There was no Minor League Baseball season this year, which means there was no post on this year's Durham Bulls team set. It's an annual rite of fall. Lining the cards up as straight as possible on scanner, hoping that they don't all shift when I close the lid. I need to start running those posts with a five year delay. They are actually more fun to look at now then at the time the cards were produced.
Look at this group from 2014.
You've got the reigning National League leader in saves, a guy with three gold gloves, and the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. I think Enny Romero might have been the highest rated prospect in this group in 2014 and he's not even playing anymore.
Crazy stuff.
With no Durham Bulls team set coming out in 2020, I decided I would just work on putting together another team set from a different year. After checking out what was available on Ebay, I decided that was actually not much of a challenge. So, I am making up my own Durham Bulls set to collect.
Something I don't already own.
Something with interesting players.
Something with a decent quantity of cards.
Something that will require me to work harder than placing one Ebay or COMC order.
After a lot of thought, I am putting together a 1975 Topps Mini Set of the Durham Bulls. There were a ton of Durham Bulls players who were in the Majors at the time. The cards are fun to collect. While they are easy to find, it's such an odd combination of players that I cannot just click a few Ebay listings and have all the cards.
In fact, I am still making the checklist. I think the answer is between 15 and 20 cards. I will let you know for sure with the next post. So, for tonight, I have my first group of cards fresh out of the mailbox.
Scans are jumbo, cards are minis.
It makes me cringe when I see the "Raleigh-Durham" one the back of a baseball card sometimes. What person thought it was a good idea to change the name of the Durham Bulls? Obviously someone in the Mets front office, but the Phillies kept it later on. Figueroa was on the Raleigh-Durham Mets. He's a player I learned about after moving to North Carolina. Ed had two Top 10 Cy Young finishes and pitched for two World Series winners with the Yankees.
He actually hurt his arm while pitching here, hence the 7 games, and quit baseball to join the Marines. After a stint in Vietnam, he ended up in the Minors with the Giants, but was traded to the Angels. Ed Figueroa made his Major League debut pitching in long relief for Nolan Ryan who had given up 3 runs in the first inning and had walked the bases loaded in the second.
Lolich is best know for winning Game 7 of the 1968 World Series. He also retired as the all-time left-handed strikeout leader before being passed by Steve Carlton. Randy Johnson and C.C. Sabathia have also passed him, making him fourth. Lolich ranks 20th overall, roughly 150 strikeouts away from 3,000. I don't think Mickey is a Hall of Famer, but he's better than Jack Morris. Maybe he is?
Another Raleigh-Durham card. Bob Boone played 19 years for the Phillies, Angels, and Royals. He also managed the Royals and Reds for awhile in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Boone was on the 1980 Phillies World Series winner. He didn't win the MVP in that series, but he did hit .412. While Boone did not win the World Series MVP, he did win 7 Gold Gloves.
Is the jacket he is wearing under his uniform from an Army surplus store?
I am a little disappointed that Luzinski's Minor League stats were not included on the back of his card considering that he and Boone were in Durham the same season. Luzinski was shuffled between the Minors and Majors several times during his first few seasons, so maybe with the multiple teams over multiple seasons it would not have fit on the card. He hit 31 home runs that season with the Raleigh-Durham Phillies, which would look nice on a baseball card.
Luzinski was an old guy on the White Sox by the time I started watching baseball. "The Bull" is not a Hall of Famer, more a great of his era. He and Schmidt were a pretty scary tandem in the middle of the Phillies lineup.
Last night.
This card was made near the end of Dobson's career. He played with the Durham Bulls while he was coming through the Minors with the Tigers. The 1960 Bulls were 20 games under .500 and had a starting rotation with both Pat Dobson and Mickey Lolich, who were both on the 1968 Tigers World Series team. Dobson also pitched for the 1971 Orioles, who made it to the World Series, but lost to the Pirates.
More 1975 Topps Minis and a checklist next week.
I remember working to get this set autographed. Mikie Mahtook was always challenging as he would give you the "Mikie Mahtook Death Stare" while he was signing. You could tell that he just hating signing but he would do so while staring a hole through you. The next season he was back in Durham to begin the season and he came out on a new Topps card as I recall. I went to the FanFest and he said "Well, here you are again". I had to respond "well, why would I not want to get my favorite player to sign." We talked for about five minutes and we were friends after that!
ReplyDeleteI have always heard good things about Mahtook. One of my former co-workers from my days teaching in Durham volunteers to working with special needs kids playing sports on the weekends. One of the kids in the program was a huge Bulls fan, family had season tickets, and Mahtook went out of his way for this kid. I'm opposed to death stares, but think he did some good while he was in town.
DeleteI'm all for Lolich in the Hall. Guys get in now with lesser credentials. Love the Mahtook comment. Always thought Mikie was a fun, friendly fellow but then, I never tried to get his auto.
ReplyDeleteLolich certainly deserves consideration. I find it disappointing when people rattle off lists of older players who have a Hall of Fame argument and leave him off the list. He has some of the same Postseason success as Morris, but had much better peak years.
DeleteI read an article (maybe blog post) where someone compared Morris and Lolich and it showed how similar their careers were in regards to numbers. If I remember correctly, Lolich might have had the better stats... but Morris played in a more hitter dominant era and had to face DH's... so it kinda balanced out.
ReplyDeleteAnyways... cool project. I always like seeing different and unique ways to collect. And I like you decision to go with 75 minis. I've always been fascinated by them since I was a kid.
Yes. Lolich pitched in the late 1960s through the 1970s, which was obviously pitcher dominated. There was a DH for part of the play Lolich played, but not the entire time. I still like Lolich better than Morris for several reasons. First, Lolich does have better numbers, even counting numbers, and he had a shorter career. Second, Lolich beating the Cardinals in the 1968 World Series is a far greater Postseason accomplishment than Jack Morris beating the Braves. The Tigers were decided underdogs, the Twins were not. Third, Lolich never sexually harassed any reporters.
DeleteReally neat idea. Even cooler when the team name and stat line is on the back.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Cool to see the Raleigh-Durham on the back of the card. I am waiting to find one that just says Durham.
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