Aug 4, 2010

Phillies Project Update: 1970 Topps Phillies

I've reached a new phase of the Phillies project. I am now only 23 cards short of the "get every card as a Phillie+rookie card" of the 1980 Phillies World Series roster (not including the Rose, Schmidt, and Carlton rookies, those are long term goals). The binder looks excellent. At the end of this year, I will scan in the pages and do card retrospectives of all the players who graced a Phillies uniform in a game in 1980.

The new phase of the project is to get all the cards (major issues) from 1970-1984. The previous phase encompassed a lot of these cards, so it would only be natural to want to fill in the blanks, so to speak.

What better way to start than at the beginning of the time epoch. These are the notable looking cards from the 1970 team set I have begun to collate. The 1970 set is decidedly gray; it reminds me of a summer day in the Bay Area.

Deron Johnson: Spring training photo with a classic batting glove. Led the 1970 Phillies in HR, TB, RBI, BB, 2B, and hits.
Tony Taylor: This is a unique pose for this era. Is he putting a bat away or picking it up inspection. The sun must have been bright that day. Led 1970 Phillies in SLG, OBP, OPS, and 3B.
Larry Hisle: It amazes me how many Phillies have received the Topps All-Star Rookie designation. He's better known as a Twin and Brewer than a Phillie. Somehow, he was traded to the Dodgers after the '71 season, did not play in the majors in '72, was traded to St Louis and Minnesota before '73 and then went on to have a 114 OPS+ in '73.
Lowell Palmer: Has sunglasses in the harsh Florida sun. He did have an eye condition that necessitated this. He was also very wild; he had 14 wild pitches in 1970.
Chris Short: Decided to go with the stare in the distance look. Was 3rd in the league in losses in 1970 with 16.
Don Money: Excellent, another Topps All-Star Rookie, waiting for a ball that would never come. 1970 was his best year in a Phillies uniform, hitting .295/.361/.463 (122 OPS+) with 14 HR and 66 RBI.
Jim Bunning: The first Phillies pitcher with a perfect game.
1970 was a homecoming of sorts, pitching his last 200 IP season; he never did have a 20 game season in the NL. Grant Jackson: Seems to be smirking at the photographer. He did not have a fruitful year in 1970, going 5-15 with a 5.29 ERA and 1.54 WHIP, it would be his last in Philadelphia.

More collecting and cards to come as the saga expands its presence in my burgeoning collection.

1 comment:

Jim from Downingtown said...

Dan,

Jim Bunning hung around for one more year after this, and was the starting pitcher when the Phillies opened Veterans Stadium in 1971.