Hobbies are quite boring except for the California guy who mentioned surfing and horses. That would be George Brett.
#09 - Carl Yastrzemski
The George Blanda of baseball has played more games than any AL player. He was leading the league in homers at age 42 last season.
#08 - Rickey Henderson
While he stole 130 bases in 1982 to see the MLB record, Henderson was slowed in the last month of the season by a sore shoulder.
Not on the card - maybe that's when he got the chip on his shoulder that remained throughout his career.
#07 - Fernando Valenzuela
He was booed at Dodger Stadium since he held out for a big contract after his rookie season in 1982. There is plenty of speculation that he was born before the 1960 date listed on this card.
#06 - Pete Rose
Rose is chasing Cobb and it says on the back - "No one, of course, is betting against Charlie Hustle".
Not on the card - nothing else needs to be said about that card back.
#05 - Hal McRae
He had three undistinguished years with the Reds. Then the word mediocre is mentioned twice. "Without a doubt, there is no one better suited for the role as DH...".
Not on the card - that's a lot of negativity. Is the writing saying he can't use a glove?
#04 - George Brett
In 1981 he hit .314 and people wondered what was wrong with him.
Not on the card - His middle name is Howard and McRae's is Abraham. I wish I knew this when I caddied for Howard Abraham which was probably from 1980 - 1984. Maybe I can add one of my favorite caddie story involving him some day.
#03 - Reggie Jackson
It starts with a Steinbrenner reference even though Reggie is an Angel.
#02 - Rollie Fingers
He missed the last month with an injury so he had to watch the stretch run of the season, the playoffs against the Angels and the World Series loss to the Cardinals.
#01 - Rod Carew
He hasn't won a batting title since 1978. He is the all-time leader in total all-star votes and he's the active career leader in batting average.
It really says that about Pete Rose? Mercy!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever worked harder for anyone than Howard Abraham. That's not a compliment to Howard.
I didn't make up anything. Kellogg's certainly had lots of negativity and interesting comments on these cards. Today the players, their agents and their entourage would complain endlessly if the players got anything but a glowing story.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is so sanitized today. Some of that is good, of course, but the drive to "maximize revenue" can produce a certain blandness, as well as sterile, almost policed language.
DeleteI didn't make up anything. Kellogg's certainly had lots of negativity and interesting comments on these cards. Today the players, their agents and their entourage would complain endlessly if the players got anything but a glowing story.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that the other years have interesting comments but so far none can compare to these ones.
ReplyDelete