Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Cake or gum? 1976 Rennie Stennett

Last time gum squeezed out a 4-3 victory. Who will win this time?

Topps's photo has Stennett at spring training, still early enough in the spring to need a warm shirt under the jersey. Hostess's photo has Stennett during the season at Shea Stadium. No need for an undershirt, and looks like he got a haircut too. 

A player going 7-for-7 in a game is a once-in-a-century event. Between Wilbert Robinson's 1892 feat and Brandon Crawford's in 2016, the only 7-for-7 game was accomplished by Stennett in a 1975 22-0 rout of the Cubs. The seven hits included two doubles and a triple. Stennett was the Pirates' regular second baseman for most of the 1970s, helping the team win a championship in 1979. In 1,237 games, including a late-career stint with the Giants, Stennett hit .274 with 41 HR and 432 RBI. After his career he did some youth baseball coaching in the US and his native Panama. He died of cancer in 2021.


9 comments:

  1. Gum.
    Seems like the colors are better coordinated.

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  2. Always liked him. Slight edge to cake.

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  3. I'm voting cake - more interesting background, and Rennie looks contemplative rather than annoyed.

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  4. Cake, but barely. If you compared Hostess with Stennett's '76 RB card, it'd be gum easily.

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  5. Neither really stands out, but I'll vote for cake. I like how he's looking off in the distance.

    That 7 for 7 game was super duper awesome! Although Crawford's 7 hit game was very impressive... Stennett's 7 hits came in 7 at bats (Crawford went 7 for 8) and they didn't need to go into extra innings.

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