Cornerstone Collection: 1965 Topps Steve Carlton Enters the Magnetic Chamber

As you can probably tell, that is a reference to the card holder that the card came in when I purchased it.

As an extremely biased Phillies collector, there are five Hall of Famers that spent a good portion of their career with the Phillies during the Topps era: Ashburn, Roberts, Bunning, Schmidt, and Carlton. In a sense, getting the rookie cards of any of these power five, would be an automatic keeper.

The Carlton rookie is an interesting card in many respects.

• This card was issued prior to his big league debut in 1965.  
• He's paired up with a pitcher on the card, who had already made appearances for two years and never ultimately made an appearance with the Cardinals.  
• The Cardinals red is significantly muted on the card; it's almost a shadowy red.  Was this done to match Ackley's airbrushed White Sox uniform?  It is the opposite in feeling of most 1965 Topps cards, which were bright and swooping
• Carlton's next issued card wouldn't be until 1967; Topps seemed to forget about the pitching prospect for awhile.
• It is arguably the best rookie card of the 1965 set (other contenders: Joe Morgan, Tony Perez).

This now enters the pantheon of my collection awaiting the rest of its contemporaries.

The Topps Online Giveaways of 2012: Result!

With the newest online event right around the corner in the form of the Million Dollar Chase, I figured it would be a good idea to get the cards that I unlocked from the 2012 Topps online code programs.  I ended up with 2 cards from my codes, and then someone offered me a 2 for 1 trade, which I obviously took.

Therefore, behold the die-cut moments of Phillies wonders.  Also, these cards are immense.  They wouldn't even slide under a door. They are also refractory in the best way possible

Roy Halladay: He's the ace of the present.  The hopes and dreams of a 2nd wild card (does that sound pessimistic?) rest on the recovery of his various maladies from dos mil doce.   I think he's already joined the pantheon of Phillies pitchers, though he made it to the team too late in his career to really move up the this imaginary ladder I'm thinking about.  Golden Moment: He pitched 6 or more innings in 63 straight road starts, the longest streak since Walter Johnson.

Steve Carlton: This guy is at the top of the list I was thinking of.  He's also one of the few Phillies pitchers to pitch with them for more than 10 years.  The awards, accolades, and strikeouts speak for themselves though.  If I had to pick one player to become a supercollector of, it would probably be Steve Carlton, but I think I have to up my obsessive quotient by a few more hundredfold.  Golden Moment:  He was the all-time MLB strikeout leader at the end of the 1983 season.

Chase Utley  When healthy, he's still a top 5 second basemen in the game, but there's the question that's still around.  Golden Moment:  Had a streak of 20 consecutive stolen bases entering 2012, his career high was 27 in a row from 2008-2010.

Tony Romo:  He's not a Phillie....at least I got a card from the football card site.....for trade.

I won the Phillies, but I'm not counting on a million dollars....let's examine the reasons why later.

HOF Ballot Thoughts in Advance of the Announcement

The announcement of the MLB HOF class of 2013 is coming on Monday, and I will most likely be in the air during the announcement. This year, more than most, has been a whirlwind of balloting, grandstanding, analysis, and very interesting thoughts about what the merit of a HOFer should be, is at the moment, and will be in the future.

The specter of the era that has just passed, and that has extended into the present day, gives pause upon the validity of the accomplishments of those on the ballot and those soon to come.   There will be no erasing or vacating of records as in college sports (which I never understood), but a certain prism has to be turned upon the numbers to refract them into the pieces which help to understand them.

As the rules currently stand, there are 15 years to sort the first wave of this mess out.  Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro have been in a holding pattern since they first hit the ballot, though I can see how their cases would lend themselves to be on multiple ballots even without the current circumstances (most similar HOF hitter types for each more or less were Killebrew and Cepeda, respectively).

The landslide and granddaddies of the performance enhancing era, Bonds and Clemens, have hit the ballot, and this is really where the parsing and defensing and putting back in place has really come.  There are some who would call them a HOFers because of what their career was before the allegations (and evidence), there are others who would call them HOFers because the entirety of the career should be judged within the context of their era and peers, and there are still others who draw the line in the sand and say that the specter outweighs the accomplishment.

I´m happy I´m not voting this year (or ever since I´m not a sportswriter) because it´s not the morality or the validity that causes me to consider and reconsider considerations about what constitutes a HOFer for this ballot and ballots to come.  I am more inclined to judge them through the prism of the era and call them what they were on their plaques, evidence suggested that performance enhancing drugs were involved.

However, without evidence about how many players actually failed testing or an estimated quantitative effect on how these substances influence other baseball skills besides strength (and possibly stamina), the prism becomes cracked and splintered further.

For example, if those who used substances are not voted in because their relative merits to the peers and other HOFers were not deemed unworthy.....doesn´t that then mean that those who conclusively (or as close as we can get) should be elevated to HOF status as the best of their era?  Would this then lower the statistical standards of the HOF further than has been done with previous controversial/dubious selections.  On the flip side, since there is no conclusive evidence for these othere players and then evidence is found, that would distort the line further in this hypothetical.

If there is no definitive line, then how do you separate Bonds and Clemens from the circumstantial accused such as Bagwell and Piazza?  Or do you already separate them because circumstantial evidence and guilt by association is not evidence for anything in this case beyond speculation?

As can be easily drawn from this thought exercise, is that there are no easy decisions in the voting process.....and it will only build up and get worse as ideas come to light, fall into shadow, or become grayer. 

If I had a ballot, based on the information, statistics, and who I would feel defines being a HOFer (there is feel involved too). 

My both introspective and off the cuff ballot would be Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Alan Trammell, Edgar Martinez, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Larry Walker, and Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens....and I would still be uncomfortable with it.

My prediction is that only one candidate (either Jack Morris or Craig Biggio) will get enough votes to be voted in, and that the debate will continue apace in 2014.

For a happy note to end this post, here are portraits of two of my favorite Phillies HOFers, Steve Carlton and Richie Ashburn, voted in by different means, but no less thought of as HOFers.

Phillies Project Update: Steve Carlton was a Cardinal First?? You don't say....

Steve "Lefty" Carlton, the Phillies pitcher in its history who has had the most success over the longest period of time.   One can look to Grover Cleveland Alexander as having the most dominant stretch ever for a pitcher in a Phillies uniform or one can look to Robin Roberts with a 5 year run as impressive as any.  However, Carlton was the only one to sustain varying degrees of excellence in a Phillies uniform for 15 years (1972-1985).  This is a long career even in the most judicious of circumstances, and yet it has always been jarring for me to see his early cards as a member of the (now immensely disliked through the end of 2011) Cards. 

Steve Carlton as a Card was nearly 6 years in the making as a potentially premiere pitcher of the spheroid.   Summary of the performance is presented below.  There was life before 1972, you know (though I didn't experience it. And if I did, I would be older than I am, in which case, I would be someone else).  Images of the Steve Carlton as a Card consistently proves this.

His career began as a precocious youth at the age of 19 in 1965, making his first two career starts while mostly being a reliever: 21 Ks in 25 IP showed the promise.   1966 came and went with him spending most of the year at AAA Tulsa, making only 9 major league starts and struggling a bit with a 1.42 WHIP and only 25 K in 52 innings.  1967 was a breakout year for Carlton with a 14-9 record, 2.98 ERA, and 11 complete games (CG) in 28 starts.  His strikeout rate of 7.8 K/9 was one of the highest of his career.

1968 had a similar performance (13-11, 2.99 ERA, and 162 K in 232 innings), but his ERA+ decreased from 110-97 because of the crazy low run-scoring environment of 1968.  1969 was the first time in his career he placed in the top 10 in the leage in K with 210 in  236 innings, his walk rate spiked a bit from the previous two years, but he still managed a 2.17 ERA, 2nd in the league.  1970 was a regression of sorts since his walk rate climbed even higherto 3.9 BB/9, finishing 3rd in the league with 109 BB, so he finished 10-19 with a 3.73 ERA.  1971 decreased both the walk and K rate from the previous year, but he reversed his fortunes and had his first 20 win season of his career finishing 20-9 with a 3.56 ERA even though the K rate was the lowest of his career until he was 42 years old.

It was at this point, that the challenge trade occurred for a talented Rick Wise coming off his career year in 1971.  Carlton had a much stronger profile, though they seemed similar on the surface.  The foundation to have a higher peak was already established. (though no one predicted a season quite like 1972).

So, here ends the quest for every mainstream affordable issue Phillies card from the 1980 Phillies World Series team (I am excepting the Carlton and Schmidt rookies for now).  This offseason, I intend to scan the binder.  I hope it happens; it's quite the trip down memory lane.

Phillies Project Update: Early '70s Schmidt and Carlton Edition

I have been out of commission and incognito (like the Carlton with the mustache card below) all during the past 4 days. I've moved apartments and I have no TV or internet probably until tomorrow at the earliest. Luckily, I can update this during work hours; no one's been bothering me today. Would you believe that the less phone calls I get during a day, the better I feel? I also finally saw the Phillies results from the weekend. Only 0.5 game out! It's time to push to the finish.

These cards almost complete my "Schmidt and Carlton regular issue during their playing days collection" phase of the Phillies project. This is dangerously close to nearing the end. It looks like 2011 will be the target end year.

1975 Topps Strikeout Leaders Steve Carlton/Nolan Ryan: Carlton had 240 strikeouts, followed by Andy Messersmith with 220, and Tom Seaver with 201. Ryan had 367 Ks, followed by Bert Blyleven with 249. Ryan did strike out a lot of batters in his career.
1972 Topps Steve Carlton: His last card as a Cardinal before the fateful trade.
1974 Topps Mike Schmidt: His first standalone card, which did not celebrate possibly the worst sophomore season by a HOF: .196/.323/.374 with 18 HR and 52 RBI in 1973.
1970 Topps ERA Leaders: Marichal, Carlton, and Gibson: In 1969, there were 9 pitchers with ERAs less than 2.50 with this triumvirate leading the way.
1970 Topps Steve Carlton: Carlton's whistling after his 2nd straight all-star season at the age of 24. Big dreams and results lay ahead.

Check out the wantlist on the sidebar for what remains. Only the rookie for the Schmidt collection remains. For the Carlton collection, all that remains is the rookie, 1968 Topps, and 1972 Topps (Traded). And then, and then....what happens when you complete something like this?

Stat Anomaly: 20 Losses in a Season: Steve Carlton, 1973

The surprising thing about the list of those that have compiled 20 losses in a season, is that many of them were not bad pitchers over the whole of their career. It's just that for one season sometimes your arm is tired from 30 complete games and 346 innings the previous year. Is that a viable explanation? Or you start, 40 games and get a decision in 33 of them. How many pitchers have 33 decisions in a season anymore? Suffice to say, Steve Carlton followed his 1972 ( I would put forth this is one of the ten greatest pitching seasons of the past 40 years) with a not so stellar performance in 1973. He had 20 losses, 3.90 ERA (97 ERA+), 113 BB, and league leading totals 127 ER allowed (and a league-leading 293 IP and 1262 batters faced), 293 Hits allowed, and 18 complete games.

Something was not quite the same. His K rate declined from 8.1 to 6.8 K/9 and his BB rate climbed from 2.3 to 3.5 BB/9. Was he unlucky? Well, not especially. He had seven losses from quality starts. Only 3 or 4, I would characterize as extremely unlucky. In the majority of his losses, he just did not seem to have the proverbial it. The league average was 4.15 runs/game and he allowed 4 or more runs in losses 12 times.

Welcome to the list, 1974 Topps Steve Carlton.

Phillies Project Update: Carlton and Schmidt Cards

I'm approaching the pinnacle of my pursuit for Steve Carlton cards (check the sidebar to see what I am looking for, it's not much). With Mike Schmidt, on the other hand, I have just begun the search. I'm still compiling the list. The two stars of the '70s and '80s create an interesting contrast in card images and personality. Carlton, the taciturn, standing tall and Schmidt, the communicative (post-playing days) sprawling on the diamond to stop another liner.

I'm always looking for non-mainstream releases and post-playing career cards of these players.

Here are my latest acquisitions.


1971 Pitching leaders (or really victory leaders). Fergie Jenkins led the way with 24 wins. Seaver, Downing, and Carlton tied with 20 wins. The next season, Carlton was traded from the Cardinals to the Phillies for Rick Wise (nothing like a no-hitter to boost your value)

1979 Kelloggs 3-D Carlton. He's staring right at you. Even if you look away, he will not.

A standard 1977 Topps card. Check out the maroon warm-up jacket. I'm not sure if I miss that uniform or not based on my childhood conditioning.

1983 or 1984 Topps Ralston Purina Mike Schmidt. I realize licensing is a major issue these days, but why not lend your name to other avenues for small sets to distribute cards. I miss the cards in cereal boxes and at gas stations (or in this case, dog food).

Until next time...

Steve Carlton Needs List

Updated: 08/23/10

These are all the "regular" issue cards to complete the Steve Carlton playing days collection. All "non-regular" and post-career cards are also great to acquire if you have them lying around to trade.



1965 Topps 477
1968 Topps 408
1970 Topps 220
1972 Topps 420
1972 Topps 751
1975 Topps 312