Walter Johnson Followed Cy Young

On this day in 1907 Walter Johnson started and won his first game.

He won 417 games while losing 279.  Just like Cy Young, Johnson's stats have lots of bold signifying leading the league in a category.

I should be back to regular posting tomorrow.

What Did Cy Young Do on This Day

On this day in 1890 Cy Young made his major league debut.  He also recorded his first win.  He played 22 years and won 511 games while losing 316.  I know it's a different era, but his stats are quite impressive.

If I get a chance today I will try to give some update from the National.  It might need to wait until Monday.

On This Day in 1973 Phil Niekro Threw Lots of Knuckleballs

Niekro also threw a no-hitter for the Braves.

I checked out the box score.  He defeated the Padres whose record became 37-73.  Ouch.  It moved the Padres to 31.5 games out of first place with 52 games remaining.  Ouch.  Ouch.

Sorry for the short post.  I'm trying to get ready for the National Card Show.

Fever Pitch - A Great Baseball Movie -- And Two Unrelated Questions

I saw a few minutes of Fever Pitch today.  That's the movie with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore where he's quite a fanatic fan of the Red Sox.

The part where he takes her to Opening Day brought back good memories.  He's got great season tickets and everyone around him is a long-term friend/acquaintance from the ballpark.  I'd seen the movie before, but this was the first time it brought back great memories from Wrigley Field.

From 1987 until the players' strike in 1994 I went to over 30 games a year at Wrigley Field.  Back when bleacher seats were unreserved, I would go every Sunday before 8:00 am to get in line.  We'd talk baseball and read the paper while sitting on the cement.

At 11:20 am they'd let us in, two hours before game time.  We'd run up the stairs and block off a bunch of seats with our stuff.  Normally there would be 30-50 people around me by game time.  Most of them were people I knew only from the ball park.

Those were some great days at Wrigley Field.  Thanks to all of you who sat with me and talked baseball incessantly.  I miss those days.  I'd even see these same people at Cub games in St. Louis.  It has been almost 22 years since that players' strike.  I haven't seen any of those people since August of 1994.

I was so mad that baseball ruining my upcoming vacation (Denver, Anaheim, Oakland) that I didn't watch baseball at all again until 2005 when my wife and son followed the White Sox World Series season.  I've gone to Wrigley Field only two or three times since 1994 and I've not been in the bleachers at all.  Watching the movie makes me wonder what would happen if I showed up on a Sunday.  Would I know anyone?

12 players who appeared on a Kellogg's card from 1970 - 1983 were still active after the strike.  Can you name some of them?  One played for Boston for a while (8 years) and one played one year with them.

Five players ended their careers either at the strike or just before it.  Here are three of them - Kirk Gibson, Kent Hrbek and Lonnie Smith.  The other two were the only two players in baseball history to endure all eight work stoppages.  Can you name them?

Garvey has nothing to do with this.  I'm just too lazy to edit the photo.

The National is Going on Without Me Tonight

There were a few years where I ended up going to the National every day or almost every day.  Most of those were in Chicago and a few were in Baltimore.  I didn't have a reason to go every day, but it sure was fun.

There is so much excitement at the National on Wednesday night.  Serious collectors are dashing to tables, those who want current wax and show specials are racing around the room for that and others are looking for the free autographs during the show.  The free autographs tend to have local appeal so I usually try to get autographs when the show is in Chicago.

I'm hoping to get to the National on Saturday  Assuming that I attend the show, I will report on what I see with Kellogg's cards and other related items.  I'm going to bring my checklists including Hostess boxes, 1961 Topps and all miscellaneous Kellogg's items.

I'm focused more on taking pictures than anything, since I don't expect to find much to buy.

Amazing Kellogg's items are likely to be gone unless they carry a big price tag, but I'm still going to enjoy the search.

I bought this at a card show and it was a lot cheaper than ebay prices.  It didn't have a price on it so I asked and was happily surprised that I could afford it.

1970 Kellogg's Card Backs - #67 - #69 - Someone Else for the Band

#69 Willie Horton - his hobby is collecting recordings.  Could he help the band?  The card back is like a few of the others.  It has details of his hitting in the World Series and it mentions the years he was an all-star.  He is listed as 5-10 1/2 because I guess he doesn't want to be 5-10.

#68 Ken Harrelson - tied a league record by making no outfield errors.  His hobbies include golf and pocket billiards.  He did try professional golf for a few years.  I wrote about that here - Harrelson as a Golfer.

#67 Dean Chance - his first name is Wilmer.  His hobbies are bowling and basketball.  He had 11 shutouts in his 1964 Cy Young Award season.  He was traded in December of 1969 but it isn't mentioned on his card or Tiant's card.  Are there other trades or transactions mentioned on the card backs?

1970 Kellogg's Card Backs #70 - #72 - Can Anyone Join McLain's Band

Here are the next three bios from Kellogg's 1970 baseball card set.  This trio includes two Hall of Famers.  Two of the players have names that aren't unique in MLB history.  Morgan actually played at the same time as the "other" Joe Morgan.

#72 Joe Morgan - he's still an Astro in this card.  Most remember him as a part of the Big Red Machine.  Morgan tied a record with six hits in six at-bats in 1965.  Of course all Cub fans know that Rennie Stennett topped that by one against the Cubs and the Reuschel brothers and a few other pitchers.

#71 Bob Gibson - his hobby is music.  Maybe he can join McLain in the band.  I didn't know his nickname was Hoot.  Baseball-reference.com confirmed his nicknames as Hoot or Gibby.

His ERA of 1.12 in 1968 was an MLB record for a season with at least 300 innings pitched.

#70 Wally Bunker - before I got this card, my most memorable Bunker item was his 1970 Topp Story Book.  I think he was the only one in the set that I didn't know already.

Bunker's hobby is listed as Guitar.  The band is getting going here.  That's three of the last six cards in the set.  The trio needs a vocalist.

He ended up with the Royals through the 1968 Expansion Draft.  That's also three of the last six cards in the set.  He was selected 25th compared to the other two who were drafted second and third.  Why was he drafted so low?  He struggled with arm trouble in the late 1960s in an era when it was more difficult to diagnose specific problems.  His career ended in early 1971 at age 26.