Wood vs. Wood #285

Last time it was an 8-0 sweep for 1962. Will this be closer?

Curt Simmons in a pitching pose before a game at Connie Mack Stadium, with the left field wall prominently in view, as well as a pile of bats behind him. Simmons was a reliable starter for four teams, mostly the Phillies and Cardinals, and was a 3-time All-Star. He set a career high in wins with the Cardinals in 1964, going 18-9 with a 3.43 ERA, winning his only World Series ring. Overall in 569 games he went 193-183 with a 3.54 ERA. After his career he owned a golf course with former Phillies teammate Robin Roberts. He died in 2022.

Dennis Boyd is wearing a big windbreaker that seems baggy on his notoriously skinny frame. Better known as "Oil Can", Boyd was at the height of fame brought about as much for his personality as his pitching prowess. Boyd had some decent win-loss records with high ERAs for the Red Sox, but had trouble fighting drug and alcohol addiction, which among other issues left him unable to pitch in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. He ended his career with brief stops in Montreal and Texas. Overall in 214 games he went 78-77 with a 4.04 ERA. After his baseball career he returned to his native Mississippi where he has been involved in various business and coaching endeavors.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Tony Perez

We have a cameo appearance here. It's hard to say for sure, but it looks to me like the name starts with an M, and the number is two digits starting with a 1, which would make it Denis Menke. Also, check out the #24 on Perez's shoe!

March 3, 1973. Spring games wouldn't have started for another week.

In world news, a plane crash in Moscow killed 25 people, IRA bombs in London killed one person and injured 250, and the British liner HMS Royal Ulsterman was sabotaged with mines in Beirut, killing both saboteurs.

The photo for Perez's base card was probably taken at the same time. 

1981 Topps Julio Cruz

 

The front: Cruz is completely locked in as he waits for a pitch in BP. No batting helmet though! Meanwhile two Mariners and a Tiger are chatting near the cage.

The back: As of 2020, the California League errorless streak record for a second baseman was 67 by Bakersfield's Matt Howard in 1991. Howard later played briefly for the Yankees in their 1996 World Championship season.

The player: Cruz was an excellent fielder and a great base-stealer who did not hit for average or power. In 1,156 games for the Mariners and White Sox, he hit .237 with 23 HR, 279 RBI and 343 SB. His 290 stolen bases as a Mariner was the team record until broken by Ichiro Suzuki in 2008.

The man: After his playing career he was an announcer for the Mariners. He died of cancer in 2022.

My collection: I have 32 of his cards, from 1978 to 1987. I would be interested in trading for 1979 Hostess #58.
 

1976 SSPC Rick Rhoden

  

The card, in brief: It's so weird to see Rhoden without a mustache.

Playing career, in brief: Rhoden was a very good pitcher who won 38 games for the Dodgers from 1976 to 1978. He was traded to the Pirates for Jerry Reuss after the '78 season, and lost almost all of '79 to injury. He bounced back and became one of the most consistent pitchers in the league, while toiling for one of the worst teams in baseball. After an All-Star season in 1986 he became the subject of many trade rumors as the Pirates were in a rebuild. After the season he was traded to the Yankees for Doug Drabek. Drabek became a star for Pittsburgh while Rhoden was only OK for the Yankees (28-22, 4.09 ERA over two seasons). He ended his career with the Astros in 1989. Overall in 16 seasons he went 151-125 with 1,419 strikeouts and a 3.59 ERA. 

Post-playing career, in brief:  In 1990, after his retirement from baseball, he embarked on a career as a professional golfer. He has won 53 celebrity/athlete tournaments and has also played in US Senior Open and Champion Tour events. 

My collection: I have 67 of his cards, from 1975 to 1990. I would be interested in trading for 1988 Sportflics #104. 

1988 Topps Big Cartoon Deep Dive: Ryne Sandberg

Not sure where this is, maybe Philadelphia or Pittsburgh? Nice photo, though.

It's a bit odd that the cartoonist went with a ghost-writer joke. Ryno was co-authored by Fred Mitchell, who presumably did the actual writing of the book. 

 

I was aware that Ryne Sandberg was named for Yankees star reliever Ryne Duren, though before this I hadn't caught that "Ryne Dee" was also part of the naming for ol' Ryne D. This in turn brings up the interesting history of the name Ryne in the United States. "Ryne" Duren was a nickname for Rinold, which is a German name related to Reynold. Duren had his first great season in 1958, and made his All-Star Game debut that year. Not coincidentally, the name "Ryne" made it's debut in the records of U.S. baby name data, with the first 21 recorded Ryne's being born in the US that year, a substantial number for a name's debut. 31 more were born the next year, including the son of Spokane mortician Derwent Sandberg. Duren had a down year in 1960 and so did the name Ryne, with only 10 more that year. As Duren's MLB career faded so did the name Ryne, with none born between 1965 and 1982. 

1982 was the first full year in the major leagues for Ryne Sandberg, and he had an excellent season, quickly becoming one of the young stars of the National League. The name Ryne came back with him, with 31 Rynes born in 1982 and 38 more in 1983. As the first cartoon notes, Ryne was selected MVP of NL in 1984, and this boosted Ryne into the top 1000, with 199 Rynes that year (605th place) and 286 more in 1985 (516th place). There were at least 150 Rynes born in the US each year until Sandberg retired in 1995, though the name shot back up again in his 1996-1997 comeback. The name started a steady decline since Sandberg's retirement, with the only 100+ year coming in 2006, a year after Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame. For the past 10 years Ryne has been in marked decline, topping the 50-baby mark just once in that time, the Cubs' magical World Series year of 2016.

Cake or gum? 1977 Mike Torrez

Last time there was a 4-4 tie. Will there be a winner here?

Looks like these two photos were taken at the same time. Hostess went with the portrait, while Topps went with the hatless pitching pose. 

Mike Torrez pitched for seven teams in his 18-year-career. 1975, his one year with the Orioles, was his one year winning 20 games. Torrez had been traded along with Ken Singleton from the Expos for Rich Coggins and Dave McNally, a great trade for Baltimore. However after the season the Orioles traded Torrez and Don Baylor to Oakland for Reggie Jackson, a trade that did not work out as well for them. In early 1977, the Yankees, with several injuries in their starting rotation, traded Dock Ellis to Oakland for Torrez, and he had a great regular season and an even better postseason, dominating the Dodgers with two complete game victories, including the clinching Game 6. A free agent after the season, Torrez signed a big contract with Boston and ended up facing the Yankees in the one-game playoff at the end of the regular season, where Torrez famously gave up Bucky Dent's big 3-run home run. Torrez struggled to live up to his big contract in Boston. He has said that he preferred pitching to Thurman Munson than Carlton Fisk, and he did improve when Fisk left, going 10-3 in 1981. Overall in 494 games Torrez went 185-160 with a 3.96 ERA. After his career he has done some coaching, and for many years has owned MAT Premiums, a promotional-items distributor. 

Wood vs. Wood #284

 Last time was an easy 7-1 win for 1987. Will this be closer?

Ruben Amaro shows his stance at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Amaro was mostly a backup outfielder in his 11 major league seasons, mostly with the Phillies and Yankees. In 940 games he hit .234 with 8 HR and 156 RBI. After his playing career he was a longtime scout and minor league coach. He died in 2017.

John Moses hanging out before the game, I don't know which stadium. Moses was mostly a backup outfielder in his 11 major league seasons, mostly with the Mariners and Twins. In 769 games he hit .254 with 11 HR and 145 RBI. After his playing career he was a longtime minor league coach. He retired from coaching in 2018.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Joe Coleman

The image is so poorly lit it almost looks like a night card.

March 28, 1973. 

Same date as teammate John Hiller's card. You can see that link for the day's Tigers news (manager Billy Martin arrested) and national news (Vietnam and Watergate updates).

 

1981 Topps Bill Campbell

 

The front: Hatless card! Funny how those are more fun when they are rare in a set, and not every card.

The back: In his only All-Star Game, Campbell pitched a scoreless seventh inning in the AL's 7-5 loss, getting Ted Simmons to ground out, and striking out Joe Morgan and Willie Montanez.

The player: Campbell was the closer for the Twins for four seasons, and was a big early free agent signing for the Red Sox. He had his best year in '77, leading the AL with 31 saves, but got hurt in '78 and was never as effective again. He spent much of the 1980s as an itinerant middle reliever, pitching for a different team each season from 1983 to 1987. Overall in 700 games he went 83-68 with 126 saves and a 3.54 ERA. 

The man: Before his major league career, Campbell was drafted and ultimately became one of the few big leaguers who saw combat in Vietnam. After his playing career he was a minor league coach for many years. He died in 2023.

My collection: I have 40 of his cards, from 1974 to 1987. I would be interested in trading for 1978 Hostess #107.
 

1976 SSPC Doug Rau

 

The card, in brief: Close enough to the stands we can see a couple of kids behind Rau, looking out at the field.

Playing career, in brief:  Rau was a key part of the Dodger teams that won three pennants in the 1970s. From 1972 to 1979 he went 81-60 with a 3.35 ERA. A rotator cuff injury in 1979 effectively ended his career. He only pitched in three more games after that, in a failed comeback with the Angels in 1981.

Post-playing career, in brief: After his playing career he returned to Houston where he co-founded a small business lender called Crown Financial. He appears to now be retired.

My collection: I have 17 of his cards, from 1973 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for 1978 SSPC 270 #78.