is all weekend but Team Phungo has been to busy to pitch the event. Hopefully we will be able to make an appearance on Sunday.

1961 Topps #473 Bobby Shantz

For those of you that collect autographs there are a number of former players appearing on Sunday. These players include a number of folks that we have been featuring in our 1964 Phillies retrospective. Scheduled for Sunday are Art Mahaffey, Bobby Wine, Frank Thomas, Costen Shockley Tony Gonzalez and Bobby Shantz  

If you think you will be at the show let me know via email or twitter - would love to meet fellow collectors.

Reviews of Past Philly Shows
2013 December
2012 December
2010 September
2010 March
2009 December
2009 December (special 1959 Topps Edition)
2009 Septembe

2014 Playoff Contenders: Oakland A's - Josh Donaldson 2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61

The Phillies disappointing 2014 season is coming to a close. They are in the middle of a last west coast swing which will take them on a rare trip to Oakland.

The A's have had a tough September but appear to still be in line to get into the playoffs which gives us another opportunity to add to our playoff contenders feature.

2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson 

Josh Donaldson may be the least noteworthy superstar in Baseball. He is a WAR darling who finished 4th in the 2013 MVP voting and followed that up with his first All-Star appearance this summer.

His Batting Average has slipped this season, however, Josh Donaldson continues to hit for power. He is also leading the AL in Defensive WAR which has helped him maintain a 7.1 combined WAR which only trails Mike Trout among folks in the Junior Circuit..

2010 Bomwan Chrome Prospects #BCP61 Josh Donaldson (b-side)

I present the flip side of Josh Donaldson's card here to note the position. He is a an all-star 3rd baseman now but he was drafted as a catcher, where he played the majority of his games prior to making it to the majors. The position switch has definitely worked - Donaldson has hit better than expected and he has been a standout defensively.

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects
This is a bit confusing but the first 110 card of Bowman Chrome Prospects are Inserted into 2010 Bowman, while  the latter 110 cards are in 2010 Bowman Chrome. This is all confusing to me and I am sure other colletors.

While I do enjoy following prospects, I am not a real prospect collector - Bowman falls into that weird nether world of stuff I am a baseball fan of, but not a collecting fan of.

Sources & Links
2014 Playoff Contenders
Baseball-ref 
baseball-cardpedia.