Night Owl Will Hate This Post

Greg the "Night Owl" is a fellow Blogger and his post are enlightening, but I don't imagine he'll like this checklist card very much:

(No Number) San Francisco Giants Team Checklist

But I have to feature each card on my way through the set, so let me get this one out of the way. Hopefully, he'll see it as akin to ripping off a Band-Aid quickly in order to get it off. That said, there are some Giant fans out there who likely would mind if I neglected to talk about their team...so let's see if the names on the card present a full "field-ready" team...

Actually, I know it won't, because there was no listed Giants third baseman anywhere in the 1973 Topps set. But let's play anyhow.

Two first basemen are featured in Dave Kingman and Willie McCovey. Funny enough, Kingman played more at third base in 1972 (and '73). Fuentes and Speier take the keystone positions, while third and catcher are vacant. There are also only two outfielders listed here, Bobby Bonds and Garry Maddox. So, even if you moved one of the first basemen around to play other positions like they did in "real life," you'd still be short somewhere.

However, this team is heavy on pitching. Juan Marichal was a hard thrower, while Jerry Johnson and Ron Bryant were at their peak right about that time. Jim Barr, Tom Bradley and "Sudden Sam" are also ready to take the ball. And Dave Kingman gets a another mention here, as he spent four innings on the mound in 1973.

Today Calls For an Appreciation

Today is Memorial Day, when we pay our respects to our fellow Americans who've fallen in the defense of our country. Since the 1973 Topps set doesn't feature anybody who's been lost in battle, I'll focus on one of the men who lost two seasons of his career to wear a different type of uniform:

Card #122 -- Jim Strickland, Minnesota Twins

In Jim Strickland's case, he missed the 1967 and 1968 seasons due to military service. At the time, a draft was on and everybody was expected to register for it. Baseball players weren't exempted, but somehow many of the best players were able to get into a reserve unit to limit their time away in case the military came calling. That didn't always happen, and in Strickland's case he was called by the regular Army and willingly went to do his part.

At the time he was tagged by Uncle Sam, Strickland was working his way through the Dodgers' farm system. Upon his discharge, he returned to AA Albuquerque, where he spent the 1966 season. In 1970, the Twins picked him up in a totally different draft and he made his big league debut in 1971. After the '73 season, he was traded to Cleveland and appeared in four games for them in 1975.

A relief specialist, Strickland took the mound in 60 games in the majors. His final record was 4-2 and his ERA was a respectable 2.63. He spent at least part of all of his seasons in the minors and stayed in organized baseball through 1976. But he was ready when he was called, whether it was his skipper or his country making the call.

Returning To a Relief Role

This guy ended 1968 with a phenomenal 1.99 ERA:

Card #541 -- Bob Bolin, Boston Red Sox

At the time, Bob Bolin was pitching for the Giants. It would be the lowest ERA of his 13-season career, but Bob Gibson's 1.12 record overshadowed it.

Bolin came up with the Giants in 1961 as a reliever, but would eventually earn a spot in the opening rotation by 1963. In 1964, he tossed a one-hitter against the Braves. By 1965, he was going back and forth between the two roles and continued to fill in where he was needed through the end of the decade.

Before the 1970 season, Bolin was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and continued as both a starter and reliever. However, he was traded over to the Red Sox late in the season and contributed in the bullpen exclusively after that. 1973 Would be his final season. He reported for Spring Training in '74 but was released before the season began.

Second Sacker "Sacked" After Second Season

This player won the Rookie of the Year award for the National League in 1969:

Card #128 -- Ted Sizemore, St. Louis Cardinals

However, Ted Sizemore's 1970 contest wasn't as exciting, so the Dodgers traded him to St.Louis to get Dick Allen. To their credit, the Dodgers had plenty of talent at second base coming up in their organization and really needed a slugger, so Sizemore was considered expendable since is position was so deep. Despite a good batting eye and sure glove, his speed and base-stealing prowess weren't what Davey Lopes eventually provided at the position. In that sense, the team likely did a favor by letting Sizemore go, as he spent the next five years as the Cardinal's regular second baseman.

He batted behind Lou Brock in St. Louis, and Brock gave some of the credit to Sizemore for his base-stealing prowess because Sizemore's at-bats kept opponents busy enough to provide chances to run. Sizemore was traded back to Los Angeles in 1976 after Lopes fell into a slump, and the went to the Phillies for two more years, appearing in the NLCS in both 1977 and '78. Unfortunately, his team lost in both seasons to the Dodgers. He spilt 1979 between the Cubs and the Red Sox, and called it quits after spending 1980 in Boston.

After retiring, Sizemore took a job with the Rawlings sporting goods company as a major league player liaison and rose to an executive position. Today, he's the CEO of the Baseball Assistance Team, an organization that helps out former players in times of need.

An Unfortunate "Knack"

This guy was present at three games in the 1970s that were forfeited due to misbehavior on the part of the fans:

Card #571 -- Rusty Torres, Cleveland Indians

In 1971, the Washington fans tore up the field to "celebrate" their exit from the city, but didn't wait for the end of the game. In 1974, Cleveland hosted a "Ten-Cent Beer Night" and the results weren't pretty. Finally, there was the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" in 1979. I outlined all three games on my other blog.

Rusty Torres is airbrushed into an Indians cap here, but the artist decided to leave his Yankee pinstripes intact. After coming up with the Yankees in 1971, he was dealt to Cleveland as part of the Graig Nettles trade, too late to get a picture of him in his correct uniform. Late in 1974, the Tribe sent him to California, but he spent all of 1975 in the minors. He spent two seasons with the Angels and another two with the White Sox, before finishing his major league career with the Royals in 1980. The next season, he signed with the Pirates but was unable to rise above the minors and hung up his spikes.

After his retirement, Torres was a baseball coach in Oyster Bay, New York and ran an organization called Winning Beyond Winning which teaches the importance of a well-rounded education in addition to excellence in sports. Unfortunately, Torres recently made the news for a disturbing accusation. Since this is an ongoing case, I'll avoid commenting on it other than to say that I hope he's innocent of the charges. If he's guilty, he should never be allowed around children again.

The Game Breaker

This player holds the distinction of having the only hit in three one-hit games:

Card #424 -- Denny Doyle, Philadelphia Phillies

On July 18, 1972, Denny Doyle broke up a no-hit bid by Steve Arlin with two out in the ninth. To date, it is the closest and San Diego Padre pitcher has ever come to pitching one. He also ended up getting the only hit in games by guys named Nolan: Gary Nolan surrendered a two-run homer in one, and Nolan Ryan ended up getting the one-hitter in 1970. He would get more chances eventually, but he was still on the Mets then, another team that hasn't had any no-nos tossed by its staff.

Ironically, Doyle is regarded as one of the proverbial good field/no-hit infielders that were more common at that time. He came up in 1970 with the Phillies, went to the Angel in 1974 and was a platoon infielder for the Red Sox beginning in that magical 1975 season. He stayed in Boston until his retirement in 1977 and hit .250 for his career.

The next year, Doyle founded a baseball camp with his brothers Brain (also an ex-major leaguer) and Blake. They still run that camp today.

Relocated "Bums"

When this picture was taken, this team was only fifteen years removed from Brooklyn:

Card #91 -- Los Angeles Dodgers Team Card

The Los Angeles Dodgers left their "lovable losers" tag at Ebbets Field, winning the World Series in their second year on the West Coast. Then, just to quiet any detractors who pointed out that they weren't facing the Yankees that year, they got their chance in 1963. Not only did they beat the Yanks, they swept them in four games (something nobody was able to do before). They added another ring two years later.

By 1972, the players who came over from Brooklyn were gone, even as manager Walt Alston remained and Junior Gilliam took a place on the coaching staff. The team still kept an eye on its history, though, by retiring the uniform numbers of Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella, along with Sandy Koufax's. They finished third that year, ten and a half games behind the Big Red Machine. 

In 1973, the Dodgers were more competitive. They finished in second behind the Reds, three and a half games out. Another coach who played with the team in Brooklyn joined the staff. He was Tommy Lasorda, and he would be the manager who led the team to two more World Series titles in the next decade.